Sunday, July 22, 2007

No fish, but new socks


I'm back! It was lovely to spend a week closer to nature, but Crotch Lake didn't give up its fish easily. I caught three (or was it only two?) tiny pickerel, which went back into the lake; Bill caught three (or was it four?) that were keepers, plus several little ones that went back in. It got very rainy toward the end of the week, so on Thursday we took a spontaneous drive to Ottawa and spent the wet afternoon in the Canadian Museum of Civilization (in Hull, actually). That was pretty cool. How could I possibly have found Canadian First Nations history boring in high school? How could it have been made to seem boring? Ridiculous and tragic.


The most exciting thing about my week was that I read two novels, which is probably more than I've read for pure pleasure in the last two years. I read Lullabies for Little Criminals and A Complicated Kindness, and as the last Canadian to read these particular books, I feel quite confident recommending them. (I didn't realize they dealt with such similar stories, though; I would have liked more contrast in my novel-reading binge.)

I did a bit of knitting, too. I did take my half-done blue herrings, but I didn't work on those. I made simple stockinette socks from a stashed skein of Colinette Jitterbug instead:



I was very nervous about running out of yarn, since the 100g skein yields only 267 metres of yarn. (I know, right?) I decided to follow the "Simple Sock Pattern" on the ball band, since I trusted they wouldn't provide a pattern that used more than a skein. I was also nervous about the chance of ugliness; in the back of my mind was Jennie's encounter with this very colourway of Jitterbug -- she was unhappy with the yarn in sock form, though she did knit a fabulous beret with it. So I cast on and knit the ribbing and a bit more, and one of my fears was confirmed: ugly! Check this out:


What's going on in that ribbing? Unacceptable! So I opted to replace the cuff ribbing with a picot edge, which turned out much better. Overall, though, for me this is one of those colourways that looks better in skein form than knitted up. I also substituted a short-row heel for the pattern's flap and gusset. Other than that, I followed their numbers -- and ended up with short socks and quite a bit of leftover yarn. Sigh! It's OK, though. I like these ones short.


I have to go and enjoy the rest of my weekend now. I hope you're doing the same.

20 comments:

Chris said...

I did my colinette socks toe-up and from opposite ends of the ball! I think I used the charcoal colorway, and it was uglier than I expected... Sounds like a nice vacation, even if it was a bit rainy. Ottawa's on my list of places to visit because of Charles de Lint.

Kate said...

They probably told you to make them so short so that nobody could possibly run out of yarn even if they had sausage feet. I go toe up when i have a ball like that. I can't stand having leftovers. I think it's not bad knit up though.

Peevish said...

I have a couple of skeins of the Jitterbug, but I'm too scared to use it because of the ridiculously low yardage! Yours have turned out beautifully, though.

La Cabeza Grande said...

OMG, I've actually been to Hull! It was so long ago that I'd forgotten. Anyway, I like your little stockinette and picot socks. Methinks them adorable.

Elizabeth said...

I loved A Complicated Kindness. Your Jitterbug socks turned out very cute. welcome back!

Anonymous said...

Loved Complicated Kindness. I've got The Summer of My Amazing Luck on the nightstand now. And one of these days I will actually read when I go to bed, not just drop down and immediately begin snoring.

LaurieM said...

Highly appropriate socks for a fishing trip. They look fishy somehow.

I'm happy to hear you had a nice vacation.

Anonymous said...

Welcome back! I think the socks look great. And a little fishy. In the best possible way!

Anonymous said...

I like those socks, they're very pretty! That picot cuff is the perfect touch.

goodkarma said...

You are the third person to mention A Complicated Kindness to me within the last month or so. I checked it out from the library and didn't get to it in time, but now I'll give it another shot.

There have been a few moments in my life when I've re-discovered something and wondered why I wasn't interested when I was younger. Especially history. I had terrible history classes in high school, so I didn't give them a try at all at university. Isn't that sad?

Anonymous said...

so cute! (i didn't mind that ribbing either, though...)

thanks for the book tips - will check these out!

Stacey said...

Cute! love the picot edge....much better with that yarn than the ribbing!

Jennifer said...

Oooh, you were in Ottawa! And we didn't hang out! Boo!

I loved A Complicated Kindness and wasn't as hot on Lullabies for Little Criminals. Not sure why, since you're right, they are very similar books.

Dr. Steph said...

I just started Lullabies for Little Criminals and haven't read the other--so you're not the last.

Too bad about the fish. I bet they would have been tasty.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I think they look great knitted up. That pooling on the ribbing was exactly the problem I was having with my skein. But those look so cozy and comfortable -- i love the picot edge.

Ellen said...

Welcome back, Alison. I, too just came back from 2 weeks in a time zone far away, and am having re-entry issues. I'm sorry you are disappointed in the knee-socks; they look like way too much work not to be perfect! The Jitterbug socks look very cosy. I'll have some trip pics up soon. Hope you can visit.

Anonymous said...

i bought the toews book in the UK in january but haven't gotten around to it. i'll have to move it closer to the top of the pile! :)

Dísa said...

Love the cute picot-edged socks!

maethebear said...

WOW ur socks r sexy AND green[th best of th colours], i just started my first sock today and am V inspired by urs ;)

Anonymous said...

You know, I knit this colorway in the Charade sock pattern from Sandra [I May Be Knitting a Ranch House blog] and I really like it.
When I learn more about how to use and post pictures from my new digital camera, I will attempt to show them to you. Marilyn