Old Yarn, New Socks

I purchased this yarn at least 20 years ago. It is infused with Aloe Vera and Jojoba oil, thus making it very soft and lovely to work with.

I finished the second sock a couple of nights ago but wasn't happy with how snug/short they were - if only they were a little bit longer...

So I opened the toes and ripped back to the beginning of the toe decreases and knit a few more rounds before starting the decreases again.

I'm a bit of a stickler about identical twin socks, if at all possible. This yarn has very long repeats so had to find a spot in the ball of yarn with enough of one colour to finish both toes. 

Because I've had to darn the bottoms of the heels on so many pairs of sock, I now continue the Eye of Partridge heel from the flap, onto the centre bottom of the heel until the decrease rounds have been completed. This slip-stitch technique provides two layers of yarn in the spot where I wear out the heels the most. 

As I've mentioned in previous posts, this technique can also be done in other areas that wear out, such as the ball of the foot.

It's not the most eye-catching colourway but the snuggliness of these socks more than makes up for that. They'll get a lot of use this winter. 

I recently read Kelly Bishop's autobiography, 'The Third Gilmore Girl' on audio from the library. She was the original 'Sheila' in Michael Bennett's 'A Chorus Line' on Broadway. She explained that many stage performers were interviewed about what motivated them to pursue the life of a stage performer then these interviews were turned into the individual biographies of the performers in the show. Many of the first performers portrayed their own experiences on the stage, including Kelly. It was an interesting read. Of course, she's more widely known as Emily Gilmore, the matriarch of the Gilmore family. She spent a lot of time discussing the show, how it was cast, and the various changes that occurred over its seven-year run. When she mentioned that Netflix had picked it up, I was intrigued to watch it from the beginning. 

I had seen episodes here and there when it was originally running but nothing with consistency. So I've made my way through the 21 episodes of Season 1 and have just started Season 2. While watching, and in addition to finishing the socks, I've been finishing the circles and the background of the project I bought while I was in Bergen.

I'm stitching an extra row/column all the way around for when I finish it into a zipper bag. It will give my sewing machine a guide between the outer two columns/rows of background and ensure that the canvas doesn't show.

The kit came with everything: canvas, needle, ample wool threads, backing fabric, lining fabric, zipper, and even the little thong for the zipper pull.

It was about the only non-knitting thing available at the knitting show we attended that day in Bergen.

I'll finish up the stitching tonight and possibly get the thing FFOd by the end of the weekend.

I have not known what day of the week it was all week until actually pausing to think about it. With Canada Day being on a Tuesday this year, Wednesday felt like a continuation of the weekend and I just now realized today is Friday. That means tomorrow, being the first Saturday of the month, is our guild's stitch day.

I plan to take the 'Bees in the Greenhouse' project and do the monotonous outlines. Other than double-checking my counting, I won't have to concentrate too hard to just do long rows and columns of cross-stitches.

Jen1, Marilyn, and I are now thinking about our itinerary for our July shop hop of SW Ontario. Honestly, I do not need to enhance my vast stash, but am always happy to go to new places and see new things. Road trips with some or all of my 'peeps' are always so fun and a nice interruption to the routine at home.