Knitting: I promised my husband a new pair of Fuzzy Feet. And here they are, obviously before felting, with my foot for scale:
I had this much yarn left from a skein of Cascade 220:
I don't remember the exact color, but it's one of the heathers. It's really not the right color, and I need to ask all you dyeing geniuses out there if there's a way to darken it to more of a navy. It's kind of BLUE, but the LYS here didn't have anything closer in a feltable worsted weight. This is why I usually order yarn, but I needed to get it before we left on a trip the next day. My husband insists that it goes just fine with his pajamas, but I'm not convinced. Any ideas? I really just settled on the color and let him talk me into them matching okay because I wanted to do them in the car on our five hour trip (each way) to Sacramento to visit my brother. I'm calling them Kinda Fuzzy because Lamb's Pride is more fuzzy than Cascade, but the LYS, which told me on the phone they had "tons" of colors of Lamb's Pride, turned out to have about six colors in stock, none of them close, though they "would be happy to order" for me. Urgh. If I wanted to wait for an order, I would just order it myself. Anyway, I also barely started Hedera from Knitty:
That's Sunshine Yarns in Strawberry Banana, which I think is a fun yarn. Hedera isn't my ideal sock, as I really wanted to try a short-row heel this time, but I only have dpns in size 1 or size 5 or greater, so I needed a size 1 pattern, and this was the one I found that seemed interesting. It'll be nice for the plane, and I can always rip it out when I get home if I find a different pattern. I've been having trouble getting inspired by knitting lately. I think the main problem has been the colic we've had around here for several weeks. The 5+ hours of crying every night were exhausting and really prevented me going through the stash and my knitting books to find what I really wanted to knit. Thankfully, it's over! But, sad for me, I had to give up dairy. I was allergic to cow's milk as a baby, and I think Lilah is, too, because two days after I gave up dairy, the colic was GONE. Like flipping a switch. So when we get back from this trip, I'll get my knitting to-do list in order and get excited about it again.
Reading: Lots of this! I've had The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst on my to-read shelf for ages, and I finally tackled it (it's 400+ pages, so not thin). It was excellent. It's billed as a political/social satire, but that makes it seem a little impersonal to me, and it's not. Nick Guest, a Henry James scholar who recently came out, lives with the family of a university friend. The father is a very wealthy conservative MP who adores Margaret Thatcher. The novel takes place in the 1980s, with the spectre of AIDS hanging over Nick and his lovers. There are better summaries over on amazon. I've read that the plot is Jamesian, which makes me want to read some more Henry James. The plot is divided into three parts, in 1983, 1986, and 1987. The social and political satire is incisive and very funny. I definitely recommend it, and I'm glad I read it, but I'm not sure it'll go in my re-reading pile.
In the "definitely re-read" pile is Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. This is a prequel to Peter Pan and it is FUN. I have to re-read Peter Pan now, as it's been years and years. It's swashbuckley and adventurous, and good for all ages.
I'm now on the sixth Jane Austen mystery, Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you probably already know I love it :) These are so fun, and a pleasure to read.
Writing: See above re: colic. Hoping to start again when we get back.
Cooking: No cooking on vacation.
6 comments:
We miss you in the Blog-o-sphere! I'm so glad you figured out the colic thing! Hopefully everybody will be sleeping better now -- that was THE hardest part for me when my first son was born. The fuzzy feet look great, though I have no advice on dying. There is an article on Knitty (Spring 2007) which discusses using food coloring to dye socks, though.....
Amazing how changing one little thing (well, dairy is kind of a major change but you know) can make such a huge difference. Glad to hear the colic is gone.
I wouldn't bother dyeing the FF. Let them be and keep your eye out for the right color for the next pair. They wear out fast enough.
Glad to hear the little one is better. Sounds like you had a great trip.
You can actually insert a short-row heel into any old sock -- just do it using the stitches you would otherwise use for the heel flap. If you want to try this and have any questions about it, let me know -- I've been doing it a lot recently.
Glad to hear the colic is gone! I worry that one day when I have kids they'll have this problem (my husband is lactose intolerant), but I do love my dairy. It's probably a little too early to be concerned about this now, though. :)
Have you tried soymilk? I'm not allergic to milk, but I love soy anyway. It's a great non-dairy alternative.
I wouldn't change the fuzzy feet. If hubby says they're okay then leave them alone. When he changes his mind in two weeks time you can remind him of how much he loved the color two weeks ago. :D
I haven't been to CA since summer last year. All I remember is the dust. Blah. Glad you had a good time. What a nice change in weather...
Interesting info about the colic. Good thing that got worked out! Anxious to see how your hedera look with that pretty yarn.
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