It was mildly entertaining to watch the parade of repair guys fleeing my neighbor's wrath, a small compensation for having to wait around the house all day. My faithful companion through the many comings and goings was Nancy Bush's Tiit's Socks (in Folk Knitting in Estonia). It's my "Fair Isle" project for May Sockdown!
Like many Nancy Bush patterns, this one provides a feast of knitterly wisdom. The long cuff is biased, because knitting in the round forms an S-twist spiral that becomes noticeable with length. The charming colorwork stitch, goat's eye (I learned it as goose eye, l'oeil d'oie), is entertaining to knit and contrasts nicely with the texture of the eye of partridge heel. To keep the pattern correct, one picks up stitches along the heel flap in two colors. I dunno why, but it's never occurred to me to try two-color pick up before.
The two colors are MC Trekking 93 (grays) and CC Trekking 48 (blues). I started Anemoi Mittens with these yarns, but thought the pattern got lost in the variegations. Here, the variegation works agreeably with the pattern to give an effect of movement and shimmer. A different pairing of colors might look like snow leopard spots or Kaffe Fassett flowers. The motif could have political resonance as well – not why I picked the pattern, but it's there.
I do love political campaign buttons, sometimes known as chum – for that matter, pins and buttons and brooches in general (oh, to have Madeleine Albright's collection). Here's some of my favorite knitterly chum, pictured on a gauge swatch. (No U.S. flag pin? OMG!!!)
Top: I'm Mohair, Jersey Represent!, Tricoteuses Sans Frontières, Shawl Ministry.
Center: Moving Mud.
Bottom: Knitters Make Lovers Warmer, Designs by Romi, Zecca, I'm a Square!
This week I've been going to lectures. Last night I heard a scholar of political science assert that scandal does little to change opinion but it does consolidate pre-judgment – those already favorably inclined toward a candidate minimize its importance, those already unfavorably inclined magnify its importance – and that this has been well-known in political strategy circles for years. Something that makes me go Hmmm on a rainy Friday.
Last but hardly least, this Sunday is Mother's Day in the U.S., so here's a knitted tribute to moms everywhere.
9 comments:
That sock is lovely!!!
I agree, a gorgeous sock. I am envying you as I sit here in the midst of a Knitting Ban.
The colors go so well together.
What a great sock! Those yarns work perfectly together. Enjoy your weekend.
That is a gorgeous sock!
Snazzy sock! I love it.
And what a great collection of pins. I especially like the knitted Jersey pin.
Your sock is looking incredible. How nice that you could watch your neighbor do the yelling, it must have made you feel better.
Love the sock. I can't bring myself to do colorwork in socks for some reason -- perhaps my mindset that socks should be simple and easily ported.
And I love the pictures of spring back east. As much as the desert flora intrigue me, I miss the familiar croci, daffodils, etc.
oooohhh is that iris shot from your local iris farm? i haven't been there yet, i so want to go.
the sock reminds me of a purple iris and all of its nuances. so lovely.
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