New Knitting!

In a rather unusual turn (at least, these days), I finished a pair of socks:

What I was thinking, photographing this on that blue rug, is beyond me...

Apologies - photo is tootally overexposed cuz my rechargeable flash batteries have died and I had to take this shot under the most absurd lighting conditions. They're actually a very rich blue.

They only took 7 weeks, not that I'm counting.

Angela does this thing where she knits herself a pair of socks in time to celebrate her birthday. I've decided to give this tradition a go cuz, really, I enjoy hand-knitted socks more than I ever could have imagined... That would be before Gillian dared me about a year and a half ago to make my first pair - despite my utter disdain for the homemade sock. Do you know I am the first one she dared?

I got a kick out of drying these babies on the stairs leading from the deck to the back garden. How often do I get to use the energy of the sun to dry anything??

The yarn is Koigu KPM which I originally bought to make these socks (along with some KPM in Ivory). Then I actually ready the Starry Starry Night pattern and decided it was never going to happen. OK - it's not happening till I'm retired. Who has that kind of attention to colour-work and detail - in freakin' fingering-weight yarn?!

I'm not exactly a knitting superstar these days - so I'm keeping my expectations realistic.

I do intend to return to my Custom Fit Basic Cowl, like this evening. Cuz I'd like kind of like it to be ready by this fall, you know? It has been on the needles since mid-Oct 2014, after all. On the plus side, the space-time continuum has not warped as a result of my inefficiency - and it's all ok. I have other sweaters.

Occasionally, you have to be grateful for the things that are very hard to take: If I were knitting at my old-style pace, there'd be no time to delve deeply into the world of handmade, natural skin care. I'm not going to suggest that pain is a blessing (fuck that concept), but it is a reality sometimes, and knowing it for what it is has vastly increased my ability to manage it - both because my threshold has shifted to embrace an encroaching level of awareness and also because the pain has been mercifully manageable over the past 3 months.

Peeps, I'll take it.

My self-devised hybrid of MELT, yoga (of a variety of types) and the Roll Model Method has been invaluable. My cycles have also shifted radically (lengthened by 6 days), providing a longer interval before the peaks and valleys of hormonal chaos. It's giving me time to shore myself up.

How I got from new socks to my period is beyond me. Honestly. Stream of consciousness much? It must be time to sign off, find some food and assemble an order. But do let me know what you think of (almost) birthday socks. Or handmade socks in general. I'm sure we've had this discussion in the past - but converts like to chat with the hold outs. :-)