Where am I? Why am I not posting? Can good and evil be assigned to a sock? Do all those movie stars really wear Earth Shoes? (found a list of 'em with photos in an online ad.)

I have not been posting because I have not been knitting much. My feet
have been really unhappy about a new job that requires me to stand on them all day. There's something wrong inside one foot that doesn't normally hurt but nowadays it does. So my hands don't want to work either.

Meantime, here's a picture of my cat attempting to control me with xray vision. It's not good at it so don't worry.
I am a bit down these days. Nice comments would be appreciated.

This is today's news:

Man shows love a stitch at a time

www.chinaview.cn 2006-02-13 11:16:36

BEIJING, Feb. 13 -- A HK man is knitting a scarf for his girlfriend when other guys are desperate for gift ideas to please theirs for the coming Valentine’s Day.

Jeffery Kwok, 26, has everything under control. “I hope to make a special gift. Before, I bought her a mobile phone or accessories, which can be seen everywhere,” the man was quoted by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post as saying Saturday.

He has been attending a knitting class for a month.

“I’ve never done any knitting in my life. The scarf I’m knitting for her is pink, with some special patterns. She might think it doesn’t look good when she sees it, but I’m sure she will appreciate my effort,” he said.

Kwok, who has taken a new knitting course at the Hong Kong College of Technology’s Competitiveness Center, is among a growing number of men who have taken up knitting after it became trendy in New York. A wool and craft store in Manhattan organizes “boyz nights” where dozens of men gather for a few pints and to knit. It is said knitting helps relieve stress.

Competitiveness Center manager Santes Ma Sai-dan said the course had only recently begun recruiting men. “Knitting is a very good way to show your love and to take your mind off stressful daily life,” Ma said.

She said she hoped the center would help promote the culture of knitting among males. “In the past, you’d never see a man carrying a baby or feeding one. But these days, they are everywhere.”

While men in the United States seemed to be more open about their newly acquired interests, Kwok was a little shy.

“I didn’t tell anyone about attending the knitting class because it’s embarrassing. People usually think guys shouldn’t pick up such a girly hobby,” he said.

(Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)

Sometimes things just go wrong. It's nobody's fault. Little accidents happen. Leaning on the bag of Cinnamon Imperials you can see where I laddered three inches of this sock. I found a dropped stitch back there and couldn't figure out how that could be .. I had the right number of stitches the whole time. But look in the circle .. there's a jag. Where it's two rows of knit stitches, they suddenly move to the right. I really like the material this yarn is making so it didn't bother me too much to rip it out and keep knitting.

I think Christina is telling me the progress bar shows up in the right place on her screen. Is this true? How frustrating computer coding is.

--Double oops.
Christina has pointed out that the bar is in the right place is you're using Internet
explorer which I'm not.

Update on the two socks I'm working on. Aren't they both just wonderful?? Yes, they are. Nod your head.

You may or may not see a little "progress bar" across the picture. Some really really nice man whose wife is a knitter created the html and is sharing it AND helping the computer-unsavvy knitters figure out to use it. If it's still over the picture, expect it to move soon.

I have things to show!!!


First, this beautiful Opal yarn arrived today compliments of OpalChatters. I won it because I have a blog. It's really beautiful ... I checked out how the finished socks look. Welcome to my home little Opal.








Isn't this beautiful and jewel-like? Knitpicks Dancing yarn growing into socks. I'm using a knit two rows, k2p2 two rows and I really like the look. The yarn is part wool, part cotton and part nylon. Most sock yarn is wool and nylon (for strength) so it's the cotton part that's unusual .. sometimes. The Sockotta socks you all so kindly made fun of are wool/cotton/nylon. I have washed them but not tried them on yet to see if they fit better. I like the suspense.






Opal Brasil is growing into socks for a certain young lady south of the border .. the border being the county line I guess. It's a fun yarn to work with .. beautiful colors and little patterns to entertain.











The neighbors dogs love me more than anything. This is one of them. He's wagging his tail and my cat is behind the door growling. Does that make sense? The dog is friendly and the cat growls? Cats are no judges of character.

I finished more socks. These are Sockotta 505 .. 505 being the colorway. The first socks I made for myself are Sockotta and I love them. I'm not so sure about these. I made them on smaller needles than the others but they seem bigger. Maybe after they're washed and dried in the dryer, they'll be better. I bought the yarn when one of the online vendors had a sale. I didn't know what I was buying but it is SO MUCH FUN to see patterns develop from yarn you're not familiar with.

I finished the Opal Rodeo socks minutes before I gave them to my wonderful yoga teacher. I rushed out of the house thinking I was late and did not even think about taking a picture of them. I've asked her if I can take their picture for this blog the next time I see her. Isn't that tacky? I mean, when you give someone a gift, you shouldn't ask them to produce it again for any reason. It's theirs. You're done with it. But she said yes and I will post their picture later.

I'm also in school which is good but has expenses I did not forsee and that's getting me down. And I'm looking for a job. And I have the best teenager in the world (don't argue!) but it's still hard being a mom. I think the less you care the easier it may be but I care a lot. He's great. He is not a problem. There are just things that go with the territory.

I copied from Christina again.

Four Things Meme

Four jobs I’ve had:
Overseas telephone operator
Reporter
Cocktail waitress
Admissions clerk in hospital

Four movies I can watch over and over again:
Sergeant Bilko
A La Carte
Nothing Sacred
Connie and Carla

Four places I’ve lived:
California
Alabama
Germany
Florida

Four TV shows I love:
Monk
Gillmore Girls
Amazing Race
Laverne and Shirley

Four places I’ve vacationed:
San Francisco
New York
London/Paris
Cruise ship in Caribbean

Four of my favorite dishes:
Cobb salad
Tacos
Beef/sweet potato stew
Sausage/beet soup

Four sites I visit regularly:
Wikepedia
Google
Yahoo
Catoftheday.com

Four places I’d rather be right now:
Big Sur
On a train through Canada
New Mexico
Munich