Friday, June 10, 2016

Friday Mishmash

Yarn is Thoroughly Thwacked Stalwart Sock, colorway is Pastry Bandit, pattern is Slip Stitch Lines (with a Fish Lips Kiss heel).

I participated in a one-sock knit along (KAL) with Mason-Dixon Knitting in May - the criteria for this was to either finish that second sock to a pair that you'd already started, or to knit one sock using yarn that you'd purchased and had been hoarding - or you could just jump in with a new skein and start knitting your first sock.  It was designed to get some socks made...and as it turned out, lots of socks were knitted during the two-week KAL.  I even posted my progress pictures to Instagram, using the super-secret hashtag, which ended up being fun once I figured out that I could click on that hashtag and see everyone's socks.  Hashtags - who knew they were actually useful?

I chose a skein of yarn that I'd bought last fall, when I was at the Columbia Gorge Fiber Fest in Oregon.  I bought it to make socks, but it was so pretty that every time I went to my sock yarn stash to pull out a skein for a new pair of socks, I would just squish it and look admiringly at it and set it aside for another day.  But in the spirit of this KAL, I wound my pretty, pretty yarn and knit not just one, which is all you had to do to complete the KAL, but two socks.  I knitted these really fast, and while I was glad I chose a pattern that would highlight the colors of the yarn, I realized that I like to zone out while knitting socks, and I had to be on my toes (har-de-har-har) with these socks.

I also discovered that I'd made a mistake on each of the socks, but both times, I was way too far along to undo the knitting, and because there was a slip stitch thrown in the pattern, I also couldn't just drop down and fix it.  So, these socks are also special because I knowingly let a mistake stay - normally, I can't stand it and fix the error.  I'd say I'm relaxing with my knitting but that's really not true - it was just beyond my skill set to do an easy fix.

Ann Shayne, of Mason-Dixon Knitting, spearheaded this KAL, and she promised awards and doorprizes at the end.  Well, I got a nice surprise on my birthday, as it turned out, when I read her post with a roundup of the socks and my pair was the second one on the page!  She gave me the Color Party award, because of this picture that I'd submitted:
She liked how the colors jumped from one sock to the next (I did, too!).

I'm not sure what will be arriving in the mail for my prize, but it's pretty cool to have my socks among the winners.  And, now I have another pretty pair of socks to wear this winter...but I'm thinking I'll need a new pair of shoes to show them off.  Luckily, I have plenty of time to find the perfect sock display pair of shoes before it'll be cold enough to wear socks again.

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So Jeff always says that our pets like me better than him.  I give you proof that he's wrong:
Exhibit A:  I was sitting on the patio, but Paco needed to be with Jeff.
Exhibit B:  One cat on lap, another cat gazing lovingly at him, dog nearby on floor.

Sure, Paco acts like his life has ended if I leave and Jeff stays home - instead of hanging with Jeff, he goes into my closet and lays there, in the dark, until I return.  But when I'm home and Jeff is?  He's their hero, even though I'm the one who makes sure they have food and water.  Whatever, animals!

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We finally had four days in a row without rain...everything  is drying out, and my poor waterlogged pot plants - er, plants in pots, not the illegal kind - are beginning to look better.  Yesterday I moved around some of the pot plants on the patio:
The lantana (yellow flowers) finally started blooming again, and is spreading out so much that I had to give it a wide berth from the other plants.
This poor ivy was looking much lusher, but I think it got a little drowned with all of the rain.  Hopefully it will recover.

Paco seemed so happy out in the sunshine so I sat down on the lounger for a few minutes (he won't stay outside if I'm not out with him).  I lasted all of 10 minutes before calling Uncle on the intense burning of the sun - and that was only on my bare legs:
Mostly I was in the shade, but thought I'd try to get the World's Palest Legs some color...
 
My view - not too shabby.  All the trees in the backyard are what drew us to this house in the first place, and we still love seeing so much greenery right outside our back door.

Have a great weekend - Allie is coming home for a quick visit, so ours should be extra fun!

10 comments:

  1. Congrats on having your socks win. You'll have to share with us what you get in the mail.
    Scott always says Baylee likes me more than him but I do think he is correct!..lol

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  2. Pretty socks cool pattern can't wait to hear what your prize is.

    We have recently gotten a lot of rain here to with Colin having come by. Everything is very lush and green and steamy here.

    Enjoy Allies visit this weekend.

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  3. I love your backyard! Have a great visit with Allie!

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  4. Wow, how fun that you won a prize on the KAL. it is cool how the color drifts from one sock to the next.

    So funny how Paco goes in your closet when you leave. Good thing he doesn't do that when Jeff leaves--he'd be spending his whole life in closets!

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  5. Aww, I love all your trees at your place!

    That yarn is SO pretty! And that is an actual use for hashtags. Yay! I wonder what your prize will be!

    Have a great weekend with Allie!

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  6. Yep, our dog Ed LOVED Tony more than me - but he was always home, so that makes sense. I tried to get him to be a lap dog, but to no avail!

    Love the view. Have fun with Allie!

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  7. Just love your socks. Not surprised on the win.

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  8. I just LOVE your animals!!!!! Their personalities are delightful! AWWW! Have a great weekend Shelley!

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  9. Those socks are so pretty. I love multicolored knits like that.

    I think I might rival you on the white thighs and white skin in general. You can see my legs from space, I think.

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  10. Love the socks! I use hashtags on IG too but don't overdo it. Some posts have so many hashtags I don't even start to read them.

    The furries sure love Jeff, Bella loves R. very much too but always wants to sit with me. Unlike Paco these days she's hardly inside, she's always in the garden watching the pond.

    I will join in the white legs group :) I never sit in the sun so my legs never get a tan.

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