Friday, June 13, 2008

It's Been a Long Time....

It's been a long time...we were away for a week of camping. No computer (cell phone service, but no TV, no computer). My plans, oh my plans....they were to knit up a storm. It's USUALLY perfect weather here this time of year. Nice and cool at night (perfect for sleeping), and warm enough during the daytime (80's) with low humidity. Just perfect for a little summertime knitting.
We were camping in a little cabin, not made of wood, but of concrete block with linoleum floors. My whole family comes to this event - there are several cabins in a row, along a local river, where we all stay, and there is a HUGE yard, and fun for everyone....there is running water, showers, microwaves, ovens, campfires with wood provided, fishing, boating, just peaceful times. It's all nestled in between Amish farms in a neighboring county about 35 minutes away from my home. This year....we had horrendous heat and humidity. The floors of the cabin were wet when we arrived. I mistakenly thought - "Oh, how nice, they've freshly mopped our floors for us." I promptly mopped them again, left them to dry, unpacked most of our things, and headed to the local grocery store. I came back to bigger puddles. I have thus learned that concrete and humidity make MOISTURE, and the condensation on the floors was just unbearable to me. So, the cabin was shut during the daytime, and fans were circulating 24/7. No air-conditioning there, and no place to even put in a window unit, due to the small and obscure windows. Luckily, the humidity broke by Tuesday night, and things improved, but my energy was zapped!

I can bet that you are guessing what happened to the knitting - this was no time for wool. No sirree. No time at all. The first couple of mornings, I awoke early, but by 10:00 am, knitting was impossible. Here's my pathetic knitting for the whole week - the start of a Jaywalker sock in Yarn Pirate's Killer Bee sock club colorway. I'll be perfectly honest. I missed the inception of this sock club, and joined for the second 3-month offering. This was the first skein of yarn I received. I had owned some other Yarn Pirate yarn, but have never knit with it.
I really did not care for this colorway, and for awhile, I dreamed of trading it. But when my DH saw it, I think he was so amused by the colorway, he said...."If you make me socks from that yarn, I'll wear them." Considering that he has never asked for anything knit by me (I'm feeling quite hurt - he has refused wool socks several times), I jumped at the chance. I am using the Jaywalker pattern with it, and it's working well, striping nicely. The pattern is easy enough to memorize, and I hope it will be a nice, take along sock. Oh, and I'm using KP's fixed circular needles. I have become such an Addi Turbo snob, and have neglected these beauties! Try them if you are at all interested in 2 circs or Magic Loop. They are wonderful. And sadly enough, Addi Turbo's don't come in the 2.25 mm size. But KP has them, and they are at least 1/3 the price! The join on these babies is really nice. I'm quite fussy about that, and the wire is nice too. They are also nice and pointy to do some lace knitting if you so desire.
And as for the rest of the week.....thank heavens for Sara Gruen and "Riding Lessons" and "Flying Changes." They were a God-send. That and the pool/water slide at a local state park! Now if someone would just be kind enough to put some aloe on my back! :)

2 comments:

Morticcia said...

Well I'm glad it eventually cooled off for you. We camped for about 10 years with family and one year was just brutal. There's nothing you can do but just sit and sweat.

That yarn is perfect for the jaywalker! Who knows maybe this sock will change your hubby's mind about future handmade presents...

Minerva Turkey said...

My husband asks for every pair of socks I work on. :) It is quite annoying sometimes, but he is so cute when he does it.