Tag Archives: staccato socks

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Staccato!

Another pair of socks? Why yes. Of course. I can’t stop knitting them these days. They are keeping me sane amidst the extensive reading and writing for my summer class, packing and moving all my belongings at 9 months prego (don’t worry…no lifting), and being now 9 months pregnant. The emphasis of a staccato note feels like an apt description of the kind of frenzy I’m feeling this week. I have been breaking down in tears on a nearly daily basis from the stress and losing sleep, which only compounds the situation. I know that this is a combination of hormones and the two fairly big life changes taking place, and that it is all temporary (at least the pregnancy and moving) The parenting part is a different story I will explore shortly. Even though we are moving to a teeny house, I think I’m unwilling to move again until we move to a place we want to own.

Uh, yes. So, the socks… They’re made from Plymouth Yarn Sockotta Limited in 9850 for the colorway. I’m not in love with this yarn, but that’s mostly because it is nearly half cotton. I think a cotton/wool blend would wear well for more seasons, but the yarn does not have the spring in its step when I’m knitting it, like so many of the merinos I covet. The pattern is Staccato Socks by Veronik Avery from the book Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn.

I gave these to my friend, Kathleen. I think the yarn wanted to be socks for her all along, but it wasn’t totally confirmed until I knit the heel flap just a bit too long for my size 9 feet and they perfectly fit her size 9.5 feet when she tried them on at knit night a week and a half ago. That sealed their fate. Kathleen said her feet are often too hot in socks, so I’m hoping the cotton blend is also perfectly appropriate for her. She’s a Wisconsin native, so not only are Arkansas winters mostly likely a joke to her, they’re also not always meriting wool socks.

I am still knitting on my Featherweight, and I’ve started a new pair of socks (of course). I’ll have more updates on those soon. I also have a favor to ask: If anyone knows a fella with size 13 feet, I could really really use a measurement for socks. I realize everyone could be slightly different, but I would love to know circumference at the ball of the foot, total toe to heel length while foot is flat on the ground, and toe to front of ankle length while the foot is flat. I really like foot measurements in centimeters for exactness. If anyone can provide this info, I’d be most grateful.

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31.

I’m thirty-one today. It’s also Bastille Day. I’d like to believe I was born on this day to be revolutionary. I’m working on this bit by bit.

This has been an excellent year, and I anticipate an even better one to come. I’m having my first baby, I’m engaged to a man I both love and admire, I will be doing the bulk of my dissertation on a topic I am deeply passionate about, and I plan on continuing to knit like a fiend and do more designing. Those are just the big things. The every day is also filled with small joys.

While continuing to look for peace in a chaotic month (work, moving, writing three chapters of my dissertation in five weeks, and month 8-9 of gestation) I am still knitting, of course.

For a couple of weeks I was churning out a pair of socks a week. I love going at that pace. These have been a little slower since I added 8 hours of summer school a week to my repertoire last week. They are the Staccato Socks by Veronik Avery. Luckily summer school is only 5 weeks long, and so far I have been able to work on my Featherweight while listening to lecture. I don’t work on the socks in class since they require me to look down. The Featherweight is almost totally eyes-free as I plug away on the body length. I have to do a lot of reading and writing for this class. We are expected to write the first three chapters of our dissertation, outline the fourth, and do a 10 page review of someone else’s dissertation. This definitely occupies my hands more than I would like as I’m frantically highlighting articles and taking notes. I will survive.

I’m also moving the last weekend of this month. We haven’t packed that much besides books… No biggie, right? Yeah, I’m going to be knitting as much as I can for sanity.