Technical Difficulties

This week does not have an entry to 52 Books in 52 Weeks due to technical difficulties. I thought I finished Widow for One Year, by John Irving, but as I got down to the final minutes of the audible.com recording, I quickly realized the there were a number of issues that were unresolved. I've read enough John Irving, like just about everything he's written, to know that he just does not leave folks hanging for an eternity. Then I heard it: "End of Part 1." But that's all that was on my iPod! Fortunately, Audible.com, like Amazon.com and eBooks, keeps my library for me. I'd forgotten to download Parts 2 and 3. So stay turned - it's a great book. John Irving can set a scene like nobody else. I can picture everything - it's better than a movie!

So onto my upper midwestern listing of what I've accomplished this week!

Tour de Fleece: In conjunction with the Tour de France, Ravelry has a Tour de Fleece for spinners (the kind with one wheel and a treadle, not two). I joined the Spin Our Socks group and started spinning the Embers fleece. On the bobbin is what I accomplished after Day 1. I think the goal of the group is to spin 3-ply sock yarn, however, I may have to be happy with a 2-ply. We'll see if I have enough fleece for a 3-ply.

Off the Needles: Pair #7 of the 52 Pair Plunge III is another pair of mini-socks. These little socks are great for working out patterns.

On the Needles: For Pair #8 of the 52 Pair Plunge III, as well as the July pair for the Great Sock Off, and my stress-free pair for Summer of Socks, I started the Knaughty & Knice socks for Interweave Fall 2008. It's a fun pattern, but is a little slower going than the patterns that got me to seven pairs in one month-but maybe slowing down a bit is a good thing. I have some more ideas for mini-socks to catch up.

I also started playing around with the Knit One Below method from the book of the same name by Elise Duvekot. It's been a challenge for me to follow the excellent directions provided in the book. When it comes to knitting, I tend to assume I know how it goes. I'm usually quickly humbled, as I was this time. It's a super-easy technique, if you follow the instructions. I'm working on a bag using the technique, in Green Mountain Spinnery two-ply black worsted and Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride in teal. The Lamb's Pride is a second, because it's not colorfast (although my fingers aren't turning teal), so I wanted to use it with something that wouldn't show if it did bleed.

On the Hook: I'm not much of a crocheter, but I do still have a lot of scraps of washable sock yarn. I'm doing this modified granny square in hopes of using some of the scraps. Actually, I'm hoping to use all of them. My sock yarn stash is significantly reduced because of the Sock Yarn Marathon I've been working on since February 1, but I want it reduced more! Hopefully, this will help.

Last of All: I was totally surprised and extremely pleased with the shout-out my Etsy shop, Sheepish Hand Knits, received on the Daily Chum on Friday. I recently started a new line of sock yarn called "Big Foot" and as a result of the Daily Chum piece, I've been busily packing and dyeing up more yarn this weekend. You can see the the piece here:
http://www.limenviolet.com/blog/?p=6731 IdaW, Limenviolet and all the Daily Chum folks - thank you!

The Upper Midwestern Lifestyle

I met with my phone book rep this week, like I do every year about this time. I've had the same rep since I moved my office to this part the state. We conduct our business in about two minutes and then spend the rest of them time catching up on each other.

We're about the same age and grew up in the large metropolitan area of Minneapolis-St.Paul just across the river from each other, but our lives have taken totally different paths, only to end up in the same small community in eastern South Dakota.

Our conversations always keep me thinking for days and this one is no different. She said we account for our time differently here than she experienced in California and the Caribbean. I thought, okay, they probably don't spend a lot of time shoveling snow or dealing with frozen pipes. She read my mind, explaining that when one asks another here how their weekend went one hears a listing of everything accomplished, whereas elsewhere people talk about where they went, with whom they meant and the like. She further explained that people spend time entertaining and enjoying the company of others. I thought about this blog. So. . .my defense is that I've spent the majority of my life here and the time I've spent elsewhere didn't rub off. Nevertheless, I'll try to make this less of a listing and more entertaining.

On the Machine: I'm still working on the Bug Jar Quilt. I tried to work on it this afternoon, but Greta (left) and Hans (right) decided to use it for their nap. Thank goodness, I covered it because they're both still losing their winter coats! I still wonder who's idea it was to nap there.


