My regular readers know that I began knitting again so that my hands would be busy and I would refrain from clutching spasmodically at the car door handle as #1 Son learns to drive. I’m happy to report that #1 Son is turning into a decent driver. While I still knit in the car, the number of stitches dropped while grabbing for support or stomping on the non-existent passenger-side brake has lessened considerably.

#1 Son passed the written test necessary to get a learners permit on the first try.

Then there’s Seo Sang-moon of South Korea. After 272 tries, the 70-year-old repairman has finally passed the Korean written driver’s license examination. Seo can’t read, you see, so he used the exam questions to teach himself the “rules of the road,” paying some $1000 in fees to do so. Test officials have been cheering him on over the last 5 years, and are thrilled to see him finally pass.

I bet they are!

Seo is now preparing for the road test and discussing with his wife what kind of car to buy. Said Seo:

Driving seems a bit hard. But after trying 271 times to pass the oral exam, what do I have to be afraid of?

Well… other Korean drivers might have cause to worry a bit… I wonder if there’s a limit on the number of times one can take the road test?

Closer to home, #1 Son is now enrolled in a driver’s ed course, which means that I am now learning every time we are together what an unsafe driver I am. I will be happy when he finally reaches the lofty goal of possessing his license, and the spate of driving habit corrections will slow to a trickle. June 23rd, but who’s counting? 😉

And less the gentle reader wonder… I have had a driver’s license for nearly 35 years. In that time, cars I owned have been involved in 5 accidents — and during one of those I wasn’t even there, as the passenger side of the car was wiped out in a parking lot by a jerk who neglected to leave contact info. Of the other four, one (the first) was my fault and four were not. I’ve had one ticket — for speeding. I was going down hill in a manual transmission car and was bit distracted by #1 Son (small at the time and riding in the back seat) insisting that I remember all of the reindeer’s names in order. The nice officer clocked me going 31 in a 25 MPH zone. I was pulled over once because my tags had expired, but since I had the tags (I’d forgotten to put them on when I got home from the DMV), all was forgiven.

I’m a pretty safe driver, #1 Son’s opinion notwithstanding. At least I think I could probably stack up fairly well when compared to Seo Sang-moon.

On the knitting front, I made it to the ankles of the Wildfoote socks last night. Now it’s just around and around until done. I’ll try to get a picture posted.

After a big push the last two evenings on the Wildfoote socks, I’ve managed to finish the gusset increases. I’ve turned one heel, and I’m about 1/2 way done with the other heel. If all goes as planned, I should be into the ankles by this evening.

I have to admit that I really like Queen Kahuna’s “no-wrap, no gap” heels. Even after reading through that section of Crazy Toes And Heels a couple of times first, I wasn’t sure exactly how it was going to work. But, thanks to Mary Ann Beattie’s
step-by-step instructions and great pictures, I made it through with flying colors! (pun intended) There really are no gaps! And the socks fit very well. 😀

I did add a couple of my own innovations (you knew I would, right?). I followed Mary Ann’s suggestion to use a slip-stitch pattern for the last few rows under the heels before doing the turn, but I used an eye of partridge stitch instead of heel stitch. I am using heel stitch on the flaps. On the next pair of socks, I think I’ll use eye of partridge all the way up.

On the first heel I followed Mary Ann’s instructions and added about a gazillion markers into each row as I turned the heels. On the second sock, I used only four markers: two where the gusset stitches meet the heel (these were added in when the gusset stitches were started) and two at each end of the “live” stitches. The last two I moved each row as necessary to mark the correct place. That worked better for me. Using eye of partridge on the bottom meant that every heel-flap row started with a slip stitch, so using different colored markers to indicate whether to start with a knit or a slip wasn’t really necessary.

For the next pair of socks (the ones for #1 Son), I plan on using Mary Ann’s toe as well.

On the knitting front, I’ve started the gusset increases on the Wildfoote socks. I like the blueberry waffle pattern with the Wildfoote yarn. It’s working out well. And it appears that the socks will fit well. Can’t wait to finish them.

Of course, that means I have to actually work on them, and I can’t seem to manage more than 4 or 5 rounds a night.

Last night #1 Son asked when I was going to “get those things done” so I could start on his socks. Oh… and I was going to make him some gloves, too, right?

This is Persistent Illusion. And I’ve been known to knit. 😉

And the end result of those two facts is that many people get here by searching for “illusion knitting.”

I thought I’d create something for them to find. So here is a sample that I knitted up a while ago, but didn’t get around to posting. It’s not blocked, so it’s not straight. But at least you can get the idea.

From a straight-on view, it appears to be just a simple striped knit. There’s a subtle red heart pattern that’s hard to see in this picture. But from an angled side view, the black hearts suddenly appear.

Cool, eh?

As always, clicking on the picture will get you the bigger version.

Now… back to the socks.

It’s been cold in my cube at work. Really cold. I’ve asked the building services people several times to see if they can warm me up a bit, but so far no go.

Friday I was freezing. When I found myself pouring a cup of tea for the sole purpose of warming up my hands so I could type, I realized I needed to do something! And, being a knitter, I knew the perfect thing to do.

Friday lunch break was spent at the Yarn Garden, picking up a skein of Regia 4-ply mini ringel color # 5220. And this weekend I made fingerless gloves. You can see the results at right. Click on the picture for the bigger version.

Yes, I made two. And yes, I matched the stripes. And, yes, my cube is plenty warm today, so I don’t really need these. 😆 But I think they make quite a fashion statement!

I also had a big, big jones for 90-minute Beer Bread. It’s a yeast-bread recipe that really does take only 90 minutes and results in a yummy, hearty bread that’s perfect with soups, stews and chilis. It also takes a bottle of beer — or, rather, it takes a partial bottle of beer (the rest goes in the cook!). I usually use ale, but all that was in the fridge was a bottle of MacTarnahan’s Blackwatch Cream Porter. It was the best batch of Beer Bread I’ve ever made! From now on, Porter it is!

Click on the link below for the recipe. I served mine this weekend with a vegetarian chili. The recipe makes 1 loaf, but I always double it and make two loaves so I can freeze one to have on hand.

Two days of massive spring cleaning! The house feels so much lighter, now. The big news is that #1 Son’s room no longer resembles a toxic waste dump. I can actually venture inside without fearing for my life! The transition is truly amazing. Monday we cleaned from stem to stern. Tuesday we cleaned and sorted, and took junk to the landfill, recycling to the transfer station, and donations to the appropriate places. There are still things that need to be delivered, but I can get a car in the garage again.

And the best thing about this venture? It was #1 Son’s idea! After the initial shock wore off (who are you, and what have you done with my son?), I decided to go with the flow. And I’m glad I did.

I have today as a vacation day, also, as I wasn’t sure how long the cleaning would take. Today I’m knitting. Maybe I’ll finally get somewhere on those socks!