knitting kitchen

The Summer of Socks has begun and I’ve been a bit of a slacker. I’ve knitted one and a half of Fancy Silk Sock and then put it aside. All I have left is the cuff and having memorized the pattern, this got relagated to “knitting that can be done with everything seems too complicated”.  This sock began as Wendy Johnson’s SOS pattern but after three tries, I realized that the yarn-over pattern made a sock that was too stretchy and lumpy for my taste. I really liked the toe-up aspect of the pattern, especially the heel which looks like a traditional top-down heel. So I took Nancy Bush’s Fancy Silk Sock pattern and knit it toe up using Wendy’s heel instructions. In my haste, I did not reverse the pattern when I graphed it so it’s upside down. If anyone notices that when they are on a pair of feet, I will personally award them the Geekiest Sock Geek prize.

We went to Martha’s Vineyard for a few days to see my parents. For my vacation knitting, I’d been saving a special treat. I bought Twisted Flower by Cookie A. last year and have been saving the pattern for a special treat. This is how far I’ve gotten on that:

In celebration of my father’s 78th birthday, we had lobster on the beach at Menemsha,

Olivia with lobster.

and I made Dad the Pillow of Sei Shonagon from the book Knitalong.

I love this pattern and expect to use the concept of knitting a yarn-over eyelet and stringing bits of text through the holes. One funny coincidence, I knitted the pillow in purple despite the elegance of the original which is knitted in cream. When I gave the pillow to my father, he put it on his bed which my step mother had recently adorned with a deep purple coverlet. It was remarkable how perfectly the colors matched.

Other fun stuff that happened on M.V….

I got to ride my bike (and I’ve got the scrape on my knee to prove it)

a couple of visits to the Offshore Ale Company

beer, coffee, a crossword puzzle, and a couple of bored teenagers. Of course I’m knitting.

time spent with  my sister Kim

We went to a few tag sales and checked out the treasures. I wanted to get this chair for Mark’s classroom.

and more of my family

I also visited to the Farmers’ Market where I met Susan Gibbs of Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm. I bought three skeins of yarn, two worsted weight, and one sock weight. I am crazy in love with knitting with cormo (which is why all the sock knitting has come to a halt). I’ve been busy working on a one-skein project that I can’t wait to finish and I will hate to see end. Photos to come soon.

One regret, by the time I made it to Jenni Bick on Saturday, the store was closed and I missed meeting Alisa in person.

A building lot on Circuit Ave. in Oak Bluffs, 15′ x 45′. What would you build there?