Circle Socks -- A Creative Distraction

I have been wanting to make Anne Campbell's Circle Socks for months, but have been totally wrapped up in completing other projects, including two pairs of socks per month in the Socks from the Toe Up Knit-Along on Ravelry. This month, I finished both pairs early, so I grabbed this beautiful Spunky Eclectic Shine yarn I found on a Ravelry destash and got to work.

Since I am totally hooked on Wendy D. Johnson's toe-up sock construction (and have been getting plenty of practice during the KAL) I modified Anne Campbell's pattern for toe-up/gusset heel construction. These socks are really just Wendy's generic toe-up sock pattern made with 56 stitches (the circle pattern is a multiple of 8 sts) with the leg worked in the circle pattern. I inverted the circle pattern, but I don't think it really mattered, as long as I started and ended with the three purl rows. I was originally skeptical of the lack of a ribbed cuff, but once I worked the circles I realized no ribbing is needed.

This yarn worked up beautifully and has a lovely sheen from the Tencel. I will definitely be trying Spunky Eclectic's other yarns!

These socks are headed for my mother-in-law, Pat, in Vermont. I know she will love them.

Today, Russell is .....

... ignoring me.

Old bags, Part One

Remember this scene from Young Frankenstein?

Dr. Frankenstein: Eye-gor, would you give me a hand with the bags?

Igor: Soytanly! You take the blonde and I'll take the one in the toiban!

So was an entire generation of young moviegoers educated about luggage. There are bags ... and there are bags. I have had some old bags languishing in the stash cupboard for a few months awaiting the correct phase of the moon for the felting process. Here is the first:

This is a basic bag with a rectangular base of garter-stitch and slipped-stitch corners. It is made with Knit Picks Wool of the Andes.

The colors (from the base up) are chocolate, wheat, carrot and pumpkin. I bought the yarn several years ago, so the colors are no longer available. Wool of the Andes is a wonderful all-purpose worsted weight yarn and felts up beautifully. Once I have felted it I will post a pic.

Today, Russell is ...

... bored by classic literature.

To wash ... perchance to felt ... art vs. artifice

My husband, Jay, thinks the whole felting hype is very funny. To him, it's just washed yarn. I, on the other hand, view the transformation of wool into felt as a metaphor for the entire creative process, the journey of an idea from thought to product, which can engage the universal human mind, indeed, the entire planetary consciousness, in a dialogue of understanding, peace and ... and ...

... oh, who am I kidding? It's washed yarn, for cripes sake! Some hot water, detergent, agitation and -- voila! Felt! But what determines accident or art, quotidian or extraordinary, oh, crap or oh, baby? I don't know.

But, as they used to say on Wooster Street, I know what I like, and in that spirit I invite you to come along and see what happens.

Russell is ....

... non-committal.