------------------------------- ------------------------------------ On and Off The Needles

Thursday, March 29, 2007

One Good Turn

Anxious to get this first Turkish Stocking done now that it's actually cooperating, I did my first two color turned heel last night. I think it came out pretty darn good! (I do need some more practice on my two handed purling as the tension isn't perfect)

Turkish Heel Turn
I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the gusset and sole as far as patterning. I'm reading up here on planning a two color gusset, and here for some more information on executing it. Simple stripes may be the best idea, though not evenly spaced - I like to mix it up at least a little!

Knitting it wasn't as bad as I was anticipating. The heel flap was done back and forth, so I was getting better at purling with two hands and two colors. The first stitch of each row isn't slipped like a normal heel flap - there is only one yellow stitch at each end of the heel flap, and I learned from my last attempt that slipping that lone yellow stitch makes a mess at the edges. Instead of picking up every stitch, I'll just pick up every other to make the count the same as if I had slipped. Logistics of gusset decreases and patterning is on the schedule today!

I think one of the reasons the heel went so well is I was well nourished last night. My homemade French bread was the base for dinner. Hubby created some really, really great sandwiches with tons of fresh veggies, our home grown lettuce (yes, it's still producing!) a thin slice of extra sharp cheddar, and I made a simple Balsamic Wasabi dressing to round it out.
Veggie Sandwich
Tasty just doesn't even begin to describe it. Lucky for me he made me one for lunch today too!

Has anyone else been watching Planet Earth on the Discovery Channel? Nature shows are something I always like watching. This series reminds me of the Life On Earth series I watched in Junior High School science class. We watched every single episode, and it was one of my favorite classes ever. I learned quite a bit.

The Planet Earth series is done in the same style, and is narrated by Sigourney Weaver - she does a nice job. It's great knitting television as listening gives you all the information you need - I haven't yet mastered the "knitting without looking" especially with two colors! The camera work and scenes they capture are amazing. I highly recommend it!

Everyone has probably seen the cover for the last Harry Potter book. It was all over the news last night. People speculating as to what it means, what it reveals about the book, etc. Funny what constitutes news these days.