Quit Monkeying Around

So it's kinda done. But a wee bit sad I am.

Disregard the messed up toe for a moment. I was watching 24 with Pops and so not paying attention to the Kitchener stitch. Instead of knit, knit, purl, purl, I may have knit, knit, knit, purl, knit, purl, purl... But that is easily correct and not my issue tonight. My real problem, and the reason I finished the sock in such a sloppy way, is because as I drew towards the end, I realized it was looking a bit small. I knew all along that the sock was a bit tighter than I would normally have liked but it had been working up to normal shape and size for the most part and since I prefer my socks snug over loose, I wasn't too concerned. But then I tried it on for the last time.

ICK! The heal is not in the right spot at all! It's kind of hard to see but the bottom doesn't line up and slips down on the heel.

This is so discouraging because I was sock (I'm leaving that typo, because I was "sock" excited!) excited to actually start my second sock and not suffer from second sock syndrome for a change. So now I suppose I have a few choices, I can try blocking it and hope a good stretching will do the trick, I can un-do the whole foot and knit it on the next size up or frog the whole thing and start over. Or I suppose I can just suck it up and wear lumpy socks.

I have knitting group tomorrow so I'll ask the ladies their thoughts on the matter while either starting whole new basic sock and leaving the Monkey alone for a moment. Or I may work on the illusion scarf I started before Christmas and left in the bottom of my knitting bag to collect dust.

Still in all though, I do like the pattern, I just need to figure out what size foot it was intended for because it's surely not a 7 1/2- 8!

bugs, glue, chinese finger traps and other things that could go wrong

I was cleaning out my email the other day and came across the info. below that I had sent to some friends awhile back. I thought you all would be able to appreciate it too. Funny, you don't need to be able to speak German to follow what's going on.....

I love the idea but if I were a guy I think I'm be terrified to use it. Those crazy Germans are always up to something....




Oh, and one of the Monkey socks is almost done. I had to do a little more ripping the other day which set me back again, but now that I know what I'm doing hopefully the second one will be much quicker, I'm so psyched I tell ya!

Ummm, ok, so maybe I spoke to soon

Chris: Did you do a gauge swatch?
Me: (scoffing) Naw, I never do one unless it's a sweater.

Cut to me an hour later at home.....
Not... going... to.... fit...

I eventually got it on but it wasn't going to go much higher up on my leg than this.

Grr. No option but to frog it. Luckily something (impatience) made me try it on tonight so I found out relatively early in the game that it didn't fit. I just hope my LYS has some long size 2 or 3 circulars on hand because the thought of waiting for them to be shipped is just too much!

The reason I need the long circulars is because I started these bad-boys using the Magic Loop method which I'm such a fan of already! My major hold-up on making socks (besides second sock syndrome of course) is that I create terrible ladders between the needles that I can't seem to ever get rid of no matter how tight I pull. This great method not only gets rid of that issue but means I won't have to run up and down any more NJ Transit train cars looking for my 5th double pointed needle (seriously did this Saturday night).
The next trick I want to learn is to knit with two circulars which should combat my other sock issue. Oh, and I want to learn how to knit toe-up. Yeah, that should about cover it for now. After I master all of that I can start to worry about playing around with alternate heal types and making my own patterns ;-)


Last but not least, the yarn I'm using is some light-weight Socks that Rock yarn I got at Stitches. And while it does totally rock, I have to warn you, it also rolls. The color that is. I washed my hands tonight after knitting with it and found a pile of purple soap foam forming in the sink. I will definitely be giving these a super rinsing before wearing them so I don't end up looking like violet!

Who, me?

Jana has tagged me for a Meme listing six odd facts about myself and I'm finally getting around to doing it. Funnily enough, or maybe #1 of the list, I have thought of a thousand things to list as I go about my day but suddenly I can't think of much of anything at all. I do know this though; there are at least a dozen scraps of paper lying around my room with random things jotted down such as this.....

1. I don't like when one nipple is hard while the other isn't. Especially if they can be seen through my shirt. also, when they can be seen (because face it, cold wind happens to everyone) I pray that they are even. Nothing looks more stupid than having one nip up high and another down low. Well, except when just one is visible I suppose.

2. I have no shame about saying what's on my mind (see #1 for an example.) HOWEVER, I will undoubtedly blush when talking about anything that can be perceived as unlady-like. It baffles me and quite frankly pisses me off. I'm not ashamed of most of the things that come out of my mouth (most), and it's very hard for others to offend me by being too graphic, yet somewhere in my DNA lies that last little shred of good little Catholic girl that can't help but blush like a Geisha at naughty things - - if Geisha's blush. I think they do, why wouldn't they?

