eight(y)

One extra random fact about me - as a new knitter I swore that I would never do socks. I didn't see the point. Round and round, endless knit stitch, fiddly notions like turning heels and picking up stitches, all that debate about Kitchener stitch, blah blah blah - no thank you. And then I knit my first pair - aha, I understand. Knitting socks is great fun.

This pair (only my second!) was a gift for Tim's dad on his eightieth birthday. I still think that the self-striping sock yarn is so effective and so impressive.

The Vital Statistics
Pattern: the classic basic Patons sock pattern.
Yarn: not sure. I got it from Ozknitter and think that it originally came from Lincraft ... Oh, and a bit of Patonyle in a steel blue (#4303) there on the toe to make it easy to remember which is the left sock and which is the right (that is to say, I ran out of yarn).
Needles: op shop 2.25mm aluminium, not very nice to knit with. I really want to get some bamboo dpns.
Start to finish: July 2007 to 9 January 2008 (I suffered from second sock syndrome for a while).
Comments: a great sock knitting experience all round (ha ha). This was my first pair of adult socks and I was pleasantly surprised by how easily the project moved along. Yes, it's a lot of knit stitch but it is punctuated regularly enough by leg decreases, turning the heel, picking up stitches, more decreases. It was very goal-oriented knitting, working my way towards the next structural element. And watching the self-pattern unfold - quite addictive.

42

People who don't come from this part of the world are often aghast, mouths agape, when I tell them that we have ski fields in Australia. Ok, they're not Whistler or St Moritz but there is snow in winter (usually) and lifts and ski runs. But not today. No, currently it is 40.3°C outside (that's 104.5°F for our imperial friends) with a hot northerly wind. I tell you, it's like an oven out there and it hasn't yet reached the forecast 42°C. And I'm knitting socks in your typical 75% wool 25% nylon mix sock wool. I am also safely ensconced within an air-conditioned office block enjoying the mild 20°C that we have in here.

What am I doing knitting at work? Well, nominally it was my lunch break and being New Year's Eve, there's not a lot going on here (apologies Victorian tax payers). I continue to be gratified by the response of the (knit-)uninitiated to self-patterning sock wool, not to mention their wonder at the process of knitting with double-pointed needles.

So, resolutions for 2008? I don't really make new year's resolutions. I know that I have lots of plans for the next twelve months but I think that I would have those plans whether it were June 30th or December 31st. I am going to have a little bit of free time each week to myself next year and I plan to get really productive on the re-use/refashion front. All of those best intentions will, I hope become reality. I'll keep knitting - it would be nice to participate in a swap actually. I wonder if there'll be a sockapalooza in 2008?

And keep reading - currently waiting in line are The Careful Use of Compliments, The Poisonwood Bible, Don Quixote, and Amelia. Yes, how could I resist an eponymously titled book - Amelia (1751) by Henry Fielding? I do love the Penguin Classic cover. It's a painting called 'Life of a Country Girl - Married Life' by Francis Wheatley who was an English portrait and landscape painter. Dear girl, what's that she's busy with? A bit of needlework I think - how appropriate. She's also wearing a rather silly mob cap - I won't be doing that in 2008.

Best wishes for a very happy new year - safe, healthy and prosperous.

both sides of the tracks

How apt that my neighbourhood should share its name with a knitted garment.

On one side of the tracks there are single-fronted weatherboard Victorian workers' cottages.

On the other side of the tracks there are warehouses (including Husk), auto repairs and Golds World of Judaica. That about sums up Balaclava really - the modern and fashionable, the everyday and the orthodox. I have lived in this area since I was 14 (I'm 32 now) and I love it here.

Balaclava train station itself is not much to look at - unlike Ripponlea, one station down the tracks, there is no historical wooden building - but it is the local facility that I use most of all. Until just a couple of years ago I didn't have access to a car (I didn't even get my license until I was 25) and have always been a staunch public transport user. Apparently, with the rising price of petrol, so are a lot of other people and the peak hour trains are overcrowded. As I haven't been commuting to work these past 12 months I haven't had firsthand experience of this but I will find out come September when I return to work.

One thing about commuting to work again (albeit only two days a week) is that I will have some knitting time both morning and evening (hmm, assuming that I can get a seat). Sock knitting seems like good pt knitting - compact, quick to get to the end of the row, reasonably mindless on the straight stretches. On the left the sock that I currently have underway.

When there is a second sock this pair will be for Tim's dad (if you know Tim's dad - shhh, they're to be a surprise). They are my first pair of adult-sized socks and I'm enjoying knitting them. I've forgotten what the yarn is but it was kindly provided by Jane - many thanks! Please note the wonderful old-school knitting pamphlet; apparently the Patons' sock pattern has remained the same for decades. In other knitting news, I have a good amount of linen 5 ply and am 17 rows into the back of the ballerina top and have purchased a pattern book - Patons Classic Baby Knits - for the pale blue v-neck cardigan that will be graced with the lovely Austrian buttons. Maybe I'll have to go back to work more than two days a week to get all of this done.