Moving Right Along...

Well, the groin/hip flexors still hurt. And I'm getting more challenges with the PT (which is good, and to be expected). I'm betting that this week is The Big Dangle... Where I skooch my butt to the very edge of the long side of the PT table and my therapist guides my left leg down....as far as it will go before I think I'm back in labor, I guess, and we stretch the hip flexors as well as increase my range of motion. He'll be holding on to the leg. It's just creepy, because I actually hang on to the side of the table - it feels that close to falling off.  

Am I looking forward to that? About as much as I look forward to a nice case of constipation. At least with labor, I got a baby in the end... but it is necessary, so I'll suck it up and deal with it. He's lucky I don't cuss. 

The Knitting...

One more pair down! I've finished the Petty Harbour socks. I didn't put a link here because you can get this pattern on several different sites. It's free, as far as I know. 

So to recap: The yarn is Cascade Heritage Sock, and it's like knitting with spun butter. I moved to my next project, in Opal, and what a difference! Heritage Sock is a bit finer, too. 

These were done cuff-down on 5 DPNs, size 2.5 mm. The second sock actually took about a month of pretty consistent knitting. I'm not fast, but I am a good plugger-alonger. 

This may be my best Kitchener Toe yet. From me to you? SKIP THE SET-UP ROW. Just go right to it. No ears. Seriously, look at that toe!

And again, my hint on SSK: Slip the 1st stitch KW and the 2nd stitch PW...to me, that matches the K2tog the best. 

This pattern was easy to memorize. It's a nice 4-row repeat and two of the rows are knit around. I'm not sure how I'm going to like the pattern on the instep - that's not normally my thing. But I figured I'd do this one as written, except for my patented* 6 rows of knitting at the top to slightly roll the cuff so it goes over my high instep and sits comfortably on my biker's calves.  *It's really not patented. Go ahead and try it if you want. Enjoy!

I'd do this again, make the leg longer (it's written as 5 1/2" and I like 7" better), and not do the pattern on the instep. 

Qualms: It is sooooooooo soft. I'm hoping it wears well. On a FB group, I contemplated frogging both socks, and making this into a shawl. But I read more reviews and people said that the wear was good. Mind you, I'm used to Opal, which wears like iron. We shall see on these. 

These socks have been sitting in time-out since 2015 at least. I had one cuff partially done. And they just sat there. They may have been set aside for baby knitting; that was about the time that the family was in baby-making mode and it felt like all I was doing was baby garments.

I will probably buy more of this yarn, to do a shawl. It's just fluffy, soft and looks like it's going to be nicely warm, and not too heavy to wear. 

As for the next project, The Mystery Sock... I think I may have figured out that this is the NSEW project I created in my head -- which would be my second "design" if you will. This is done on 68 stitches. I needed a midpoint between 64 and 72, which is where most patterns jump. This gives you 17 stitches per inch. The NSEW stands for North South East West - which is how those big swaths of knitting sit on the sock, with the purls bisecting it. So north and south on your calf, and east and west is where you'll see the knitting, if that makes sense. 

I want to say that my 8x8 Rib Sock design was also 68, but I'd have to go look that up and I'm not inclined to do that right now. I mean, honestly, I don't like my 8x8 pattern. But I'd do the NSEW pattern again. I bet it would look great in a gradient yarn. 

Anyhow, on each of 4 needles, you K7, P3, K 7. I think that's what this second sock is - or was intended to be. And even if it's not, it's close enough. It has a Strong Heel, and a regular toe, and for some odd reason, I carried this pattern down the instep as well. What was I thinking? Well, since this has been sitting here since 2021, I can't remember. But at least this WIP isn't as "vintage" as the Petty Harbour!

It's an easy TV knit, and I guess my only qualm with this is that for the first few inches of the leg, you can't really see the pattern - it's not looking like the one on the blocker. But then again, that's the problem. I may have created a new way of doing "fraternal" socks where you use the same yarn but two complimentary patterns! Always fashion-forward, kids - that's me! (ha!)

I volunteered for a group called "Loose Ends Project" where you can offer to finish projects for families. Like, if Granny passes and an afghan is half-done, someone might volunteer to finish it for the family. 

We'll see how that goes. It encompasses a lot of different techniques, so we'll have to see what shows up. It could be very rewarding to finish off projects like this, but I don't want it to become "another job."

The Floof...

"Do they shed?" 

Um. Yeah. 

Raisa is one of those huskies who doesn't like to be brushed. She's a weirdo, let's face it. Cute, but weird. And we have been pushing her to be combed at least. Her guard hairs are very long; longer than other Huskies I've had. So it'll mat up nicely with the undercoat if it's not taken care of. 

And if she dislikes brushing, she HATES mats in her fur. But she doesn't quite get the logic of "if we brush you, your fur won't mat." Dogs... 

This picture is one-half of her tail. One. Half. Of. Her. Tail. And we're still working on finishing the tail and her "pants." 

I can sit there at night and literally pull out blobs of hair. She gets aggravated after a while, but I tell her to hush. Or she moves away. 

Double-coated dogs...you gotta love 'em and you gotta be willing to roll with the tumbleweeds you're gonna get 2 times a year, 6 months at a time. 

We call it "doggie glitter." 

Random Picture...

Quinn loves to sniff. Well, she is, after all, a hunting dog. So we have this game we play called "Snurffling." 

When the mail comes, she gets to 'snurfle' it. When a package comes, same thing. When I get home from visiting my mom or someone else who has a dog or cat -- or when I come home from the stables, she gets to sniff me from stem to stern.

So when I finished the last sock, I set them down to photograph, and her nose went to work. 

She sniffed so hard that my socks and my blockers were wet! She even stepped on my socks!

In my memory, these socks haven't ever been anywhere except for my knitting bag, here in the house. I wonder what the heck she was smelling. 

She had a good time. She approved of the socks. So says the Queen...