Hey, July is over with. It's gone, no blog action happened at all, and not as much knit action happened as I would have liked. Sorry everyone for having to look at my gross foot for two months straight.
I guess I might as well relate what happened to the socks: I finished the red socks, and gave them away as a birthday present. I had hoped the person would really like them, would understand, "These, the first socks I have ever knitted, were made for you, by my own hands." I really took the effort to make sure they were just right, too. The reception of the socks was about as ho-hum as it gets, dealing a serious blow to this person's knit-worthiness; who knew my mom wouldn't 'get it'? Life is full of harsh lessons... (HAHA - I'm reading aloud as I type this, and Cindy just cracked on me for sounding like Doogie Howser).
After the socks, I didn't start anything else for a while. I had to start saving some funds for a new-to-me car because the slave-cylinder went out on the '88 Ranger. I was fairly bummed about that - I really liked that truck.
But the summer wasn't all downers: I met some new knitters - at my church. There is a really sweet lady named Ms. Ruth, an immigrant from South Africa, who is teaching the ladies how to get their knit on. Ms. Ruth also has a great way of holding the needles; she cradles the needle between her thumb and index finger, so that when she releases the needle to throw the yarn, the needle is resting in the groove between thumb and finger - what's more, she throws the yarn with only her index finger! Her way strikes me as a mix between the advantages of continental and regular; you never release the yarn or the needle, and all the while she's primarily working with her dominant R hand. Ms. Ruth doesn't think its a big deal at all; all the knitters in South Africa knit this way, she says. She accussed my way of being 'dreadfully slow' in her aweseom accent, and we had a hearty laugh. Yeah, me and Ms. Ruth are lookng forward to knitting together more. She's a sock knitter, and quite keen about DP's (circular are just not for her); rock on.
Uh, what else... I did knit another one of the beanies from Son of S'n'B, using yarn I purchased for that purpose a long time ago. Basically, because I'm poor, and can't support my yarn habit. Once the beanie was done, I made a few modifications to the Thorpe hat I knit a while back, and made another for my Comrade in Yarn Jan (this time, I cast on 96, altered the fair-isle pattern to involve three rows of diamonds, and in general just did a much better job the second-time around). I think I really like fair isle - a lot.
Right after I did the Thorpe hat, I bought some Malabrigo yarn, and started making a butterfly hat for my aunt, and I'm hoping she get's it.
When getting the Malbrigo, I also got some needles and the Yarn Harlot's At Knits End, and really liked it. What sold me was when I opened it and read the page describing how knitters won't choose a subtitled movie to rent because the project they are working on has a chart. BWAHAHAHAHA!
So anyhow, I've made two hats watching the Olypics, and started a third. I will sorely miss the Olypics. I was up until 3am last night working on the Butterfly hat, watching some vollyball action.
So the Ranger which has been sitting on the curb for a couple months now? I took it to the junk yard today. It was a strange time. A few guys kept offering to buy it from me, even as a five ton fork lift was driving up to hoist it in the air and haul it away. A short guy who worked there asked what was wrong with it, and I told him 'nothing, except the slave cylinder - you'll have to drop the transmission to repair it, but other than having to put clutch fluid in it every time I drive it, its a great truck.' He was more than happy to keep it separate from the others gettin' stacked. Did I say already I will really miss that truck??
Anyhow, I got a couple hundred bucks for it. Do you know how much yarn that is!?? (Okay you knitters out there quoting exact yardage for five different kinds, I'm not at that point yet, but yeah, it's A LOT).
And then I had to make the rent, and pay some bills, and then the Ranger-money didn't seem like so much anymore... what a let down. I still got some sock yarn left, and plenty of Cascade 220. But you know, sometimes Cascade 220 just isn't enough...
Okay, that was a lie. Sometimes, you just gotta knit what you can get.
Next blog: photos!
