Em wanted to be sure that a visually impaired boy in her class could read the Valentine she was sending him. “Can we write (his name) and (my name) in Braille?” I did my best. Hopefully this is one of those “it’s the thought that counts” moments.

Please remember this next time someone puts forth the opinion that autistic people lack empathy. The empathy is there, it’s just that it isn’t expressed in a form you might recognize.

I admit I felt my shoulders relax, releasing some tension that I didn’t know was there. I guess all parents are a bit on eggshells, making a thousand tiny adjustments in steering their child on course through life. This feels like proof that we’re doing something right.

When we left off, we were trying to free some captives from a ship full of pirate slavers. We had revealed ourselves and were currently at a standoff with the enemy. There might, however, still be a chance to get out of this without violence. Hahahaha. Right.

Also, I’m not going to bother to bleep the profanity out of this, so you’ve been warned.
Super ninja owlbear pirate go time!

Just one more. With a little purple left over from the previous skein, I thought I’d do one final dye job. Same Universal Superwash Merino Sock colored with Jacquard acid dyes. This is primarily aqua with some purple poured into one section of the dye pot after the aqua had taken up. I’m a big fan of blue.

Used some of the russet that hadn’t completely exhausted to make this coral/brown with purple. The purple uptook faster than I meant for it to, which was the result of overcompensating with the vinegar. Still, no mistakes, just happy accidents, right?

I finally tried out some of Universal Yarn’s Ready To Dye Yarn.

I like it. It came out with a nice russet color. It reminds me of Jane Russell. So that’s what I’m calling it. Jane Russell.

Every year for my father’s birthday, some friends throw him a little birthday dinner. It’s nothing too outrageous, just a gathering of about eight to ten friends to wish him well and have a meal and some cake. This year, things took a little turn.

My father and uncle were chatting, and my uncle apparently decided to come as well, even though it’s quite a drive. My father mentioned to another uncle that this was happening, and one thing led to another, and somehow it turned into a combination flash mob and family reunion. When I showed up at the restaurant, in addition to friends, there were cousins and second cousins and uncles and aunts involved, most of whom are pictured to the right.

It was a delightful surprise. I wasn’t expecting all that, and Dad wasn’t either. It was great to see family who we hadn’t seen in years. What a wonderful way to turn 75 39 years old.

My father is a very generous, funny, kind man, and it is utterly unsurprising that he has so many people who care so much about him. It was nice that he got to be reminded of that for his birthday.

I love you, Dad! Happy birthday!

I ran a pair of my handmade handdyed socks through the washing machine. They were fine when they went in, but one of them came out like this.

This was my sturdiest, favorite pair. They’d held up well over the last couple of years. Sigh. I have a huge backlog of socks to darn, too – I’m murder on heels.

FO: A’s Crazy Socks
Pattern: Honeycomb Socks from Charlene Schurch’s Little Box of Socks
Yarn: Louet Gems Sport in Teal, Crabapple, White, and Violet
Needles: US #2 / 2.75mm
Size: Women’s L
Ravelry Project Page

Notes: If these look a little big on me, it’s because they are. These aren’t for me, though, they’re for my niece A. I don’t know if you remember this post from 2006, but A is the young lady sitting to the right in the picture. I taught her to knit in 2005 when she was 13 and she has stuck with it. I am so very proud. Anyway, my sister-in-law came to me this Fall and asked me to make some crazy socks for the young lady. Stripes, polka dots, lots of colors. That’s how my niece rolls.

My sister-in-law very paid me to make these, so they really are a gift from her to her daughter. And she wisely asked me well in advance of Christmas so I’d have plenty of time to get these ready. Really, she was very on the ball – it was me who fell down on the job. Life got a lot more busy than I thought it would this Fall and I didn’t have them done in time.

All was not lost, however, as A’s birthday is early next week, and they should be in my sister-in-law’s hands by now for her to pass on as a birthday gift. While my niece hasn’t received the socks yet, I think it’s safe to post here – I feel certain she doesn’t read my blog.

These have a 60 stitch caston, but I am such a loose knitter that they’re still a little loose on me. That’s good, though, as my niece wears about a size and a half larger shoe than I do. These should be spot on. In the pic at left with one cuff turned down, you can see the ingenious way that the spots are created. It’s just a solid stripe of color, but you slip a couple of stitches from the previous color band, which brings them across the stripe and makes it look like you’re changing colors. It’s a neat little cheat that is faster than Fair Isle – at least for me.

You’ll also note that for time’s sake, I opted not to mess with a jogless join for the color changes. Instead, I made sure they were both on opposite sides, so she can choose to wear them with the color jogs facing in and hide them, if it’s an issue for her.

I enjoyed knitting these. And I’ve got plenty of Gems left, so I could make them again for myself or someone else in my life in a variation on these same colors. They went pretty quickly when I actually found time to work on them.

I don’t normally do socks for hire, but as I mentioned, A is a knitter, so I’m glad to be able to knit for her. Nobody appreciates crafts like another crafter. I hope she enjoys these. She’s a charming young woman and I wish her a very happy birthday.

Hey, guess what? D&D starts back up again tomorrow! Guess I really should post some more updates from 2009, eh?

This sign appeared on my daughter’s bedroom wall tonight.

I am so not ready for her to grow up.