Gidget Casts On

Meet Lumpy

She makes me smile.

From Midnight Knitter's fine, fine store KPixie, which I love for many reasons (Lorna's!  Vesper! Baltic Booties!) ) but mostly for the One-Of-A-Kind page - I'm a sucker for funky handspun, and not just because that's about the only kind of handspun that I can produce myself.  Lumpy's about 51 yards of a silk/merino blend and uncarded Lincoln (I think - it doesn't say on the tag, but that's what I vaguely remember from the website) and was spun by Tracey Lampe of Lampe's Lumps.  I'm thinking she's just right for a new winter hat like Nippertails, though modified a bit as I generally only wear one big ponytail.  Perhaps a short dreadlike fringe around the turtleneck as well...

And can I just say that if the fucking New York Times runs one more fucking story about women who are giving up their fast-paced, high-profile, high-paying careers for the infinitely more satisfying work of raising a family or caring for their aging parents, I'm going to visit their offices so I can throw up in their vestibule.  Of course, everyone should be free to make their own choices about their priorities; just because I'm lucky enough to both enjoy my work and be able to support myself doing it (not to mention the idea of being totally financially dependent on someone else scares the piss out of me) doesn't mean that's the best scenario for everyone. But let's be real, here - from a purely journalistic standpoint, wouldn't it actually be more newsworthy if this were suddenly a trend among American men?  Instead, these stories (there seems to be one along these lines every couple of months now) feel like subtle pressure, a constant reminder to women that we shouldn't be bothering our little heads about careers at all, because really, we'd be so much happier out of the job force and at home, letting someone else worry about paychecks, healthcare, benefits, and retirement. 

Late Night

It's after 11 and both of The Boys are down for the night, but thanks to a two-hour nap this afternoon and a few cups of crank PG Tips I'm wide-eyed (OK, more like bug-eyed) and ready to catch up with my posting.  Before I forget, though, let me just say that  Amy Rigby is a fucking ROCK STAR GODDESS; she played a free show on Saturday at NYCD on the Upper West Side, and if you have a chance to catch her live, JUMP at it, because she's a terrific songwriter and smart and funny, and knows lots of drummer jokes* and her songs alternately crack you up ("Men In Sandals")and break your heart ("Don't Ever Change".)  She's awesome, full stop, and I'm glad I got to see her in the back of a tiny music store at a distance of about three feet. 

And speaking of feet, yay for your helpful sock yarn suggestions; there turned out to be a nice range of weight and fiber choices - I'll probably experiment with a few of them.  If anyone's curious about those slightly heavier-weight contenders, here's a summary:

Moda Dea Sassy Stripes (22 stitches by 30 rows = 4" square (10 cm) on size 5 (3.75mm) needles)
Mountain Colors Weavers Wool (6 stitches per inch on U.S. size 6 needles)
Lana Grossa Meilenweit 6-fach (Needle:  #4-5 (6 sts / 7½ rows = 1 inch)
Opal 6-Ply DK Weight (Suggested needle U.S. size 3-5)
Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport (6 sts per inch on US#4.)
Louet Sales Gems Merino Opal (5-6 sts per inch)
Trekking XXL (Needle: 2.0 mm, 8 stitches to the inch)
Yarn for Sox (4 sts = 1” #8 needles)
Meilenweit Mega Boots Stretch (size 2.5-3 needles for 8 sts/in.)
Baby Cashmerino (6 sts/1in, Needle: US 4)
Woolease Sportweight (4"=20 stitches on size 5 needles)
Artyarns Supermerino (4 ½ sts = 1” on #7 needle)
Cascade 220 Superwash (4.5 sts=1" / #8, 5 sts=1" / #7)

I gave up on trying to craftily disguise a photo of the secret socks, the pattern is too distinctive.  Screw it, I'll just have to wait until they're gifted before I unveil them here. I'm almost past the gusset on sock #2, so I should have something new on the needles in a few days.  Not socks, though.  I desperately need some cardis this winter, and have a couple lined up; Hot Lava is at the top of the list, followed closely by the Rachel Sogaard Bolero and Blackberry.  And then possibly another Clapotis in some School Products cashmere.  Because one can never have too many Clapotii.  Clapotises.  Whatever.  Yup, I think the tea just wore off.  'Night.

