Gentle reader, we have toes.

Ah… I feel so much better with socks on my needles! This is Socks That Rock in colorway Rooster Rock. I picked this yarn up at the Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival last year, and it waited patiently in my stash until I wound it into balls just before Christmas (it was my back-up take-to-Vegas project).

I am working the instep in a sort of condensed feather & fan pattern with every 6th row purled. It’s a happy accident that the yarn appears to be pooling in stripes that line up fairly well with the purl rows. All things considered, these are fated to be named the Rooster Feather Socks.

I know that’s really punny. But what’s a girl to do?

The Rooster Feather toes are posing amongst my violet at work. Thanks to the magic of floor-to-ceiling windows, I can actually get a little light there, even in the winter. Although, to be fair, yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day. The colors are fairly true on my monitor. This is the second feather & fan attempt on these socks. The first attempt was not only too wide, but had the colors pooling in stripes up the socks. Ick. This is a bit better, I think.

I believe that there will still be some time to knit on Clapotis #2. I need to keep caught up with my class, but not pass them by. Depending on how much knitting time I get over the next few weeks, non-sock knitting should be possible. We’ll see.

I get to start a pair of socks tonight! Yea! I can’t believe how bad I’ve been jonesing for socks. And I had to put it off a whole week because of the weather.

OK, it meant that poor Clapotis the 2nd finally got a little much-deserved attention. But I miss having socks on my needles.

The sock yarn is calling to me.

It’s been a long time since this project last saw the light of day. It was one of my unfinished projects of 2005 (yes, you read that correctly), and I don’t recall working on it much at all last year. But you can see that it’s grown quite a bit since the last time it was in the public eye.

This is Clapotis #2 in Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed color #13 (Cool Blue). It rather resembles faded denim in real life.

Since I’ve made it a resolution to knit socks only with my classes until I deal with some of my UFOs, and since the sock class was postponed due to inclement weather, I was forced into a non-sock project (hence the reason for the resolution). This was the only UFO that really could be considered mindless knitting.

And why was mindless knitting required?

Well… there’s this thing about technology. I like technology. It brings light and warmth to my house, lets me talk to friends and loved ones that are far away, brings the world in the form of the internet right into my house, enables my self-indulgence in the form of this little blog. So I like technology. But…

… it also lets me work from home.

That means that a concept like snow day which means a day off for many people, means that I get to do the same work as I usually do every day, except in my sweats and with knitting in hand (and usually a cat in my lap). But, since I am working, knitting must not interfere with my ability to produce the desired outcome, and therefore must be mindless.

Plus… By Thursday afternoon when the snow finally melted enough that I could drive, I had succumbed to the cold that #1 Son was so helpful in sharing with me — and with all his friends and coworkers, apparently.

Oh, you got my cold, Mom? That sucks. Yeah… everybody is getting the same cold I had. Does your throat hurt? Are you coughing? Aches? Chills? It’s a really horrid cold.

Oh really? I never noticed.

But, by the magic of technology, on Friday when there were meetings to attend and work to be done… I could do it from home. Sick day? Pshaw

So Clapotis #2 has gotten quite a bit of attention the last few days. It’s almost up to the 40% finished that I optimistically estimated when I added it to the progress bars in the right-hand sidebar. In reality, it was probably closer to 15% complete. I did do something smart when I started this project (wonders will never cease). I bought 6 skeins of yarn. The increases were worked with one skein. The plan is to work the straight part using 4 skeins. Then, when there is just one skein left, I’ll work the decrease section. So I have no idea how many repeats of the pattern I’ll actually do, but I know I’ll have enough yarn.

Based on the length of the 2-1/2 skeins I’ve currently knit into it, I’m estimating that it’s going to be between 66″ and 72″ when complete. I wanted a big wrap to take to work, where sometimes it’s just as cold in summer as it is in winter. Looks like this is going to be big enough!

Maybe 5 skeins would have been sufficient? 🙄

Just in case anyone looks here for info — the sock class scheduled for tonight will be rescheduled just as soon as I can talk to Alice at Tangle and figure out what’s what. All of you who signed up will be contacted with the new info.

Even if the intrepid students could make it to class, their intrepid teacher cannot. Since early morning we’ve had freezing rain followed by 4″ of snow and the promise of more freezing rain later today. I live on the side of a mountain. I ain’t a-going nowhere.

Last year around this time I posted a pic of blossoms on my camellia coated in ice. This year I ofter a camellia bud wearing a snow hat. Poor thing. Doesn’t it look like I should knit a scarf up quick for it? The camellia is very confused. At Christmas it was getting set to bloom, and then this cold weather hit and stopped it in its tracks. We’ll see what happens when it warms up again.

Where ever you are, please stay warm and dry and safe.

I present to you, gentle reader, the first finished object of 2007 — Mountain Blueberry Socks.

