Thursday, October 2, 2008

Knitwear Weather

... has finally arrived. Today I'm wearing the Back to School vest and some handknit socks. I feel very comfy :)

I finished the first footie sock for my MIL and started the second. Here's a picture of the completed one:

This is made with Regia Silk, and it's lovely to wear. I'm trying to get one pair of footies out of one 50 gram ball. I think I'll make it, although I haven't weighed the first one to see how much yarn I used. The Regia Silk makes a very luxurious feeling sock, warm and soft. I have some of my own in the stash, from a long time ago. I'll have to break it out and make a pair of socks for myself.

I've been holding off on starting a new big project in anticipation of the publication and delivery of Nancy Bush's Knitted Lace of Estonia, thinking that I would surely fall in love with something in the book and want to cast on right away. It was originally due to be delivered 10/3, but I just got a notice from Amazon that it's been delayed until November. So now I need to find something to knit...

I had a lovely morning tea with a friend. She's one of the playgroup moms, but she's the other non-Republican in the bunch. She was pleased with the "no politics" rule. Today she complained that she had mistakenly gotten into a political discussions with two of the other moms, and it had left her pretty perplexed and upset. I told her that this was exactly why I had instituted the rule -- I like my friends, and I want it to stay that way. It was nice to catch up with her. She has four kids, including a 2 year old and a preschooler, and spends most of the summer traveling and visiting family, so it's been a while since we had a chance to catch up.

The question for tonight is: watch or avoid the Vice Presidential debate? Nothing they say is going to change my mind about how I'm voting. I've seen Palin's interviews with Katie Couric and Charles Gibson, finding them extremely painful to watch. I don't know if I can watch the debate without a lot of screaming and throwing things at the television. I certainly won't be able to watch the post-debate spin without wanting to commit mass murder, that I can say for sure. So -- watch or not?

8 comments:

Scott T. said...

No watch

what happened to the cool cyclocross content!

Go here to see Sr. Jr. powering up where others around him grovelled.

http://www.breathlessphotos.com/gallery/6101456_gdgyd#383311047_q7FSR

kippi said...

I took a look at those off road bike photos. WOW. That looks hard, especially since it appears they are riding road bikes. Wouldn't it be easier to use off road bikes? or maybe that is the point. huh.

I say nay nay to the vp debate. It is going to be a snoozefest. I watched McCain/Obama and was ready to lose it. Between the non answers (Obama) and the 'this is what I did 40 years ago' answers (McCain) I was ready to jump. Especially since it isn't going to change your mind, then why subject yourself to the torture. I believe you are covered under the 8th Amendment. :-)

NICE SOCK. tell me how you got that cool rolled edge. How many rows did you knit before you did the heel flap? My girl likes her socks short like that.

I received that notice from Amazon as well. My first thought was disappointment. My second thought was 'now L will have to make up her mind on what to knit next.' ha.

Anonymous said...

Elegant sock, Loren. Your mother-in-law is a lucky woman!

I so admire your vow not to discuss politics with friends who are not like minded. Except for parents of my kids who I am friendly with, I can honestly say that no one in our pretty wide social network is Republican or conservative. Still, I have my two dear sisters, who are both extremely conservative, to deal with. We are very close, so we have an unspoken rule that we will not discuss politics or religion. Especially my younger sister, with whom I speak almost daily. She is a hard core evangelical who lives in Southwest Virginia. Both of her boys went to Liberty University (one is in his last year there). The older one is an Army officer now, who will probably be deployed in 2009 (he just finished all his training.) The younger one just got engaged, and even though she is a hard core Christian too, her parents divorced when she was young because her Dad is gay. So, my sister telephoned me this morning to tell me that the partner of the fiancee's Dad, who is an event planner, is "doing" the whole wedding. I cannot wait to see how my sister and brother in law handle this new family connection. We have many gay friends who we spend time with regularly, and I think the pronounced "gay" presence at my son's bar mitzvah surprised my sisters. After my sister told me all about this (including the fact that my nephew and his fiancee are visiting her Dad now, and watched the debates with him and his partner last night!), she said, "Well, now I said something that will have you smiling all weekend!" So, occasionally we can laugh about our differences.

Sorry to ramble on like that. Life is busy but great here. It was nice to take the time off for Rosh Hashanah this year, especially given how crazy things are at work.

Shabbat Shalom! (for what it's worth).

Loren T said...

Sharon,

Happy New Year! You were right when you said your family was interesting. I imagine it's hard when you're in such different places, philosophically. For me, having the "no politics" rule is essential. Even though I've only heard second hand what these playgroup friends have said is bad enough. If I had to listen to it, I'm sure I'd start arguing, and given where they're at, they'd probably declare me completely unsuitable for friendship. I know I'm never going to change their minds anyway. They're pretty hardcore religious right. Ignorance really is bliss sometimes.

Is your sister worried about her son deploying?

One friend of mine who was on the fence in this election talked herself off it by reminding herself that her older son was nearing draft age, which scared the crap out of her.

Thanks for the compliments on the little socklet :) I got pretty lucky with my mother-in-law, too.

Loren

Anonymous said...

We're all worried about my nephew deploying. My sister is very close with both of her sons, but especially with the older/Army one. Even though he is still at Ft. Benning, Ga., and recently married, he calls her almost every day. Despite our political/religious differences, my sister is my role model for parenting--her and her husband. They have raised wonderful boys and they are very close.

Knitting question: have you ever knit entrelac? I just started a crochet entrelac project, and it's quite fun. I'm making a felted tote bag for my sister in law.

Have a great weekend if we don't exchange comments in the interim. I'm headed out the Arl. Farmer's Market before all the good stuff is gone.

Ciao,

S

Anonymous said...

Great socks! I didn't watch the debates because I knew I would just get irritated - so I read about them the following day. Did you watch?

Loren T said...

Thanks, Jeanne!

I watched parts of the debate. I could only watch a little at a time before I started getting too worked up. Mr. T almost woke the kids when he shouted "Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11!"

McCain is already touting his plan to go negative on Obama, so I'll probably watch Tuesday's debate.

Loren T said...

Sharon,

I've never knit entrelac. I've never really liked how it looks, and the fiddly nature of the knitting kind of turns me off. I did like the Forest Path stole, however, and that was an entrelac technique. I would guess that crochet entrelac would be a lot less fiddly that knitted entrelac. I hope you put the finished product up on Rav so we can see what it looks like. Is it your own design?

My thoughts will be with you, your sister, and her family over the next months. Maybe we'll all get lucky, and more of the troops can come home.

Loren