Knitting at the End of the Earth

I’ve been a pretty dreadful knit blogger lately, but I have a great excuse – I got married on Sunday and am now in Argentina on my honeymoon for two weeks! (Yes, blogging on the honeymoon. So romantic.)

Right now I’m in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. Picture South America – Ushuaia is a city located at the very bottom pointy part, near Antarctica.

Here’s my latest sock in progress enjoying the view…



Note that the mountains in the distance are snow capped, even though it’s the middle of the summer down here.

Here’s the sock enjoying the view in the other direction, down the Beagle Channel…



Argentina is famous for its beef, but down in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego the real specialty is the lamb.

Yes, lamb. As you read that, all you knitters out there thought the same thing as I did. Lamb = wool = yarn stores.

I will make it my mission to seek out Patagonian yarns and report back to you on my findings, however posting may be spotty for the next 10 days or so.

A Present for Me!

Today's mail contained a special present for me for being the first to finish my Tannenbam. Deb sent over two skeins of Reynolds Odyssey in the most beautiful colorway, full of browns and greens and golds. I tried to capture it on film - not great, but this was the best I could do.



Thanks again Deb - I love my Tannenbaum and I really enjoyed knitting it!

Breaking the Rules

Jaywalking is all about breaking the rules, defying the Man and, in my case, not following the pattern.

A proper Jaywalker should look like this (scroll down for the closeup, and admire the adorable baby gear while you're there).

The raised stitches on my jaywalker sock look more like this...



Turns out that when you're making the bumpy parts, you're supposed to slip two stitches TOGETHER, not one after another. I'm just going to think of these socks as being knitted in the true jaywalker scofflaw (or scoffpattern) spirit.

One Guess...

That’s right – they’re Jaywalkers.

I couldn’t resist any longer. I have three armless sweaters hanging around here waiting to be finished, but for some reason I just don’t feel good unless I’m working on pair of socks. I'm using Lorna's Laces in "Somerset" - sort of a Lily Pulitzer colorway.

The jaywalker pattern is written for a cuff-down, heel flap type sock but, as usual, I have to do it toe up. Also, I’m doing it on 68 stitches rather than 76, even though I have fairly large feet (9!), because 76 just seemed too big – I like my socks to be pretty snug. I can always increase a bit when I get to the ankle.

I’m knitting the zigzag pattern on both the top and bottom of the foot. This way, if there is some funky pooling, I can decide as I approach the heel area which side should be face up.

I did a little introspection this morning and I decided that my need to knit all socks toe up is rooted in my tendancies toward thriftiness (some would go so far as to say cheapness). I can't bear to have little balls of excess sock yarn hanging around the knitting basket, never to be used up.

So far, this Jaywalker pattern is just as addictive as promised. It's just complex enough to stay interesting, but easy enough to memorize right away. Just give in, you know you want to make them!

Happy New Year

Welcome back and Happy New Year! Sorry for that brief but necessary blog vacation. In knitting news, the mittens were a great success…



Hopefully they are keeping the recipient’s hands toasty warm as he snowboards in chilly New Hampshire. Only the coolest of cousins would love mittens so goofy. I had to crop his face because I am more like a protective old aunt than a cousin, but teenage girls – he’s quite a catch! (Gah – I hope none of his friends ever see this, how embarrassing to be pimped out by your old cousin!)

In other news, I left my job at the big law firm!



That was my rubber band ball (with staple remover shown for scale). In the beginning, it was springy and firm, but as those years (6!) of lawyering under the fluorescent lights for hours upon long hours trudged past, it became dry and desiccated and pathetic. Perhaps this was the natural deterioration of the rubber, but I wasn’t about to risk the same fate – I finally got the hell out of there. On my last day, I practically danced out the door, even though I was dragging my two 300 lb diplomas (now purely decorative, since I suspect I am through with the law for good).

I’ll be heading back to school in February to pursue a totally new career; something very different from the law. But for the next 7 weeks, I’m free to do whatever I want. Today, unfortunately, “whatever I want” means clean out my closets. Got to get rid of some of those lawyer suits to make room for my new wardrobe of jeans and very funny t-shirts.

I’m planning to donate the suits to Dress for Success – anyone have any experience with other charities in the NY area that might also be interested? The suits aren’t fantastic (basic Ann Taylor stuff) but definitely could be useful for someone in need.

Hope everyone is recovering from the hectic holiday season and enjoying a peaceful start to the new year.