Merike Socks Part Deux

Sorry, these images are a bit sizey.

Three or so years ago when I first started this knitting blog, I was working on a short sock named Merike from Nancy Bush's Folk Socks. The shaped heel didn't work out for me, perhaps because the yarn had a lot of elastic in it, which I wasn't quite used to. I had to frog that sock several times, and after completing it, I was involved in Knit the Classics, so I basically put off starting on the second sock. You know the story: out of sight, out of my mind. I did put the completed sock in the front of my sock yarn caddy, though, so that I could see it every day, and this led to varying degrees of guilt, annoyance, and disdain for the linger UFO.

Since August is quickly nearing its end, and fall approaching with the start of a new semester this week, yesterday I decided to finally wrestle with the mate. I casted on and worked on it during the Yankee/Red Sock game yesterday and got to the point of the heel flap. Today during the Tigers/A's game, I basically finished the up to the point where the heel shaping begins (click to embiggen. really. click.):

There is little that gives me as much joy or satisfaction as turning the heel of a sock. Now some may think that odd. What a dull life she has, you must quietly say to yourself. Sure, this may be true now that I've gotten older. But, those of you who knit socks must admit the heel turn is the part of knitting that is just quite extraordinary. I used to make sweaters and lots of scarves. Now I make lots of hats, lace scarves or shawls, mittens, and socks, but socks by far provide me with the most satisfaction, especially that heel turn.

Yes, tricky lace can be rewarding, as can complex color work, but the heel turn is a thing of beauty and engineering genius, and I never get tired of how the square flap can be massaged into the box-shape that holds the heel of a foot.

I just wish I could make sense out of my three year-old notes to figure out what exactly I did for this heel turn. Let's hope it was just a basic Dutch heel from the Folk Socks book.

Okay, so a very close look at the stitches here would prove that under my fingers, this yarn does not exactly knit up straight (this is where embiggening is critical, so go ahead, I'll wait, click on it):

The stitches do not line up nicely but instead are crooked and too mashed together like so many teenagers at a concert, yet I don't drink, so alcohol can't be blamed. I think this may have a lot to do with the way the heel emerged from the pattern on my original try. Maybe I should look around IK to see if there is an errata section for this book, though.

For socks, I usually use bamboo dpns, but this time I opted to use some colorful Knit Picks dpns. They are nice and pointy, which helped a lot because this yarn can be splitty if it wants to be. These needles are wood and also have a very nice finish to them, sort of like a high polish or wax feeling to them, which really helps, especially with this yarn, which isn't the softest stuff I've ever felt. A very nice thing about these needles is that there are six to the package, and most of you know how very helpful THAT can be, especially when fidgeting around some socks or yarn that just don't cooperate, causing breakage and many swear words. Nothing sucks more than breaking a needle close to a holiday when the LYS is closed for two or three days or more.

The downside of these, though, is that they are the shortest sock needles or dpns of any kind that I've ever run across. They are only 6" long instead of the 7" or sometimes 8" bamboo dpns I own. I'll tell you, that extra inch is imperative, especially if you have over 70 sts onboard, so I ended up using four needles to hold the stitches until I got to the heel, where I was forced to use two bamboo needles to deal with the 36 sts of the flap. So far, so good, but I really noticed the drag of the bamboo, which isn't polished or waxed to the degree the other needles are, and the much blunter points. Carry on, soldier, carry on.

Some Like It Hot, But Not Me

I love the delicate lavender of the flowers on some hostas:


Weatherpersons' predictions were a bit low in terms of heat. Most predicted we would have temps in the mid 90s, but this is what we had in the early morning; by 11:00 a.m., we were already decidedly hot ~ 102, and notice that the sky is fairly overcast, so it was also very humid. Imagine what it would have been like if it was full on sun:

It's fairly safe to say that later on when the sun came out for a tad, this was a bit beyond my liking, especially since the humidity was very high and we had heavy downpours most of the late afternoon and evening with power outages and downed trees everywhere. Temps that reach 116 in a state that is not dry like Arizona or New Mexico are absurd!!

