Sock Frogging

So I was knitting my "mindless socks" at work today and all I could think about was- "GOD I HATE THESE SOCKS!" I'm sure the lady who wrote Crosswalkers pattern is a very nice lady, but her pattern just wasn't working for me. It could be because the yarn isn't exciting me, or it could be because the pattern wasn't exciting me, I'm not sure why- but I just wasn't feeling it. At. all.

Thus, I decided that life's too short to hate what you're knitting- and I frogged the socks and didn't even feel all that bad about it.

Before-- "meh"

During the frog process...

After... relief. I just don't have to think about knitting these anymore.

With that nightmare out of the way- on to more exciting news - I'M GOING TO THE MAKE 1 FALL FIBER ARTS RETREAT!!!!!! After some deliberating I finally decided to go and I'm SO. EXCITED. All the "knit-erati" are going to be there; the Yarn Harlot, Cookie A, Nancy Bush and Amy Singer. I signed up for the Cookie workshops, mostly because I know everyone (at least from Ravelry) and their dog is signing up for the Harlot, and since I've already had the privelge of meeting and enjoying the Harlot, I've decided to share the time with her. Plus- Cookie's socks are works of art and her designs are amazing, I'm sure that I will learn so much that my little mind is going to explode.

The retreat isn't until Nov 6-9, (which basically feels like eons from now), but I'm planning to knit socks by all three ladies, (Amy Singer excluded only because as far as I know she hasn't designed socks), to wear at the event. I was a little nervous signing up and not knowing anyone but then I remembered back to when I started this blog and I attended the "Represent!" event in NYC and I met all kinds of awesome people and lost all that shyness instantly. Knitters tend to be "good people" and I'm looking forward to meeting a bunch of local "good people".

Okay-- lots to knit before now and then so I should dash!

Sick Days

Well- it seems that my last post was also the last time I was healthy. All that joy that I experienced with my knitting time off was just too much and I got the flu. And OH MY GOD did I get the flu. My husband knew it was bad when I didn't feel like knitting. Yes, gentle reader, the sheer act of holding up the needles was just too much. Sadly this little buggy has hung on like crazy, and I'm writing this still sick.

All that time I was supposed to devote to knitting fun things and I waste it by being sick! I'm cutting myself some slack on the blanket hiatus- and extending it until I feel better. There is still very little knitting being done, but at least it's not just a big boring square! And so- I give you the progress that has been made in more than two weeks, 4 baby hats. It's not much, but it's something.

Inexplicable Knitting - Take Your Sock to Work Day

Last year I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Yarn Harlot's "Represent" event out in NYC. We "freaked out the muggles" everywhere- knitting all over the city showing folks we were proud of our skills. This year, with her new book out she'd planned another great way to freak the non-knitters out, a photo scavenger hunt with socks in progress accross Toronto.

Well, sadly, I'm not going to be in Toronto until next week, (although I'm not sad to be in Toronto when I am!), and will miss out on all the fun. Determined to do a little inexplicable knitting in my own neck of the country, I decided instead of a scavenger hunt, I'd have a special "take your sock to work" day. (Technically I take my sock everyday and knit over the lunch hour... but this time I thought I'd show the sock the rest of my office.)

I am now officially the "weirdest person in my office" - and I'm damn proud.

Brought the sock into the front entrance and showed it the fountain wall: (It may have gotten a touch wet... oops!)


While I was up at our main reception desk, I also introduced it to our office fish Brody. Now Brody is requesting a sweater...


After enough main lobby shenanigans I took it to my office and gave it a little run down about what I do everyday at my desk. (We may have checked on the Harlot flickr page like 9 zillion times today.) {Click the link to see other inexplicable knitting going on...}


After getting a feel of what I do, I decided that it needed to join the annual 9:00 am coffee sojurn, down to Second Cup. (It ordered a skinng mochaccino.)


After coffee the sock sat down with our HR department to get an orientation to the office. (The sock was very impressed and is thinking about applying for upper managment .)*


Before we knew it, lunch time rolled around and the sock joined us for our weekly Vietnamese.


After re-fueling for the day, the sock got a run down on the natural gas/crude spreads as well as fx trading. (The sock is a lot smarter than me and seemed to understand it, my eyes just glazed over and I went to my happy place... which for the record is swimming pool full of Koigu (*slobber*) that I can sink into.)

With all that number crunching, and learning about natural gas prices, the sock needed another coffee break and headed back to the lunch room for a brain break.


The sock had a big day- and even though it would have liked to have meet my boss, (I'm the assistant to the President who happens to be in Toronto on business {oh the cruel ironies}), it understands that it'll just have to come out and play next time.

All in all, I'm my co-workers maybe didn't see any inexplicable actual knitting, (they've seen me on various lunch breaks working on the recently finished Anna Socks), they did see a lot of inexplicable pictures of a sock in progress throughout the office. Either way I'm pretty certain they were scratching their heads.

*Thanks to Deanne in HR for being such a great sport!