Scarf on my Feet
When last I posted I was pretty excited about my Who's Your Doctor Yarn Club through Nerd Girl Yarns. I'd received my first yarn, Boomtown, and had knit some beautiful gloves out of them. I've worn those gloves every day since, through the coldest this strange Minnesota winter had to offer.
I have since received both of the other yarns in the Winter Who Club. And they are beautiful. First there was "The Scarf":
If you aren't familiar with the Who-verse, it may seem strange to refer to a scarf without any description. But if you have any knowledge of Who-dom whatsoever, you know exactly what this is a reference to.
I started watching Doctor Who because a couple of casual mentions and a front page link on Hulu caught my interest. I watched all of the current series' seasons before realizing there was an older show that all of the episodes referenced. The old series is harder to catch up on. It began in 1963 and ran until 1989. Seven actors portrayed the Doctor in all that time, but only one made an impression on American culture at large. I knew this when I checked out an early Who, starring William Hartnell, and the librarian looked at it funny. "It weird, I remember this show. But it wasn't this guy. It was a guy with a scarf."
The "guy with a scarf" was Tom Baker. He was the quintessential Doctor. Everything a children's time traveling hero should be. So if you feel the desire to check out this Doctor Who thing, start with the new show. When you're done with that, check out Tom Baker. In fact, check out the "City of Death" series, written by Douglas Adams of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame.
Now, that lovely yarn has become some socks. These feet scarves are my first toe-up socks. For the non-knitters, that not only means I start at the toe and work my way up, it means doing some strange new techniques, with the advantage that I can shape the sock to my foot a bit better than with a top down sock. Here is the final product:
I love the way the colors stripe and pool. I'm generally pretty happy with my result. I ran into some problems with a new kind of heel to knit. And by "ran into a problem" I mean I was screaming and ripping my hair out as I re-did the heel of my sock for the fourth time.
It turns out that learning a skill sometimes actually requires reading ALL of the instructions. Funny thing, that. For instance, just because you think you know what the abbreviated instructions mean, doesn't mean you shouldn't read the extended instructions at the beginning of your book. And after all of that, I still had little holes in my sock as it stretches out. Le sigh. But! I have some beautiful sturdy socks to wear now.
The final color was the election ready Vote Saxon. When it's project is done, I will post more about it. That post will probably be somewhat political. You stand warned.
I have since received both of the other yarns in the Winter Who Club. And they are beautiful. First there was "The Scarf":
I started watching Doctor Who because a couple of casual mentions and a front page link on Hulu caught my interest. I watched all of the current series' seasons before realizing there was an older show that all of the episodes referenced. The old series is harder to catch up on. It began in 1963 and ran until 1989. Seven actors portrayed the Doctor in all that time, but only one made an impression on American culture at large. I knew this when I checked out an early Who, starring William Hartnell, and the librarian looked at it funny. "It weird, I remember this show. But it wasn't this guy. It was a guy with a scarf."
Now, that lovely yarn has become some socks. These feet scarves are my first toe-up socks. For the non-knitters, that not only means I start at the toe and work my way up, it means doing some strange new techniques, with the advantage that I can shape the sock to my foot a bit better than with a top down sock. Here is the final product:
I love the way the colors stripe and pool. I'm generally pretty happy with my result. I ran into some problems with a new kind of heel to knit. And by "ran into a problem" I mean I was screaming and ripping my hair out as I re-did the heel of my sock for the fourth time.
It turns out that learning a skill sometimes actually requires reading ALL of the instructions. Funny thing, that. For instance, just because you think you know what the abbreviated instructions mean, doesn't mean you shouldn't read the extended instructions at the beginning of your book. And after all of that, I still had little holes in my sock as it stretches out. Le sigh. But! I have some beautiful sturdy socks to wear now.
The final color was the election ready Vote Saxon. When it's project is done, I will post more about it. That post will probably be somewhat political. You stand warned.
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