Quasi Funny Friday

We have a bit of a funny today, brought to you by Jesse. This actually happened two years ago, when we were in a similar position to our current status, looking for jobs.

Click here to go see the Comic.

We're considering doing this every week. I'm not committing to anything yet, however, considering my track record for plans.

In other news, the Estonian Lullaby Baby Blanket, by Evelyn Clark for Fiber Trends is D-O-N-E and blocked. It was completed on Wednesday during the felicitous hour of 6pm. I used nearly every bit of yarn I had. All that remained post-frenzy were a few 2-3" pieces of yarn where I had cut half the plies out to spit splice the joins. I powered through the last half with a new found speed and determination. Since we had to cancel our drive to Hermiston last week, we are planning on going this Sunday. This extra time meant I might actually succeed in completing a pair of socks for my Grandma before we leave.

I've hummed and hawed over the right yarn and the right pattern for over a year now. I figured it was about time to dive right in.
I don't have a lot of experience knitting socks, so it was a bit overwhelming to figure out a pattern I liked, do the stitch swatch, then figure out if it would work with the size I wanted to make and the necessary amount of stitches for the cast on.
After seeing MicheleLB's Leyburns in person during the yarn crawl, I decided that was the pattern I wanted to do. The swatch was gorgeous, very different from others I've seen and resembling undulating fish scales in my teal Happy Feet.

In the end, I chose to wait on the Leyburns, because the fabric would not be as stretchy as I'd like. Stretchiness is an important factor, as I think my Grandma has been dealing with severely swollen feet. It's hard to say, given her penchant for keeping health issues secret from the rest of her family. In the end, I had Jesse pick a 5 stitch pattern out of Sensational Knitted Socks. He chose the Laburnum stitch pattern, which wasn't the one I'd been considering.

I'm teaching myself a few new things with this project: magic loop two socks at a time, Judy's magic cast on, and how to do toe up socks in general.
During the last project, I altered the way I purl stitches so that I could be faster. Now I'm recalling a portion of EZ's Knitting Without Tears where she shows a better way to purl. I think I'll have to refer to that before any real muscle memory sets in.
It may seem odd, but I am approaching knitting the same way I approach martial arts: always looking for ways to improve my technique.

And I will leave you with that. Much knitting to do. Look for photos of the blanky tomorrow.