Changing Lanes

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Meet George. He's a little camera shy. When I'm "far" from his home, he'll relax and swim about. He seems to sense when I'm coming up to him with the camera in hand, then goes into hiding. George came home with us after DD & I stopped by this pet store just to look. I already had a small 2 gal aquarium from aeons ago, so all I needed was food, water conditioner, 2 plants, gravel, and of course George. He didn't seem very happy in his pint-sized plastic container (which contained unnatural blue colored water!) and seemed much happier once he moved into his new home. He could finally swim around!

DD went through several name possibilities, gender specific and non-gender specific. I think she has settled on George, but we'll see as the week progresses whether the name George has stuck.

I need to go back to the pet store to look at food alternatives. The pellets will be fine for his main diet, however a "treat" now and then would be nice too. I also wanted to look at one more decorative item, something like a "cave" where George can retreat to when he wants more privacy.

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This yarn (RavLink) , Min eral Blue

I found myself needing a break from the itty bitty 2.25 mm pointy sticks I'm using on the red pair of socks [See 18Apr2008 post for Sock 1]. I had worked up to the gusset section of Sock 2 before deciding to set it aside temporarily and then cast on for Pair #5 using BIG needles ... I'm talking about my 2.75 mm needles. :-D

I know it must sound silly when there is only a 0.5 mm difference between the two sizes, however there is a world of difference that can be felt in my hands while I'm knitting with the "big" needles.

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Pair 5 Sock 1, 64st 2.75 mm

Alright, I must admit that there was another reason for starting this blue sock. I was running out the door with DD to go to the park and wanted to bring a mindless knitting project with me. So I grabbed this ball plus some needles and cast on while at the park. I didn't want something complicated that would require referring to a pattern (good thing too cuz it was windy that day and any papers would have been whooshed away), so I just started a basic cable after finishing the toe section. There is nothing easier than cabling every 4th row, and knowing which way to twist the stitches by reading the knitting. Really ,this is much easier than it appears.



I'm not sure I like having such a long stockinette toe section before beginning the pattern. I suppose I could have started the cables earlier (viz. in the toes section). I'm still undecided. I think it would look better with the pattern running all the way down (or partway down) the toe. On the other hand, I'm also worried about the the added bulk in the toe section created by these cables. I'm leaning towards keeping the toe plain stockinette.

Am I difficult to please? I feel like I've reached the crossroads again and must decide whether to continue northwards on this sock or rip back southwards a bit. Right now I have knit about an inch past the completed gusset. I'm not very satisfied with how it is fitting around my ankle so I am in the process of working increases in a very sloppy on-the-fly sort of way. This means I didn't sit down to plan for a seamless transition and the increases are not well placed. And the result? Holes everywhere! I've placed this sock on mini-time-out so that I can think about which path to take. I could rip back to the foot section and rework it northwards again. The easy thing to do would be to forge ahead, learn from my mistakes, and try to do better with Sock 2. Which would you choose? The rougher dirt path in 3.5" stiletto heels? Or the smoother paved path in well worn sneakers?

One other thing I'm not too pleased with is my uneven tension. I was definitely loosey goosey in the foot section, then I tightened it up a bit after that. I was measuring a 1" section at one point and it come out closer to 7 spi ! Yep, that's loosey goosey.

I sometimes feel like all I do is B&M about my knitting. I do have something nice to say about this sock. I love how soft this yarn feels. It is the same yarn I used for my blue socks and my pink socks, yet this particular colorway feels much softer! All 3 colorways are the same wool/nylon blend. However I think this one has more of a "halo" on the yarn strands. Perhaps this has something to do with the softness. ?? The knitted fabric also has nicer feel and drape, not as stiff as the other two. This colorway also seems more prone to snaging too.

I must admit that I haven't been knitting much lately. We had a heat wave on Monday (94°) and it gradually cooled over the following days but it was still uncomfortably hot/warm for me. I've been feeling extra tired due to the heat; I was so exhausted on Monday that I thought I'd go lie down for "just a moment" after dinner and I didn't wake up until 10 PM! I usually don't feel like knitting when it's too hot. And I'm not totally accustomed to all this heat in my new town, having lived most of my life in the foggy side of the City by the Bay. Thank goodness for air conditioning. My neighbors across the street, who have lived here for decades, haven't had to turn on their A/C yet. Give me a few decades and may acclimate like they have...

Well, I have started one other little knitting project last night, but I can't show you any photos until June. I am test knitting a mitt for Dianna (RavProfile here), who is designing the June KAL for this RavGroup. What I can tell you is that I am using this yarn in blue with 4.5 mm DPNs. :-) Oh and the knitting seems to be moving along at Mach 2 compared to the socks.

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I've started caffeinating myself in the mornings again. Right now I am enjoying a cup of P's Major's D's blend. Mmmm... good stuff! This store used to be within walking distance in my old town. I can't complain though, I am fortunate enough to be close to 2 stores in my new town. :-) Not walking distance, this is the burbs where you have to drive everywhere.

I love my coffee grinder, it is small and does the job quickly/easily. I've had it for aeons and it is still working fine. However there is one thing I have learned... white is not a good color for a coffee grinder. You notice every speck of coffee that sticks to the outside surface like a magnet. Seems like common sense. What color is coffee? Of course this would also happen with a black one too, it'd just be less noticeable. Unfortunately I can't really justify replacing mine with a black one since it is still going strong after all these years.



I watched the new Indy Jones movie last week. It's an easy film to watch, perfect for knitting to. There's nothing really new about it, same old stuff, predictable, far-fetched at times, mildly entertaining if you go in without high expectations. HF is getting too old to do this sort of movie; the dude will be 67 in a few months.



I am a little sad about nearing the end of this British TV series. The season is quite short, only 8 episodes. I have the penultimate episode (#7) Tivoed and there is one last episode coming down the pike. I kinda want to hold off on watching ep #7 so it doesn't have to end so soon. OTOH, I am looking forward to TW Children of the Earth beginning sometime this summer.

Well, it's time to finish up my coffee, pay some bills, figure out what books need to be returned to the library, and see if I can find the correct filter cartridge for George's home. I really should go see what kind of tank heating options are available as George likes warm waters around 76° to 86° F. I'll probably end up getting some decorations and alternative foods (brine shrimp? bloodworms?) for his treat.

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