Missing Something

Today started with one of my daughter-in-laws taking me to the internet service provider to change the name on the account from hers to mine. What could be easier, right? Sure the transfer took no time at all, but the new adventure started when upon arriving back home I found there was no internet service. Silly me, how could I possibly think changing the name on the account would leave everything the same. After about 1.5 hours on the phone, they restarted the modem and I restarted the WiFi; problem solved. I should be thankful the problem was solved, but perhaps I'm not thankful enough.

This activity seemed to leave me out of sorts though, the thought of searching for more furniture seemed tedious rather than exciting; something was missing. After lunch I fumbled around and realized the something missing was time with yarn and that's when a plan was created to change all that.

I knew StevenBe was having a yarn sale because I'm on the emailing list after my son was kind enough to take me to the store on Chicago Avenue last year. (You can read about that adventure here.) The place seemed very much the same only busier with the sale going on. There was about an hour and thirty minutes spent pondering yarn, handling cashmere, alpaca, wool, cotton and even some acrylic. This made up for the 1.5 hours lost in the morning and guess what my sour mood dissipated. Oh, BTW, I didn't come home empty handed either.

Sock yarn in the foreground and some sequined wool, silk and bamboo blend in the background

That little project mentioned earlier this week; it is complete as well. Here it is:

A tree ornament for a knitter

This knitting basket is a Scarlet Taylor design found on the Red Heart website. The project is great for using up small bits and pieces of leftover yarn. Last night I asked my son if I could take a couple of toothpicks and he was puzzled and confused when I took some and put them in my purse. His are special ones, note the lathe work on them above. So although the pattern suggests putting a bead on the tip of each of the toothpicks, I decided I didn't need to bother. The lathing resembles the type of end one might find on a pair of knitting needles.

So I found the something missing: being creative with yarn. I wouldn't have called it an addiction before now, but perhaps it is. Apparently I needed a fix of yarn, seems without enough of it I get a bit cranky.

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Anatomy of a Sock

I've been knitting socks for a relatively short time. One of the disconcerting things for me as I started following patterns for socks is the pattern designer assumes the knitter (in this case that would be me) knows all the parts of a sock. So I thought I'd devote a post to improve my own knowledge about the anatomy of a sock and maybe some of you will learn something about the humble yet necessary sock as well. Here's the names of the parts of the foot as I know them. #49 ankle, #50 heel, #51, instep, #52 ball, #53 big toe, #54 toe, #55 little toe, #56 toenail. There are some parts more important for this discussion; first the heel of a foot is generally used to refer to the entire C-shape from the ankle to the instep. Speaking of the instep, it refers to that curve near the bottom of the foot. And what seems to be missing in the design above is the sole which generally refers to the bottom of the foot in total or plantar aspect in more technical terms. (BTW

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Knitting-Related Guinness World Records

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Flagel Knitting Files

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