Getting Caught Up, Part 1

Hi! Yes, it's me back from the ether.  I'm now safely in Nairobi and headed to Juba, Sudan tomorrow.  I'm sorry I vanished, but I had a bit of a mental cave-in and needed some time off.  I have been knitting, however, and need to bring you (and me) up to speed again.

Project: June Socks 
Pattern: Standard 72-Stitch Sock
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Baltic Sea
Yardage: about 2 balls (430 yards)
Started: June 14, 2007
Finished: June 30, 2007
Yarn Source: Knit Happens in Alexandria, VA
Needles: 2.5 mm (US 1.5)
Gauge: 9 stitches to the inch in stst

AND

Project: July Socks
Pattern: Hedera from Knitty Spring 2006
Yarn: Rowan 4-ply soft in Zing
Yardage: about 1.75 balls (335 yards)
Started: July 20, 2007
Finished: July 31, 2007
Yarn Source: Seed Stitch in Salem, MA
Needles: 2.5 mm (US 1.5)
Gauge: 8 stitches to the inch in stst

Both of these pairs of socks have the dubious distinction of being finished on the last possible day of the month while I was on an airplane traveling to a totally different time zone.  In my defense, I finished them before 12 midnight on the last day of the month in the timezone in which I started them.  The June socks were completed as I flew from Romania to the United States after closing that program and moving.  The endless rounds of plain stst were a wonderful balm to the craziness of the last month in Romania.  Anything more ambitious and I would have lost it. 

The July socks were completed as I boarded the first of two eight-hour flights to Nairobi.  I started these while recuperating at home in Salem and they were interesting enough to hold my attention, but not too mentally challenging.  I originally stated them in burgundy from my stash, but the pattern didn't show up very well.  On the advice on my sister, I switched to the current color.  I am presently working on the August socks and I don't intend another dramatic last minute completion, but y'never know. 

As I mentioned above, I'm headed to Juba this weekend.  Sparky and I have been having a good time in Nairobi for the last bit.  It's been cold here (yeah, Nairobi is on the equator, but at 5,000 ft, and we got here in the middle of the Kenyan winter), but pretty nice.  The highlight of our stay thus far has been our visit to the AFEW Giraffe Center on the outskirts of Nairobi.  While the linked site does a much better job explaining the mission of the AFEW Giraffe Center, I have to tell you that what I really took away from the experience was the giraffes are really tall and, when you have food for them, really pushy.  I got to feed giraffes!  That's just too cool. 

and they also had warthogs (Sparky says this one's for you Elspeth)

Next post will be from Juba!

Comments

[Elspeth]

ha ha ha ha

*wipes tea off screen*

ha ha ha ha

[LauraRN]

Oooohh-- that's a bit disturbing.....