Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Socks, Pie and Literature

Molly Bees asked about the pattern stitch at the top of the funny shaped socks. It's a slip stitch pattern I came up with while noodling around with the needles. I'm sure it already exists in a stitch dictionary or two, I just haven't searched for it. It is very easy to work (only one yarn in your hand at a time), and I'll be getting the sock pattern written up eventually. And by the way, on her other blog, Ms Bees has posted a recipe for Cranberry Pie that she swears is to die for.

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Here's a still not quite perfect picture of the Elann Esprit sock washed and quietly drying. I usually machine wash and dry socks made with this yarn. They shrink up and then stretch out just fine for wearing. But for picture purposes I decided to conscientiously hand wash.



While I was working on the second sock, I happened to turn the cuff down. Surprise! the pattern looks cute from that side, too. So come spring I may just wear them anklet style. (Though it does seem odd to work a cable pattern and then hide the cables.)




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I'm still plugging away at Portrait of a Lady. I just couldn't engage with Isabel Archer for the first half of the book (or understand exactly what it was about her that would have both an English Lord and an American industrialist desperate to win her hand). But she's starting to get more interesting now that she's unhappily married, so I'll stick it through to the end.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just finished listening to the unabridged audio of Portrait of a Lady. I keep meaning to go read the Cliff Notes about it to see what makes James such an important author. That American industrialist character whose name escapes me right now never seemed like a real person to me. Good grief, he kept coming back to her? What kind of a businessman was he that could just take off from his business for a month or two at time?

Cindy G said...

I can hardly write this without snorting, but his name was Caspar Goodwood. I think I need the Cliff Notes, too. Finished it off last night. Was fairly engaged through the last few chapters and then, major letdown. Why she went back to the jerk husband is simply beyond me.