Needless to say, we really needed the rain that came:

Poet's Birthday

My very favorite poet was born on this day in 1809: Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Here is my favorite poem:

Tears, Idle Tears
Tears, idle Tears, I know not what they mean,
Tears from the depth of some divine despair,
Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes,
In looking on the happy Autumn-fields
And thinking of the days that are no more.

Fresh as the first beam glittering on a sail,
That brings our friends up from the underworld,
Sad as the last which reddens over one
That sinks with all we love below the verge;
So sad, so fresh, the days that are no more.

Ah, sad and strange as in dark summer dawns,
The earliest pipe of half-awaken'd birds
To dying ears, when unto dying eyes
The casement slowly grows a glimmering square;
So sad, so fresh, the days that are no more.

Dear as remember'd kisses after death,
And sweet as those by hopeless fancy-feign'd
On lips that are for others, deep as love,
Deep as first love, and wild with all regret
O Death in life, the days that are no more.

--Tennyson, 1847

This, of course, was written while at the ruins of Tintern Abbey, a location of some noted influence on many poets of the time and a place of haunting beauty I would love to someday visit. Like In Memoriam A. H. H., I believe this poem to be written about his dear friend Arthur Henry Hallam.

Tennyson replaced Wordsworth as England's Poet Laureate, and held that distinction for 42 years, longer than any other poet.

Sock Summit

Sock Summit at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon runs August 6 - 9. I REALLY want to go!

Fini

I certainly didn't suffer from second sock syndrome with the NY Dolls Socks as I finished the partner in a record four days, so here's the pair:

Yeah, they're ugly overall ~ so much pooling. I gotta tell ya, I am always drawn to variegated yarns even though I know that I absolutely hate the results of pooling and dislike the way most strongly variegated fabrics look.

The ill-fated star toe is a bit fugly in its own right but functional nonetheless:

After some light felting this winter, these will fit fine and will be soft as butter, so really, who can complain? They will be warm, soft, and fulfill their main purpose, to keep my feet warm at home in winter. I'm of the age where I'll take function over form any day, especially at home.

I wanted to do a bit more yard work today, but as usual, the weather is not cooperating. We have some eager wind, over 25 mph, and scattered showers. It seems each time I'm out there in the dirt of the garden, the rain starts, and I am playing in mud. Last weekend hubby and I managed to clean out the shed and rearrange it. We only have a few more tweaks to complete before fall begins, so I am happy with that project.

I think I'll watch the Tigers game tonight. One of my favorite pitchers, Joel Zumaya, is on the DL again, and I think the last game he pitched was against the Yankees on July 17:

Apparently he re-injured his shoulder and will have surgery sometime in the middle of this month. I'm fairly bummed about this.

In 2006, Zumaya threw a pitch that registered 104.8 mph.

Yep, that's right, he threw a ball faster than 104 miles per hour!!

Now, we Tigers have some fast pitchers, and our main go-to guy, Justin Verlander, also pitches pretty darn fast, topping out at 102 mph. The thing about Justin, though, is that he isn't a relief pitcher like Joel is. Justin is a starter, and that means he usually pitches more than five innings, and in fact, he often pitches well into the seventh or even eighth inning. Joel, on the other hand, is usually a relief pitcher or sometimes a closer, which means he only needs to face around three batters and throw about 12 pitches, so it is probably a lot easier to get that speed when throwing so few pitches. Verlander has to face many innings and many batters, and he has even pitched no-hitters, but most importantly, he has to maintain that fast ball for a lot longer than just the one inning or so.

I was pretty interested in the Yankees v Tigers series in July because another of my favorite pitchers, Joba Chamberlain, was pitching. I love those fast boys, just about as much as I love those flyboys!