Pomatomus Part Deux

Here is the first completed Pomatomus sock. I've started the second - no second sock syndrome here. But I'm going slow because I want most of this skein to count towards the sock yarn marathon. I couldn't find coral reinforcing thread, so I used a natural color on the toes. After this much work on a sock, I'd hate to wear through the toes - ever.


52 Books in 52 Weeks: Book 5 is Unholy Dying, by Robert Barnard. I thoroughly enjoyed this British mystery from 2001. In many respects it's a typical British mystery in the Agatha Christie vein: It's set in a smaller city (okay not a village) in Yorkshire and the character most of us would find to be the most despicable is bumped off with a host of suspects with motives, the most likely of which is a Catholic priest who has been accused by the newspaper reporter/victim of having an affair with a young woman in his parish. Barnard has a pair of detectives that are worthy of their own BBC television series that wrap this mystery up into a neat little package right before the reader's eyes. Good characterization and excellent plot make what could have been a boring read into a page turner. Barnard has been writing mysteries as long as I can remember and only gets better.

Pomatomus

In the past year I've heard and read so much about Pomatomus socks by Cookie A. I finally bit the bullet and started a pair. I'm using Knit Picks EssentialSolid in Coral and so far it's gone well. The photograph shows the first sock through the second repeat of Chart A. This pattern is not one to rush through. It's easy to think it's in your head and go forward, only to rip back because suddenly the wrong number of stitches are on the needles.

I'm also going slow because while I might have the first Pomatomus sock done in January, I don't want to start the second until February, so at least one of the pair can count towards the Limenviolet Sock Marathon which doesn't start until February 1. The pair will go towards my February pair for the Great Sock Off 2009 Marathon.

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Book 4 is Heat Lightning, by John Sandford. I'm a long-time fan of John Sandford books, reading the first one shortly after graduating from high school. I love them because John Sandford creates a wonderful hero character and the books take place in Minnesota.

Heat Lightning is the second in a spinoff series from his Prey series. While the Prey series features Lucas Davenport, the new series features Virgil Flowers. While Davenport has a cameo in this series, the main character is Virgil Flowers who is an investigator for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and works for Davenport. He is writes for outdoor/hunting magazines.

In Heat Lightning, Flowers is hunting for the killers of Vietnam veterans who leave their murdered victims at veterans' memorials with a lemon in their mouth. If you like action in a mystery, a well-developed plot and wonderful characters, you'll enjoy Heat Lightning as much as I did. If you know the Minnesota and the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in particular, you'll also enjoy this book. John Sandford obviously knows the territory of which he writes and describes it flawlessly.

The January Sock Off Sock is Done

I finished my socks for January for the Sock Off 2009 Marathon. Of course, this means my mileage is now about 12 1/2 miles of sock/fingering weight yarn. I figure I'll still have enough for the six months of the Limenviolet Marathon which starts February 1. After February 1, the socks I make in for the Sock Off Marathon will also count against my mileage goal for the Limenviolet Marathon. I'm very happy with these socks. I discovered a pattern stitch that really shows off the handpainted sock yarn. I'll have to write that pattern up and post it on my website.

Book 3 for the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge is: A Deadly Yarn, by Maggie Sefton. I've read most of this series and the storylines are interesting but I can't get excited about the main character, Kelly. The best part of the book are the recipes for one of my favorite dishes - Chilis Rellenos.

The Great Sock Off of 2009

My plan was to hang on to my sock yarn for the Limenviolet Sock Marathon starting February 1, but then I saw the sign-up on Ravelry for The Great Sock Off of 2009. I couldn't resist. It involves making one pair of socks a month for 2009. I also needed a project I could carry with me. So the the LnV Marathon is going to be down about a quarter mile for January. My socks for the Great Sock Off will count starting in February.

This pair uses the Ragtime colorway of Brown Sheep Wildfoote sock yarn. It's beautiful. This is my own pattern that I'm writing up. This is the toe-up version. I've a done a couple cuff down before.

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Book 2 - Cat in a Midnight Choir, by Carole Douglas Nelson. This series features Midnight Louie, a black cat PI in Las Vegas - very entertaining and a great read.

12 3/4 Miles of Sock Yarn

I recently signed up for the LimenViolet Sock Marathon on Ravelry. Part of the marathon is to determine how many miles of sock yarn you have. Sock (aka fingering weight) yarn is my favorite weight of yarn to knit, so I knew going in I would have more of that in my stash than any other kind. I guessed maybe 5 miles worth of which I would try to knit up 3 in the approximately 6 months we have for the marathon. I was wrong. It came to 12-3/4 miles of sock yarn. Now that I've picked myself up off the floor and am trying to breathe normally and simply deal with the situation, I realize that knitting 3 miles in the given time is reasonable and I can only hope to knit more. I'd really like to be able to put the lid on the bin the yarn is sitting in now. I think that means more like 6 miles worth - but we'll see.

I did find some real treasures as I was getting all the sock yarn in one place - like five skeins of Lorna's Laces. I have no idea where I got it - it's in pink and blue, so I can only imagine someone gave it to me. Fortunately, the marathon does not require that you make all the sock yarn into socks - you can make others things as well. I also found out that four pairs of socks equal approximately a mile, as does a sweater. This should be interesting.

The Purple Yarn

Shortly before Christmas, I purchased some purplish roving on eBay. At first, I thought I would barber-pole ply it with black. After spinning the first bobbin, I knew that was not the right thing to do. I purchased a pound (and for some odd reason, most sellers include the weight of the plastic in the measurement). I have about a 1000 yards of 21 wpi, 2-ply light fingering weight yarn. I hoped for lace weight, but as you can tell from wpi, it is a tad heavy for lace weight. Even so, I think it will make wonderful lace.

I've signed up for a couple of challenges on Ravelry this year: 52 Books in 52 Weeks and the Limenviolet Sock Marathon. I will be posting my progress in both on this blog. One involves books read and the other sock yarn knitted. I leave it to you, which is which.

Book 1 for Week 1 of the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge is: Rumpole and the Reign of Terror, by John Mortimer. I can't read a Rumpole novel or story without picturing Leo McKern as Rumpole. This Rumpole, like most, is a good read.