What to do on a cold and dreary weekend

93 perfect little meatballs....

does not a 7 quart pot of chicken soup make.

No, not at all.

So I took out more chicken, and the 15 quart pan, and began again.

You wouldn't think 4 people could eat 15 quarts of chicken soup with little meatballs and tortellini in 3 days, would you?

Well, you would be wrong.

Now, a smart person would have used half of those lovely little meatballs in something else.

Some stroganoff, perhaps...or maybe just took the easy way out, and froze half for some quick dinner some rushed weekday night.

That's what a smart person would do. But I had my sights set on chicken soup, and chicken soup I made. Lots of it.

And all was right with the world.

And then look what I found!

My sock mojo!

Turns out, it was hiding in the stash. I know! Always the last place you look.

I was drowning my sorrow at not being able to attend Rhinebeck (despite my repeated pleas and protests, they will not change the date for me) by dumping the entirity of my stash out on the floor and rolling around in it nekkid perusing the stash.

Oh my.

There is alpaca in there I'd forgotten about. Some cashmere. (Where in the world did that come from, I wonder?) And so, so much more!

And Pirate Yarn. I hoard Pirate Yarn like a squirrel hoards nuts.

I love almost all yarn, and ANY hand dyed is guaranteed to be loved in my house...but Pirate Yarn? It is my Most Favorite, I Will Do Most Anything To Have It yarn.

(I had to add the 'Most' because The Big Guy checks in here sometimes, and I don't want him getting any ideas.)

And the stash made me feel oh-so-much better about not being able to run off to New York to meet up with my many imaginary internet friends and see Ysolda and Gundrun, and Joe, and Casey and Jess, and Karen, and Cara...

grrrr.

It was a windy and blustery and rainy weekend here in Maine, and I made a vat of chicken soup, and welcomed my boys back from their loooong moose hunting trip and did lots and lots o'laundry, and was so so glad to have been sucked into this once again:

Ah, yes. That is the Mystery Sock '09 from Kirsten at Through The Loops.

I did this last year, and loved the way the pattern was broken down into 4 weeks. No pressure to finish the whole thing at once- just little bits.

This pattern, like last year's is AWESOME.

She's taught me to break apart the elements of a sock, and mix and match pattern pieces.

No more, 'that's a cool sock, tell me exactly what you did so I may re-create it', for me!

The bad part: that is Noro up there. You knew that from the colors, I'm sure.

While I love me some Noro in worsted, I am NOT loving the Noro sock.

My OCD is in high gear, with this thick-thin crap going on. Some places it's as thick as worsted (not kidding), some places are thinner than broomstick lace. I'm afraid to even breathe on it.

Don't know how the whole sock will fare, but I've turned the heel, and am ready to pick up for the gusset.

Can't beat the colors though, can ya?

Then came that stash dive. And all that Pirate Yarn. That yummy colored, perfectly- even BFL.

And there was this:

Hard Cider. Yeah, baby.

Who can resist those colors? Not me!

And in a burst of sock- passion not previously known, I cast on for a second pair.

I do not own a single skein of solid colored sock yarn. Not one kettle dyed skein.

Not even a tonal skein. (Though I did have some, and used it.)

I love me the hand dyed stuff, and do not so much care that the lovely, intricate, painstakingly thought out pattern I am using will never be seen by anyone but me (and those whose face I shove my socked foot in).

I leave you with this knowledge:

I am knitting four socks, at the same time, magic loop.

It must be Fall!