Socktoberfest Questions (and Answers!)

Lolly posted some questions for the Socktoberfest participants. I would have answered them days ago, except that life keeps getting in the way! So, without further ado:

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
I taught myself how to make socks with the book Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles. I admit I saw the same yarn on someone else’s blog and was overcome by an urge to make myself the same fabulous green stripey socks!

What was your first pair? How have they “held up” over time?
I made these socks in February, 2003. They were a tad bit loose, so they’re not the first handknit socks I reach for in the drawer, and they tend to get a little less wear than the other socks I’ve knit. That being said, they’ve been worn and washed many, many times and they still look great. (And I *gasp* dry them in the dryer…)

What would you have done differently?
Measured better? I’m really picky about socks being too long and bunching up in my shoes. I didn’t know that until after I knit my first pair of socks, though!

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
I haven’t really found a sock yarn I haven’t enjoyed. My favorites are probably Austerman Step, with aloe right in the yarn, and (of course) Koigu. I also really like the wool/cotton blends I’ve used, though I haven’t actually made myself a pair of those so I don’t know how they hold up.

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
I knit socks with the Magic Loop method. I used 2 circulars for the first few pairs but found the extra needles hanging off the sock to be annoying. I also didn’t like having to sort out which end I needed to pick up next. (And forget DPNs. I consider them a necessary evil for a very few things, but you won’t catch me using them by choice!)

Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
Um, I have no preference. Short-row is faster, but flaps are more easily customized. I’ve done both types on both toe-up and cuff-down socks, and I think they each have their uses. I tend to use short-row when making socks for other people because I think they fit a wider range of heel shapes.

How many pairs have you made?
Counting the “secret” pairs I haven’t published on my blog yet? How about the tiny baby socks I made for Carrie that she only wore once before she outgrew them? Including all of those, 19 pairs. I think – well, somewhere in the 18-20 range, anyway. Many of those can be seen on my sock page. Note that I’m not counting the (at least) four pair of socks in various states on needles in my craft room…

Tune in tomorrow when I should have a picture of my latest sock-in-progress, which I will then be ripping out mercilessly. It’s a very important lesson in choosing the right yarn for the right pattern, which I did not do. It’s also a very important lesson in trusting your instincts and not continuing to knit when you know it’s not working out!

Apple Picking!

This morning we went apple picking with Nana and Poppy. Carrie had a fabulous time riding in the wagon, riding on Poppy’s shoulders, picking and eating apples, and trying to pick up giant pumpkins.

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For more pictures of our apple-picking adventures, click the picture above or just click here! (Kodak EasyShare Gallery, sign-in required.)

No Willpower

Yesterday Carrie and I went to a come-and-play class at the recreation center. The recreation center is right next door to the local yarn shop. We walked over, really just to show off her orange cabled sweater (I had bought the yarn for it there).

I came home with some really fabulous sock yarn (isn’t it all fabulous?) and a kit for a felted backpack. No willpower. In my defense, the kit was packaged really temptingly, and it’s all my favorite colors…

Tasty Stuffed Squash Recipe

Since we’re done with the first group of freezer meals but just put the second batch in the freezer we’re winging dinners this week. For some reason I was craving squash, so Carrie and I went to the farmers’ market this afternoon and picked up some acorn squash and carrots, then headed to the grocery store for couscous and garbanzo beans.

If you like stuffed acorn squash, try this recipe. It was delicious! I added some finely chopped red onion and some diced apples to it just for fun, and I didn’t quite have enough cumin – I had no idea I was nearly out of it. The stuffing all on it’s own is quite good. Couscous isn’t one of my favorite foods, but mixed with all the veggies and raisins it was fabulous.

That probably concludes my creative cooking for the next few weeks. Except maybe some sort of zucchini something-or-other, since I have two largish zucchini that need something done to them soon. Hmmm….where are those muffin tins…?

Need More Hours

I’m starting to feel like I just don’t have enough hours in the day. There are so many things I should be doing right now that I just can’t figure out where to start. Obviously, the fact that I’m not currently doing any of the things that need to be done isn’t really helping the situation. And the sad part is that they’re all mostly self-imposed things, so I’m doing this to myself.

It would help if Carrie would actually go back to napping three straight hours – now I’m lucky if she naps for an hour and a half. This is an abrupt change, and I’m really hoping it’s only temporary, but considering she’s the last nearly-two-year-old I know who actually sleeps slept so long I’m guessing it’s permanent. I also know that I’m lucky she even still naps – I am was blessed with a really good sleeper. I’m also guessing the waking up at 7:15 thing is not temporary either – it was closer to 8:00 just last week – leaving me with no time to even shower in the morning. Trust me, that’s a bad thing. Aside from the unmanageable hair that makes it really obvious when I haven’t showered, I spend the day in a fog if I don’t get to stand under the hot water for at least a few minutes. I’ve started looking forward to gym days just so I can take a shower when I’m done working out.

Without my nice hot leisurely morning shower and without my customary break time when I can do constructive (crafty or otherwise) things, spending every day with a toddler who has more of an opinion about how her day should go and is becoming much more vocal about getting her way is starting to feel a little overwhelming. Then again, I thought that last year when she dropped to one nap, so I’m sure it will even out eventually.

