Friday, June 01, 2012


I am beginning to feel somewhat recovered from hard labour in Strathardle. How do people who actually live in the country manage it? Today I am expecting the re-delivery of two packages which were taken away in our absence. Both, I fear, contain plants, and waiting all day for the doorbell is a pretty unsatisfactory way to spend time.

I reached the ribbing of the toe-up sock last night, as hoped. It is not as bad as feared, having it last. The main downer is the reflection that when this is done, I will have to go straight forward to another fiddly toe cast-on.

And it means that my next New Skill, a stretchy bind-off, now looms fairly near. My first attempt will be “Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off” from Knitty Fall 09. It was published as a companion to Judy’s Magic Cast On, at which I have already failed once.

This one looks easy, and good. The only problem is that I can’t figure out how to print it, and I can scarcely hunker down in front of the computer during the weary evening knitting-time.

But, ahah! I can load the page accessed by the link above, into my iPad, and work from that!

Life

Tomorrow would have been my husband’s sister’s 81st birthday – “C”, who died last year. We are going to lunch together in the Botanic Gardens again, he and I and her three daughters and a husband or two. For my husband, it will be the 82nd, as he remembers with clarity the day his sister was born. “June 2” is a date he never forgets.

I think he would be hard put to tell you my birthday, if you sprang out from behind a bush and asked him; he certainly couldn’t tell you the day of his wedding anniversary. But those dates involve only 55 years – that's a lot fewer than 82.

I think I am right in saying that C. spent the night before her 22nd birthday on the pavement somewhere in London, in order to see the Queen drive past on her Coronation Day. So it all sort of melds together. 

6 comments:

  1. One tip I read somewhere (Ravelry, perhaps?) was to start one sock and knit it to a given point, then start the second and knit it to the same point, then continue working back and forth. I suppose if I were for example dreading a heel, I'd be more likely to finish the second if I worked both of them at the same time.

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  2. My father cannot remember birthdays. I draw up a wall calendar each year and put them all on that. If he remembers to look then he "remembers" the birthdays! I do it with the other important dates as well. All this has the advantage of helping me to "remember" things too.

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  3. Christine1:33 PM

    That's the cast off I use for socks and it's absolutely WONDERFUL. Enjoy

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  4. Sarah JS6:34 PM

    I adore JSSBO. Once you've done it for a few stitches, it'll come easily. All I need to remind myself of now is when the YOs are in the normal direction (before a purl stitch BO) and when they go the other way 'round (before a knit stitch BO).

    Best wishes for tomorrow. Such anniversaries can bring all sorts of emotions bubbling up.

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  5. Maureen in Fargo3:23 AM

    Yes, ever since I discovered JSSBO I've been knitting all my socks toe up and loving it! Here's how I remember it: reverse YO before the regular (knit) stitch, regular YO before the reverse (purl) stitch. It is surprisingly stretchy too!!

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  6. Anonymous9:31 PM

    On Youtube you can find a great video by Cat Bordhi demonstrating JSSBO - a couple of viewings put it clearly in my mind.
    -- Gretchen

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