Not such an appetizing title for a blog post - sorry!!
Let's start with the appealing stuff. Thanksgiving was great! I hope you all had wonderful holidays and tasty food as well. Damon (Fletcher's brother) and his wife Peggy arrived at our house around 2 p.m. Thursday. By 3:30 we were on our way to Colin & Mailing's. Mailing's parents, her uncle and her grandmother also were there. We had some drinks and appetizers and then sat down to a delicious meal. Mailing's grandmother speaks absolutely no English. So, whenever she would taste something I had brought (chutney, pies, carrots & parsnips roasted with maple syrup), she would slap my arm and give me a thumbs up sign. Too funny. Here's a picture of Colin and me with her before dinner:
We got home late, but stayed up talking for a little while. Friday was a gorgeous day. Damon, Peggy, Fletch and I had tickets for an 11 a.m. tour of the Esherick Museum. What a treat! I've been there at least 5 or 6 times, but each time I go I find something new or something I hadn't remembered from a previous visit. I didn't take any pictures, but the web site (Wharton Esherick Museum) has some really pretty pictures of the studio. The furniture he built is gorgeous and copper sinks in the bathroom and kitchen - love them!
Friday night Colin and Mailing came over. Damon and Fletch grilled oysters and I made shrimp BBQ. I'm thinking something a little lighter after Thanksgiving might have been better, but everyone seemed to like it all. The beer and wine were both flowing.
We went out to breakfast on Saturday and then Damon and Peggy got on the road around 10:30. They wanted Sunday to relax at home before getting back into the work week.
Now for the barfy yarn part: remember the socks I was/am making with the Scottish blue tartan wool? I picked them up again after finishing the Close to You shawl. Finally the leg was just about knee high length and I was getting ready to start the heel flap when all of a sudden the yarn broke. The yarn came in pull from center skeins, so I had not bothered to wind it into balls. I picked up the remainder of the yarn and started to wind...and it broke again...and again...and again. I was so freakin' frustrated. I had two more skeins in my bag so I started to wind them...same thing. Here is what one skein looked like:
The messy parts were just too knotted to even wind. This happened Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving. I put everything away (in time out) for the weekend. Discovered another 3 skeins in the chest where I store my stash, so I figured I have enough to make two socks. I started knitting on the first one again yesterday. The heel flap and heel are finished. I've picked up stitches around the gusset and am starting to do the decreasing now.
But honestly, I'm wondering if these will even wear well. I have no idea why the yarn keeps breaking. It is 100% wool - no nylon in it. I also don't know how old the yarn is (this is the yarn my friend Carol got at a yard sale several years ago). I'm going to finish this first sock and then give it a rest - I have a couple of things I've decided to knit for Christmas, so I need to get on that pronto.
And now I need to get back to work -- busy, busy after a few days away. I'll be trying to catch up on blog reading over the next day or so. Looking forward to reading/hearing about everyone's Thanksgivings.
What a terrific, delicious, and multicultural Thanksgiving you had! I love the arm slap/thumbs up way of complimenting your cooking.
ReplyDeleteI had gotten some yarn from a friend that turned out to have carpet beetles. The way I first realized it was that it was that the strands were broken (chewed) in many places like yours. I never saw actual beetles, but did see some larval cases (like tiny little caterpillars) when I looked closely. I hope that's not the case for you, but it might be a good idea to check closely and isolate the yarn if possible. The carpet beetles did spread to some other yarns in my stash, and I ended cleaning my stash bins and closet really well, putting much of my stash in the freezer for several months, then out in the sun, then back in the freezer again. Fingers crossed this isn't what's going on with your yarn!
It's possible that particular skein got attacked by moths or some other yarn eating critter.
ReplyDeleteYour dinner sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear of your yarn mishap. That has to be so frustrating.
LOVE your Thanksgiving - M*A*S*H is playing in the background as I type this and I can completely picture that arm tapping/thumbs up gesture - I'm sure you made a most positive impression with Mailing's whole family!
ReplyDelete(and ditto what Bonny said about the yarn - ugh I know, but I'm not sure there's much hope)
Oh my, yarn barf is not good, especially since you had so much knitting time invested in the sock. I hope the issue is limited to the first skein. Any yarn that I get as a gift or purchase at a thrift shop goes in the freezer for at least 24 hours to kill any critters.
ReplyDeleteYour Thanksgiving celebration sounds wonderful.
I do the freezer trick also but I would say the yarn has been infested at one time and hence the breaks-sorry.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the visit was wonderful-looks like a great time!
I just love the thumbs-up story! A true universal sign. . .
ReplyDeleteAnd I imagine it was some sort of yarn-chomping bug in your yarn. Ugh. . .
Sounds like you had a great holiday with lots of good food. I love the thumbs up/slap response, good for her!
ReplyDeleteYarn barf is the worst. Especially when it happens again right after you dealt with it. Hopefully the other ones you found will behave themselves.
I bet you had moths at one time or another and they chewed through and made weak spots. Gah! How frustrating. Love the photo of you and your non speaking English guest. She sounds delightful.
ReplyDeletemessage the yarn company about the quality of the yarn. I have done that in the past and they will send you some yarn (I received different yarn to compensate my unhappiness).
ReplyDeleteWhat a bummer and I agree that it might not be good for feet wearing.
Thumbs up -- I love that part!!
ReplyDeleteSorry about your yarn... did you find any evidence of bug/moth infestation?