I Survived Halloween!

Halloween night in East River South Dakota was a beautiful night with an almost full moon, little wind and warmer temperatures than we've had for a long time. Oh, and it was a Saturday night - but you probably already knew that. It was a good thing I bought four big bags of candy because I was out by 7:30 p.m. People were driving up with van loads of kids. Some of the vans had license plates which were issued in counties 50 miles from here! Granted we have a lot of children in our neighborhood and I know most of them at least by sight, but there were a whole lot more than that. What was really great was that 99% of them dressed up and a good number of their parents who were taking them around were dressed up as well. All in all, it was fun, but it was hectic!



I Off the Needles: I did manage to finish two more pairs to the 52 Pair Plunge III challenge. Pair No. 24 is based on a pair named Emily's Socks in the 2-At-A-Time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes. I am busily using up scrap yarn in any way I can. Another example of that is the pair to the left, No. 25, which is made from a left-over sock blank and some scrap Wildfoote by Brown Sheep. I recently counted up my full skeins of sock yarn (not counting what I have for sale in my Etsy shop) and I have enough for 18 pairs of socks, which still brings me a few short for the 52 Pair Plunge.

On the Needles: I've just started Pair No. 26 which is a pair of baby lace socks rewritten from an old crochet book (still can't figure out why I book entitled "Crochet" has knit patterns). But then after deciphering the pattern I can understand why needle arts kind of died out for awhile - those that needed patterns were just frustrated! These socks are in what is leftover from a skein of my Big Foot yarn. After this pair, I'll be half-done with the challenge!

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Book No. 46 - Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti, by Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain. I usually don't include the fiber books I read in my 52 Book Challenge. I'm making an exception on this one because I am fascinated with the whole concept of Yarn Bombing. I first heard about it a few months ago and admittedly, was a bit put off by the term. It is not destructive as one would believe from the term bombing. Initially, I thought planes flew overhead and dropped skeins of yarn on the unsuspecting. While I rather liked the thought of German sock yarn being dropped into my yard, there is a very constructive side to this medium and a very artistic one.

We have all viewed graffiti and for some the graffiti is a form of vandalism, but for some people and for some graffiti, it is a beautiful form of street art. Unfortunately, in our town we have freight trains going through frequently (usually during rush hours) and frankly, the only positive to this for me is the graffiti on the cars. I am awestruck. Someone has taken an ugly thing and made it beautiful (at least to me, I'm sure the railroads consider a crime). Yarn Bombing does the same thing. Suddenly small forms of knitted or crocheted work show up in unexpected places. Knitted feet on the base of signs, cozy-like garments on hand rails and parking meters, scarfs on statues. All are provided with a bit a humor.

Yarn Bombing has not only the patterns and photographs, but also vignettes on how others are bombing. It's a great book to get any fiber artist thinking. I am currently working on a yarn bombing project for my office at work. For now, I will simply say it is seasonal and will come down after Christmas. I'll post pictures when it's up.