Knitting & Jazz

Mocha & Yarn, originally uploaded by Ms Cin.

My knitting group had a different kind of night on Wednesday - we all met at Cito Espresso for an evening of knitting and jazz. It was the first time I'd been there, and I was pleasantly surprised - the design is fabulous (it feels like a loft set up by a serenely gifted minimalist), the coffee and desserts wonderful, and the music was inspired. If you haven't been to Cito Espresso, I say don't wait, pop in and check them out for yourself.

Rock 'n' Roll Sock 'n' Sole

In Christmases past, there was a peculiar stream of advertisements on Canadian TV that suggested that the truly unimaginative gave socks for Christmas. Socks became the Christmas equivalent of giving a household appliance to a woman on her anniversary when what she really wanted was jewelry. I guess the message struck home, because over time, socks became the Rodney Dangerfield of gifts, and folks who gave socks may as well have worn T-shirts proclaiming their social unacceptability to the world.

I was reminded of all this earlier today as I valiantly dug around in my dresser drawer, searching for one of the 3 pairs of black socks I own. There was cursing, and questioning: Why don't I own enough dark socks to get me through the week? Who hated women enough to invent the ultra-binding phenomena that is the knee-high? Why do my favourites always lose their mates?

I did eventually locate my favourite pair of socks (old-school, below the knee, bought at a kids department so they fit perfectly and are oh-so-comfy), but it got me thinking. I've been needing socks for ages. Ages! So why hadn't they made it to the Need to Buy list? Why hadn't I made the effort to procur a nice collection of socks, preferably the ones with the particularly cushiony soles?

I thought and I thunk, I thunk and I thought.

I was side-tracked by the possibility that I had too much time on my hands if I was thinking this much about socks.

Then I carried on with the thinking, and in the end, I decided that the noble sock should be stigmatized no more, that not only would I add socks to my "Need to Buy" list, not only would I buy at least one pair of socks today, not only would I make a point of telling my family of my sock quest, but that I, I would learn to knit socks in 2007.

I can't believe it's taken this long. Especially when you consider the stats. According to Monthly Socks the average person in North America buys 2000 pairs of socks by the time they reach 65. They've also got a neat little sock calculator, so if you've ever wondered how many pairs of socks you've probably worn in your lifetime, you can now figure it out and sleep better at night.

As for me, I'm going to go find out more on the basics of sock knitting, starting with Knitty's Sock Basics 101, and figuer out how I can make at least 1 of those 2000 pairs of socks...

Monday Morning Love List #43

Love - That this morning's sunrise was an hour later than Saturday's, was chilly (a whopping zero degrees) and gloriously clear. NOW it really feels like fall.

Love - That I've had a good semester so far, and only have a few more weeks before both my my courses are done. This week registration opens for the spring semester, so I'm going to see which course to sign up for next...

Not So Much - Just as I started to get going again on my sweetie's brioche stitch sweater, I realized I'd made a huge error and will have to start that section all over again. Grr! Argh! Well, at least I caught it now rather than later. Poor Lunchtruck. I really wanted to have it ready for him by the first cold snap, and now I'll be lucky if it's done by Christmas.

Love - That my sweetie bought me my very own copy of Shaun of The Dead. Yes, I'll probably watch it while knitting. I'm such a home bod!

Love - That every morning (Monday through Friday) I have a new piece of reading material waiting for me in my email, and it's NOT spam. Each week, the delightful Suzanne at Read-It-First sends along a 5-minute 'bite' of a new book. This means that by the end of the week I've worked my way through the first 15 - 20 pages, and I know if it's something I want to keep reading. If you love to read but don't have as much time for it as you'd like, it's a great way to get some reading in. And if you don't like the novel? Well, no one will feel hurt if you hit delete. As a side bonus, Suzanne always writes a few paragraphs about her world, and reads like a letter from a dear friend, plus there's always the chance to win cookies.

Love - The possibilities a fresh week provides.

So... what's on your list today?

Scarlet Promises

It seemed somehow fitting that the first pre-planned fall knit shop trip dawned rainy and cool.

After months of working with mostly neutral yarns, I've been craving colour, something deep and rich and fun to work with. Enter this beautiful Alpaca and Silk mix yarn from Blue Sky Alpaca, which I picked up from the newest LYS, 3 Bags Full on Saturday.

I'm in love. It's soft, it's silky, it holds its shape remarkably well, and it's SCARLET!

I originally bought it because I wanted to expand my repertoire and try what's considered the easiest of the lace stitches, the Feather and Fan pattern. After casting on and doing about 5 inches of Jo Sharp's Misty Garden pattern (from Scarf Style), I realized that while I liked the pattern, it really wasn't for me. Rather than make something that I won't wear, I'd much rather find an alternate stitch pattern (or patterns) and make something I'll love.

Off to a birthday dinner with the in-laws.