Off the Needles: Little Arrow Socks were knitted in part on the California trip out of Blue Moon Fibers Socks That Rock. These are Pair #5 of the 52 Pair Plunge III and bring my Limenviolet Sock Yarn Marathon total to 3.6 miles. I'm working to get the pattern in shape to add to my website.

Pair #6 are Baby Socks made out of Trekking scraps and used about 70 yards.
Not pictured is the Sock Scarf which I started back in May. That ultimately took 984 yards of Lorna's Laces Sock Yarn for a Limenviolet total of 4.23 miles since February 1 of this year.

52 Books in 52 Weeks/Book 30: Charlatan, by Pope Brock. This book describes not just the American Medical Association's prosecution of J.R.Brinkley for his use of goat testicles to rejuvenate people in the early part of the 20th century, but the development of medical licensing, other medical hoaxes and the development of modern medicine. Incidentally, J.R. Brinkley started one of the first outlaw Mexican radio stations on the border. Highly recommend.

Catch-Up

Off the Needles:
The pair on the left is Pair #3 of the 52 Pair Plunge. They're Monkey Socks, designed by Cookie A and took 310 yards of Brown Sheep Wildfoote. This pair brought my total up on the Limenviolet Sock Marathon to 3.3 miles. The pair on the right is Pair #4 of the 52 Pair Plunge and are made from a Knit Picks Sock Blank dyed with food coloring. This pair took 276 yards of sock yarn, bringing my total up on the Sock Marathon to 3.46 miles.

Pair #5 is on the needles and is from Socks That Rock - more next time!

52 Books in 52 Weeks/Book 29: Fudge Cupcake Murder, by Joanne Fluke. Admittedly, I've been on a Hannah Swensen Mystery kick. I've decided it's because they're a lot like Nancy Drew books, she's always saved at the end. But she's an imperfect Nancy, or maybe more perfect, depending on your view: she cooks, she loves her feline roommate, Moishe and she's having a heck of time deciding which of two men she wants to spend the rest of her life with. With all this going on, she keeps finding dead bodies, and keeps her sense of humor.

In the Garden: We've spent most of the last week in California, because our son finally obtained his PhD (has anyone gotten one of these without angst?). We came back to find even more irises in bloom.

Cool Weather

I suppose it makes sense that fincas would bloom, but I guess I never thought about it until the one in the container in our front yard did! Beneath the flower are volunteer violas. That container should be absolutely gorgeous by the end of the summer. I decided to take my containers into the garage last fall to see which plants I could salvage to this year. It's turned out to be a success! On the right is the first bloom of the peony I planted last year. Another peony bush is about to bloom as well, but it's been cool for June this year. Below, is another iris, this time from my back yard.

The Challenges:

Sock-related: 52 Pair Plunge III, Limenviolet Sock Marathon, The Great Sock Off. Here's my second pair of socks for the 52 Pair Plunge and the month of June for The Great Sock Off of 2009. This pair brings me over my goal of 3 miles on the Limenviolet Sock Marathan at 3.13 miles. I'll continue to burn through my stash for that challenge until the bitter end on August 1. Orange Monkey Socks, using Cookie A's pattern are on slate for Pair #3.

Book-related: 52 Books in 52 Weeks/Book 28: The Loop Group, by Larry McMurtry. Quirky, sexy, funny, sad and disappointing - not one of McMurtry's best.

Socks, Socks, Socks

This is our fourth summer in this house and the garden is finally coming together. The irises are coming up and even blooming. It appears all the lillies made it through our harsh winter and even the peonie I planted last year has a bud!

The Ravelry Challenges: As I mentioned last time, I signed up for yet another Ravelry Challenge the 52 Pair Plunge III. Here is my first entry. It's the Dead Simple Lace Socks from Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy Johnson and it's in my own Sheepish Sock Yarn from my Etsy shop. The new dyelot in the shop is called Viola. These took 220 yards which brings my total for the Limenviolet Sock Yarn Marathon to 5198 yards since February 1 or 2.95 miles. These socks are also my entry for The Great Sock Off of 2009 challenge.

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Fortunately, I had to travel this past week, which means I have the chance to listen to audiobooks in the car. Plus, I read a lot in the motel room. Book 25: The Ghostway by Tony Hillerman. I think this may have been one of the first Tony Hillerman books I ever read. This was a pleasant return and revisit with a very young Jim Chee. Book 26: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. This is the fictional account of Calliope Stephanides. As many of you know, Calliope is the muse of epic poetry and this is the story of her/his own epic journey through puberity as a hermaphrodite. Book 27: A Fatal Grace: A Three Pines Mystery by Louise Penny. This is the second entry in the Three Pines Mysteries and this time Armand Gamache investigates the eletrocution of an unliked woman at a curling match. Highly recommended.