*What do you call a pretty girl on a drummer's arm?
A tattoo.

What's the difference between a security bond and a drummer?
A security bond will eventually mature and make money.

How many drummers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 
18.  One to get the lightbulb and 17 to drink enough so that the room spins.

It's, Like, Yarn. Like, You Know?

As yarn names go, this one is just too, too fucking funny.

Sock Question

For all you sock mavens more experienced than I, do you have a preferred sock yarn that runs a little heavier than the standard?  I'd like to make a pair for my husband, but he's got him some biiiiiig feet, and I don't know if I can make it all the way through two entire socks if I'm working 7-8 stitches per inch.  Could I use any superwash wool dk or worsted?   I've been looking around a bit online, but haven't seen any wool/nylon combos in that weight.  I suppose I could just double a regular sock yarn, but I'm curious as to whether there's anything out there that's already thicker.

Thanks for the help, people!

I'm most of the way through a fun sock right now, but it's one of them secret gifty thingies, so I have to be sneaky about it.  A shame, really, because the pattern is fun and easy and looks really, really neat.  It's also my first sock in Knitpicks Sock Garden.  Good stuff, that.  100% merino, and nifty colors.  If I can get my camera to download  I'll see if I can disguise a closeup enough to post.

Inverse Eggplant

Because the Martian wanted a green hat with a purple top.

PATTERN:  Ann Norling's ubiquitous Baby Fruit Cap
YARN:  Cascade Superwash, colors 801 and 803 (I think; I trashed the ballbands.)
NEEDLES:  Size 7 32" Addis (Magic Loop again)

Not that it's ever going to be cold enough for him to wear it.  Or for me to wear these:

PATTERN: Wendy's Fingerless Mitts
YARN:  Burgis Brooks Alpaca handspun from Rhinebeck
NEEDLES: Clover Bamboo 36" circs size 8

They're dramatically mismatched, but I find that I don't care in the slightest.  The yarn was a dream to knit; soft and thick-thin and just ALIVE, in a way that commercially produced yarn never is.  I think I might have to pay a visit to the farm sometime soon, so I can meet the llamas and thank them personally.

I Saw Santa Kissing Judah Maccabee

Because I'm a lame-ass jewgirl, I've only just noticed that Chanukah is so freakin' late this year that the first night is December 25—I don't think this has EVER happened before. Frankly, I'm relieved—usually, celebrating Chanukah means that I have even less time to finish my holiday knitting than everybody else. So much the better; I've got a lot of socks on deck right now.

And speaking of being a jewgirl, I had a flashback on the subway this morning to high school, and a movie that was hugely popular in Orthodox circles when I was in my preteens. If you didn't move in those circles, you probably never heard of The Frisco Kid, a wee little charmer of a 1979 movie starring the sublime Gene Wilder as a Polish rabbi traveling to San Francisco for an arranged marriage. It's a comedy, but the jokes and predictable stereotypes aren't anywhere near as broad as you'd expect, there are scenes of lovely interplay between characters, and Wilder...well, I've always believed he's the most expressive and heartbreakingly funny film comedian since Buster Keaton.

ANYWAY, the flashback. There's a scene in this movie where Wilder's lost somewhere in the badlands—having been beaten up and robbed by outlaws—and he sees these figures on the horizon that are dressed like him. He runs up to them, yelling, "Landsmen! Landsmen!" (Yiddish for "one of us"), only they're not Chasids—they're Amish.

So this morning on the subway, I had a similar moment when I saw someone pulling what appeared to be a skein of sock yarn out of her bag. Now, I know New York is FULL of knitters, but I rarely see any on my commute, so I was unreasonably happy about this. I raised my sock-in-progress in a sisterly salute, but she glared at me so suspiciously I had to take a second look at her knitting—which turned out to be the headphone cables to her iPod.

So much for sisterhood.