multiplying

Lately I have these incidents where I see things and think, oh, that would make a good post, but then find myself handicapped by an inability to remember it by the time I get home. You see, in an effort to maintain proper distance between my workplace (not an appropriate blogging location) and anywhere else (blogging-friendly locale), I have concluded that this is why people twitter. But also it has made me contemplate that this is how people start to/continue to lose that filter between brain and mouth, or in this case, fingertips. It's important, really, to remember that not everything you find remarkable (in its most pure form, meaning worth of remarking about) actually is. I find that many problems can be traced to that same root - that people frequently fail to pause and consider whether what they are about to say is important, appropriate, or adds value. Along the same lines, it makes me wonder if saying someone is calculating is really the pejorative that people automatically think it is. Perhaps it is just noting that someone takes the time to calculate the weight of their words - which is not such a bad thing.

Ahem. That was random - sorry.

Now to completely fly in the face of the above, I will return to the original purpose of this post, which was to wonder if there is some new trend in the world regarding bikes with strangely high handlebars. I wish I had a picture - I will try to remember to take one later on - but there has been a bike for some time in my garage with these crazy high handlebars. They start in the same place as normal ones, but then after they split into the right and left sides they extend for at least 1.5 feet before terminating in handles. At first there was only the one, but today I noticed for the first time a second one. They're multiplying! My thought is that they must be more ergonomically friendly or something, but isn't that what those odd reclining bikes are for? Maybe this is the cheap man's version. Despite this, I have never actually seen one in use, so I can't tell.

teal time

a lone monkey sock

in Dream in Color Smooshy Sock yarn

US 2 needles (DPN)

I have been distinctly delinquent in blogging, mostly because I couldn't be bothered to take appropriate pictures. Also, because evidently I need to use a tripod, as I appear to continually have the shakes based on the number of out of focus photos I take. However, crafting has been proceeding prodigiously, which means I have all sorts of FOs to share but have not documented. That said, there have certainly been sightings of various items in their native habitats. To wit:

- My first pair of socks emerged from the needles sometime last week, rising from the ashes of marathon Olympic ice skating viewing. Question: since when have all the men skated with gloves on? I don't remember this trend.

- I finally finished weaving in the ends of the Wave and Ripple Kimono Jacket, also mysteriously the second of no less than three different pieces incorporating teal yarn. How odd. The jacket debuted itself both at Stitches West (annual mecca of fiber - to be reported on later) and at the office and garnered its first confirmed knitter's praise.

- And above, the first Monkey sock was born (to date, still no explanation for why it's called a monkey sock), which is earmarked for my mother. Once I figured out the pattern, it actually fairly flew off the needles. I am hoping it is not too big. According to her measurements, it should work, but they may end up coming quite a bit higher on her than expected, as she is a bit shorter. We'll see. They are even remotely loose on me. I am thinking that if I do this pattern again I will size down my needles.

So the current sock count is 3. I can now say that I have no real allegiance one way or another in terms of toe up/cuff down. Surprisingly the kitchener stitch graft at the toe of the cuff down sock was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be, and looks rather nice. Also, the gusset heel was similarly unnecessarily dreaded. Eh, I guess this means I am more versatile and have expanded my skill set. ~excellent~ (in Mr. Burns' tone)

Also, my devious plan to recruit various victims for my hobbies is succeeding beyond all expectation. Have managed to seduce two people into signing up for the same half marathon, woo another into running with me while I train, and suckered my sister into joining the sock knitting craze. Ah, nothing like practicing my persuasive abilities...