...and his boots were yellow

Old Tom Bombadil
is a merry fellow
Bright blue his jacket is
and his boots are yellow.... (Tolkien)

I've finally Kitchenered the toes of the Plimoth Plantation stockings that I knit for the Living History re-enactor with the size 12 feet and will mail them off tomorrow.



They are very long over-the-knee stockings, with a mock seam up the back and a welt to grip the garters. The heels are square, and there is a diamond patterned clock on both sides if the ankle... The yarn is quite harsh and thick. The head of the wardrobe department said that no one ever complains about it - they are just grateful to have nice warm socks!



I quite like them, and wish that I had a pair myself (but in a more muted colour)!



I tried to buy some Sundara sock yarn tonight during her February offering. There was a tea related colour that I wanted and some beautiful greens, and I've never seen this yarn in person...... but, though I checked every 5 minutes starting at 2:30 pm, and I did manage to get the yarn into my shopping cart... before my invoice even refreshed on the screen for my billing details, all the sock yarn had sold out.

Sundara said that this month's yarns were meant to dispel the gloom of winter, but I'm afraid it has only made me feel more gloomy. Only few were able to snatch up the fresh yarn and lighten their winter doldrums. I wasn't one of them, and will have to suffer the effects of cold, dark days a while longer, un-yarned.

Jackie's Second Acorn...

So much has been happening I haven't even been able to keep up with it! And tomorrow we're scheduled to have something like 26 inches of snow (16 during the day and another 8 - 10 inches tomorrow night). Knitting has been happening, some out of necessity....

I finally wrote up the pattern for Jackie's Acorn - the winter dog-walking hat that I made for myself with Noro Silk Garden that my friend sent me from Seattle:


And no sooner had I done that, when I lost the hat! I think that it was in my lap when I slid out of the car last Saturday in front of the lower door to Macy's at the big Mall, because that's the last time I remember having it. When I went to use it that night, it was no where to be found. But, sadly, no one at the Mall customer service had seen it and one of the wonderful people from the Manchester Knitting Group even drove by the parking lot to try to find it...

So, I had to knit another this week; Jackie's Acorn Two:



Of course I like the first one best, especially since the yarn was a gift from a really good friend, but its great to have a hat again after a week of cold ears! The skein of Noro that I got for this was unfortunately flawed - it was knotted right in the middle of the skein with no regard to the colour sequence. So instead of the light brown to mid brown to deep chocolate brown, I got one 3-row stripe of mid brown and then right back to the grey again. You do take your chances with Noro!

The Socks That Rock KAL for Leyburns (on Ravelry) is still going strong (I think we have 200 people in this knit-along) and I've finally finished mine! (well, they're actually for a gift)



This yarn is BMFA Socks That Rock in Petroglyphs, lightweight, on a 2.5 mm needle. I knit them toe-up, with a gusset heel (no wraps) and used a shell picot bind off that I made up on the spot because I couldn't remember how to do the one I was thinking of at first. It turned out to be a nice stretchy edge...

Here's a good look at the colour and the heel:



Now I am finishing up the foot on a pair of fancy long 16th century stockings for Plimoth Plantation. If I end up staying home tomorrow because of the snow, those will be finished too!

Sophie Longstockings

I'm beset by responsibility at the moment and this has paralyzed my own designing. I took Briley's advice and pulled out a 'small' knitting project - the Plimoth Plantation 16th century stockings.



As you can see, I don't have much to do to finish this pair so that a size 12 foot freezing early American re-enactor can warm up his leggings... I want to get them done before the new year and send them off while they are still needed!

I actually love the pattern - one that a lot of research went into to make them authentic. It really brought home to me how current construction for knitted socks was not just for the convenience of the knitter, but for the comfort of the wearer! For instance, the original design has a seamed heel - a 3 needle bind off right across the bottom of the heel so that you are standing and walking on a seam. This could cause serious pain on long walks! But it is absolutely authentic and I love the ancient look of it! The clock on the ankle, the knitted welt to brace the garters, the skin tight shaping over the calf and thigh - these are all very charming touches.

The yarn used for these (provided by the Plimoth costume department) is straightforward 2 ply 100% Shetland from Harrisville Wools. It is scratchy beyond belief and full of lanolin that strips layers of skin from my fingers where the yarn habitually lies. I'd love to try this pattern with a softer yarn - say, Lorna's Laces...

In other news, check out Ysolda's Whimsical Little Knits collection. Is that adorable or what!? I bought my copy today.

Soothing stockings

Everybody knows that the northeast has been pummelled by a worse winter than we've had in 100 years and that we're still having snowstorms while the rest of the country is growing flowers. Such a stressful season needs some soothing activities to keep us all sane! My stress soother is socks...

I'm making good progress on my Plimoth Plantation over-the-knee stockings.



The yarn is harsh but the pattern so far has been easy to follow. I'm almost finished with the first of the pair and I think it will use up the entire cone of yarn. I have a second cone for the second stocking. I love the shaping and the mock seam down the back!

Wouldn't these be lovely in a very fine white cotton/silk?

When I slipped on the ice and sprained my wrist, I couldn't handle the increases and decreases of the Plimouth stockings while I was wearing the ace bandage. I started a pair of mindless ribbed stockings in soft Regia yarn. This stitch and soft yarn was easier on my wrist.

Candy Apple Stockings:



Now I'm going back and forth between the two. I can't wait to see the pair of Plimoth stockings in their full finished glory. I hope we have another now storm soon so I can knit all day!

I'm feeling achy and tired today - coming down with several things at once. This wouldn't be happening to me if I was Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris doesn’t have normal white blood cells like you and I do. His white cells have a small black ring around them. This signifies that they are black belts in every form of martial arts and they roundhouse kick the shit out of viruses. That’s why Chuck Norris never gets sick.