Nooo my items

 

By coincidence a number of packages came available on the same day. I think the carrier got cold (it is cold) and ran out of time to do them and marked them all "no access to delivery location." 

I have recently decided that buying used clothing from all over the US is a little dangerous so I open them directly into the washing machine. Because if I got bedbugs in the house it would be a whole mess. Before I thought of this, I would open the package and put the garment in my dirty laundry, which is in my closet. The packages listed above are coming from Utah, Florida, New York, and Missouri. But, I still value getting to choose between the last fifty years of textiles instead of what is available this season. 

In summer I can use the car as a clearinghouse for new used things since it heats up in the sun. But in winter it doesn't get hot enough. So, I planned my laundry this week around these packages arriving yesterday. I was going to do everything silk- my pillowcases and a few other things- together, and then everything cotton and synthetic together. Instead I washed my cotton textiles without the new pants and new flannel, and my silk stuff is still waiting. 

Minimal watering planting in Northern California

Want to take advantage of the rainfall- it’s a constant process to water the garden in the long dry season. 

Over COVID I was able to stay home in the garden many days per week. But, what if I took advantage of our minimal freezes and the rain falling from the sky to get plants established, so that I would only have to water during the hottest driest times rather than try to get the dirt to take some moisture for the fragile new seedlings?

I started with winter friendly plants that in a harsher climate would need to be in the ground already- garlic, potato, chives. Also inspired by what was in the kitchen ready to go in the ground. Those are doing well and I also tossed out flower seeds which have been sitting for a few years, in the hopes that they could make a better go of it in the earth than on a shelf. 

Kaweco sport clip on Wancai Mini

Lovely to shop in person for little bits like these. I was able to see that the gold suited the pink acrylic of my moonman wancai mini best, and the clip that looked utilitarian online looks elegant in person. 

Flax is a great spot in downtown Oakland. 

I love this pen with or without a clip. Without, it works well as a wallet pen as I never set it down. 

Had to fight the clip on since the wancai is 2mm bigger than the kaweco sport the clip is intended for. I lined up the clip so it doesn't touch my hand while I write. I've also ordered a new feed assembly since this one has cracked. 

An acrylic pen may not last forever but I can get some years out of it. 

Two at a time ankle socks

You can get by without swearing socks if you wear your shoes for a short time and then air them out. Nothing has a chance to make a fungal or other problem since the shoes are dry and resting. You can see this with climbing shoes- you are not supposed to wear socks with them for the best traction, you work out in them for an hour, and then the next time you get them out they are good as new. 

I have gradually phased out the annoying little half socks I used to have to wear to get a full workday's wear out of my dress shoes. All my socks are handknit or otherwise wool. And there are no, no show socks remaining. No problem except now I love these platform sneakers and wear them every time I leave the house. 

I am a lofty, alpine, almost airborne 5' 5" everywhere I go, now. And although it is deep winter in northern California I can feel my feet sweating on hikes and similar. So, time for a hand knit pair of no show socks. I read online that these shoes break in to a larger size- and these have- so a nice bulky pair of socks will be ideal. That also means that these hand knit socks won't go with my other shoes since those fit me properly. 

 

And that means I can dye these socks to match the shoes and hopefully achieve a no show effect even with a little dyed-to-match sock showing and thus circumvent the irritating issue of reaching into a sweaty shoe to grab a little twist of sock and smooth it back over my heel. 

Knitting these two-at-a-time because otherwise all bets are off as to when I'll have the urge to cast on and complete a second sock- as a bonus, you can change anything you want on the fly and not worry to much about making a note since both socks already have the change. 

I straight up can't start two pairs of socks on two circulars, only tried once but it was very uneccessary. Since I have double pointed needles I just cast on and knit each toe then transfer to circulars. If I only had access to circulars I think I would do the same thing, cast on one then set it aside, cast on the other, then put both on the circulars to work. I strongly recommend using two different circulars. Then you just knit every stitch from one type of needle, then drop that needle and work every stitch on the other type. So here I am knitting nickel to nickel.

Dog intermission

Now I knit bamboo-to-bamboo. I would like if this needle was a little nicer so I may pick up a wooden size 3 to replace it. 

Because I'm knitting two at a time this is going very slowly. Every round is 120 stitches or so. I'm just about done though since after I make a spot for the heel and work a little 2x2 ribbing it will be time to cast off.