Shock the Monkey

Truth be told, I am completely and utterly exhausted. I just came home from a wedding in Lakewood. The drive itself was enough to wear me down! I did take advantage of the traffic on the way there and got in a nice bit of knitting while someone else kindly did the driving for over an hour and a half. Once there I spent a lovely evening with my oldest, dearest friend, who also happens to be the very, very young bride's aunt. And as tired as I am, I still want to share my finished Monkey socks before I collapse into bed. (I'm cheating on the time stamp - it's really just gone midnight. But only just, so I deem it acceptable to be Tuesday's post.)

Specs:
Monkey by Cookie A
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock - Lightweight
Colorway: Nodding Violet
Purchased at: Blue Moon Fiber Arts
Mods:
Needle: US 2 / 2.75 mm
Heel: Eye of Partridge

My new sock blockers hard at work.

The enchanting toe.

The whimsical heel.

The elegant gusset.

The classy cuff.

The complete package. Gotta love them.


And almost 6,000 people can't be wrong!

888 is the New 666

What an interesting day I've had. It was spent braving the hot, thick, murky air and witnessing a fascinating cross-section of the human race. Yes, I spent the day at Newark International Airport.

You may remember my mom came to visit around Memorial Day. After her visit she spent a few days in Pittsburgh and then went off to England, where she had been staying until today. Faced with what turned out to be a nine hour layover (plane delays are such a pain,) we decided it was definitely worthwhile for me to come spend the day with her at the airport. If I'd had a car we could have spent the day together doing something a bit more exciting, but faced with current realities we decided to hang out.

The Journey:
Here's the good thing about Passaic. It's 25 minutes into the city, by bus or by train depending on where you want to end up. Here's the bad thing. Getting anywhere else is a real pain. No direct trains or buses. What can you do? So off I went to the train station. First off, both ticket machines were broken. Paying on the train is almost double the price but there were enough of us getting on that we successfully convinced the ticket guy to charge us regular price. 15 minutes later I was in Secaucus. And then it was a 25 minute wait until the connecting train came into the station to take me two stops. Ok, $5.50 and an hour later I'm at the airport. Not bad.

Welcome to Newark International Airport.
You see that walk way, that's what connects you from the train station to the Air Train which takes you to the actual terminals. That and this:

Yep, another $5.50 to get through the barrier so you can actually enter into the airport. (And don't think I didn't have the same thing going home! $22 is a bit much. I could make at least one pair of socks with that!)

Then the journey on the Air Train; from the terminal to P4, Terminal C, Terminal B and finally Terminal A, where Mommy was waiting for me. Five or so hours to burn, so we checked out the terminal. Not much going on, I have to say. Of course there was no Kosher food (which neither of us thought there would be,) so it was off to Starbucks. Mommy didn't like the looks of this one so we decided to go back to Terminal B, where the international flights depart from. It should be interesting there. Not! Maybe things get exciting once you get past Security, but the front end of Newark Airport is a dud! I speak from experience. At last count I have been to 21 countries and 12 states. Of course the criteria is that you must leave the airport, which means there are even more airports that didn't make the count. BTW, best Duty Free shopping - Turkey!

Speaking of going through Security, I found this poster to be quite helpful.

No mention of those things we might be unsure of: liquids, tweezers, knitting needles. But it did inform me that you can't bring guns, flammable objects or explosives, sharp objects, tools, club-like items or chemicals on to a plane. Wow!

Anyway, Terminal B was just as disappointing but we hung out at the food court, snacking on Pringles and Diet Coke. Mommy regaled me with many stories of Grandma, other family members and Bridge. We were very naughty and laughed a lot. With over three hours to go we decided to check out Terminal C and hit the Starbucks. What a disappointment. Nothing there. Nothing. Only Continental's check in. It was at this point that Mommy wanted to know what P4 was. Maybe we could go there. But once I told her it was a Parking Structure 4 she decided to give it a pass. So it was back to the original Starbucks at Terminal A.

I ordered my standard Iced Venti Latte, but opted for half caf. It was already late afternoon... No matter how many times we have gone there, it still takes her ages to figure out what she'd like. Sometimes it boggles the mind. The line is growing, there is only one barista. My drink is ready, Mommy has ordered. It's time to pay. 888. "Isn't that the sign of the devil?" Mommy asks. "Perhaps," I answer, what with inflation and airport prices.

