Not cool.
The good news is that several things have been finished. The bad news is, now that I want to finish at least one of the "single socks," I can't find (a) either the sock; or (b) the instructions. Well. Crap.
So, what's finished and what's still working... Here we go, kids...
MY Emergency One Day Hat is finished. I'm calling it my March Hat, because I'll be wearing it to the 2019 Women's March in Chicago. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we're going to have one.
Encore Worsted, in a pink heathered colorway, and some of the Caron Purple Sparkle from a prayer shawl.
This time, it worked better than trying to do the Fun Fur. I liked doing this in the larger size; it taxed the length of my 16" circulars, though.
Once again, the stitch definition is great; this time, I think the decreases worked a bit better. Having to switch all of that to DPNs made it a little wonky - you had to keep track of which of the markers was the beginning of the round, which was easy this time because I put a different marker at Place #1.
I actually haven't tried this on - I suppose I ought to. I did measure it, though, so it should fit.
No, it doesn't match any coat I own. Even the purple coat I have. But wearing it for the march is the point. I really don't like the "cat ear" hats, though I wore one at the first march. Heck, I was freezing. I wore it!
I still have it. But I'm happy with this one, and I'm anxious to wear it even aside from the march. I thought to myself, "Self, you could, technically, make one of these for each of the kids for Christmas...since this one literally took you 6 days."
Self is still thinking about it, honestly. I have enough worsted weight yarn, and I could even make one for Kid #1's girlfriend. Though I'm not sure of her head size...
So the other thing I finished was, amazingly, a Fun Fur mini-scarf. I say "mini" because it's not very long. Almost an "ascot" length, where I could poke a skewer through it to hold it on. I held the yarn double, and used size 10 needles. I could've gone to 11 or 13, actually. I probably should have. And maybe 2 or 3 stitches thinner.
I finished it relatively swiftly, while doing more of the prayer patches at lunch breaks. And I got it to stretch a bit by whipping it - cracking it like a whip to fluff out the fur. The dogs thought I was nuts.
I could keep this or hold it as a "stash gift" - which is a strong thought, though it's a tad bit too small for that, unless it's for a kid. Actually, I should see if it sort of matches the kid's hat I made, and then maybe make that a two-piece gift. That scarf may fit a 3-year-old! I think that's a plan!
I like the way the colors managed to match when I fold it in half. I'm sure it's just the yarn, and no special work on my part.
What I've started: Well, I'm kind of over the 'big needle knitting' for a bit, so while I'll continue on with the prayer patches, because we need them for the installation of our vicar, I started looking for my single socks.
Found Petty Harbour, but not the directions. Found the Green Sock, but not the mate. I went "once over lightly" in the office and couldn't find any of my other "pending projects." Well. Fudge.
So I pulled out the Monkey Socks that I started...oh... I don't know. A long while ago. I can't figure out why it looks like I've marked some of the lace - I didn't have but 3 rows of knitting done on only 1 sock.
I frogged it and started over. I'm doing my 6-row knit top, because it's done on 64 stitches, so I think they may be a bit taut on my leg. One more reason to start exercising more and get some weight off...
I like the Monkey Sock. Now, lest you're thinking of the "work sock monkey toy" thing? Nope. This is a pattern (link there) from Knitty - one of the popular designers, Cookie A. It's a lace pattern, and frankly, the sock that got me started thinking about knitting lace. It's really a pretty 11-row repeat.
I'm using bamboo needles, which worry me a bit. Toothpicks, indeed. I can always switch them to the Karbonz, if I need to. Here's the deal, though. It's something that we need to consider as knitters or even crocheters. Needle color + yarn color...
Think about it. This yarn, Opal's "Vincent" colorway. I chose it because Monkey reminds me of fall leaves. And this yarn just called out "autumn!!"
But the bamboo needles are basically the color of that orangey-tan. And they're 1.5 - tiny, tiny... Not as bad as 00, but they match the yarn too closely.
That's why I was thinking that, if it got awful, even with the OttLite, I'd switch to the Karbonz, because the black will at least pop the yarn color and I could see what I'm doing.
I do remember my grandma telling me about this when she'd do an afghan. If she was doing a purple afghan and only had a purple hook, she'd buy or borrow a different color so that the yarn and hook didn't blend in together.
I can see that now. And I should've thought of that. But as I sit here and just kind of meditate over the yarn, I seem to recall that I was mainly excited to be knitting with "real" sock needles. I don't think the color of the needles + color of the yarn even occurred to me.
It does now. We'll see how this works out.
Orchids Everywhere...
