It is the real countdown to January 20th! I think excitement will grow and grow, and feel like the Women's March on Washington and the World, in 2017. And the good president-elect probably will pull off a virtual inauguration, parade and festivities and no one will show up to get sick.
Somehow I segued into a political speech and never started on my own. It's been a very good day. The abandoned amaryllis is pleased to have water and a window.
Look at that. I couldn't keep the piece of foil from pushing on the petals, so I weighted it down with one of my stones. Another important stone, this came from Lake Baikal in Russia.
The blossoms have made me smile all day. I put in a bit of time weaving. I'm weaving a color called cayenne. I felt like we need a bit of a hot pepper jolt. The color quite clashes with amaryllis pink, so look at one or the other, not both.
Then it was after lunch and I absolutely had to get back to the sock. I learned to knit socks in college. I knit all my winter socks. Wool keeps my feet warm and the ribbing does not bind my legs. Here is a pair I knit in 2003. I've darned both.
The wool is merino superwash, which I do put in the wash, but not the dryer. If I would take the time to turn them inside out to wash, they would not be pilled. I knit socks for Ann and one of her kennel workers, with the admonition to wash inside out and hang to dry. Their socks are not pilled, though they are darned.
The last pair of socks I knitted for myself was more than five years ago. The toes will need darned in awhile, unless I do something sensible like knit another pair. It turned out I had to relearn something I did by rote since I was eighteen years old.
This current pair have been a struggle. I began the first sock before the head injury, did not pick them up again until a year ago last summer, then one more time, when I wound up tearing out back to the heel. Several days ago I put something inane on Netflix and recommenced. Last night I bound off the toe, realized I had done it an inch too soon on too many stitches, and tore back again.
This afternoon was it. I picked up the tiny stitches once more, got them straightened out, and recommenced knitting. I did not stop for supper. I not only finished the sock, I cast on its mate. I intend to wear the pair on January 20, 2021.
Beautiful socks! Wool isn't scratchy? That's a gorgeous color bloom and the towel is pretty too.
ReplyDeleteScrachy wool is scratchy. Generally that is made from reprocessed wool. Knitters know what they want, and can find it, alwlays.
DeleteJanuary 20 can not come soon enough. Your plant has recovered nicely. A little water, sunshine and TLC does the trick. Those sox look warm and cozy. Perfect for our cold winter nights.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a beautiful plant. It's good that you rescued it. Love the socks.
ReplyDeleteLovely socks, hand knitted ones are by far the best. Happy new yesr
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jenny. You're an avid knitter, too, I think I remember.
DeleteOh my goodness! Your amaryllis is stunning. I can imagine how happy it has to make you feel. You are such a talented knitter and weaver, Joanne. I'm always in awe of your creations.
ReplyDeleteI admire your knitting skills, and your darning skills! That is the thing about hand knit socks, they will last a long time if cared for. I am mystified by knitting- I tried it once and falied. So tight I had to scissor off the yarn.
ReplyDeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteHoorah for Amar and brava to her rescuer for remembering socks - a skill I greatly admire yet to do myself, no desire. Then again, there are slippers... YAM xx
I love the idea of celebration socks. That's very cool.
ReplyDeleteI always find anything made of wool to be very itchy. Don't the socks make your feet itch?
ReplyDeleteNo, don't itch. I buy good wool. Have you ever run merino through your fingers? Exquisite.
DeleteI love it - inauguration celebration socks! I'll be celebrating with you Joanne. 19 days and counting.
ReplyDeleteHandknitted socks are the way to go Joanne, I can't wear anything else now, they are so comfortable. Niece knitted me a gorgeous pair for Solstice and I must photograph them. I love the idea of you wearing yours at the inauguration.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
I love that bright new sock! I've never knitted a sock in my life, only baby bootees, but not even those now since new age babies wear bought socks instead.
ReplyDeleteThe Amaryllis certainly enjoys your home atmosphere.
I have such admiration for people who can just knit as if they were born to it. Very long ago I taught myself to knit on a round needle and made one of those Icelandic sweaters. It was the thing to wear back in high school. I think I attempted socks. I was NOT born to knit. Your sock looks perfect. -Jenn
ReplyDeleteWe had a Llama farm here in Tehachapi -- actually, we have several, but this one was visited by me and my family several years ago. They had a gift shop where you could purchase Merino wool. Oh my word! LOL I think I fell in love with it at first touch. Notwithstanding the colors were all winter -- aqua, pink, mauve... just wonderful. I don't knit so left it (plus it was very pricey!!). The ranch is closed to the public now (closed prior to COVID pandemic outbreak) but I think you can still contact them to purchase wool/garments. It's called Field of Dreams Alpacas https://www.dandb.com/businessdirectory/fieldofdreamsalpacas-tehachapi-ca-32144299.html
ReplyDeleteHooray for very good days.
ReplyDeleteYour socks look delightful and would have me smiling before they went on my feet.
I’ve knit many different things but never socks. My granny used to knit them right up until she died. Wonder if it’s too late for me to learn? Are 4 needles better than one circular one......perhaps it’s time to consult Mr G!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Joanne. Oh and the world is waiting for Jan 20 as well.
