there be kilts here..

... i am reading via my ears.... i downloaded the first Diana Gabaldon book OUTLANDER from my audiobook service. I read this book years (never mind how many) ago and loved them all. Recently friends have started reading them and i decided to re-visit them - but... can i find my first book NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. so i am doing this the WWW way - listening.

I find i can get a lot of knitting done whilst listening to this book - and the narrator, while somewhat making Claire sound like an older woman sometimes, is interesting and easy to listen to. So i will be back at it later today i think - once i finish all the tasks that keep me away from the computer in general.

Knitting - one cranberry sock DONE - the other at the toe decreases. Done tonite for sure.

Someone posted the swallowtail shawl and i have a new love -i have to knit this one i think - it is beautiful. Thanks brooklyntween (Jared) for the lovely pictures... woh are they great..

...one for my baby....

... and one more for the road... oh francis, sing it like you mean it....

here's a pic - i promised you one... so here it is...

i am in the midst of decreases on a cranberry toe... and i am at most of 8 inches on the second sock. having just started these it is nice to know i can get so much done so quickly. Listening to the audiobooks is a great way to multi task - who knew?

joy and sorrow are inseparable... together they come and when one sits alone with you - remember that the other is asleep on your bed....

home again home again...

....jiggity jig...

... pics will follow... as will an update... when i am not totally exhausted. Stop laughing...

... i CAN give you this much - i ordered this pattern - for the syncopation bag - from ONE FINE YARN and the colorway i chose for the kit (yes... i know... lazy mary...) is black/white/red - i think it will turn out nicely.

my heart bleeds...

... well my bleeding hearts seem to be... pictures... pictures..pictures...

our weekend weather was lovely but it seems to have turned "south" now with rain - don't so much mind the rain, however, as it makes one happy to see green (not to be confused with sea green).

the next few days may be spotty. i am still knitting cranberry socks and hope they will be done by week's end. and next? another pair of cranberry feet for cranberry socks so they can too be dyed.

i've found a new bag i want to knit - it's a download that is on ravelry currently but you can see the picture It's a neat looking entrelac bag - The designer is Katey Jackson and she is on etsy as SNARKY i think- if you love it you can download the pattern for a fee here - NAYY - just like to give all the options available...

music today? jordin sparks and chris brown's NO AIR - sometimes love songs mean more than they seem...

Memorial Day..... a day for memories....

... today is the day to remember the fallen... those fallen in battle, those who've served and fallen later... those who've served, returned to their lives, and eventually fallen in time. And i do remember them.

... my mind remembers too... the memorial days when there were range golf balls to be found under the trees... when there was a super early call for the caddies that day... when there was a rafting trip down the delaware ... when there was ultimate frisbee at the field.... now there is none of that... but there are memories....

so...

In the rising of the sun and its going down,
We Remember Them.

In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter,
We Remember Them.

In the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring.
We Remember Them.

In the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer,
We Remember Them.

In the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn.
We Remember Them.

In the beginning of the year and when it ends,
We Remember Them.

When we are weary and in need of strength,
We Remember Them.

When we are lost and sick of heart,
We Remember Them.

When we have joys and special celebrations we yearn to share,
We Remember Them.

So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are part of us.
We Remember Them.

don't go there....

... be careful... be very careful... because your brain can play tricks on you when you least expect it!

i finished the green socks.. they are laundered and the pic proves it. So i am sitting here trying to begin the gusset decreases on the cranberry socks... and my brain has frozen. The directions make no sense to me... perfectly sane directions seem like latin or greek. so be careful when you become complacent in your work. Because when you least expect it... your brain will say "no mas" and take a vacation.

...like a crystal vase...

...okay the music of the day is by a man who was on a train that was bombed by terrorists. the song is called These Broken Fingers - the singer is Sam Baker. His story was on my desktop today. I won't forget... I won't forget... forget his eyes, forget his silhouette. Go click. Go listen. I'll wait....

knitting. the green socks are IN THE DRYER. They are done done done done done... done done. I will not post them yet i do not think... but perhaps will with the other things i've collected. I have a pair of cranberry socks on the needles already working on the heels - the feet for me always go faster than the legs so this will be a treat!

personal knitting - heh? what's that.

links today for knitting... i haven't searched for any - but i can and get back to you. Will post a piccie of the greens when they come out'da dryer.

i'm already there....

... knit and knit on the green socks last night - but didn't get them finished - i thought i was further along than i was...

... i will start on my cranberry team knit socks next. i do have to craft a few cards for sympathy today - i should do that but will i?

... i keep wanting to go back to make a couple of "fake isle" hats for when i will need them in the winter months as gifts - it is so much easier to not have to rush projects like these... they seem very easy....

i wish i knew how to fix the guts of this blog so that when anyone chooses to use a link, it opens in a new window... sorry ... i don't...

off to face the day... looks like it is trying to rain...

sometimes it's a weight...

... and this week has been one of those times....

... my sock wars socks are gone... my green socks are at the toe decreases... my "legs" knit by Maria H have arrived just this day... and i will work on them and finish the greens and keep knitting socks until my fingers don't move anymore.

music? Missy Higgins is a new fave.... Where I Stood... Stuff and Nonsense....Don't Ever...
and Kelly Clarkson.... Be Still.... Haunted... Maybe... i know you know but i have no affiliation at all - and thank you youtube for making all that music possible for the masses... I picked a Wuthering Heights video for the Haunted cd - good stuff - listen and watch - gotta love the brontes...

new things to knit? hmmm will go and look... promise ... whist now.. i keep my promises. really i do...

how its done... here is a photo essay on how the legs for socks are knit on an antique sock knitting machine - thanks Maria for the pics!












the first is winding the yarn ... the second is what marian sees down in the bowels of the machine.. and the third are legs... separated by waste yarns... outstanding.. no?

we remember them....

