Needed: Yellow/Orange Yarn

I promised someone (ok, Beth the roomy) that I would knit her Pasha for her birthday which is slowly approaching. Does anyone have any yellow or orange yarn I can use. I only need a bit and I'm not sure I want to buy some just for this project. This would be a great way for you to look at all those funny leftover balls from projects you have done in the past.

Do you think I can do the white in cotton yarn? I'm not sure off the top of my head if there is wool white in my stash or just cotton. Would that make poor Pasha look funny?

Shhhh, Don't tell Beth about this yarn hunt. She thinks I forgot her love of penguins.

The math

Well, if all else fails trot out the math and science. We weighed the six inch portion of sock I've already knitted



and the remaining ball of yarn.



Because I couldn't completely remove the two pairs of needles from the knitting, we had to throw in a compensation for the weight of the needle cord dangling off the scale pan. And the answer is....

6 inches of knitting, with the needles = 18 grams
weight of similar section of one needle cord = 1 gram
weight of remaining ball of yarn = 88.5 grams

( 88.5g / ( 18g - 2g) ) * 6 inches = 33.18 inches additional knitting possible

Which means that my original plan to knit a total of 36 inches of sock (2 * (10 inches of foot + 8 inches of leg)) still seems do-able without running out of yarn. At least, I hope so . However that 36 inches doesn't account for the heel section but it allows about 3 inches additional for the two heels.

Thank you to my dad who helped me weigh and did the math for me.

Did you see that truck?

So I was sitting on the T this morning, listening to music and enjoying the sunlight (that part of the train ride is above ground) and knitting away on THE sock which felt a little neglected since I didn't knit on it last night. And then it hit me. I am knitting socks for someone with a long foot. Longer then mine. And I am trying to get 2 socks out of a ball of yarn. Now should I follow that pattern and knit the whole 8 inches before the heel and then 10 inches of the foot making it 36 inches approximately of foot coverage for the whole sock? Should I knit less before the heel making me happy and leaving hopefully enough to cover the foot? Should I just follow the pattern and hope I don't need to go searching for a complimentary hand dyed yarn that goes with a "Potluck" color?

Let me try to channel Grumperina now:
The pattern calls for 3 balls of 164 yards so that is 492 yards! Ravelry informs me (cause the ball band is at home and Ravelry remembers when I import ball band info) that my lovely ball is only 480 yards. So. There is it. Now if I were truly Grumperina I would weigh how much I had done (since I know the weight of 480 yards to be 100 grams) and figure out how much more I could do from this. But this requires one thing that I don't have with me: a scale. And not having a scale with me cuts into my work/T ride knitting since I'm not sure I can continue knitting the leg which is creeping towards 6 inches.

How many inches is 12 yards? 1? 2? 4? Should I take off 1 inch, 2 inches or less then an inch from the foot? Or should I just finish the toes in a different (solid) color green? What about Knitpicks Essentials in Pine? If I do that, should I do the heel in Pine as well or just the toes? Now I am giving myself a headache....

Excuse me I am going to go knit until I find a scale.

A visit from the neighbors and some socks....

This morning at my parent's house the dogs were barking at nothing as always.... But today the nothing was:



15 Wild Turkeys. They have been living in the neighborhood for a few years now. Wandering around, eating bugs, scaring joggers.



I never thought we would see wild turkeys in our yard, especially given how close the house is to Boston and to a busy highway.



They posed with my mother's metal chicken. (She has a few of them hidden around the yarn and the recent additions of the pink flamingos seen in the first picture)



They let me get pretty close to take pictures and then wandered around for some more. They headed towards the highway and got confused about the fence we have there. They stood there for a while and then flew into the neighbor's yard.



I also took some time today to finish my first Crooked Cable Sock.



I love the colors,



and the heel.
Finally, let me introduce THE sock. THE sock is for someone very special who doesn't know that it is for her yet. It is the Uptown Boot Pattern from Favorite Socks knit in Sockitome by Cherry Tree Hill Blue-Green Potluck. I debated for a long time on what color to make it and finally this yarn leaped out at me being green, blue AND teal.



Thats some pretty fancy yarn. I don't often buy that fancy yarn without it being on sale or a special occasion. But THE sock is pretty special. So special that some new needles came just for it:



New Knitpicks Harmony needles. Not sure how I like them but THE sock really likes them.

Testing, testing is this thing on?