I'm a four needle sock knitter. I've tried toe up and two at once and didn't like either.
DeleteI took up knitting socks late in life (about 4 years ago). It is not easy. You have to pay attention and watch what you are doing. No watching TV at the same time. Even allowing for mistakes, it is a very satisfying thing to do. It is also an inexpensive hobby as it is quite time consuming. One ball of wool only. But, it is important to buy the right wool (75% merino for warmth and 25% polyester for strength. Here in Perth, there are fewer occasions when warm socks are needed, but I still knit them!
ReplyDeleteWere you already a good knitter? You have beautiful tension.
DeleteI'm so sorry I did not learn to knit. I never had the patience for it and it's a shame. I would happily knit socks today.
ReplyDeleteYael, it is never too late. There are lots of YouTube videos to help. That's how I learnt to knit socks. But you need to start with something simple, eg. dishcloths knitted in cheap cotton yarn. Give it a go! New Years Resolution?
ReplyDeleteGlad you are knitting, whenever I try socks they come out too large. There is of course a proper sock yarn but agree Merino is very soft. Also when I spin it Blue-faced Leicester. Rowan and Drops wool are bringing out a very airy soft wool but I am rather suspicious about it.
ReplyDeleteYes, how would it not pill just walking around in it?
DeleteFor some reason, my sister - who id 10 years older than me - has started to knit me socks.
ReplyDeleteI don't know anyone who darns socks, but it was routinely done when I was a kid, and people had a sort of toadstool they stretched the sock over. Your hand-knitted socks look like just the thing to wear to bed on a cold winter's night!
ReplyDeleteI didn't learn from my mom or grandma, both of whom darned perfectly. But because I am a weaver, I intuited I needed to build a loom frame, lay down the warp and weave in the weft. Over time I've lost much agility in my hands. The left sock is darned adequately, the right darned poorly. The last time I tried I could not manage the darning needle.
DeleteI still have my darning mushroom and really should put it to use, but would have to darn with embroidery thread on my thin, shop bought socks which aren't wool.
DeleteYou will be ready to sock it to that old venal regime.
ReplyDeleteDarn good job on the sock repair! I should do up something special for 1202021.... Love the amaryllis. HNY
ReplyDeleteThat sock is a beauty. Perfect for the 20th for sure.
ReplyDeleteI can knit sweaters, but for some reason, every time I have tried socks I've made a mess. Even a simple sock impresses the heck out of me.
ReplyDeleteVery nice! It seems knitting is beyond my capabilities although I do crochet.
ReplyDeleteThe inaugural socks are beautiful. I also LOVE the cayenne color for towels. But the abandoned amaryllis touched my heart. You've given us a lot of great colors to consider today.
ReplyDeleteAll the layers of the blossom did not get enough water while forming. They are sucking it down now, but the very edges of some of the big petals are puckered from not having water.
DeleteI have never knit a sock in my life. I think perhaps that bus has left the station.
ReplyDeleteEighteen days, two hours, and twenty five minutes until the inauguration.
But who's counting?
You did a beautiful thing, saving that amaryllis.
I am ready to celebrate the inauguration also, although I do not have any inauguration socks. I can only knit scarves and not very fancy scarves either!
ReplyDeleteYou do lovely work!
I never learned how to knit. I think I would like a pair of hand knitted socks but not enough to learn to knit.
ReplyDeleteI love sock wool and all the colours it comes in these days, but I'm still not tempted to try to knit a pair. The scarf I made on a circular needle was quite complicated enough.
ReplyDeleteWere we the last generation taught to darn?
such nice old socks, and delightful new sock too. Yes, I will be wearing something appropriate for the ceremony. Note that he is up to his usual tricks right now. Love the orange too. Best of all, that plant cheers me up no end.
ReplyDeleteI have never had wool socks. They sound warm.
ReplyDeleteLove your sock! I can knit, but have never tried socks. I did do a few baby booties when my daughter was pregnant... tiny little pink things. She kept them... perhaps for when her daughter might need them. I too am eagerly awaiting January 20th... (and not because it's our 53rd wedding anniversary).
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year and sock it to you
ReplyDeleteYou and your socks on Jan 20th? I have just one question: can you safely dance in them? Because I think we should all dance. I know I will be dancing.
ReplyDeleteBe feet up, knitting another pair.
DeleteHi
ReplyDeleteJust to let you know: my Dad farmed Merinos in Western Australia for many years. He had a hard and hardworking life, but by the late 1960s he was doing OK financially and he was able to buy a few good rams and 50 certified stud ewes and he registered his own stud. He was so proud, even though we teased him about "becoming a stud." He used to take me to the wool sales in the days when you could go into the wool brokers and see the actual bales of wool, the grey smoke tipped wool from Kojonup where they were still clearing land, the burr infested fleeces from station country, the clean white fleeces from Bremer Bay where it never stopped raining. We all knew about microns and the way to breed fine wool to go to Italy. Thanks for reminding me!
Marie from Perth in Western Australia
Hi, right back. I used to buy Merino "bumps" from Australia. They were carded Merino wool, in rovings a good two inches across. The wool is so fine it was nearly impossible to pull apart by tugging. I spun so much of it. Beautiful, beautiful wool.
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