First of all - a "just simple" sock, made of Wisdom "Poems" yarn. It starts out with a 2 x 2 rib and then I changed to a 3 x 1 rib for the leg and foot top
As I said before: I love the color shifting, do not so much love the splittiness or scratchiness. I will probably wash the pair (when I get it finished) before I wear it. Maybe even use vinegar as a final rinse. (I have heard of people doing that, alternately to soften the yarn and to remove any excess traces of dye).
Second, the first of the "Redheads should not wear pink" socks - the "redhead" connection coming from the fact that the pattern is called The Weasley Homestead:
I forget what company made the yarn (I may have the tag tucked up inside the ball) but I really like its stitch definition; it's a very nice yarn. And I love this pattern, this is such a great sock pattern - it's easy enough that you're not referring to a chart every few rows, but it's not boring in the way that ribbing can get boring after a while.
I like these better than the other pair I made (out of a yarn called Chalkboard; the color combination looked more like tennis courts to me) because the stitch pattern shows up better here. I've cast on for the second sock and if I can push myself to get the poster finished and the draft of the paper typed up this morning, I'm going to go home and knit on those.
***
Still some fallout from the incident I alluded to yesterday; got a very complainey e-mail from one of the parties. I have not responded yet because I don't want to - in my frustration - say something that will make things worse.
I don't know. For all I maunder about being "immature," I think I'm actually pretty mature in ways that it counts*. If I'm working with someone and they tick me off, I let THEM know, not some innocent third party who should not have to be dealing with it.
Oh, that makes me think of how I feel:
So I don't know. It's going to take an awful lot of enticing to get me to do a research project with students again.
(*My alleged immaturity tends to center more around the types of tv shows I like - I am still fond of SpongeBob SquarePants, and I like "Adventure Time!" and my current favorite is called Penguins of Madagascar. These are all shows apparently aimed at the under-12 set. And I would rather buy a pair of pajamas with owls or garden gnomes on them than ones that were a plain color. And I still have a fondness for things like Re-Ment toys and amigurumi. But when it comes to fulfilling responsibilities and doing what I "ought" - some days I feel like I'm the only grown-up in the room.)
****
I'm already beginning to think about next week. This time next week I should be in St. Louis, on my way to visit my parents for a day or two before going over to Iowa for my meetings.
I am very, very glad of that. As long as I get my poster done. (I'd like to have the paper done, too, but they're not actually due until a couple weeks after the conference - so I'm thinking of just getting the paper ready, and then waiting until after I'm back, in case anyone has any suggestions based on the poster).
I'm already thinking about what projects to take. I really want to start some new things. I think, however, I am going to take the Honeycomb Vest (which I've not worked on in a long while) and work on that. And probably at least one of the pairs of socks-in-progress.
But I also think I'm going to take my new copy of "Knitting 24/7" (a Veronik Avery book. It has a lot of things in it I want to make). I have yarn put aside for the armwarmers in there, and I want to make the slouch hat. The slouch hat calls for fingering weight yarn, and as soon as I saw it, I knew what yarn I wanted to use. I had a Black Bunny Fibers yarn in the stash, in a colorway called "Mary Cassatt" (white with pastels). I really liked the color, but decided after buying it that I didn't really want to make socks out of it, for fear it would get stained (light colored socks, worn in Birkies or sometimes in clogs, can get stained, especially if you have to go out in the rain in them). So the hat seems a pretty perfect option for the yarn. I even have a size 2 short circular needle - I bought one for a lace cowl that I have not yet made. (I had been keeping the needle with the cowl yarn, and I managed to track it down).
The other reason I want to take that book is it has other projects I'd like to make in it, and I'm hoping for a trip to the knit shop up in Illinois when I'm up there. And having the book will provide some inspiration of what I might want to get yarn for.
Also, sometimes, my mother knows the right thing to say. I had called her yesterday afternoon - mainly to get a little commiseration on the interpersonal student stuff - and she commented, "You're going to be here for a few days after the conference ends, right? Well, this time when you're up here, we don't have that family reunion thing, and we don't have the sick cat to worry about any more, so maybe we can do more things with you, more things that you want to do."
I don't know for sure what that would be - but the thought of being able to do what I want to do makes me feel better. (And also the acknowledgment that my last visit did not happen under ideal circumstances).
(That said - referring to the cat - I still can't walk past the pet department in the local wal-mart without feeling a little sad.)
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