10. learn how to knit socks. Make a pair for godfather's wife with the yarn bought in Colorado. (30 x 30)

Why was making socks so intimidating? I have no idea. It might be the instructions on paper which use words to describe a three dimensional piece of work. a la Miles Davis "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture"

After two or three independent tries, I asked for help. My buddy Jude taught me how to knit socks on one needle.


I screwed up though, left the instructions somewhere and rather than wait to find the sheet, decided to work two socks at once... Needles to say, it was too much for me. I frogged (which means to take it apart) the whole thing after a week's worth of work. In a retail therapy moment I tried to go to the knitting store in Newark, DE for some double pointed needles, but it was closed. I found the set I was looking for at home afterwards. oi.

The Big Book of Knitting was my first knitting book five years ago when I started. It has lots of klassy patterns, but most importantly it has easy to read instructions that aren't abbreviated. For example: "Continue working back and forth: In the first row, slip the last stitch on the second needle knitwise, knit the first stitch on the third needle, and pass the slipped stitch over. Turn the work. In the second row (WS [working side]), slip the first stitch purlwise, purl the following stitches, then pur the last stitch on the second needle together with the first stitch on the third needle. Turn the work. In the third row, slip the first stitch purlwise, slip the first stitch purlwise, work a single decrease over the last stitch on the needle and the first stitch on the third needle. Keep Repeating Rows 2 and 3 until all the stitches on the first and third needles have been used up. Put the remaining stitches onto 2 needles, at 5 stitches on the fourth and first needles."

I don't know exactly how to write that in knit-ese but it might look something like this:

Shape Heel:
1st row: P17, p2tog,P1, turn.
2nd row: K5, ssk, K1, turn.
3rd row: P6, p2tog, p1, turn.
4th row: K7, ssk,k1, turn.
Continue working in this manner, working 1 st more before dec in each row until there are 18 sts.
Next row: P18, break yarn.
Pick up and knit 18 sts along side edge of heel, knit 18 sts from needle, pick up and knit 18 sts along other side of heel. 54 sts.
Next row: Purl.

I don't know how to follow those instructions.









The key is turning the heel. All the rest is increasing and decreasing.






SOCKS FOR EVERYONE!

15. learn the russian marche by mozart (30 x 30)

this item is being abandoned, orphaned, left out to dry, jilted.

When I moved to the small wonderful, my nails grew to damaging lengths, hard like vulture talons. This also happened when I moved to LaLa so I think it may be a natural defense mechanism. When scared in a new place, my body prepares me for the fight part of the fight or flight reflex.

As a consequence, I have had to relearn typing because it is different with talons. it also means that if I were to play the piano there would be an unacceptable clicking noise. Mrs. Lewis, my piano teacher up until I was 12 years old, had nail clippers in the basket next to the metronome and would cut off anything offensive to her ears. For someone who rarely has long nails, this time is a gift and I cannot cut them. Instead of learning how to play the russian marche, I instead took a hun-gar kung-fu class and learned how to utilize these new talons:

the praying mantis


the dragon


the tiger


the owl


(i just made that one up)