I decided

Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. I bought it when it first came out in paper back feeling really excited about reading it, and then it went on the shelf while I finished what I was reading. Then it waited while I read something a friend had lent me. And so on, and so on. Now has to be the time, because otherwise it will look like I’m just reading it because of the film (but at least I don’t have the film cover copy :D). Although it probably looks like that is the reason anyway…
Anyway, today I have tons of things to do, but I am hoping to take pics of the cabled socks, and also a progress shot of Angelica so that people can see how the silk looks knitted up and that kind of thing. I weighed the Lorna’s Laces yesterday, and feel a little miffed – why is it that every sock pattern I use tells me to use almost double the amount of yarn that I actually need? Ok, so I have smallish feet (as does my giftee), but they aren’t so small that they warrant a full 400m of sock yarn. If I’d have knitted a repeat or so less on the leg of them, I would have got away with one hank, and the legs on these are loooong – mid calf length. Oh well – I have enough of the yarn left to play with knitting a sock on two circs, and I won’t mind so much if I mess up that way! I just have to buy some extra needles first. Maybe I’ll ask DB for some for Christmas (or maybe I’ll wait so that I don’t start knitting something else!).
Also, just as I meander along with my early morning, pre-breakfast brain, I upset myself last weekend and forgot to tell you about it. I frogged Clapotis 🙁 I had to because, after a break on it while I knitted gift socks, I went back, and didn’t check the pattern for where to place the twisted stitches. I did a full 12 rows with them in the wrong place on the straight section, and realised my mistake when I got to the rows where you place markers. Because of the dropped stitches, I didn’t really know how I could safely frog just my bad rows, so I ended up going back to the beginning and getting rid of 3 repeats of the straight section. This baby will not be ready for this winter now I think… Luckily the yarn is very forgiving of frogging. I heart SWT Karaoke. It is lovely lovely lovely – like Noro Kureyon but with less colour changes and the softness already there waiting for you to enjoy it while you knit. And the soy silk makes it much smoother on the needles. I can this yarn ending up in some Fuzzy Feet, but only in many moons’ time when I can actually afford it.
I’ve also been playing around with a couple of other things. I want to clear up what I’m knitting and start afresh (although Angelica is probably part of the start afresh things!) with my stash, make some practical garments and a few little things. I’m working on my second Alpaca Silk armwarmer (from the Alterknits Manos pattern), and have realised I’ll have at least a ball and a half if not more to make a little scarf at the end. I am also in love with Alpaca Silk. Damn you Debbie Bliss… I have finally submitted to the need to rip back the bolero (I can use the cotton to make some Picovoli, seeing as they are pretty practical and suitable for all needs), and the grey cashmerino aran ribby cardi, as the yarn will do for many many other garments nicer than that thing. I may make Tubey from the latest knitty as it is yum, but the grey may be too light to make it wearable, so I might just make a basic v-neck jumper or a cardigan (I have the buttons for it anyway) in a more flattering form than the evil ribby. Also, I got some more of the Landscapes stuff I made my scarf in, so I’m using my first Ann Budd handy pattern and making a hat. The one I made in Sue’s Colinette is superwarm, but a couple of people at work have commented on its’ teacosy resemblance, so I’m hoping the Landscapes one will be a little more bobblehat than teacosy. I’ll still wear the Colinette one, but perhaps not in front of people at work… 😉 And I must finish the sleeve on Blackberry so that I can try it on and assess…
Finally, I was having another go at spinning the other day when I had an hour free and didn’t feel up to knitting (I was feeling poorly, and standing up helped, but that is a whole other story you really don’t want to hear about). I spun a little of the merino that I bought from that trip to Texere a few months ago, and was interested to feel the difference in the fibre compared to the stuff that came in the kit. I have no idea what kind the kit had in it, but it was much easier to shred up into pieces I could draft. The merino is somehow firmer – it feels only slightly softer as a fibre than the kit stuff, but is harder to tear off the hank, yet easier to separate and draft. Does that sound silly, or is that common/normal in spinning? Anyway, I tried to make a finer yarn than the huge chunky monstrosity that was my first attempt (it was a good attempt at spinning, but bad for using to do anything – my scarf was like cardboard at one end! :D), and managed something a little more like aran towards chunky, so not nearly as thick. I have made a few mistakes with the fibre getting a bit caught in the spinning when it shouldn’t do, or for some reason the drop spindle reversing direction – not sure how that happened, but so far I feel ok about it. The fibre is plentiful and cheap enough for me to practice a little with it for a few times and scrap it if I’m not happy.
Oh, and has anyone else had the problem of reading blogs that suddenly seem to have gone back a few posts and lost the last one that you read, or last few? Could it be their blog server is going giddy, or is it just my puter being really really poor? Either way it is a little surreal… Particularly when you are reading after a drink or two, or at this time in the morning. On this note I better go hide.