MONKEYS!!

I've been having fun knitting on this cabled beer cozy here... oh, no, that's a sock. I give Nancy Bush all kinds of credit for writing a pattern that does double duty, keeping both my feet and my beers warm during this chilly winter. By "chilly winter" I mean, it's warm enough outside that I had my windows open earlier today. It's not cold at all. It feels more like mid-September outside. A lot of people are complaining, but I'm not. I HATE cold weather, for me there is NO charm in the temperatures below sixty Fahrenheit. I suppose if I lived in a colder area then I would be used to it, because I sure didn't seem to mind so much when I was in school in Massachusetts.



I have joined the Solid Sock-along, but I don't think these socks count as "solid," do you? I had to knit with the Bearfoot, though, its softness was screaming out to me. I love this yarn and want to make EVERYTHING with it. I suppose the joy of Mountain Colors is that they are handpaints in delicious combinations, but I would really LOVE to have some Bearfoot in solid colors. Then I could make a richly-textured sweater or something. I don't mind knitting on size 1 needles-- no, not at all. A sweater would take forever, but I would be so pleased with the result.

[Speaking of sweaters taking forever, I haven't made any progress on Lack of Safety Culture, but I'm taking it to the beach this weekend so I hope I'll be able to get some serious work done on it there.]

As soon as I finish these red socks I will eagerly cast on for some solid socks:



For months I was unable to locate this single issue of Interweave Knits, as I had moved apartments just after it arrived in the mail and it got lost in the shuffle. I found it a few weeks ago stuffed in some strange and unlikely place (like with my laundry supplies or something) and was soooo soooo soooooo happy, because I have some bizarre fixation on this particular sock pattern. Never mind the "more popular" patterns in the issue (the pink Marilyn cover sweater, the orange Salt Peanuts), which are the reason that Interweave is sold out of this issue. (Also, this is the issue with the Lionbrand Homespun Pants, with the Four-Cornered Homespun Crotch.) I figure only a lace pattern will work well with solid black socks, and I want to make something more interesting than 2x2 ribbing. Why black socks? Because of work. Work wants me to wear black socks (although I have noticed recently that very few people are actually paying heed to the sock-statute these days). I feel so put-out not being able to wear something lovely and handknitted at work, so the black socks are my way of getting what I want while still complying with the inane dress code. And black socks are always useful.

In the meantime, I have been enjoying the tunes played for me at pandora.com. At this site one may enter the name of a song or of a musical artist, and the site will analyze the music and play other tracks selected for their similarity to the original suggestion. I'm sure the folks who are running the site are thinking "This girl is totally stuck in 1990s indie rock hell, what is her damage?" I admit it, my taste in music is not much changed since I first started DJing in 1992, and I guess that's okay. There are worse things than being an aging indie hipster, and this year has been a particularly good one for us: so many bands reuniting for tours and stuff. It's like being a teenager again!