(Life update first, Sock Madness update below.)
I didn’t fall off the face of the earth, really! I was just in Maine at my brother’s house with no Internet access. On Friday I had to run as soon as I finished those Painted Madness socks, to pick him up at work and bring him to our grandmother’s house for our (very non-traditional) Seder. It was fun – our Seders mostly consist of us running through the essentials, like the Plagues and the Wicked Son (always read by my brother, of course), laughing at my mother for getting drunk off a thimbleful of Manischewitz, and eating vast quantities of food.
On Saturday, the brother and I went shopping, and I found pants! No more ranting necessary, at least until these wear out and I need more. I got three pairs of jeans, only one of which is perfect, but the other two will do, and a pair of very nice black slacks that fit perfectly from waist to feet… and then about six inches beyond. So, not perfect, but they’ll be very nice if I ever get around to hemming them.
I went dancing with my parents Saturday night, and ran into a guy I haven’t seen since he was a freshman in high school – it was a bit of a shock. He came over and said “hi,” and then said, “You have no idea who I am, do you?” I was, of course, obliged to say that no, I didn’t have a clue. In my defense, he’s now a foot taller, muscular, much more outgoing, and actually not unattractive! He was cool about it, and we chatted for a while, and danced together a bit, but it was a very weird feeling – this is the first time that I’ve run into someone I had a very definite mental image of and had it just completely not jibe, at all.
Sunday I pretty much just hung out with my brother all day, then stopped by to see Mr. P on the way home. I think it’s getting to be about time to give him a new pseudonym.
A very good weekend.
And now, a bit more about the Painted Madness socks! At first, I thought it was a cute pattern but really not something I’d ever wear. I still think they’re not really “me,” but I really like them – I think the cuff is a great way to show off the beautiful variegated yarn without doing a plain stockinette sock, and the garter stitch edging is… well, “cute,” and “adorable” are not words that generally describe any of my wardrobe, so I’m going to go with “twee.” And I’m still a huge fan of Mountain Colors Bearfoot, especially worked on the smaller needles I used for this pattern – so soft and cushy and dense and warm and lovely.
I do feel a little bad about knocking Julie out of the competition – look at what she was dealing with! Such an intrepid knitter doesn’t deserve to lose a competition just because I had lights and disdained sleep. But I’ve been emailing back and forth with her, so I don’t feel too bad – she’s not upset, and is looking forward to making the rest of the patterns calmly and without pressure, while I keep giving up sleep.
No word yet on when the next round starts. I suspect that it’ll be somewhere in the vicinity of next weekend, though, and I think I’m toast. I’m going to a concert Friday night with Mr. P, and probably staying with him through at least most of Saturday, and then my Renaissance music group has a concert Sunday afternoon. Not much knitting time in there – while Mr. P knows I’m an insane knitter, and he knows about this competition, I think he would (rightly) question my priorities if I spent my weekend knitting frantically and ignoring him. Maybe I’ll teach him to knit.
Oh yeah, and remember last Monday when I mentioned that I was very close to finishing Bayerische? I finished it that day, on a conference call – just haven’t had time to post pictures. That might come tomorrow, if I’m still alive at the end of rehearsal.
