Russian Dressing, and onesie...

I  was watching a knitting show, always like to see if I can learn something new.  They had a way to join two pieces of yarn together. You more or less sew the one end into the other end. They referred to it as a Russian join.

Hmm. Never seen that before.  So I went to my stash, and started pulling out little bits of yarn.  Then I started using the Russian join to connect them.  I kept going and going, and decided to make a sock from the ball.  Normally, I would knot the pieces together, which while generally strong, can look crappy, and leave a bump.  Not with this one, as far as I could see.

As you can see, a very... Eclectic bunch of colors.  I added some reinforcement to the heel and toe, and Taa Daa, a sock.

And, because I can't think of a cute name, here's another sock onesie, having no distinguishing features, except that I finished it...

So, one more in the "sock it to me" blogs next time, and I think that's all the new ones I'd had finished...

Next time, Christmas in July!

Oh, and I hopefully will have news on the chicken front, last I checked, Edgar had 4 chicks.  News to come. Hopefully photos, too, if she doesn't try to bite my face off... :/

Sock it to me?

I have been knitting socks for a while now...

Several years at least.  I have a 'plain vanilla' pattern, and I use it for a lot of my socks, with variations of color, ribbing, etc.  In fact, I have it memorized.  

Or, I thought I did.  

Or, perhaps, I am not paying attention, which is much more likely... 

Ok, for non knitters, if you knit a sock from the top down, you knit a long tube for the leg, then make a ledge, and then a shelf, for the heel, then go round and round and round for a bit, making a bit of a cone, until you get to the foot, and then another tube*, and then you finish off the toes with some sort of cup shape, unless you make a toe sock...  

Well, I have been knitting when I am watching a show I very much like.  The last two times I have started to work on the heel, (also referred to as "turning the heel"), and I realize something doesn't look right.

I have very merrily managed to forget the small shelf area on  the sock.  I then managed on this last one, to not be paying enough attention until I realized that I had WAAAAY too many stitches when I was working on the cone part...   

Gah?

Frog, rip it, rip it, rip it...

So, as much as I enjoy knitting during my show, if I come to that part, I do think it would behoove me to either stop knitting for a few minutes, and enjoy the show, and maybe work on something else.  I would love to stop the show, and finish the little project, but right now the recording part of my machine has nothing I can record with... Silly machine just has to have everything.

"No disk", Phooey.  

But, I have pulled out the mess my mistake, and now I will work on it again.  

Before the show starts...

*Ok, I am beginning to wonder about me, thank goodness I read this over before it goes up, I usually catch mistakes, I wrote tube, as toob. 

 Why, I do not know... 

First sock o' the new year...

I did get a sock finished. ONE sock.  It is the glow in the dark sock, and other than it is rather thick, (I used two strands of yarn, the glow in the dark one was very thin), I think it came out pretty well...  I am going to sew a leather footie on it and make it a slipper.

I am going to make the other sock later, but this one was so close to being finished, I just had to get it off the needles.  I want to work on my Mom's Bridge of Roses socks, I chose dark, earthy brown as the sock color.  The roses will be yellow.  I am going to try and work on it today and tomorrow a lot, as I will be going to the Doctor for my latest checkup on the leg (pleasepleaseplease no more boot!) and the one tech is just absolutely enthralled with my knitting.  It would be nice to show her a more advanced pattern, she has been impressed with my basic knit sock, I want to show her the super stuff!  Heh.

I actually was brave today.  I have been really nervous about going out and handling Rudee again, he is a big dog, and doesn't always clue in that he needs to sit.  (We have trained him, but he has enough alpha in him, that he will "forget" his training occasionally...)  I went out, and let him do the potty thing, and walked him for about 10 minutes.  He got a tiny bit rambunctious at first, but when I told him to sit, and he did.  I think he's just so happy to have me out with him that he's not going to screw it up...

Or something...