In a way, I'm kind of itching to talk about current events, but for right now - I think we need a break so I'll talk about something that's kind of my new obsession: orchids.
It's not really a "new" obsession. I've just decided to get my act together and learn more about them, after killing off several of them. Including one given to me by Kid #2 (shhh!).
This is my "orchid altar." I did a little more research, and figured out how to pot them, perhaps, in a way that will better work out for the conditions I have: Midwest, southwest corner of the house, and probably too near the heat vent, even though I've got a device on there to direct the air across the floor instead of straight up, under those orchids.
Left to right, the one in the little one in the bowl is from my former job. It's lasted about 2 years now - but she's got no roots!! What she DID give me, however, is a baby.
If you see that little thing there at the left? It's a Keiki -- the vaguely Hawaiian-sounding name, meaning "baby." That Keiki came off the spike of the orchid where you see the large green leaf in the picture.
I'm told, if the YouTubes are correct, that there's a chance to resurrect Mamma Orchid...If I keep her humidified, and sprits/soak her stem every few days, to encourage root re-growth. The problem with her was that I followed the advice on the label and "just added ice cubes." I burned the aerial roots. And then it got a bit drowned, because one of Kid #2's friends is an "orchid whisperer" and he told me (a) no ice; and (b) water. The bark on top looked dry.
Classic rookie mistake: it was draining into the decorative pot and it was sitting in water. A big NO-NO for orchids. They don't like to swim.
Orchids, basically, are air plants - in the wild, they hang off the trees! Look at this. Does it look like it should be crammed into a pot stuffed with sphagnum moss and overwatered in some chilly Home Depot?
Now, this is a wild phalaenopsis orchid. You can clearly see the silvery roots clinging to the bark of the tree. It looks pretty spiffy there, actually. Most of what we buy are in containers, and most of what I've seen in the "big box" stores are in moss, not bark.
We have an orchid place sort of near us - it'll be a while before I can get up there with my crazy schedule. I just checked, and while it's "37 minutes via Google" from where I work, and I have a fairly decent lunch break? It's probably not a good idea to go up there during lunch.
But boy, it's tempting!
So. Back to reality. I can't afford to buy fancy orchids; I don't even like them. I like a straight-up phal. The other ones kind of creep me out...
I bought this one to replace the one I killed from The Kid. (Sorry) Even though I risk blossom drop, I took one of them and immediately put it into a glass container, taking all the moss out of it. It was soggy, as most of them are.
This was one I bought pretty much because it was smaller, and while not a "mini" it's a bit petite.
I got this one at the Jewel. Let's see how it does in the bark with most of it being "airy."
I need to find some styrofoam. One of my sources, M.E.'s Orchids, suggests a thin circle of styrofoam - the theory being that you put that in the bottom of your vase, and water to THAT height. Bark or decorative rocks on top of that to hold the orchid, and that way, no roots should dip into the water. The styrofoam ends up acting like a "water brake" - where you know just how deeply to water.
I have to get some decorative rock, too. The bark can break down and oxidize, something I learned with African Violets. Which I love, but I don't have a good space to grow them in this house. So if I can "sprinkle" a little bark for decoration, but have mainly stones, I think it'll keep them healthier.
I have yet to repot the Big Boy there in the middle. That will come soon. I raided our church's Rummage Sale of a lot of their glass vases. For a buck or two, I have a nice stash for future orchids. Though, right now, the 3 + baby are fine for me. If I can make Mamma Orchid come back, I'll be really chuffed!!
I put my crystals around them. Who knows? Maybe the big Selenite next to the petite one, and the bowl of amethysts near Momma + baby will help. The Gerosole Opal may give some great vibes to Big Boy.
Random Picture...
The other day, this tree, in my backyard, was green. It's not now. As Autumn progresses, this tree should be getting more and more orange. The one in front is "lipstick red." This is a "pumpkin orange."
On good autumns, when the weather isn't so screwy, you can see these two trees from either end of the block because they're tall enough and the colors are pretty much the most vibrant ones on the block.
But with climate change and the warming of the planet almost past the tipping point - if we haven't, indeed, passed that tipping point - it's hard to predict how fall colors will go this year.
That's one reason why I love the Midwest: we do get 4 seasons (and 5 if you count "construction season" but I digress...). They used to be more distinct, but lately, we get the seasons melding together. I'm used to Indian Summer in the middle of fall, but this year, they're kind of confused.
And so are we. We know what the seasons are supposed to be. But we've also screwed up our planet. All we can do now is individually try to help Mother Nature recover. If we can.
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