Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Busy week and boring socks

Even though it is only a four-day work week, I have been up to my eyebrows and beyond at work. So there has been no time to attack any new creative fiber projects, or even move a few rocks around the front yard. My only fiber therapy has been to continue plowing along on the oh-so-boring blue and purple socks. Normally it is my rule that I don't have to continue any (hobby) project that I am growing to hate, but in this case, I know I will really like the product. And how long can a single pair of socks take, anyway? So on I plod. My only amusement is to consider the oddities of perfect sock geometry. Since I prefer to wear my socks cuffed, I have found that the perfect number of rows in the cuff of a 68-stitch-round sock is 68. And the perfect number of cuff rows in a 72-stitch-round sock is 72. And so on. Funny, huh? And when I have finished the sock (to fit my foot), the length from top of cuff to botton of heel is almost exactly the same as from bottom of heel to end of toe. Cool, huh? OK, so this isn't terribly profound. Just ponderings of a tired mind.

On a more amazing knitting topic, my friend Joan just completed the most amazing baby blanket I have ever seen. I already knew her to be possibly the best knitter I have ever met, but this project just astounded me. Since the blanket is meant for the baby of a fish geneticist, she created a lace design that included a central panel of waves, with a band of DNA strands and a ring of fish swimming around the outside. The whole thing was done in soft delicate white lacy yarn. The most amazing thing is that the designs are all 2-sided, so the fish can be seen from either side. Here is a picture of her fish lace design.

Joan - I can only bow to your mastery!

2 comments:

Sharon said...

Wow - I bow but I also envy her math skills and knitting prowess.

Birdsong said...

Wow, what an awesome design! Thanks for sharing the photo. I am with you on knowing I will like wearing the socks currently in progress more than I have enjoyed knitting them.