Friday, August 03, 2007

A Watery Grave




Marina Piccola Socks

Pattern: Kate Gilbert's
Yarn: 100g Sweet Georgia Superwash Sock in "Life Aquatic"
Yarn Source: Pick Up Sticks
Needles: 2, 2.25mm Aero aluminum circulars
Tension: 9.5 sts/inch
Cast On: July 14, 2007
Bound Off: July 28, 2007
Mods: Used a slip-stitch heel instead of the eye of partridge specified, by accident. Designer recommends 3 repeats of the pattern on the cuff and I only had enough yarn for 2.
Notes: I liked this pattern. It was pleasantly addictive, and easy to memorize. I like how it looks and I'll certainly make it again.

And now let's review, shall we?


Shan's Sockapalooza 4 Timeline


  1. Bought two skeins of Regia 4fadig and Cookie A's Gothic Spire pattern, knitting the first sock and 3/4 of the second sock before I realized I wasn't going to have enough yarn. Scoured the island for another ball, to no avail.

  2. Bought the Marina Piccola pattern and cast on with stash yarn (2, 50g skeins). Knitted one sock to within 1" of the toe, ran out of yarn.

  3. Began aggressive internet surfing to find another skein of the yarn. Meanwhile, cast on the second sock to start the cuff.

  4. Midway through the ribbing, took the sock to the library with the kids. Shut the point of one of the circular needles in the car door. Didn't notice until I took the sock out of my pocket to knit it, and saw the 90 degree bend one inch from the tip of one needle. Recklessly grabbed hold of the thing and bent it back as best I could, calling on the heavens to strike me with lightning if I ever volunteer to do Sockapalooza again.

  5. Knitted the rest of the sock with a bent needle.

  6. While comparing foot length with the second sock, knocked over my chai tea onto the first sock. Rushed it to the bathroom sink where, thank God, I was able to quite easily rinse out all traces.

  7. Felt a distinct sense of foreboding.

  8. Realized there was no more "Life Aquatic" sock yarn on the continent and there was no choice but to rip the first sock back to the ankle and take out half a repeat.

  9. Ripped the first sock back to the ankle and took out half a repeat.

  10. Reknit the first sock.

  11. Carefully....carefully....put them on, overtop of a thin pair of running socks, to take a couple of pictures.

  12. Tomorrow, will gingerly tuck them into a padded envelope with a packet of tea, a maple leaf-shaped cookie cutter and some chocolate, and mail them off to Denmark.

  13. The day after tomorrow, the plane they are on will probably crash into the Atlantic and go down with all hands.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

They are stunningly beautiful. Include the saga of the socks for your pal, perhaps? They will make the socks that much more precious.

Great pie.

Anonymous said...

Who took the first pic? The cat?

Wonderful socks. I agree, send the story, too.

Ames said...

Tragic!

That was painful to read.

Ames said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ames said...

The socks look great, that is, if they survived the plane crash.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous! And I like the new look. Miss you. Rellies keeping us BUSY!

Anonymous said...

Well, they are glorious. Let's hope they have a long and happy life in Denmark. Perhaps the Sockapalooza curse is limited to Canadian soil?

Nice new banner, too.

Shan said...

Dear Cheeky Anita:

There is no cat. Don't you know an art shot when you see one? Yeah, I know I'm no Alexis Xenakis.

Dear Lizbon and Sandy:

Thank you, I did do a lot of improvements on the ol' blog today...in lieu of housework. I didn't even know until today that I could put pics behind the header so I spent two solid hours cropping and resizing bits of all my photos. Fun but eye-bugging.

s b said...

Note to self: Do not fly to Denmark in the next week. The odds are not in your favor. :)
The socks look great, in spite of the hurdles you had to get over.

Anonymous said...

Sheesh...with that kind of history, I would definately have included a huge package of lifesavers... just in case...after all it would be a shame to lose a beautiful pair of socks to murky salt water... but of course the sharks would probably still get 'em!

YTT said...

After that painful saga I hate to think of anything else that might go wrong. But here's what happened to me the last time I used padded envelopes to send out yarn packages: two of them arrived open, and one was missing some of its goodies.
Here's to life savers and duct tape.

Carrie said...

Rats! I'm not in Denmark, they must not be for me! I love the socks, and I'm sure that your sockpal will appreciate your tenacity. My plan in the event of one (not multiple) problem was to use a pair of already knit (though never worn) socks that I'm saving for winter.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry, Shan. I just couldn't help myself.

It wasn't a comment on your photography. It just struck me that the photo would be at a cat's eye level. :)

Sue H said...

The socks are beautiful. You've done well, again. Think I might have to take part in the next one, when is happening?

Shan said...

I think Sockapalooza is a yearly thing. The woman who runs it blogs at www.alison.knitsmiths.us


And you're right Anita: pic one is a very feline perspective.

Olga said...

You forgot the part where the baggage handlers try on the sock and eat the chocolate.Oh, and be very very glad you are not Alexis Xenakis, Trust me on this one. I know....

Ames said...

Okay, Shanpalooza, how did you take that photo? I have been pondering 'til my puzzler is sore.

Anonymous said...

Hey Ames, I'm bettin' she used the timer. Either that or she's even more flexible than I thought!!
But now you have me wanting to call her Shanpalooza, which all things considered she might throw something at me for.

Ames said...

Kate,

Shanpalooza is pretty amazing and talented, but, I agree, even she is not that flexible. You might be right on the timer bit, for I cannot imagine Mr. HSB crawling under a chair to take that picture for her.

Anonymous said...

What an ordeal! Thanks for the nice comment on my socks -- I just clicked over to take a look at yours, and happened to be eating cherries that look almost exactly like your header. Yum.

Kate said...

Now Ames, that is a funny image.....goes off chuckling quietly ....

Shan said...

Yes my dears, I did take that picture myself, with no timer. Just sat on the floor with my feet down, put the camera down next to my hip, pointing toward my heels, and clicked away. Got it first try, too.

Gwen said...

Beautiful and talented, too. All hail Shanpalooza!

Karen S, Lykkefanten said...

Wow!!! I'm glowing of happiness here where I'm sitting in Greenland! I've just seen your comments, so no, you did not ruin it all for you, because I have been quite out of reach until now... and now I'm just anxious to get home to them! I already love them!!!!
Karen

... only more fun to know the full and painful history of the socks ;)