Gentle reader,

Our internet has been on the fritz lately, and while we’ve got a patch of connectivity I’m going to rush and get this post out, so here’s some show and tell!

First up is the first sock I’ve knit of the Thuja pattern from Knitty.com which I’m pretty pleased with. My friend has GINORMOUS feet! 32cms from heel to toe. Oy. I’m so glad I’m knitting thick, wooly bedsocks and not regular socks with sock yarn.

Behold the enormous foot sack!

I don’t want to say that I misjudged how much yarn it would take, because I genuinely didn’t think about it. But, that there is seventy-seven grams of sock, so I had to go and buy another ball of Noro Kogarashi to start another. Oy. These are some properly fancy socks, let me tell you. But, my friend is well worth it, he’s a gentleman and a scholar and deserves lovely gifties! ^_~

The next main focus has been a hat that is proving to be a vexation to my spirit. My friend, Jeanette, was knitting a pattern called Dartmoor, and it looked so amazing I wanted to do it too, so she gave me a copy of the pattern. I started it in a blue and green Crazy Zauberball, and I accounted for tension and followed the pattern closely… but it just didn’t feel right. The next time I saw Jeanette, she’d finished her Dartmoor, and while it lookedamazing, she was somewhat disappointed because it had turned out more of a beanie than a tam.

I decided I’d keep going and see, but the same thing started happening with mine. I checked on Ravelry and it seems everyone who’s done this pattern has had the same problem! I frogged it, and started again (taking the opportunity to change to a different colorway Zauberball) casting on a buttload more stitches. Still, it just didn’t feel right, and I thought maybe it was because I was working on DPNs. So, I ripped back to the ribbing and started again on my Takumi interchangeable circs, and this time – touch wood – it seems to be working out. I think it’ll still be more of a beanie than a tam, but the herringbone stitch looks divine.

I do love the texture of the herringbone stitch. It’s well nice.

These pics were taken before I ripped it back to the ribbing and started again with my circs, so it looks much better now. I’ll tell you this much, if I have to frog or rip back this sucker one more time, I’m going to have a serious stampy tanty. Not even lying.

In less troublesome news, I popped into my favorite store in almost the entire world, Tokuya, after work one day and picked up some goodies. Tokuya is a Japanese hyaku-en store (100 yen store – like a dollar store, but a million times more awesome), and I try not to go too often because it’s literally impossible for me to leave without buying at least one thing. We do NOT need any more bento boxes, but we all know I haven’t yet bought my last.

Anyway, I bought this little set of lino cutting tools because it has some blades that my other sets don’t have.

BRB, cuttin’ some lino.

Can we just have a moment to acknowledge the fact that they even have linocut tools!? I mean, I can’t read the kanji and all I can pick up is the word “craft”, so they may not even strictly be linocut tools, but some of the blades are identical to some I already have, and they suit my purposes, so GO ME! I’m a happy chappy.

Then I bought this crazy fine thread.

We all know this is going to make my eyes bleed.

I have two potential plans for this, but I’ve yet to decide which one I will go with. I either want to do some doily work in the round, or design a cheeky filet crochet pattern. It might be a huge disaster on account of my giant tree-trunk fingers and my less-than-perfect eyesight, but I can’t resist.

Well, I’m going to go ahead and post this before the internet gives me the stinkeye yet again! Love your lovely faces!

Have you got any exasperatingly irksome projects on the go? And what’re your fave shops? Sharezies! ^_^