Walking on Rainbows

I can joyously announce that all four children have survived fall break.  It was touch and go there for a couple of days.  The boy tends to pick on his sisters when he gets bored.  He likes to take his life boldly in his own hands.  He may or may not have spend two days secluded in his room until he could remember how to have like a decent human being.

We finally got around to doing the bi-annual reaping of the toys, the final step in the bi-annual decontamination of the house.  It wasn't pretty.  I stand by my controversial view that boy toys are way worse than girl toys.  At least Barbie shoes are brightly colored.  That tiny black thing on Meaty's carpet?  It could be a lego piece that if lost will ruin the expensive castle set forever, or a tiny toy gun necessary for Master Chief to defeat the flood, or it could be a dead bug.  There's no easy way to tell before you pick it up and realize you are now touching a desiccated beetle.  Next time I'm going to make The Greatest clean Meaty's room.

When I was done cleaning I took pictures of every object in their room.

I intend to print these pictures and duct tape them to the side of said object, and then when they clean their rooms they can check reality against the picture and try to make them match.  Then maybe the room will have a chance of being actually clean, and not just kid clean with everything shoved under the bed.  (Cracks me up that they think I don't know that trick, as if I was never a child)

Here's hoping this works!  *fingers crossed, breath firmly being held*

A girl can dream.

On the plus side I didn't spend the entire week cleaning.  I've got knitting to show off!

Finished knitting!

Beautiful happy finished knitting!

Pattern:  Traffic Island Socks (Rav linky), size small

Yarn:  Knit Picks Dye your own sock yarn, hand dyed by me for the Ravellenics

Needles:  5 size 2 dpns

Modifications:  None

Review:  I really liked this pattern.  It is a straight up knock of off the Jaywalker pattern.  But she added yarn overs for the increase and I think that makes all the difference.  I've tried making jaywalkers and I've never been able to make them fit.  The bias fabric is just too stiff to get on my big wide feet.  The yarn overs give this sock a lot of stretch, making them a perfect match for me.  I would caution that I knit a size small for my size 9 feet, and they are just barely small enough for me.  I like my hand knit socks to have plenty of negative ease, and I think these socks are just barely this side of positive ease.  They look crazy huge in the picture because they are being worn my by eight year old.  You try taking a good picture of the side of your leg.  I just don't contort like I used to.   I promise, on me they fit.

I did get a cute picture of my toes.

The big fit is fine, but something to consider.

I love how the yarn knitted up.

Minimal pooling!  Just glorious rainbow stripes.

I bought this yarn six or seven years ago.  I think I bought the very first skein they sold.  The dye your own sock yarn is now discontinued.  Knitpicks has replaced it with a lovely line of dye-able yarn in every yarn weight and fiber content imaginable under the name Bare.  But back in the dark ages when I bought this all they had was merino sock yarn.  It is a shame they got rid of it.  I love it.  I'm currently obsessed with the idea of dying my alpaca sock yarn red/blue/purple, but I fear my lovely lovely results were beginners luck. I'm due for some ego humbling fug yarn next time.  I simply can not take beautiful natural alpaca and turn it into fug. Fug yarn makes baby kittens cry.  I'm going to have to let this dilemma sit around in the back of my mind a bit longer before I can make a final decision.

I finished these socks last night, and in an odd twist of fate my windows were all open and the house was actually cold.  I put my socks on right away and immediately remembered the joy of hand knit socks.

I was so happy with my stripey warm socks I cast on for another pair of socks as quickly as I could turn a hank of sock yarn into a pretty yarn cake.  This time I'm using beads!

Squeeeeeeeee.  I'm going to love these socks.