Throw the Confetti

The second pair of socks from this Confetti yarn are finished today. When I buy sock yarn I often get 3 balls instead of 2 which gives me enough for 2 pairs of socks. There was some yarn left but that's probably because these socks are a bit smaller than my usual ones knit on 64 stitches because I used metal needles to knit them. For some reason, I tend to knit tighter with metal and looser with bamboo. This means that I have to use the same type of needles if I want the two socks to match. In this case I only have one set of these aluminum needles made by Susan Bates. They are part of a complete set that comes with 4 different colour-coded sets of 5 needles (sizes 1.5, 1.75, 2.0, and 2.25 mm) and they're 7" long. If you want to see, there's a picture on this page — just scroll down a bit. I don't know how available these needles are since I got them in a trade with a knitter in the US who didn't like them. She very much did like my skein of handspun that I sent her! I do know you can't find them in Canada. I like them because there are needles that are actually smaller than 2 mm, which is the smallest most brands make, but I wish I had two complete sets. I always knit on 2 socks alternating and it was a pain substituting the next smaller set whenever I was changing over to work on the other sock. I'm going to keep an eye out for them when we go to Washington and Oregon in a couple of weeks. Anyway, if I was designing sock needles they would be 5 1/2" or at most 6" long and made of something more flexible than aluminum but that doesn't bend and break as easily as wood or bamboo does in the smallest sizes. Well, I can dream, can't I? Whether the manufacturers listen isn't a question. Of course they won't. Unless millions of sock knitters pressure them to make shorter dpns in smaller sizes, nothing will happen. Plus many sock knitters like circulars instead and they don't knit their socks as tightly as I do. One knitter's perfect needles are definitely not another's. I like different types of needles for different yarns and different projects myself. Guess that's why I have so many of them!

I got to babysit my lovely little granddaughter yesterday. Poor baby has chickenpox and has spots on her face and legs and wrists. I didn't take any pictures, not that she's old enough to get embarrassed about her looks yet! And there's no way I could have gotten a picture of her new first tooth. I did get a chance to measure her feet for a pair of socks to go with her poncho that I made for her first birthday. I'll make them a bit big so they'll fit for more than a minute. She was still her usual cheerful self even though I could tell those spots were itching somewhat. Luckily she hasn't been very sick at all. I just hope her dad's weird spots he had when he was a teenager that never were properly diagnosed give him immunity to these ones. We never were sure whether either of our kids had chickenpox or not.

In other news, the painting is done in the main part of the kitchen now. I've started painting the drawers and putting clear Contact liner on the shelves. I think we bought way too much of the clear sticky plastic but it's the same stuff I use on my book covers so it won't go to waste. It was really hard to judge how much was needed and a lot depends on how I orient the strips and how I piece it where it doesn't cover completely. Next we have to clear out the nook area and start filling, sanding, and painting again. Oh boy.