We find a place to sit. Mommy eavesdrops on a nuclear family having a nuclear squabble and giggles. It isn't us you see. We're grown ups now and don't do things like that in public. More Grandma stories take us to a recounting of performance of South Pacific they saw at the Cliff's Pavilion. If you've ever been to Southend-on-Sea you know where it is. Grandma lives 5 minutes away. And of course this leads to her singing all the songs she can remember from this musical and others. In the food court. I try to settle her down.

She's flagging now. Exhausted beyond all belief. We make a call to my sister, more amusing family stuff and I walk her to the gate. We say good bye. It's always hard.

I make my way back to the Air Train, the platform, Secaucus, Passaic station and home. Of course I've had my knitting with me. I cast on for Monnkey sock 2 before I left. This is where I was when I got home.


Oh ya, I forgot to mention Mommy was totally impressed with my sock knitting!

Rude Awakening

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!

I Didn't Inhale

I'm still euphoric after my trip to Modern Yarn in Montclair this afternoon. This was my first time in a yarn store since I'd moved here. Last summer! And it was even more special since The Wigg-ed One took me as my birthday treat. And what a treat it was. I was intoxicated by the yarn fumes in the air, the colors, the squishy goodness. The Wigg-ed One seemed a bit like Alice, trying to figure it all out, but I was there on a mission. I stayed totally focused. Taking only an hour to gaze and squeeze in a drunken stupor at all the lovely sock yarns. I almost broke when I finally came face to face with some Malabrigo but really, this was all about sock yarn. Solid sock yarn specifically. Unfortunately there was no LL solids and I wasn't looking to increase my multi stash. (It's not that I am so seriously addicted to the LL, in fact I prefer something that knits up on a larger needle. It's just that I have these multis that I'm not using for fear of pooling. And I want solids so I can engage in my first foray into the world of stranded color work.) The search for solids goes beyond the stranded possibilities. It stems from the realization that many of the patterns I want to knit up are all about the stitch work and WANT to be knit up in a solid.

Anyway, I was almost there with the Louet Gems but I was a bit nervous after some reviews I read recently. So I went with the Koigu. Ahhh, the Koigu. My first Koigu! And of course I remembered that the camera was home once we were half way there, but fear not, because I'll be showing off my modest purchases/gifts on Friday.

But today is Wednesday and it is time to show some progress pics.

As per my arrangement, after I finished Shag I was allowed to work on one sock. And here it is. My first Monkey sock. The way things are going I may to have to wait a while before making its mate, but then I'm thinking of changing up the arrangement somewhat. And so since the project is only 50% complete, this qualifies as a WIP.


Next, I'm back to Arietta! Surprise! It's time really, isn't it? It's not that I fell out of love last fall, it's just that I needed to spread my wings a bit. Which I did. And lose some weight. Which I didn't. But I am finally starting to. Slowly, but there it is. I don't know if I will lose enough for this to fit by the Fall but I'm to finish it just the same. Then I can glance at it lovingly and know that with just a bit more work on myself it can be mine. BTW, does anyone see the mistake? Don't worry, I'll fix it before I push forward!)


Another Oldy but Goody, I've pulled Windchime Blues out of the ZZZ pile. By hook or by crook I'll get this scarf done!


And speaking of hooking, another crochet project. A flowered motif scarf knit from VK's On The Go series: Crocheted Scarves Two. This is the same Heela cotton as used for Arietta, only in brighter, bolder colors.


Tomorrow I'll share the "new arrangement" I've made with myself and layout the new structure for the blog.

P is for...

Persistent, perfectionist, and perplexed.

I've had a lot of time to think about my knitting and about life over the last couple of weeks. It hasn't been the easiest of times, but I am holding on. My life has been a bit like the making of this short-row heel. It was something new for me, something that wasn't going the way I thought it should and something that I just kept trying to get right. And after ripping it out the heel (not just on one sock but both on both, clever me!) five times, F.I.V.E. times, I finally got it right. At least the short-row heel part. Which, of course, gives me strength to keep on going with everything else. Just keep on trying to get it right. And eventually I will.

And doesn't that heel look gorgeous?

All that's left is the leg, and that should move pretty fast now.

And despite the fact that I really want to get back to my pile-o-WIPs, I finally cast on for a pair of Monkey socks.

Love!

Monkey truly is the anti-pool pattern. Cookie A is a genius. I knew that from looking, but now I know that from knitting. I just need to stock pile some solid sock yarn and get going...