Honey I'm home

I do feel like that this week, we are home again. This time I've returned from a 2 day jaunt to my Dads where I learned to sharpen chisels, and turn old files into chisels, and we modified the tool posts that came with the lathe, and scored a wee bit of high quality wood for turning, vintage recycled New Zealand Rimu and Kauri. I also knitted, all of the drive up and most of the drive back (Bear was driving), and now have the first of my Christmas gifts finished and ready to gift. This is the first year I've planned knitted gifts for Christmas .. and its tempting to make long lists and try and knit it all - but I won't, I think I know better than to set up unrealistic gift knitting plans. So today ... there is a finished object, and a new start and a knitting related project in progress.


Mojo II is done, these are planned to be one of those presents I mentioned, for my Dad. He said the last pair of hand knit socks I gave him were the only wool socks he could wear without itching. He had a smelting accident long before I was born - working in a foundry in the early 1960's, it was hot and they were pouring molten metal from crucible to casting - he was wearing shorts and tee-shirts and elastic sided steel cap ankle boots. Health and safety has come a long way since then, something went wrong - and he ended up with a boot full of molten metal. The scar has long since faded .. but in hot weather he says it itches - 'real-bad', and he has never been able to wear other than soft cotton socks. I guess woollen socks have come a long way since the 1960's, and I didn't know he could only wear cotton socks when I gave him a pair of hand knit socks last year. He mentioned in passing - that they didn't itch .. that the ones I knitted were the only wool socks he had ever had that didn't itch and drive him crazy .. so I decided to knit him new socks and a new hat for Christmas, as well as our standard Vintage Tractor calender gift.

Mojo is one twisted sock pattern, in the nicest way possible - but straightens up nicely when worn or blocked. I've made this pair matching, but still think of them as 'Dr Seuss socks' - as in the kind that would have featured in Dr Seuss books, had socks been featured - or would that be sox?

Tech Specs
Pattern:

Mojo(Rav link) by Donyale Grant
Yarn:

Patons Kroy Socks 4 Ply
Needles: 2.5mm circs (magic loop)
Started: Sept 18th 2009
Finished. October 3rd 2009
Left overs: teeny tiny bits of yarn, a frugal sock, and something contrasty as waste yarn for the afterthought heel.

With Mojo done, I had nothing to stop me making some decisions on Frankensock. I had started this a few posts ago but frogged it thinking it was to small to fit. I've begun agai, this time one size up, but still knitting on 2.25mm needles rather than the 2.5mm specified. I just like my socks at a firmer gauge than 7 spi the pattern suggests, I like 9spi, or 8.5 at the loosest, they wear better, and fit snugger and just stay nicer longer. I'm now 3 repeats up the leg .. and realize that I might need to add a repeat or have short socks. Frankensock has optional mismatched colour toes ... so technically I can add a repeat and not worry to much about running out of yarn, I can use the yarn I use to add the Frankenstein style stitching. So far so good .. but its a chart and pattern sock, so not a good traveling sock, and I suspect not a good knit night sock. That means I now need to find a take-out project to start ... more decisions.

And the knitting related mid project report is my very first nostepinne. I'm taking the turning slow .. first because learning new things takes time and energy and effort, and second because I thought it best to take time and find out how to sharpen things. And third - because I've not yet sorted 'proper' wood turning chisels, so I'm running it as a full metal work lathe with little blades held in the tool post and controlled but little wheels that move the blade up, in, and along - slowly. I must have done something right in the sharpening and I ended up with wood shavings below the lathe, not just dust. See - a nostephinne was hiding in the painted wooden table leg that I started to turn last week! Really it was, although I suspect the handle is still a tad thick and needs to be smaller to make holding it easier. I found the Spindlecrafters group on Ravelry, and within it a thread started by Grippingyarn on getting and starting wood turning with a lathe, and contributed to by TinkerJohn with all sorts of wonderful helpful info for a beginning lathe user. I've got a wee bit more to turn on this one, before final sanding and cutting it out of the lathe .. and polishing - although one can buff and polish it whilst in the lathe .. so I might try that.

Its back to work this week and the cubs are in Holiday Programe whist Bear is on long service leave. He has a list as long as my knee high socks of things he wants to get done over the next few week whilst on leave .. I hope for his peace of mind he manages most if not all.
Me I've got a week working before the student return for the final term of the year .. and so its the calm before the storm of final hand ins and graduations...
take care
Stella