3. I get stuck on the dumbest crap and spend far too much time thinking about it. Like the "do Geisha’s blush, and if so can you see it through their make-up? Is that part of the reason for the white face paint?" yada, yada, yada. This also causes me to ask too many questions. For example, I now know not only how plywood is made from watching a show on it on the Discovery channel, but I also found out why it has to be cut the way it is after having Chris's carpenter husband explain it to me in detail. This interest in the uninteresting can either be a wonderful, eccentric trait or an utter annoyance. Depends on the day I suppose :-)

4. I try to be kind to inanimate objects. I was recently telling my knitting group (there was a reason at the time I'm sure) that when I have to replace the paper in the copier, printer, fax machine etc. if there is any paper already in the tray I will put that paper on top of the new pile because they've been patiently waiting their turn and it doesn't seem fair to let the new ones cut in line. Then I worry that maybe they don't want to be next in line and I'm not doing them any favors by expediting their journey through ink & toner land.

5. I hate line cutters! Who doesn't right? But I get really upset when people cut in line or take more than their share or screw someone over for their own benefit. I will wish them harm but usually only equivalent to their crime. I strongly believe that if everyone would just play fair and follow the rules things would go so much smoother for everyone. But there's always those greedy people out there that think the world owes them something and feel free to steal it from me and the other rule followers. On top of whatever I come up with at the moment, my main punishment for all these people would be for them to have to explain to their mother's or grandmother's why they felt like it was ok to do whatever their crime was. I think if people had to consider breaking their grandmothers hearts they wouldn't be so quick to be dicks.

6. I get easily wound up over injustices (see above). There are two things that my mom always told me in regards to that, 1. she said I never liked injustice - - which I find to be funny because, really who does? But I know what she means. It's a bigger pet peeve of mine than it is for most people (see #4). Secondly, she said I always wrote better when I was mad (yes, I used to consider myself an aspiring writer - now I don't know what I consider myself). I digress though, she's right, anger gets my creative juices flowing as does getting myself into situations I shouldn't be in. Maybe as I got older and wiser and stopped putting myself in harms way I lost some of the fire. This could definitely be the reason for the reduction in writing. Hmmm.... ok, this is getting more "Dear diary" than "here's why I'm weird".

Sorry I kinda went off topic up there.
Anyway, I get to tag six people now:
1. My SP (the one who's buying for me who's blog I don't have of course)
2. Adam
3. Claire
4. Kim
5. Ade
6. And these ladies can share spot #6 Chris (because I hope she comes back to the blogging world) & Erin (if she can blog from Spain)

I would love it if everyone did one of these so just because I didn't post you doesn't mean you're not tagged ;-)
Eventually I want to get one of those "100 things about me" lists up here, but seeing how long it took me to post just 6 things, it's not looking good.

****OK, wanna laugh at me for a second? So I have of course seen meme's mentioned all over blogland and in my head always pronounced it "mem". Then the other day I had a moment of clarity and thought "oh you dumb-ass, it's me-me, because it's about me!" And from there I proceeded to say it out loud that way. Then of course I come across this nugget and realized life really is like the SAT's sometimes. You really should just stick with your first choice; don't over-analyze things or you'll end up sounding stupid.

meme n (mëm): A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another. From the Greek mimëma, something imitated, from mimeisthai, to imitate.

In Blogspeak, a meme is an idea that is shared and passed from blog to blog, like a question posted in one blog and answered in many other blogs. ****



On a totally unrelated note, here's some pictures of my Godson/cousin from last weekend when we had an after the holiday's family holiday party. I've included a loose version of the dialogue for clarity.

Me: Hey Shayne, whatcha got there?
Shayne: It's the blue guy from the game in the basement, see!


Me: Oh, he's cool, but I can't see your face. Can you hold him down for the picture?

Me: Shayne, why do you look so sad in the picture? You look like the saddest boy ever!
Shayne: Leme see, leme see...
(He sees the picture and laughs)
Me: Let's try again ok?
Shayne: OK

Me: That's much better! You're like an actor, look at all the faces you made (he reviews the shots)
Shayne: Do another!
Me: OK

Me: That's a funny one. What was that?
Shayne: His head comes off see.
He hands me a little blue head and walks away.
Photo shoot over

Oh, wait, I forgot, the photo shoots are never over with my family!
(Cousin Alexis and Mother Joan)

Tea Party

I'm sorry but I think youtube is the bestest thing ever for this very reason - - now you don't have to say "I guess you had to be there" anymore, you can see it for yourself!

Happy New Year and Welcome to 2007!

Ahh, new year, fresh starts, more chances to do things differently and/or better.

I'm posting this just the way it is because it is hysterical! Why? Because the next sentence was going to be the beginning of me promising to be a better blogger, knitter, stash-user-upper, person, etc. etc.
Oh well, I guess some things never change!