Plonk Plonk - Is that Snow or What

Yesterday morning, we were awakened to the "plonk plonk" of something heavy and loud on the side of our house. When I looked out, it was the snow the weatherman had predicted, but it was raining down like big clods of slush and hit the ground with a weird "thunk" and quickly collected in slushy debris all over the road and everywhere else.

Throughout the day, it gradually melted - sort of. Then it got really cold last night and froze all up again. From what I hear, rush hour this morning is a God Awful Mess. Because of my later work schedule, I haven't trekked out into it yet. But I'm dreading it.

I am in a real February BLAH feeling. All I want to do is stay home, hole up in the house and hibernate. But that gets depressing too. I think it's just a depressing month. I normally like cold weather but even I am really really sick of being cold by now. Spring seems so far away. Whine, whine, whine.

Nothing exciting in the knitting world either. I am still working on the never-ending Wrap Me Up and hopefully SOON I won't need it anymore.


I bought this book over the weekend. I liked it because the book is spiral bound, lies flat to make for easier knitting/reading while working. It has good photos and teaches the Magic Loop method, knitting two socks at once from the cuff down only. For those of you who prefer toe-up, forget it, there's nothing in this book about that. Strictly cuff down, which is okay with me.

I love the patterns in this book, and want to make several of them. Even though the book shows step-by-step how to do the Magic Loop, I tried it twice with the sample sock she demonstrates in the intro, and though I understood it theoretically, in practice it felt awkward. I would have been fine with awkward for a while because every new technique feels weird at first. But with the increased tension of using 1 needle, I kept getting these huge gaping strings/holes between the front and back of each of the two socks. No matter how tight I tried to pull them together, and knit tight, each row kept gaping again and wouldn't close up. I tried using 40 inch needles and then switched to 47 - they both were the same. Not attractive. So I finally gave up and put them away, going back to my old tried-and-true method of socks on 2 circs.

Why you may ask would I want to learn Magic Loop since I already have mastered 2 circ method? Well, I just like to learn new things. Probably because it's novel, new and fun. I also like to find better ways of doing things if another method turns out honestly better. I see several of my friends, especially Carol, using and loving the Magic Loop, so I figured there MAY be an inherent advantage to it. I just havent seen the light yet. I also haven't quite seen the advantage of doing 2 at once either.

I personally don't have the dreaded Second Sock Syndrome. Making socks takes me so long that once I finish one, I'm eager to start the second and it usually goes much faster, with the motivation of being able to wear the things relatively soon. Plus, making two at once (and I HAVE done it before) makes the whole thing feel heavier, less portable, more yarn tangling etc. Two at once and Magic Loop both seem too inconvenient and fiddly for me. But I am open to being convinced otherwise.

Also, I am totally convinced that T.S. Eliot was WRONG about April being the cruelest month. It's a tie between February and August. By the end of winter (whine-ter) and the end of summer, I am always so glad to be done with the extreme temps that they seem extremely slow and cruel.


The reason I've been so sock obsessed this weekend is because I have been DYING to start a new pair of socks using the Dome yarn I bought from Kay. I wound it and will begin this week by starting a brand new pair of socks. Just the beginnings. This yarn is so colorful and cheerful, so my solution to the winter doldrums will be to knit them away. That will make me feel much better.