... on June 7th and 8th, there will be a fundraiser for suicide awareness. Called The Overnight for Out of the Darkness, people raise funds and walk 20 miles through the night in different cities in the US. New York City's OOD Overnight is that night. There is a young woman who is walking that night as part of a team - Laura - and she has my support. Suicide is not one person's death, but 1000 persons' deaths, as the ripples in a pond from a pebble dropping in it affect the entire pond. The death of a loved one by suicide impacts family members, friends, associates in work, school, etc in a way that no other form of death does. It is the third leading killer of young men 18-24 in the USA. I do not ever feel i should say "should" - i only say here is the information and it might be of interest to you.

i am knitting socks - i have some SOCK WARS socks on the needles now - i will "say no more" until they leave my house...LOL

Fast and Forever...

... a mother's love holds fast and forever...

Round and Round ...

...the maypole, dance the little girls...

... i am almost done with gussets on BOTH my green socks - now to the round and round to the finish - yay! you want to knit socks for soldiers too, you know you do...

... i totally forgot i signed up for something called sock wars - so i guess i had better finish my green socks quickly! i will not last long, i am sure. there are many many people involved in this with far more acumen than i can say i have for sock making...LOL

... i received more Knit Picks Harmony Needles so i can run more socks concurrently. have i mentioned before I LOVE THESE NEEDLES. do not hesitate, do NOT pass go... go directly to the click and try these out - you will not be sorry - the normal NO AFFILIATION applies.. but this company takes pride in its products and in its service.

... music... still listening to Sarah McLaughlin, but also to Kelly C and to some odd and different folks. report in soon i promise.

... another suggestion if you are in the usa... bbcamerica saturday nights at 9pm... Robin Hood... watch it, you know you want to....

slip sliding ...

...away...
... i am still working on the green socks. gusset decreases are done on the first one and now onto the second. i recommend this "concurrent" sock making, as it makes for a pair done at the same time - and what you've done first is fresh in your mind when you go to do it second. so to speak... i have enough needles to probably knit 10 pairs concurrently - and probably so do you. One concession is that if you have one ball/skein/hank of yarn you have to wind them off into two cakes that you can use - or, as i understand it, use the ball from the outside and the inside. Now, i see that as creating a problem if you have a patterning yarn - one sock pattern will work one way and the other sock the opposite. at least i THINK so.

i've found a razor shell pattern scarf that is lovely on everyday autumn's blog here. Her scarf is made with silk garden from noro, and the original pattern is referenced here. i don't have a picture, but take a ride and go and see.

i have two new cds that i need to listen to - the first is probably (again) not new to anyone but me - Kelly Clarkson's My December. The second is a Sarah McLaughlin Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff. From this CD, there is the song Ordinary Miracle - SM's version from the movie Charlotte's Web - but i have already been long in love with this song by Fisher.

"When you wake up everyday Please don't throw your dreams away Hold them close to your heart Cause we are all a part Of the ordinary miracle"

Diamonds and Rocks again

suffice it to say the weekend was not a diamond. But then, they cannot be all diamonds or we would tire of that as well.

I am thinking about upgrading to the newer blogger, but fear it, as i only just know how to add things on this one.

My green socks are in the gusset decreases - almost could be considered the home stretch on them, i might think. Have not been on the computer much this weekend, so will have to search around a bit for links and the like.

I went back to knitpicks today to order more harmony circulars - i love their little sharp points for sock knitting.

this will be a busy week at the florist - but not for me. never thought i would be able to say that, but i can.

working on it ...

... a stitch at a time. I've worked out a way to get some "legs" knit up for me to finish the feet on - i think i will be able to crank out the 4 pairs of feet far quicker than 4 full pairs of socks. it is not really making the socks "not hand made" as the sock knitter machine is hand cranked and handled row by row. I don't mind knitting the ribbing (ribbing ribbing ribbing ribbing...) for 12 inches... but if i can get a couple more pairs done in this cranberry yarn so they can be dyed, then i feel as though i have them out of here and the yarn will never "not be soldier socks". i know i am rambling but it is something in my head and now it is out there in the atmosphere.

It has to do with the military changing the color of the socks they issue to their soldiers - from black (the infamous BIG BLACK SOCKS) to an olive drab and a tan. SFS must adapt accordingly - Better for knitting - so so much better - but i bought some discontinued colors of a sock yarn that i love to work with (Regia Stretch - if you are a sock knitter try it i LOVE IT) - that would go into a dye pot and become black. 12 balls of cranberry yarn. if the black socks become "redundant" for military wear, i doubt soldiers will want them for leisure wear. There are still units using black- so let me get them done NOW so i don't have to think the yarn is not usable for military socks. ENOUGH BLATHERING ABOUT COLORS. Go and check out SFS - come on, you KNOW you want to.

Otherwise, my life is a tapestry of rich and royal hue. i bought myself a new keyboard that has some ergo to it - perhaps it will save my hands for later days...lol... perhaps not. But the silver sadness in the sky is hanging low of late, so i will continue to knit socks to cover the feet of young men and women and try not to let the silver consume me.