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Socks and Tires

I had a little wrench thrown into my plans this morning.

The grand plan was for me to get up, finish a pair of socks, and take Rooster to the beach to ride go-carts.

Instead, I spent an hour and a half here…

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Yeah…I had to go to the auto place to fix this…

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I ran over a screw yesterday. I even heard a pop when I did it but thought something had fallen off of the back of the car. I looked in my rearview mirror, didn’t see anything, and drove on…thinking I’d take a look when I stopped at the grocery store. Well, I was so preoccupied with the horrible smell of my hair, that I forgot to look.

The Mr. got up this morning to take Chicky across state to her practice and discovered this…

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He didn’t have time to take the car in before leaving (praise God for having more than one vehicle), so the task of getting it repaired fell into my lap.

Now, let me tell you…I will gladly fix things around the house.  You know this.  You’ve read about my home-repair adventures.  However, I draw the line at car repairs.  Tell me to take the car in for an oil change, and I’m all over it.  But please, do not make me get a new tire.  I don’t understand the speak and am forced to act as the intermediary between the Mr. and the salesman.

Not fun.

The technician could not patch the tire, so a replacement was in order…as was a brake fluid flush.  Ugh.

Fortunately, I am a knitter.  Knitters come to such situations prepared.

I had the good sense to pack my knitting bag, so all was not lost.

I used my sitting time wisely and finished knitting sock #2 of my latest pair of socks.  I snuck in the following picture while the technicians were occupied elsewhere…

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The pattern is Rick, from Cookie A’s new book Sock Innovation.  You can find corrections to the book here.  Make sure you print them out before starting this pattern, because there were a couple of slight corrections in the instructions for this pattern.

The yarn is Cascade Heritage, colorway 5607.  It’s more of a cranberry red.  It took 75 grams to make this pair.  Because it’s 75% merino, the socks are soft and warm.

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I began this project on August 4th and finished today, August 15.

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I used size 1 1/2 needles and, fortunately, the socks fit!  There is a Sock Innovation group on Ravelry, and my research made me a little concerned.  People who knit this pattern found it ran a little small.

I’ve gotta tell you that I LOVE Cookie A’s patterns.  The directions in this pattern were very easy to follow.  It’s amazing how simply arranging a few stitches this way or that can create such a beautiful effect!

One thing I did with this pattern was scan the charts for the feet.  Yes…I said feet.  If you look closely, you’ll notice that the “striping” on each sock goes in different directions, so each leg and foot has different charts.  After scanning them, I used a highlighter to mark through each round I completed.  This enabled me to see where I was at a glance.

The pattern looks like it would be difficult, but it really wasn’t!  This is a pattern where you definitely can “read” your knitting and know instantly (with few exceptions) if you’re knitting the wrong stitch.

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I think that this is one of my favorite pair of socks.  It’s vibrant and has a lacy look that is very feminine.

Another Pair of Socks in the Works

I’m having the hardest time today, and I’m not sure if it’s due to my not feeling well or to this beautiful yarn:

Maui Yarns - Surfer Boy Blue

Maui Yarns - Surfer Boy Blue

It’s 100% Superwash Merino Wool.  One of the gals who knits for the West Coast Oddball group sent it to me a few months ago…as a gift.  You can find it for sale on this site.

It’s lovely, let me tell you.  Hence my dilemma.

What pattern to knit it up into.

I’ve learned, from the ten or eleven pairs of socks I’ve knit, that pairing colors and patterns is essential to showing off all of your hard work.  I’ve often bound off a project and been disappointed when the lace was hidden by a dark shade.

Ravelry has a large database of projects…a black hole I got lost in this afternoon on my quest for THE perfect pattern.

I think I’ve decided to make Duckies.  You know I don’t like to do plain stuff.  These remind me a bit of the pair I just finished, but I like the extra bit of lace involved with the cable-look.  I only hope the dark blue doesn’t hide the pattern.

I guess if I don’t like it after a few repeats, I can always frog.

Ugh…

A dreadful thought…

Oh well…off to do a very small gauge swatch.  Then on to the fun!