It's no fun to be woken up by a chainsaw two days in a row. At least this morning it was an hour and a half later than it was yesterday, and a few more feet away from the bedroom, too. Also no fun is forgetting how to do something you've done dozens of times before. I had to redo a heel several times but am finally back on track. One time I sat down to knit and couldn't remember how to cast on, which just made my jaw drop. I can't remember if I needed to look it up or if I remembered on my own.

This is Blue Moon Fiber Arts STR lightweight in Scottish Highlands. It is a very nice yarn. I see why so many people are devotees of the STR. It rarely splits or catches on the needles and is springy, soft, and buttery. It held up pretty well to me having to unknit and reknit the heel mumble times. I have a cable running down each side even though you can't really see it. I didn't want to do a plain sock but the yarn was too busy for much else.

I never posted a picture of the finished Fleece Artist socks, so here they are:I tried one of the Yarn Harlot's tricks on one of these socks. It's supposed to eliminate ladders but I didn't find it effective so I modified it to something that worked better for me. Once I put it on my foot, however, it gapped anyway.So I think the best option for me is to use more needles, which I was already doing.

Fiber everywhere

There's cotton in deodorant now. I'll give it a shot, but I'm skeptical.

I ripped out the Fleece Artist sock, made a much nicer picot edge, and tried to spice up the sock with Mata Hari again. But I don't like it. I'm going to rip it back and go with plain stockinette stitch.

Knitting, no kneading

I have completed one Fleece Artist sock but feel it's a little small. I can't decide if I want to just fix the toe or redo the whole thing. I kind of had a hard time finding the right needle size/cast-on number combo for this yarn. I did 60 stitches on a size 1. I also think I made it too long . It's a bit tight at the top (which is picot, can you tell?).I made the same bread everyone else in America is making (Bittman's no-knead bread). It was not without its troubles (sticking and requiring a baking vessel I do not have a perfect match for), but it's good, and I'm sure I'll make it again.

The crust is crunchy, which is one of its selling points, but my mouth can't handle a lot of that. Plus it's messy to cut (see crumbs above).

Swatch for washing

The Fleece Artist skein label says hand wash only, but a little insert in the skein says it's machine washable. So I made a swatch to wash. The colors match my PJ pants nicely, huh? I was dressed earlier today, but I got my pants dirty when I cleaned the leaves off our porch. My little pile of leaves in the street looks pathetic next to everyone else's large piles.

Unexpected loot!

All this came in the mail the other day courtesy of my parents. They stopped by Baadeck Yarns while on vacation. The yarn is sequestered in an extra bedroom until I feel like testing the blue yarn for allergies. I had some symptoms after opening the box, but it could have been something else. I know I like Opal and am excited to get to try out a new sock yarn, the Fleece Artist. It's fun enough when you get a package of yarn that you ordered yourself, but one you didn't know was coming is the best. Thanks, Mom and Dad!