As The Yarn Turns

Finished Socks and a View

Yes, I've finally finished my Opal socks. Actually these went quickly considering that I only work on them here and there. There's nothing like a new pair of handknit socks to brighten your weekend. I'm looking forward to wearing these. Now all I have to do is decide what I'm going to knit for my next sock.

Lucy was asking about sock bags and whether they have to be designed to attach to your waist. Well I don't know if there's an official definition of a sock bag. I usually think of it as anything that holds my sock in progress. There are some bags that attach to your waist or your wrist so you can knit while walking or standing around. I would probably trip and kill myself if I tried to walk and knit at the same time so I've never tried them. I usually just toss my sock bag into my larger bag that I carry around so I can work on my sock when the opportunity comes up.

Jen started a View From My Window meme. All of our windows have screens on them, which conveniently distracts you from noticing how dirty they are. Windows with screens aren't the best view for pictures but I draw the line on removing the screens for a picture. This is the view from my front window. It's my favorite view because you can see our one big healthy tree. All of our other trees seem to struggle for a while and then die, but this one has flourished. At the very bottom of the picture, you can see the lavender that is just starting to bloom.

I'll save you from a picture of the treeless plain that is our backyard. Today we're going to a friend's wedding so I'm off to get some things done before then.

by Sydney  |

Mail Day

Well actually it was yesterday but I had absolutely no time to post yesterday. My Red Hot Chili Pepper sock bag from trek came in the mail yesterday.

It's the perfect accompaniment to my spicy taste in food. Plus the lining is a nice shade of Project Spectrum green. It's a well-made little bag that will get pressed into service soon.

Right now I'm tired. I was already tired from traveling to Dayton and back, especially since I had to drive through Nashville in the mother of all downpours. Then last night we did a magic show for a senior citizen group. Between all of that and catching up at the office, I'm really really tired. I'm looking forward to a couple of non-eventful days now, I hope. The good news is that the trip to Dayton went well and the magic show went really well. We had a very fun and lively audience for the magic show. So life's been good.

I finally squeezed in some knitting time today after a couple days with no knitting. I'm almost finished with the Opal socks so I'll post a picture as soon as I'm done with them. I shouldn't have too much further to go.

Chris and Jane mentioned Erica's Day in the Life project the other day so I decided to join in the fun. I enjoy diaries anyway (guess that's why I blog and read blogs) so this should be interesting. The festivities start on Wednesday, June 7.

by Sydney  |

Back From Dayton

No fiber content this time. I'm back from Dayton and still tired. It was a good, uneventful trip though, with no major disasters and some time for knitting here and there. On the way up to Dayton, we stopped in Franklin, TN (just outside of Nashville) for lunch and spotted this store.

That's the Feline Fetish with all kinds of unusual cat things for cats and people, including original paintings by one of the owners. They also had three store cats roaming around that could be adopted. Franklin is a fun town to visit if you are ever in the area.

The convention in Dayton was the Hamvention for Ham Radio Operators. Hamvention is the largest convention for Ham Radio Operators. We make software for ham radio operators and shared a booth with another business. We didn't have a whole lot of spare time but we did get outside to the flea market.

You can find everything from jewelry and guitars to computers, radios and parts in the flea market. If you are ever looking for a hard to find electronic item, there's a good chance you can find it at Dayton. The most popular item from the flea market seemed to be these old Civil Defense geiger counters. Most of them seemed to be non-functioning but apparently made great gag gifts judging from the number of people buying them.

When you're a nerdy couple, you get nerdy anniversary presents. Today is our 12th wedding anniversary. So for my anniversary present, Rick surprised me with a weather station at the convention. I had one for a long time that wasn't working that well and the lightning strike dealt the final blow to it. So Rick got me a new one.

That's Rick, me, and Anita with the weather station (actually one like it). Anita just had to get a picture of us with the weather station because I was so surprised when I got it. I really was. Anita and I were talking when Rick snuck up behind me and plopped this big yellow weather station box down in front of me. Anita was laughing so hard she was in tears. (In case you're wondering, I've never been able to convince Rick that fibery presents are good too.)

So tonight we'll have a nice relaxing anniversary dinner somewhere. We just haven't decided where to go yet. I promise there will be actual fibery content next time.

by Sydney  |