Knitwith Homespun

On our trip to Idaho, we had an enormously long drive. During that drive, we went through Oregon and into Utah then into Idaho. Here is a portion of the route we took. From the town of Lakeview to the town of Burns is approximately 140 miles. Our story begins in Lakeview.

In Lakeview, we stopped to fuel up and David took a power nap for 15 minutes. While there, at the gas pump, we ran into a couple of biker type dudes and their wives riding tandem on touring Kawasaki roadster looking bikes. If I were to ask David what they were riding, he would know right away cause he is freaky like that and it is, after all, his business. Anyway, at the pump, we ask the attendant who is pumping our gas (in Oregan it`s against the law for cusomters to pump gas and you can be fined an extravegant amount of money if you are caught) “How far is it to Burns (the next town)?” “About 140 miles” he says. We continue about our business and clean the trash out and what not from the truck cab. The attendant moves to the next pump across from us (the bikers) and they say “How far is it to Burns?” We laugh and laugh and tell the guys that we just asked the same thing. We overhear them trying to figure out how far they can go on their current full tank of fuel. David tells them that if they are concerned, he has a couple of 5 gallon gas tanks in the back of our truck that are full (for our dirt bikes) and that we will follow behind them and if they run out of gas (their bikes can only go approximately 120 miles or so on a tank) before they reach the next gas station, he will be able to help them out. They thank him and saddle up and ride off. We ride off behind them but we don`t see them at all.

Along the way, we see a beautiful lake called Lake Abert. It`s quite beautiful and interesting in that there are no boats or beaches or anything like that around it. There are about a million birds and lots of animal activity clearly visible from the road. I ask David if we can stop and take a picture or 100 and he says no we need to get going so we can make Idaho by nightfall. Of course, I get annoyed and start to pout (I`m annoying like that). In my head, I`m thinking we have time to help out these guys and make sure they are fine but I can`t stop and take a couple of pictures. That`s just irritating and I can`t believe…..blah blah blah…..

These guys come riding up behind us before you know it. We wonder how this could have happened but think nothing of it and continue on our way. The next thing you know, they are pulling off at a rest stop. It`s about 98 degrees outside and they are wearing leather jackets and helmets and all kinds of hot gear. He decides to pull off the road and stay with them for their safety. Of course, all I can think about is that we didn`t have time to take pictures, but we can stop for these guys (selfish of me, I know). Anyway, turns out these guys took a wrong turn and got lost a bit and that`s why they were behind us. So, David introduces himself and we find out one of the guys name is Frank. Bella yells out the window, “give him our phone number” so David hands him his business card and they talk about motorcycles and stuff. They finish using the restoom and since it is about 1000 degrees while they are standing still, they hop on their bikes and get going. We keep them in sight until we get to the next gas station and wave as we pass them. This is the last I thought about this whole incident until today.

I was unpacking from my latest trip and found a piece of paper folded up on my make-up stand. I unfold it and read it. It`s an e-mail addressed to David at work and says:

David:

The guy`s name.

So, the moral of the story is: I married a wonderful, kind, thoughtful man who is often concerned about others and wants to help when needed. He is a manly man who always opens my door, carries my stuff, and goes to work for me. I love him for these things and he makes me proud. Sometimes it takes these little things to remind me when I forget.

Oh yeah, I took some pictures from the window of the moving truck of Lake Abert for your amusement.

Edit: While I was adjusting the image for posting in Flickr, David walked by and said “Hey what is that?” I said “it`s Lake Abert” and he said “Oh wow, look how pretty it is. We should have stopped to take a picture!” Did I mention, he`s a comedian too?

Sorry for the lack of blogging but I don`t feel I have much to say. My socks are coming along but since they aren`t for anyone, I am not hurrying. I should refer back to my earlier blog about finishing two socks and just keep knitting.

Pay it forward:

Well I got no comments, so unless someone volunteers to comment, I will send the gifts to three random people I know who I feel could use a pick me up. I will make sure the gifts are anonymous and I will completely enjoy doing it. In the spirit of the concept of the Pay it Forward, I think I should send the gifts along since I was chosen on TwistedKnitster`s blog.

Well that`s all I have to say for a nothing blog. Later y`all!

These are my first lace socks and I chose them for the Sock Knitters Anonymous group I belong to in Ravelry. The concept is to knit 6 pairs of socks in a year. One pair every two months and you can select either a designer or a technique for each month you cast on a a pair. For example, in August you can select lace or designer Sockbug. I chose lace since I hadn`t tried that before. They look very pretty and the colors in the yarn are creating a spiral stripe. I had to frog them once already at this same spot you see in the picture. I was K2tog when I was supposed to SSK and vice versa. But now I`m in the proper rythym and all is right with the world! I really like this pattern and the lace. Very nice. Here`s a macro!

P.S. Please noone (noone is reading so no real threat) complain about my pictures. I am still at my Dad`s house and have no software to adjust contrast, color, etc. Thanks man!

I saw a post by TwistedKnitster a couple of days ago about this concept and loved it. He asked for people to post comments and he would select three people at random. There were many comments and I decided my chances were slim. Then another friend from Ravelry, Hobbyzu, posted the same blog and I commented with her. Hopefully I will get chosen by her but even if I`m not, I think the concept is good and want to participate so I will establish it here too!

I will send a handmade gift to 3 random people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do if you like, is in return pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Well I finished the cable rib socks and really enjoyed them. However, I have identified some problem areas in my knitting that I need to work on. If you can see in the toe of this sock, my kitchener stitch really is sucky. I always get so so so confused which way I am supposed to be going. I am sure there is some sort of rhyme or something to help me with this but I don`t know it. Does someone know it? I need such help it`s not even funny.

The next problem is a little hard to see in these photos. My cable gets a little wonky at the gusset. I don`t understand why as I followed the pattern and everything worked out as it should. I couldn`t find any errors and the second one turned out the same as the first. The pictures I have found on Ravelry for these socks and this pattern have all got proper un-wonky cables. If you can see the cable and you know my problem, please let me know as it`s kinda killing me.

Ok, next we have our next project, casted on for the Sockdown Ravelry Challenge to knit 12 pairs of socks in 12 months. Technically, it`s really 6 pairs in 12 months but my plan is for 12. I will post pictures as soon as I have some. These are taking a bit longer than the cable ribs because I changed my plan and I am making lace socks. I love how they are turning out but I need 2o rows without errors before I will take a picture and I don`t intend to frog them for one error row (that`s all I have so far).
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I intend to post a blog about my two new favorite guys in a couple of days. Stay tuned…..