Sorry for the long silence everyone. I had this great post in my head all planned out last Monday and I planned to take pictures as soon as the migraine I had ended. Well..... its Saturday night and the migraine is almost gone. Thats right, a SIX day migraine. I feel like my life has been on hold, with a ton to do to catch up with in work and studying and just living. I have never slept so much and yet feel so tired. I showered today and that took all of my energy. I managed to knit again today for the first time since almost Monday (I tried knitting last night and managed a row on my socks before I was too tired to continue).
Last night/today was also Yom Kippur and for the first time in my life, I couldn't go to temple for the services. I feel a little guilty. I know I don't believe in the Book of Life and being written in it, but on the other hand, if there is one, I hope G-d understands that I was feeling like crap. My mom wore my tallis both last night and today and I think I got her to wear sneakers today for me. (Traditionally you can't wear leather for Yom Kippur). Don't worry, I didn't fast. I couldn't, I was too sick but officially children, women and those who would become ill can't fast for Yom Kippur. A lot of Jewish laws can be broken for medical reasons, such as if necessary an orthodox Jew would get you to a hospital on Shabbat even if it required driving or riding in an ambulance. It just feels weird to not have Yom Kippur this year, like I missed it and the year just lost it. Maybe that only makes sense in my head.

Eye Candy Friday

As promised:

TA DA! Crooked Cable Socks have made some progress.





I love how these socks are working up. Sadly, I don't have much time between work and GRE super studying to work on knitting.

L'Shana Tovah Tikatavu or "May only good things be written for you this year"

Tonight begins Rosh Hashanah, the first holiday of the Jewish High Holidays. Tonight I will have a quick and traditional meal with my family and then walk part of the way to temple (we also drive part of the way) and sit through services. I always enjoy walking back to the car after services when the stars are all out and seeing the community around me and knowing that around the world, people are walking to temple and prepping for the New Year. When I use to teach the children's services during the day on Rosh Hashanah we would read this book about the birthday of the world, and play an alarm clock to talk about how Rosh Hashanah is about getting your ready for Yom Kippur (The alarm clock is a little like the shofar calling us to worship).
The ten days between those holidays are a time to think about the new year and reflect on the old. The tradition is to cast bread onto a flowing body of water and imagine your sins from the past year is also cast away. This is the time of year to ask for forgiveness and the tradition says that if you ask a person for forgiveness three times from the bottom of your heart and they still can't forgive you, then G-d will forgive you. In the children's service we talk a lot about missing the mark, like if you were shooting at a target with arrows. However, the Talmud states that "Rosh ha-Shanah is the most important judgment-day, on which all the inhabitants of the world pass for judgment before the Creator, as sheep pass for examination before the shepherd."
In this idea of judgment, there is this long poem that is recited on Yom Kippur that is stuck in my head today. I have never particularly enjoyed it, since I personally don't like the idea of G-d deciding on one day who will live and who will die for the whole year. We only read a piece of it in our traditional Reform service (there are other styles of services offered both at my temple and at other temples) and I have included it below (in English):

On Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed,
And on Yom Kippur it is sealed.
How many shall pass away and how many shall be born,
Who shall live and who shall die,
Who shall reach the end of his days and who shall not,
Who shall perish by water and who by fire,
Who by sword and who by wild beast,
Who by famine and who by thirst,
Who by earthquake and who by plague,
Who by strangulation and who by stoning,
Who shall have rest and who shall wander,
Who shall be at peace and who shall be pursued,
Who shall be at rest and who shall be tormented,
Who shall be exalted and who shall be brought low,
Who shall become rich and who shall be impoverished.
But repentance, prayer and righteousness avert the severe decree.

However I was surprised to see that there is a next line that is not included in our service "For Your praise is in accordance with Your name. You are difficult to anger and easy to appease. For You do not desire the death of the condemned, but that he turn from his path and live. Until the day of his death You wait for him. Should he turn, You will receive him at once. In truth You are their Creator and You understand their inclination, for they are but flesh and blood. The origin of man is dust, his end is dust." In some way that new piece adds some comfort to me, more along the lines of G-d being a friend and companion who waits for you to find your own way.

Sorry for all the religious talk for those who are here to read about knitting, I just have been pondering that song today. There has been knitting and hopefully tomorrow I will have a nice picture to show you. Until then, eat some apples and honey for a Shana Tova or a sweet year.