FO: Attraction on the Moors

Did you know that mismatched socks is a thing now?  I had no idea when I put this yarn on my wishlist that it was the latest trend.  My sister is working her pediatrics rotation this semester and just laughed at me when she saw me working on these socks.  Evidently all the kids on campus as well as the little ones she sees at the health department are sporting mismatched socks this season.  Even our little boutique gift shop at the museum has succumbed to the madness, selling socks in packs of three coordinating but unmatched individual socks.  But I always argue that the knitters are ahead of the trends (cowls and shawls are huge this season, and who among us hasn't seen a million patterns in our books and magazines in the past several years).

I love the concept of these socks.  The yarn and pattern (OppAtt Socks) are both from Barking Dog Yarn, who dyes the skeins in two coordinating colorways and sells them in sets, enough yarn for one sock of each color.  The set I picked is Catherine and Heathcliff, one of my favorite tragic couples.  I've been very outspoken in the past about how much I do not enjoy Jane Austen.  I've given her books a try, read parts of several, and of course have seen the movies (the one exception is Sense and Sensibility.  Colonel Brandon covers a multitude of sins).  But my heart remains with the gothics, particularly the Bronte sisters, whose books I devoured in my more melancholy high school days.

These socks were just as tempermental as the pair from whom they take their name.  The first sock was a real exercise in how to efficiently rip back.  The first time through I started the heel on the wrong side of the sock and it was only obvious once I started the foot patterning. rip  Then I got halfway through the heel only to realize I had twisted some stitches in an obviously wrong direction.  riiip And then after I had reknit I realized that the sock felt so long because it really was and I had started on the foot patterning while actually knitting the leg! RRRIIIPP!


But after all of that, I think the result was worth it.  I subbed in a short row toe and heel a la Nutkin because I really enjoy how the short row heel fits my foot and take a lot of satisfaction from the short row toe. I've already worn these socks several times to work.  Hand knit socks seem to have become a standard part of my wardrobe and I finally have enough pairs to get me through a standard work week provided I do my hand washing once a week (yes, I still hand wash my socks).  The fabric in these is a little on the warm side, but my feet are naturally cold so I'm sure this will be a boon once we get actual cold weather around here.

In the end, I think these socks have really found each other.  They gave me fits and went into time out several times, but the final product exhibits just the amount of quirk I demand from my wardrobe.

Stash and Bones

It might be more than a week since my birthday, but I'm still getting presents!  Yesterday Chris picked me up from work and handed me a smaller, soft, gift wrapped present.  Inside was yarn!  Evidently he ordered it before my birthday but it didn't show up in time.  Which is fine because I was totally caught off guard by the pretties inside.

Barking Dog Yarn Opposites Attract in Heathcliff and Catherine

Not only is this yarn awesome because it's named after one of my personal favorite tragic couples (I may be very much not a Jane Austin person, but I love me some Bronte sisters), but it is also the concept of the yarn that I find really inspiring.  These are two coordinating colorways in which the main color of one is the accent color of the other.  Each skein is about 200 yards, or enough for your average sock, so that you can knit fraternal socks that actually match!  They were designed for the OppAtt socks, but I've seen some very tempting Monkeys on Ravelry.  Maybe I'll get another couple and give those a go later on.

Yesterday brought to me not only yarn, but also a very unique opportunity, at least for me.  I got to go to a Kathy Reichs book signing!  Now while you may look at your screen and go, oh she's here every year for her book tours, remember something.  I grew up in a very lovely but very small town.  While the geography inspires authors, they seldom come to visit when they go on book tours.  I would not have even known that she was nearby if I had not happened to glance at my twitter when she tweeted about it.

As the loyal fan I am I did buy her latest book, Seizure, which I immediately started last night.  It might take me a while to finish because I'm not going to lug a signed copy up to SAFF with me this weekend, nor will I drag it around as my lunch book (my copy of Heat Rises has a tragic tear in one of the pages from one too many days spent in my purse).  I know I will love it, as I have loved all of her books.  I actually have not read the latest Tempe book because I have a sort of tradition started back when I was working necessary but miserable summer jobs to pay for college.  Every summer the paperback of the previous year's release is published and is sold in such mundane places as the local drug store.  Well, no matter where I've lived or where I work there is always a drug store that sells these paperbacks.  I can't tell you how much I relished my escape into Tempe's world on my lunch breaks at McDonalds or when I was a hotel housekeeper.  I actually missed my bus stop one time in Pittsburgh last summer because I was so absorbed in my book.

It meant so much to me to meet Ms. Reichs and have her sign my book.  She is truly a lovely woman.  I just wish I could have thought of something to say to her besides "My mom said to tell you you are her hero."