I have managed to add a few more inches since these pics were taken, but they are going to have to come back out. Certain mistakes in double knitting are not fixed simply by dropping back and laddering back up. Oh, well, lesson learned.
The next lesson I learned was that going from dk right to 1x1 ribbing is dangerous. The two maneuvers are just too similar, and I had to reknit a bunch of times. You just want to keep skipping your purls. Since October is known as Socktober, I had to cast on a sock. (Yeah, we're not going to talk about all the socks already cast on, or halfway finished.) So here is my next obsession, arch shaping:
This is my first Socktober sock, cast on October 1. Since I began knitting socks I have been on a quest to have a perfect sock pattern. Seems to me, if I'm knitting my own, I ought to be able to engineer a pattern to fit my foot perfectly. One of the big problems I have with the socks I have knit so far is that none hugged my foot enough to keep me from feeling like the sock was slipping around in my shoe. I thought arch shaping might be the next thing to work on, so I grabbed a ball of Opal in Harry and Ron and set about exploring sock architecture.
Well, the jury is still out on this sock. The pattern is here, and yes, it is a Ravelry link. This sock feels really strange to me when I put it on, but put a shoe over it and walk around and it is perfect. Without shoes, just going sockfooted, it pulls funny over the instep. Ok, you say, so wear shoes, wasn't that the point? Ah, but I am looking for a perfect sock, and since I spend most of my time at home in socks without shoes, this one won't do. I'm knitting the other one today, so I'll finish the pair, but I'll be moving on to other sock architectures and continuing my search.
Next obsession? Not knitting at all.
I am totally obsessed with cooking over fires, open or contained in a fireplace. Hopefully I'll be getting a chance to use it soon. Damn thing is heavy (duh) and topheavy. Bringing it home in the car was almost an adventure. Had to put it upside down on the floor of the car to keep it from rolling around. And 20+ pounds of cast iron rolling around the interior of the car while you're trying to drive and keep your car interior from being damaged? Too much adventure for me.
Then there's the latest instant obsession. You know what those are. You stumble across something you have never heard of before and for some reason you become completely consumed with it. I am like that with Mooncakes. Since this morning. Really instant, I know. I might be over it by this afternoon for all I know, but for now I can't stop googling for pics and info. I rather doubt I'll be over this one too soon, though. It combines too many things I already have an interest in. The moon. Cake. Asian design. Asian cake. Wooden molds. Lotus designs. Collectability. Accessability. Fall. Fall festivals. Obscure stuff I didn't even know existed before 45 minutes ago. The ability to mesh this is with my ma'amoul molds and scandinavian molds and decorate my kitchen with it. Because my kitchen is so big and there's so much wall space in there to decorate. Yeah.
And I'm obsessed with painting my kitchen heliotrope. Don't ask. I can't explain.
In sad news, the hamsters are passing, one by one. According to the vet they have exposure to a slow growing disease from birth and they are either immune to it or they will eventually succumb. We lost Genghis first, then Hai Shan, now Kublai is going downhill fast. These are all the hams that got that skin problem early on. The other two, who never got the skin stuff, are fine. They are still together and have shown no signs of anything at all. I can't help feel that there's a connection here.
Anyway, not to leave on such a sad note, The chickens are very fluffy and are laying every day. The lotuses are going dormant and the fish are beginning to slow down. Leaves haven't started turning yet, but I have high hopes for plenty of good fall color. Spring cherry blossoms and summer lotuses aside, fall is my favorite season. I love everything about the whole season, not just one or two flowers or holidays. Maybe it's memories of playing in leaf piles, or all the food-centric holidays, maybe it's the memories of birthday parties or the relief from the oppressive summer heat in New Orleans, but Fall always seems to lift something off my shoulders and make me feel lighter and happier.
And cool weather makes good painting days. Now, where can I get good heliotrope paint?