Mom got him a new toy for Christmas, he loves "Hedgehog Balls", and now he has one and a spare.  Bright danger orange, so we can hopefully find them...  It is the one thing that he is not fond of sharing.  He isn't aggressive, but if you ask him to drop it, he conveniently becomes deaf.   Then, if you try to take it from him, he turns his head away, (busily wagging his tail, he knows what he's doing...),  but he let me have his toy today, I just dropped it back to him, but I know he was happy to see me if he was willing to share HIS toy.  We shall see how long that lasts.

I walked out to the llamas, and just stood for a little bit.  Dolly walked up, and I just held still.  She came so close I could feel her breath on my face. (Um. Breath mint?)

I stayed still, and she checked me out, as did the others, they just stood nearby, waiting... I didn't have any food for them, and soon they wandered away to graze, but it was nice to be out near them again.

The chickens didn't care.  Somehow, I think chicken's memory consists of  "Food?" "Run!" "Food!" and "Tired."  (Males seem to have "SEX!" as well.  Females with chicks have "Food is here.") If you aren't directly involved with the food, the memory fades...

Yep, that's about it for chickens.  I really wasn't expecting much from them, but it's nice to see them, anyway.

I have been out petting Buzz every once in a while, but have to leave the cane indoors. It freaks her out a LOT.  I have no clue why, unless one of our neighbors has been after her.  I certainly haven't, in fact, I used to play with her with a fishing pole...  Strange.

So, hope is returning that I will be able to go out and do things again.  I don't know when, but this is a step or two  in the right direction!

Slow days, and "guy" thing?

I wish I could tell you all the exciting stuff going on 'round here.

Uh.  I have three different socks on needles, 2 sets for me, one is a Christmas present.  The Christmas one is a completely different, toe up, complex sock, which I had never tried before.  The selling point for it, was another customer, who told me "I love this sock, and with the directions, you don't end up in the fetal position in the corner halfway through..."  Good enough for me.  Let's just say, I have HAD that problem with some patterns.  Especially since I have managed to get a pattern or two with typos. GAH!


The weather has been freezing or below, so Husband is doing a little extra feeding of the animals for me, I think. I can't get out there, he could be playing Pinochle with the llamas, for all I know.  But they seem happy, what I can see from the house.  Rudee isn't, since I can't come out and walk him.  I didn't think I would miss that so much, but out of all the things I can't do right now, that's pretty much top.  That and going to the substation for my shift.  (And, truth be told, that's mostly for the cop gossip... grin.)

I went to the doctor, and he is pleased with the way the leg is healing up, and has giving me the rules for doing 'stuff', to wit:  indoors, I can walk without the boot.  Outdoors, or if I am carrying something (indoors or out), always wear the boot.  The boot is a support, so I can't say I don't like it, but it is a BEAR to get on and off.  It has about 6 big Velcro straps that want to catch on everything.  And if I am not paying attention, I get stuck on the blanket, try to walk, and one of two things happen, the blanket comes with me, or more likely, I am stuck in place, and have to unstick the darn thing!

Ok, I know not ALL guys have this attitude, (actually, Husband doesn't...), but what IS it about guys and farts?  I had to take Percocet.  I started having SEVERE problems with flatulence.  I mean, I was very glad we didn't have visitors, or open flame, (not in that order...)  I finally have been able to get to 'normal' and not have to take meds.  No more gas.

So, doctor asks if I have had any problems with the leg.  I said no, but I did with the meds, I had gas like crazy.  THE DOCTOR LAUGHS!  He laughs like I told a joke!  It reminded me of an 8 year old, with about the same level of sophistication...

And farting seems to be the comedy du jour of lots of the male species.  Doctor then said, well, you said you were oblivious, the farts shouldn't have bothered you... I then reminded him that Husband was NOT taking said meds, and it was bothering him a LOT.  This was greeted with even more merriment.  He did then settle down enough to tell me that it is one of the side effects, and should be fine when I stop taking the stuff.  And it is... But...

What am I missing?  What is the thing of farting being a laugh riot for some of the XY group?