Off the Machine: I finally finished quilting and binding the Tessilating Kitties quilt. It hangs proudly in my hallway. I did leave the final border off and I'm pleased with the results.

On the Machine: I now have the Bug Jar Quilt on the quilting and I've already starting quilting. Right now I'm just going around the jars and critters in black to stabilize it. I need to be out of town for a few days and my rather large cats like to nap on quilts in progress, so I need to get them stabilized right away.

What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

After telling myself for weeks - NO MORE CHALLENGES! - I signed up for another - perhaps the most challenging of all, the 52 Pair Plunge III Challenge on Ravelry. Starting 00:00 06/01/09 I will be making one pair of socks per week for the next 52 weeks. Thank God I have small feet! I could make baby socks, but no babies and Hans the cat won't wear them even to be polite. Fortunately, works in progress count so I'm slowing down on the toe up "Dead Simple Lace Socks" (see photo) from Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson. Incidentally, if you're interested in knitting toe-up socks, this is a great, well-written book. I highly recommend it! The yarn is the Viola colorway from my etsy site - it's sold out now, but there's more coming on this week.

The Sock Scarf is still in progress and is a great project for taking to meetings.

Work continues on my other challenges, but with nothing finished for this week on the knitting challenges, there is no increase in mileage or socks for the month of May. Nevertheless, I did finish another book . . .

52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge/Book 24: The Cream Puff Murder, by Joanne Fluke. After the powerful ending of Loving Frank, I needed something a little lighter. I found it in the cozy mystery by Joanne Fluke. In the newest of the Hannah Swensen mysteries, Hannah neds to solve the mystery of the murder of the least-liked woman in town - at least by the other women. What is always fun about Fluke's mysteries, is that there is a sub-mystery. In this case, it involves what happens Moishe, the cat's food. He has an automatic feeder and the food is always gone, but he's not gaining any weight (I wish I had that problem!). Hannah is also on a diet to lose weight to fit into the regency-style dress for her mother's book party.

I'd Like to Thank . . .

I'd like to thank everyone that responded to my plea for help in deciding on a color for my rescue chair. As you can see, red clearly won out. It has now been renamed "My Little Red Chair." Quite by chance, the chair matches the chair pad I wove and felted a few years ago. I am very pleased with it, and most importantly, I can now spin without back pain.

I'd like to thank Coca-Cola Bottling for producing Diet Coke and whoever makes Aspercreme. Odd combination, isn't it? Every few months I get hit with a sinus/migraine-type headache of epic proportions and it happened this week. I've used Diet Coke for years for settling the stomach part of that situation, but when my migraine medication wasn't quite taking care of the pain - I got the crazy notion of using Aspercreme on my nose and under my eyes - just over the sinuses. Well, if necessity is the mother of invention, desperation is the father. It took enough of the edge off the pain to let the pain medication kick in. I'm not sure I'd be up to writing this tonight without those two products.

I'd like to thank the Monday Night Sock Knitters for convincing me that this yarn wasn't ugly and that it would make a great pair of socks - they were right. This is my second contribution for May in the Great Sock Off of 2009. It also brings me closer to my goal in the Limenviolet Sock Yarn Marathon - both on Ravelry. I have now knitted 2.83 miles of sock yarn since February. Incidentally, the sock yarn is Paton's Kroy in the mulberry colorway. For a very inexpensive yarn, it was nice knitting - a little splitty at times. These were knit two-at-a-time toe up.

I'd like to thank my friend Carla for finding the Lorna's Laces sock yarn in the pink and blue colorway ON SALE and then de-stashing it to me! (I really envy Carla for her ability to periodically de-stash - she calls it purging.) After playing with some colorwork sweater patterns, I got tired of fighting the pooling. It's self-striping yarn, I just needed to let it self-stripe. We're both much happier now with the yarn as a striped scarf. I am well into my second ball in the photograph. The scarf is knit in the round and is a great project to take to guild meetings because there's nothing to keep track of and the ball of yarn drops into the center of the scarf.

Last of all, I'd Like to Thank Hans and Greta for sleeping during the day so they can play with me when I should be reading for my 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge.