All Mine

When I turned forty I decided that I'd never again work on my birthday, but as this year's is a Saturday, and furthermore the Saturday of a long weekend, it's especially easy AND I still have that vacation day in reserve, so my year is starting off pretty well, apart from the fact that even though no alarm clock started playing Morning Edition at 6 ayem, I woke up anyway.

A small matter.

On the yay side, I have socks delighting me.

Nancy, thanks again, the blanks are giving me so much pleasure!

You can't really see, I don't think, but I think I have the transition from entrelac to plain knitting wrapped up. 

My entrelac squares are eight stitches for a total of forty-eight around, and my usual socks are seventy-two, or six sets of twelve, which means that for the transition, I pick up twelve stitches instead of eight, and short-row by twos and ones, and then the next round when I knit the wraps, I'll have my seventy-two. I think it'll be neater than having picked up eight only, and then being forced to increase.

As you know, everyone needs some instant gratification from time to time, though in a knitting context, "instant" is a relative term.

I'm at the point in this short-sleeved cardigan when it seems as if it's slowed down horrendously, and just when I'm at the point of wondering if ever these interminable raglan rounds will get shorter as I know there are eight stitches less every other row even though it doesn't feel like it, suddenly the next row will be the second-last, and I'll have forgotten to do the garter stitch for the neckband, so I'll have to undo six rows because there really is no alternative, but then I'll be finished, bar closing the holes at the underarms and sewing on a button (which I might bead) and steaming.

This is a good place to be.

On Tuesday when I taught at the bead store, I bought a tube of almost every new colour of the silver-lined opal seed beads and made these earrings. While the beads in the tubes are utterly delicious, somehow they seem to lose something like this, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps they need a contrast to really show them off.

On the other hand, I do like them in this necklace I'm just starting, even though there's no contrast in sight.

Muscovite stone (not yet attached), and a few dull rubies in the chain. I've had them for ages, was a little disappointed in their colour at the time, but they're just perfect here! The benefits of a large stash cannot be underestimated.

And now to finish the hair and face so I can safely go out for lunch (mmm, sushi - thanks, Amy!)