Extra geek points all around for anyone that knows what movie I’m referencing in the title.

A perfect geek score of 10 will get you the love and admiration of my imaginary friends.

(Those of you that know that 10 in binary equals the number two now have a perfect geek score. The adoring crowds are now cheering your name.)

The finished socks are worsted weight wool, I don’t remember the brand. Or maybe I do and I’m just ashamed.

Alright, I’m just ashamed. It’s Patons.

Go ahead and laugh and point yarn snobs. I have a merino blend on the wheel.

My dear friend Lisa Castano hand-dyed some gorgeous merino roving for me last year, I got this lovely single from it. Lisa is in Gresham Oregon and she does a fantastic job of handpainting rovings in small batches as well as handblending different mixes of fibery goodness.

Eager to get some knittable goodness and to maintain the distinct blocks of color I’ve Navajo plied the yarn.

Behold the glorious results.

Okay, less than glorious plying on my part, but still, more or less balanced and totally knit worthy.

It’s a knitters freakin’ paradise, or it would be if I could find a proper LYS out here. I’m pretty much stuck to Micheal’s in Klamath Falls for yarnage. Let’s just take a moment to feel sorry for me.

Poor me.

pictured: hat, snow. not pictured: self pity

Moment over. I’ve been working on a hat, no pattern (no big surprise there) just a circle with cables on it. The uncabled bit at the beginning will be folded under and stitched down to make a nice band inside. The yarn is Caron “Country” and it’s a 75% Acrylic, 25% Merino. That cold breeze that blew through here was not the weather, just the bitter winter of my heart as I weep just a little, longing for proper handspun wool on my needles.

As soon as I get a place I’m going to grab at least one of my wheels and do some spinning.

shorty socks

And more socks.

They look more or less like the other socks that I’ve already finished. I did the longer cuffed socks first, now I’m just trying to squeeze out a few pairs of the shorties out of the skein ends.

There is something innately satisfying about looking over and seeing a flock of socks form on the corner of my desk.

I haven’t exactly been very definite lately.

Me? A sock knitter?

I seem to work best in bursts. After a stint of yarnlessness (it was really not pretty) I went through a bit of a knitting related dry spell.

Actually, if I hadn’t been for the knitting this week I would have probably gone off the deep end.

It’s been a rough week for me. Not to sound cynical, but I learned (for the umpteen-thousandth time) that people who have a track record of flaking off will not randomly metamorphose into reliable and trustworthy butterflies. It’s one of those lessons that I think I’ve fully integrated, then I relapse and start with the whole irrational belief that people are generally benevolent.

So, with this kind of frustration I figure it’s best to put yarn on my knitting needles before I succumb to the temptation to violently stab them into human flesh. Because that sort of thing is generally frowned upon in polite company.

I think if I were to reknit this I’d add at least 3 more inches in length. Maybe just a squidge more.

The finishing was super easy, I snipped a small hole in the top to let the lid button through, and sliced holes to let through the spout and handle.

I’m going to mount googly eyes on it and make it my friend.

Where it is now.

Hopefully when it’s out of the washing machine, it’ll be suitably felted and appropriately sized to my Amsterdam teapot, then I’ll slice a openings for the handle and the spout.

I cross my fingers.

Honest.

The yarn is my handspun merino-bamboo blend “Fire Opal” hand-painted by the talented Moonlightbaker.

The blogging plan went awry though. I couldn’t sleep, my brains felt like they were going to explode and there’s nothing more soothing to painful brains than a knitting project that doesn’t require too much deep thought.

Once I decide on a tried and true thing it’s very hard for me to change brands, or even styles within a brand. I debated for days, then weeks, and then timidly added harmony interchangable needles and cables to my shopping cart. I must have read the description at least a hundred times before completing the order (that’s the thing with monomania, it is an OCD and not a terribly fun one at that.) I ordered a set of size 4 and a set of size 6, along with 24″ and 32″ cables.

They are beautiful. The joins to the cable are smooth and the tips are perfectly pointylicous.

Lexi’s baby doll provided the perfect opportunity to try out the size 4 needles. The green and white sweater was done on size 0 bamboo needles, yarn is 2-ply Falkland sock yarn that I spun up last year or the year before last. The purple and blue yarn is 2 ply merino sportweight that I dyed and spun around the same nonspecific time frame. I knit that one using my new needles, I love my new needles.

Love love love!

My friend Opal sent me some delicious handpainted fiber in a care package which enabled my latest knitting project.

Can you tell what it is?

It’s a spiralling scarf. Constructed like a flat doily, the only difference is that I didn’t stop making sections when it reached a circle, I just kept knitting the segments until I ran out of yarn.

The last bit of embellishment needs to wait but the plan is to put beads and coins on the outer segment corners.