Gandalf triumphantly thrusts the glorious Lorna’s Laces Feather and Fan sock over his head so the multitudes may rejoice in its utter beauty…

But what is this? There is a flaw in in this creation, a worm in the bud, spreading decay… How did this happen? This is the side of the gusset where I’m using K2tog as my decrease. I feel as if I’m pulling pretty tightly when working this decrease, since it’s near the end of one of my dpn’s…and let’s face it, I’ve never been accused of being a loose knitter (I’m getting 8 sts. per inch on size 2 needles…) Do I just need to pull extra tightly here to close the gap? Or, is there another way to ensure these holes don’t appear?

At any rate, I’m loving these socks. They’re so much fun to knit! The lace pattern is easy and I like how the variegated yarn shows off the scallops (even if it obscures the eyelets a little bit).

Just for Becky, here’s a photo of a linen basket my mother wanted me to make for her. The pattern is in Vivian Hoxbro’s Domino Knitting Book. I haven’t started the project yet, because I’ve been put off by how stiff the linen feels (I’d much rather be knitting with Lorna’s Laces Shepard Sock Yarn…can I get a bumper sticker that says that?) While I think I mislead Becky into thinking the linen is stiff enough to stand up on its own, it actually needs a good soaking in a starch solution to make it do that. One of these days, I’ll work up the energy to tackle this, but not anytime soon

Here’s one for the grandparents and anyone else who needs a reminder to enjoy life (and dinner) to its fullest (Claire certainly has this lesson down pat…):

It’s always risky to start a debate about a point of grammer grammar, since someone feels obligated to pick apart everything you have ever ritten written, but I like living on the wild side. Am I the only one bothered by how some people refer to the day participants in secret pal exchanges make their identities known as the reveal? (What a tortuous sentence! Or, should that be torturous? LOL!) Shouldn’t the term be revelation, since it’s the nominal form of the word? I’ll try to restrain myself from cringing every time I come across that odd use of the word, but it’s going to be a challenge. Too uptight? No doubt. I’m working on it, really I am!

Robert and I have been watching the Lord of the Rings on DVD for the past few nights. (Speaking of linguistic oddities, Sam refers to Gandalf as the “lizard.”) It’s just as good as the first time, although something of the grandeur is lost when viewed on a small television set.

While watching the movies, I worked a little bit on the Rebecca wrap, but am having a terrible time getting the neckline to look acceptable. That little sweater is on time-out, until I have greater stamina for wrestling with stubborn mohair. I picked up my Feather and Fan socks, which are coming along very nicely. I turned the heel during my lunch break this afternoon. Woo hoo!

Happy Birthday, Robert! Thank you for being such a sweet father and husband. And yes, thanks for cleaning up the house this past weekend. You’re a keeper!