Randomly Rambling

I'm rambling along this Saturday morning with a collection of knit-thoughts to share with you. 

I've refooted Jim's favourite socks, Clesidra (first knit in April 2007). Remember when I darned them? Well darned if that didn't work so well. The patch held, but it wasn't big enough.  Jim wears the socks a lot and they were just wore out.

Then another knitter asked why didn't I reknit the foot? Good question! I even found a whole ball of the exact same sock yarn in the stash. This time around I made an improvement by adding re-enforcement at the exact spots that wore out.

 It's an intarsia patch just at the ball of the foot.  There's a similar one at the heel turn.  It's not a lot of fun to knit, but I expect that it will extend the life of the sock.  Jim pulled the first completed one on last night with a sigh of "Ah, my old friend."  How's that for appreciation! 

In the "I should have my head examined" department, I've been thinking about that Rowan Aran weight yarn and dreaming over sweater patterns.  This past week has been so hot, with temperatures in the 30s, and so muggy, the air has been a soup of smog and moisture, that one can't even step out the door without breaking into a sweat that immediately pools into a slick of moisture on the skin.  Everyone has been huddled inside air conditioning.  Actually, I'm sitting under the air vent at work, so I've been well refrigerated.  I've found it necessary to wear my shawls, and step outside to "heat up" periodically.  Perhaps that's why I'm dreaming of knitting sweaters.

So I've narrowed it down to two patterns I love.  The contenders are Faery Ring and St. Brigid.  The problem of course is fit.  I don't want this sort of fit:

So I'd have to do some modifications to either pattern to account for my shape.  Faery Ring has a style similar to one of my favourite store bought sweaters that I love.

I know I'm going to love working with the Rowan yarn and I want a finished object that I will want to wear a lot.  Even though it's still hot, I may start swatching soon.  A swatch will tell me a lot more about which pattern is better suited to the yarn.

This week, Mason-Dixon Knitting posted a link to the same video I'd posted last weekend.  I clicked the link through to where Kay had seen it and darned if that blog didn't link back to here.  An example of six degrees of separation on the knitternet. Or only three I guess...

I've been reading "The Dog by the Cradle, the Serpent Beneath".  Not your typical light summer reading, but I've been enjoying it.  It makes me think.  The author examines how humans treat animals and the contradictions in our treatment. She also writes about various activists and their ideas. I haven't quite finished reading it and I'm curious to see what her personal stance will turn out to be.  I'm still thinking about my own.

Okay, I'm rambled out.  Have a great weekend!!