I used Mountain Colors Bearfoot yarn in colorway Mountain Twilight. In reality it’s a deep, rich mix of purples, deep blues and just a bit of a purpley chocolate. My camera does not play well with these colors and this is the best I could do. The picture in no way represents the beauty of this yarn. It was nice to knit with, too — very soft and cozy.

I did take this pic outside so I would have natural light. See on the bare branches of my Japanese maple? Yeah… that’s frost. It was cold, cold, cold this morning (by Portland standards). I shivered in the cold as I stood outside in cotton pants, a sweatshirt and sockless feet inside a pair of clogs, taking pictures of socks draped across a bare bush. It’s OK. My neighbors are used to my eccentric ways.

This pair of socks was knit for a colleague.

The Particulars:

• Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot (60% Superwash Wool, 25% Mohair, 15% Nylon/ 100g, 350yds per skein) in colorway Mountain Twilight — allmost all of one skein.
• Needles: Knitpicks Classic circulars, US#1 (2.5mm).
• Pattern: Blueberry Waffle stitch, used with my own standard sock pattern.
• Techniques used:
  • Knit toe-up, two at a time, on double circulars.
  • I used the Magic Cast On.
  • The heel flap is worked in Eye of Partridge stitch. I added garter stitch edges.
  • The cuff is 1×1 ribbing.
  • Kitchener (grafted, tubular) bind-off.

This almost makes me speechless. And, gentle reader, you know that’s a rare thing. I mean… WTF? I know that this has probably been all around the knitosphere already, but in case there’s someone out there who didn’t get the word…

I signed up for Blue Moon Fiber Arts’ Rockin’ Sock Club this year. Not that I need more sock yarn, but… well… you know how it goes with collectors. Apparently a lot of other people signed up, too. So many that Blue Moon’s bank thought that… drum roll please…

it was a scam.

Because, of course, why would so many people cough up their hard-earned money with the promise that they could knit socks? There can’t be that many sock knitters in the world, can there? So they refunded everyone’s payments.

Yes, dear befuddled, misguided, seriously wrong bank officers, there not only are that many sock knitters — there’s a waiting list! And, yes, we will all get yarns and patterns and be happy and think our money was well spent, and many socks will be knit, and many feet will be warm.

The lovely ladies at Blue Moon have hooked up with a new bank that understands their business model a little better. This is a copy of the email I received:

The sign-up for the Rockin’ Sock Club 2007 has been a resounding success. So much so that our bank thinks we are running some type of elaborate yarn scam and is refusing to accept our members’ money! So, you know what they are doing? You are not going to believe this. They are sending all of that money back! Unbelievable and astounding!

Here are the details. Within the next ten days, all of you who signed up for the Sock Club… will be getting a credit back onto your Mastercard or Visa. It is the Sock Club only, all other yarn orders placed will go through and you will be receiving your yarn soon.

Do not panic!

Everyone affected by this incredible situation is guaranteed their spot through the end of January, including those on the wait list. After you receive your credit, just go to our website and use your same registration number to pay for your Sock Club (yet again). The website is temporarily under construction in order to install the new bank’s (who has guaranteed us they will have no difficulty accepting your money!) system. The site should be back in full swing in the next couple of days. In the meantime, you can view products and place phone orders.

If you have any problems, call or email us and we will gladly help. Keep in mind that there are a lot of you involved! It is going take us some time to sort through the mess the bank has so graciously created for us. Remember, those of you that ordered other products from the Blue Moon website during this period are fine. It does not affect your orders! It is the thought of a Club for knitting socks they cannot get their heads around.

This certainly is NOT how we envisioned starting the New Year, the launch of our website upgrade and the 2007 Rockin’ Sock Club! We cannot apologize enough for any inconvenience this causes you. To honor all of your dedication and patience, we are including a coupon in your first shipment to help compensate for this.

So, knitting comrades, we can choose to look at this in many ways (and believe me we have run the gamut on this one). Disbelief, shock, outrage . . . it has been a surreal experience for us. This is not just about us here at Blue Moon. It is about knitters as a group. We are extraordinary people. We have seen our power when rallied . . . large fundraising for great causes, KAL’s across the planet, and standing room only at knitting-related gatherings. Because of this, the Rockin’ Sock Club 2007 will prevail! We will have a blast and knit awesome socks that will be the envy of all nonbelievers!

We thank you so very much for your support, and community. There will be more (much more) to say about this saga in the first shipment’s dyer’s notes!

Our socks are still rockin’,
Team Blue Moon

email: sockclub@bluemoonfiberarts.com
phone: 1-866-802-9687
web: http://www.bluemoonfiberarts.com

I checked and, yes, my payment has been refunded.

There will be a finished object this weekend, as I need to get the socks I’m knitting for T off of the needles so I can start a new pair on Tuesday with the class. And it appears the sun will shine, so I might actually be able to get a decent picture of them. The yarn is very dark, though, and not in colors my camera likes. We’ll see.

I’ve made a semi-resolution that I will knit socks only as knit-alongs with the classes this year until I can get some of those UFOs off the right-hand sidebar.

I may have to teach a lot of classes. 😆