The good, the bad, the painful....

Bad news - I was without Internet access for a couple of days this week.

Good news - I had lots of fun Harry Potter books to read. I really haven't done much reading since I started knitting and it was a nice change.

Bad news - As I started the toe of my second monkey sock I realized that I had made a mistake in the first one.

Good news - The first fit fine so I just made the same mistake and finished up the pair of socks.

Painful news - I woke up at 4:00am on Saturday with a searing pain in my neck. A pain that painkillers did not touch, a pain that meant I could not move my head in any direction to my left or hold it up completely straight. Sleep was out of the question.

Good news - I had plenty more Harry Potter to read until 8:00 when my chiropractor opened up.

Bad news - My Chiropractor said I had two big knots in my muscles alongside my neck and that he would adjust me but it wouldn't do much for the pain. So he cracked my neck and told me to go home ice the knots and get some sleep because my lymph nodes were swollen which means I was fighting off some germs.

Good news - I got two more hours of sleep and then went to the mall and got a 30 min neck and shoulder massage. (They were actually very good). That took the edge off of the pain a bit.

Bad news - I couldn't knit or do much of anything that required sitting upright all weekend.

Good news - I had gotten all the grocery shopping done Friday and I had plenty of books to read. My husband even made dinner on Saturday night with all three food groups.

Inspiration

A sock in it's natural habitat.
The first Monkey sock finished just in time to go to bed on Tuesday night. That went really fast taking only 7 days with some ripping out and reknitting during that period. The grafting of the toe was still botched but I think I got a little further before everything fell to pieces. The colorway is Cannon Beach from Yarn pirate and I especially like it when I get to knit with the brightest blue value. I was wishing for a whole skein of yarn that bright blue color but I wonder if that would sear your retinas.
Now knitting with variegated yarn is fun and buying it is even more fun, but I come to the realization that I need to buy several skeins of solid color yarn. There are too many textural patterns that I want to do that would be hidden by the variegated colorway. Also I’m more likely to wear solid color socks out of the house. I was all ready to buy some colors from Sundara when I came across this on the Posh Vintage website.

The color doesn't trill me, but so many design elements are fabulous. The ribbed yoke, the fat cables next to the button band, the little neru collar. I love it! I want one in red. And I’m crazy enough to think I’m ready to make up my own sweater pattern for the third sweater I’ve ever made. Swatching has begun!

Loot

On Friday I came home and there were 4 packages behind the door. I almost squealed with delight like a 4 year old. Now I wasn't being too bad, one package was a sock book, the others were gifts for a wedding and a pledge gift. I got the wedding gifts from etsy, so they fun to open even if I'm giving the stuff away. On my husband's suggestion I got the couple cloth napkins and handmade wooden saute tool. Then on Saturday my second skein from sunshine yarns showed up. Whheeeeeeee !!! The one with a lot of yellow is Sun and sea and the other skein is Dragonfly. There are at least two or three more colorways I want to buy from her but that will have to wait. And Sheri of the Loopy Ewe is back from vacation and soon will have more crack..... I mean sock yarn up for sale. I.... must... resist.

Frog seems to be hiding out somewhere, so we'll have to settle for a frog garden picture. Bird nets keep birds and hungry little frogs out of the strawberries.

My other hobby

This post could also be titled, "Why I have no time." All I need to do is quit that pesky job but somehow I don't think we can just eat out of the garden. Or that the landlord would take peppers for rent.

And now some garden porn shots.

I think that's the Ace pepper, I've got two different bell peppers in that garden and I've forgotten which one this is.

And the tomato is a Brandywine it should be the first tomato of the season.

One thing about gardening is that it teaches you patience. Look at all those peppers and the tomato which is bigger than my fist. All of it unripe. Soon I'll be swimming in tomatoes and my husband will refuse to eat any that haven't been cooked. More Brushetta for me! Though cooking spaghetti sauce in August kinda sucks until you get to eat it.

Knitting update:
The somewhat cowl has to be ripped back many many inches because the neck line to tooooo low.

The first gray sweater is sewn together and I'm happier with it than I thought I would be. Pictures will be coming if I remember to ask my husband.

The monkey sock has had the heel turned and should be done this week.

And I cast on an all stockinette stitch shawl that is my no thinking knitting for the moment. It was a good thing to have as I watched "Walk the Line" this weekend. I think it was the first time in awhile that I paid more attention to the movie than my knitting.

The sock gods are angry

Sock gods, I know not how I angered you, but if I offer you wine and cookies will you smile upon me again?

First you made my tension tighter on my second purple sock so that I can hardly get it over my heel. I know I have to rip it but I'm procrastinating.

Then I start the new pair of purple socks and find out 2 inches into knitting the pattern that I can't see the cables due to the variegated colors in the yarn. I ripped it.

Next I cast on for some Loksins and after 3 rows of knitting half of the stitches fall off my needles. I ripped that too.

Finally I start a pair of Monkey socks and after finishing one repeat of the lace pattern I realize I knit it upside down. Ripped the sock back down to the ribbing and started again. At least the Monkey sock seems to going OK now. Maybe the problem was lack of sleep and not the sock gods.

I'm still leaving the wine and cookies out.