So here we were, stuck.
And though I have still to recover my missing bag of finishing tricks, I did find this, heretofore unused plastic gizmo, passing itself off as a needle. Fortunately it did the job!
Marie Antoinette. In all her glory.
Marie Antoinette by Anne Hanson
Yarn - Fleece Artist Sea Wool
Needle - 2.5 mm
Colorway - Paris
Purchased at Knitty Noddy in knitty-noddy.com
Bronzes and golds. Beautiful colors. Catching the light we see reflected blues and mauves. They beckon. They entice. Almost shimmer as they catch the light.
To the left, Fleece Artist Sea Wool in Paris. The perfect yarn, the perfect colorway for Marie Antoinette. To the right, Hand Maiden Mini Maiden in Bronze. The perfect combination of wool and silk to slide across the shoulders and keep them warm, and to show off the richness of Jeanie's cables set off by filigree like rows of dropped stitches.
Marie Antoinette, sock 2.
So close to be being finished...
The dream is still alive.
Jeanie back to the forefront. Longing to be finished and make its debut.
At some point this afternoon, I sensed that the sun had actually appeared. It was a feeling more than anything else since the shade was down, but somehow I knew. On the spot I decided I must get outside to capture this moment of pure sunshine and clear blue sky. (The clouds are a intended design feature!) Chances of taking progress photos in natural lighting are fleeting these days. You have grab them with both hands.
The sky was so blue, with the clouds a pure white, that I had to snap a picture to prove it. Not only to you but to myself. For the next time I complain about grayness and heat this picture will stand as testimony that sun did indeed shine in the New Jersey summer sky, if only for brief periods of time.
And in this gloriously breezy and clear summer afternoon I also captured the majesty of Marie Antoinette. With the cuff grafted together and the section of Honey Bee complete, Sock 2 finally starts to take shape.
That's still a lot of yarn there. What will I do with the leftovers?
And a blast from the, not so distant, past. I've gotten back on track with my Flame Wave socks.
I've done a bit more since I captured my progress. Only six more rows until I get to the toe section. I should be able to finish up sock 1 before I go to sleep. In the meantime look at that heel. Its so smooth, such clean lines, with tips of the wave dipping into the flap.
But look at that tiny nugget of yarn! I think I'll make to the end, but only just.
While I like the give that the Fixation supplies, it is a bit odd to work with. Always making sure that I don't pull it too snug. The fit is great. These really reminds me of store bought cotton sports socks. But much, much prettier.
When Henny Penny let us know the sky was falling, I swear she must have been in Passaic. For more than apples are falling down around here. The sky was dark gray all day long, and the sound of thunder reverberated throughout the valley. (And for anybody reading this in the future please note the date, July 23. Not December, January or February. Not complaining about the weather today though I'm sweltering once I've turned off the air conditioner for more than five minutes. They tell me this normal for these parts. I think they must be cracked. Just saying...) I really wanted to get some natural lighting for the pictures today, but I'm afraid that even the dramatic displays of lightening weren't enough. Tomorrow promises to be more of the same so you'll just have to put up with these awful pictures.
Is this what prompts the general malaise in the knitting department? Or is it a fiberly ennui? For though I am faithful in my heart, my head and fingers are still not feeling the love. In fact I can honestly tell you my hands have not worked anything in the round since Sunday eve. What I have been knitting is flat. Flat as the world where ships sail off and over its edge into oblivion. Flat as Flat Stanley but with less adventures! (Trust me, I took Stanley to Moscow, where he went shopping at GUM, and St. Petersbug, where he sat on Peter the Great's lap and generally had a riotous time.) What? Not even socks? Well, almost. I finally finished up the cuff on Sock 2 of Marie Antoinette. The first shot I took earlier today, and yes I had to use the flash!
And here is the final cuff, I remembered to block it this time. We'll see if it makes a difference.
Note the wast yarn still attached and that the cuff is still on the needle. These two will be grated together using the yarn from the tail. This keeps the yarn still attached and once the two ends are joined I'll pick up stitches around the bottom of the cuff and start knitting in the round.
I also decided another headband was in order. I liked the idea of stripes rather than self striping and I went for bold colors. After working the 4 colors I decided I didn't like the yellow much so continued on without it. Since this will be tucked away under mounds of curly hair, I decided to keep going instead of ripping it out. Consider it a unique design feature!