In the meantime, I guess I’d better start shopping for Christmas gifts, because until I can find a way to sew while actively watching and playing with Carrie none of my remaining gift plans are going to work out.

Saving Dinner Update

Remember a while back, when I posted about the Mega Menu Mailer experiment? Well, we’ve used all but one of the meals we froze from volume 1, and we just finished putting together the meals from volume 2. (I spent an hour of prep time this afternoon, and Denis and I just spent 3 1/2 hours assembling the meals – so it was a bit faster this time around.)

I think it’s safe to say we like this type of meal planning. It saved us a little on groceries, but not a significant amount. Where it did save us a lot of money was on dining out. There was much less temptation to order a pizza or go out to eat because we didn’t have to think so much about what was for dinner. It was also flexible enough to be able to do spur of the moment types of things like go to someone’s house for dinner or invite people over, because anything we thawed was in the fridge and could be kept there until the next night if necessary.

The 24 meals lasted us 6 weeks; this time we put together 20 meals, so we should be set until the second week of November. Maybe we’ll try volume three then!

Barktober Fest ’06


Molly and Murphy would like to thank those who sponsored us for our Barktober Fest walk. It was a beautiful morning to walk, and we all had a really good time. We decided Carrie would have more fun riding in the wagon than walking (read that as: we would have more fun with Carrie strapped into the wagon than chasing her all over creation in a big crowd of people) so Denis walked both dogs and I dragged the wagon. I think Denis got the better end of that deal – my arm hurts!

Carrie learned a hard lesson about balloons today. She got a pretty blue balloon from someone dressed up as a squirrel (that must have been a hot costume to wear) and I did the sliding knot thing around her wrist. At some point when I was talking with someone I heard a little squeak, looked over and saw Carrie staring up at the sky, with the blue balloon getting smaller and smaller. I think it took her a few seconds to realize that the balloon was never coming back, and it was the longest, slowest, saddest pout you ever did see…which turned into a quivering lip, and then tears, and then all out sobs. I about cried along with her, it was so very sad to watch her lose her balloon forever.

Later on, the purple balloon she got from someone else was tied quite tightly to the seatbelt on the wagon! I have no idea how she got the ribbon off of her wrist in the first place, but I wasn’t taking any more chances.

Knittin’ Along

I feel a little like my knitting has been floundering. Christmas projects, too – I haven’t worked on those in almost three weeks! But obviously something is getting done when I’m not paying attention:


Behold! The finished Jaywalker socks! I’m very, very happy with how these came out! I have realized, however, that I need a pair of sock blockers desperately. Carrie already promised to buy some for me for my birthday, but since she doesn’t have a credit card I’m hoping her Daddy will help her out…

And then there’s this:


A matching hat to the candy corn sweater. Carrie saw me making the little curlies for the top (I’ve added two more since I took the picture) and insisted on wearing it all morning, unwoven ends sticking out everywhere. I’m glad she likes the things I knit for her – I’m going to take full advantage of that while it lasts! Oh, and I only have a couple of yards left of this fabulous yarn, so that’s the end of the candy corn goodness. I’m not sure what else I could have knit to match the set anyway!

Finally, I’m joining the Warm Hands knit-along, because I’ve been attempting to create my own mitten/glove pattern to go with my so-called scarf & hat set. Since I’m knitting mittens anyway, I may as well join another knit-along, right?


They’re mittens with a fold-back top, but I haven’t decided if they’re going to have fingerless gloves or standard gloves as the lining. I’m using stash Koigu to line them (here’s hoping one skein is enough!) and I think that would be thin enough to have full-length fingers. But it would probably be easier to buckle Carrie into her carseat with fingerless gloves. I’m kind of stalled because I can’t decide – of course, I’m nowhere near the fingers, but that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. As always, this would be a much smoother process if I actually had a pattern to follow! (I just hope I can follow my hastily jotted down notes for mitten/glove number 2!)

Another Barktober Fest Plug

Just a reminder: Barktober Fest is this Saturday. So if you were thinking of helping us meet our goal (we’re nearly there!) and have $5 to donate, now would be a good time to visit our sponsor page! At the moment, Saturday looks like it’s going to be in the low 60s and non-rainy, so it will be a good day for walking!

And thank you so much to everyone who has already donated to this wonderful cause!

New Knit-alongs and Swaps!

Because I obviously can’t get enough sock knitting (my jaywalker socks are this -> <- close to being done, I just have to graft the toe of the second sock and weave in those ends) I joined two new groups earlier this week:

Socktoberfest, a month-long celebration of all things sock-y, and Hot Socks Swap, where we will exchange sock yarn and hot drink goodness. Go join up, you know you want to!

Also, this weeks’ Knitter’s Review newsletter had a review of a children’s book about knitting, Knitting Nell (which is already on Carrie’s birthday wish list) and it had a link to a project the author started called the Good Scarf Project. I really want to participate, and since I was going to knit Carrie a scarf this fall, maybe I can use that?