Sunday, October 8, 2017

Year of Projects 7: Week 15


My Crosshaven socks seemed to be going swimmingly until Wednesday, when it was clear that I was facing a stunning loss at Yarn Chicken! Given that the skein I was knitting was labelled as 360M (400 yds) running short of yarn was the last thing I expected. In fact, as I was knitting the second sock I was musing about how I might use up the leftover yarn... a halloween-themed colourwork motif, maybe?

So much for that idea. I knit as far as I could on sock two, then picked out the grafted toe of sock one to rip back a half repeat on the foot. I salvaged enough yarn from the shortened sock one to complete a matching sock two. That's the good news. The bad news is that the shortened socks are now too small for my giant size 11 feet. Onto the gift pile they go - they'll fit someone with feet sized 7-9 I'd think.

The last couple of weeks we've been watching Ozark on Netflix, throughout which I've been knitting away at a vanilla-isa sock: Tuxie Love. I did have to pay attention through the colourwork on the leg, but the rest is vanilla enough to knit in a dark room, even with dark yarn.

I'm looking forward to getting back to Somewhere socks. I'm super happy with the way my yarn scraps are playing together, so my plan is to finish up sock one and get started on sock two this week. Hopefully I'll have something to show you in my next post.

The car has been acting up this week - an O2 sensor needs replacing and as a consequence the car is using too much gas. We're at the point where the car is so old that it's a decision about whether to spend money on it or trade it in for something new. The mechanic seems to think that we could get another year or two from the car so we're going to do the repairs and see. We did take some 2018 models out for test drives which has made us yearn for a new car with all the mod cons - in dash nav, heated seats, keyless entry, emergency braking... On the other hand, if the car lasts another year, imagine how awesome the 2019 models might be!

Gavin installed the dishwasher that was here when we moved in, only to discover that there is a part broken which causes it to leak. The dishwasher model was discontinued a few years ago; the cost to order the replacement part would be more than the value of the machine. Another consideration is that new dishwashers are far more water efficient and energy efficient than they used to be. So a new dishwasher has been ordered and is scheduled for installation on Friday. It uses 3.3 gallons per cycle (versus 18 gallons per cycle for the old one), and about $30 in electricity per year. With just the two of us, we only run the dishwasher about once a week so it won't even cost that. We have 16 place-settings of dishes and cutlery so that we can easily go a week without washing dishes. In theory, we should end up saving $$ on water. And won't it be nice to get the dirty dishes off the kitchen counter and out of sight!

It's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada which we are spending quietly at home. It's been unseasonably warm, so warm that I went swimming in the lake yesterday! Autumn chores are calling - especially raking up all the leaves and chestnuts. I hope your weekend is as pleasant and peaceful!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Bummer about the yarn chicken, but it looks like you made the best of it.

Ella said...

I love all your socks, they look so neat. What bad luck that you ran out of yarn. And thanks for linking to all those gorgeous sock patterns. :-D

Lucy Bowen said...

Hope you have a lovely weekend (and make the most of the new dishwasher!)
Sorry about the socks, but they are gorgeous and at least someone will appreciate them

Stefanie said...

Sorry the yarn chicken minused you a pair of socks. They are lovely; that color is wonderful. You are generous to have a gift pile. I frogged the stellina sock this morning. My stitches were so tight that I couldn't even thread a tapestry needle through them to put on waste yarn. So I rewound the cake with my nostepinne and cut it where it connected to the sock. Then I frogged the sock and will use that mini cake for my future memory blanket.
Thank you for your recent visit. Yes, you are correct. The colorway is Christmasy. I don't think I have any other yarn for the heels and toes and will probably just use the same yarn for them. I guess I'm not particular about heel fit but I plan to pay more attention to that as several sock knitters find afterthought heels don't fit them well.

Becki said...

Those socks are beautiful! Both designs. RE: the new dishwasher. While it hasn't been about finances, we've been in a home without a dishwasher for the last 19 years and I've always figured we surely save some water washing dishes by hand. But 3 gallons (vs 18 gals in the old model)? That's an incredible difference. I actually don't mind washing dishes, but I know I use quite a bit more than 3 gals - each time I do dishes. And I usually do dishes at least twice a day. Then again... knowing me, I'd probably feel the need to sort of "wash off" my dishes before loading them into the dishwasher. So that water would need to be accounted for, too. Again, while washing dishes by hand has never been about saving money, you've seriously challenged my thinking about the economics of the whole business.

Wanderingcatstudio said...

The crosshaven socks are awesome (and you know I love the Tuxie Love). The seal went on our dishwasher several years ago.... I miss it so much!

Sam I Am...... said...

Happy Thanksgiving! It's really hot here still too and I am aching for cool, crisp weather and real Fall! That's really bad about the yarn shorting you! Thank goodness you are as talented as you are and could fix it....I won't tell you what I would have done! LOL! I live in the Ozarks....just on the Arkansas side. I watched the trailer and it is pretty 'scary'....I probably won't watch it...I don't care for violence.
The orange yarn is gorgeous and your color work socks are too. I want to do color work and maybe socks would be a good place to start? I would buy a used car as there are so many recalls on the newer ones and they lose so much value when you drive them off the lot but that's just me. I use my dishwasher every day and I live alone well, except for 2 dogs and 2 cats who go through a lot of dishes....plus, I cook everything from scratch, bread too and very rarely go out to eat. Once a week you run your dishwasher? What do you guys eat off of...paper plates? LOL!
Unlike Becky...I never rinse the dishes before they go in the dishwasher as I think that defeats the purpose and if they are still dirty when they come out which is very, very rare...I wash them then. It is proven that dishwashers use less water than hand washing but unfortunately, I do both. There are always some items that I prefer not to put in the dishwasher. I have an old Kitchenaide and love it! I can even fit my big cookies sheets on the sides....it must have been designed by a woman or a man that bakes cookies like I do! LOL! I hope that feature is still there when I need to buy a new one. Have a great week!

Breathing Life said...

Swimming in the lake on Thanksgiving weekend? I am so jealous.
Sorry about your car and dishwasher woes, but it seems you are looking at the glass half full so good for you about that. Your socks are gorgeous but that is weird about running out of yarn. I had that happen with a shawl - I think sometimes the yardage posted gets shorted because it is the end of the run, or something like that. Anyways your gift recipient will be very very happy.

Gracey is not my name.... said...

I'm so over the warm weather. Today it was about 80 degrees Fahrenheit, making it about 90 degrees in my classroom.

Also, I wear between a 7 and 8, depending on the shoe...just saying ;)

My husband is the dishwasher in the house, he is also the chef and laundress...hahaha

I did not post this week, as I went to a country fair with the Hubs and the MIL.....

Leftycrafter said...

I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving. I squeed a bit when I saw the black and white socks. I think those paw prints are just heart warming. You did a fantastic job on the yellow socks and no one will ever be able to tell you lost at yarn chicken.