And finally, Arietta. Yes, my heart is really into finishing her up. Even more than working on socks! It's still a bit slow going because my mind keeps wondering and though I am not messing up the mosaic work, I keep forgetting to increase every 8 rows and end up ripping back each time. The next row will be the 5th increase. I only need to do a total of 20 increases before I start binding off and shaping the cap...
And finally, a bit of tomfoolery from Photo Funia. This one's going around the blogs, but seems to have originated at Mason Dixon (I don't know how I missed it then!)
Look closely and you should recognize...
Mommy in Time Square,
The Wigged-One's Unoriginal Hat
and her Birthday Cupcake.
This set of ads for Target has always appealed to me, and now my knitting is the featured item. This site is so cool! I love it!
Many things can and have been said about Marie Antoinette. Having read and enjoyed two of Antonia Frasier's earlier books, The Warrior Queens: Boadicea's Chariot (1988) and The Six Wives of Henry VIII. (1999,) I was open to her gentler interpretation of the Empress Maria-Theresa's youngest daughter and France's last queen. Whether you believe she was a political pawn of her mother and brother or reckless, fun-time girl, Marie Antoinette became a fashion trend setter.
These days, however, when I think of Marie Antoinette I think of socks. Darn sexy socks, but socks nonetheless. Anne Hanson has designed this royal confection which is delight to knit (and wear once it cools off!) In fact, if I wasn't suffering from WIP overload and the need for new, I would have finished these already. Still, with one sock off the needles and blocked, I thought it was time to show her off a bit. I'll give the full details when the pair is finished, but for now I'll tell you that she is knit up with Fleece Artist Sea Wool in the appropriate colorway of Paris!
The cuff is knit flat, then grafted together. I probably should have blocked it before grafting, something I'll do with sock two. Once joined the stitches are picked up from the bottom edge and it is knit in the round.
The Beehive stitch makes up the front and sides
and the Honey Bee panel up the back.
Intricate without being complicated, the instructions are clear and easy to follow. Put your best foot forward with Marie Antoinette.
A couple of days ago I got a PM from my sock sensei, Laura, letting me know that Cookie A's Ornette Sock pattern was finally on sale. "When," she wanted to know "was I casting on?" Somewhere between Cookie A's website and a glance at my bank balance I had the cruel realization that it was time to finish up what I had started before starting something new. How adult of me! But it's true. I currently have 16 WIPs and a snoozer to contend with.
The (seven) sock WIPs in alphabetical particular order:
Toe-Up Crusoe (Ravelry Link)
Dublin Bay (Ravelry Link)
Esther (Ravelry Link)
Flame Wave (Ravelry Link)
Marie Antoinette (Ravelry Link)
And lest we forget, the second sock of Monkey (Ravelry Link)
and Embossed Leaves (Ravelry Link)
Lucky for me, it appears Laura was mistaken. The pattern hasn't actually been released yet (though there are lots of test knitters.) There's still time!
My time with Mommy was short and endless, all at the same time. When I mentioned to a friend that I was sad that Mommy had left, my friend was a bit surprised. I had seemed to be stressed whilst Mommy was here. And that is our relationship in a nutshell. We drive each other a bit nuts when we're together but miss each other terribly when we are apart. Perhaps this is due to strong personalities and me growing up with no testosterone in the house. Or perhaps that we both have strong personalities and have spent the last 10 years separated by 10,000 miles (now that gap is down to 3,000. Closer, but not close at all.) Did I mention that we both have strong personalities? Or that our experiences with the Doom Mobile added to the stress? Anyway, when we aren't at each other's throats we can get up to some pretty wacky/silly stuff. Take, for instance, our last day together. As Mommy was packing away her things, she offered to leave me this not-so-cheap spray in hair treatment for younger looking hair. No it doesn't take away the gray (I only have a bit at the temple,) it is supposed to "transform dull, coarse, brittle, aged hair into youthful, healthy looking, silky smooth, beautiful hair" 
So Mommy agreed to a little experiment.
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| Before | Spritzing it on | After |
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Based on the stitch pattern in Crusoe socks by Marilyn A Roberts in
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