The Silk Road Socks book by Hunter Hammersen is totally addicting. I’m about to go cast on for another pair (Sennehs this time).

The first pair I finished from the book are the Joshagans or Joshaqans. This was my first time to use shibui sock yarn and I found it to be a little stretchier than expected. The color I used did not seem to have a name, which I found somewhat lame. I’d call it mullberry, so not sure if the link goes to it.

One of my socks turned out a slightly different size than the other or wait, my feet are slightly different, so the socks fit better one way than the other. I left a tiny tail on the left one so I’ll always know.

The first pics I took inside had the socks looking two different colors, so I headed out into the heat to take better photos. Don’t worry, I stayed in the shade, I haven’t totally lost my mind…yet.

I really enjoyed the play and saturation of color in this yarn, so I’ll definitely use it again.

And yes, I’m aware that my legs are white enough for me to be a Twilight extra which is shocking considering it is almost July in Texas, but I have always worn jeans all the time, even in the summer. On the upside, if sun exposure is really what causes aging, my legs will look young forever!

I live in the country and we do not have curbside recycling, but since I work in the city and according to my parents have become a tree hugging hippie since moving to Austin, periodically, Truck is loaded up and taken into town so I can recycle on my lunch break.
I don’t love doing this because I do not like to be sweaty in the middle of a work day, so I put it off as long as humanly possible.

Signs I may have waited a little bit too long:
a. It did not all fit in the truck.
b. There were what appeared to be half built birds nests in a couple of the bins.
c. There was a lovely toad nestled in with the clear glass.

Meghan suggested we put him out by the lake when I expressed concern over his well being. But, I was worried about the possibility of him being separated from his little toad family.

Also, this was likely the same toad that I had saved a week prior so I felt somewhat responsible. TH was mowing the grass when I reminded him about the philodendron next to the porch that he could get close to, but should not cut down. I weeded the grass around it by hand and there was a toad nestled at the base of it. So, if this is the same toad, then he clearly likes to live dangerously and I think my backyard might be his best shot at survival. So, I left him in the bin and Meghan and I went to Taco Bell. I got some cool water and put just enough in the tub that he could be in it if he wanted. We used our used TB wrappers to give him some shade in the back of the truck and added more cool water after eating. Back to work we went, where I parked him in the garage so he wouldn’t get overheated. I drove straight home and put the bin in the flower bed sideways so he could hop away when the mood struck.

Within an hour, he was gone. Ostensibly off to get some yummy bugs. Good Luck, Mr. Toad; glad you made it back safe!

This past Sunday, some friends and I gathered to wish one of us a very Happy Birthday. And we did this in a very unique way. We gathered at Gauge Knits in Austin and took a yarn dyeing class from White Bear Fibers. It was a ton of fun and we were all pleased with our creations.


Kerry went first and chose a beautiful light sage green concoction. In true Kerry fashion, she was very efficient and was finished in a few minutes. Gorgeous!

Bonita dyed 3-tone hanks (lime green, daisy yellow, and persimmon). She was inspired by tulips and they came out gloriously.

Michelle handpainted a green and blue striped pattern that I will call Lochness. It was very deep. I can’t wait to see what it becomes.

Don dyed eggplant and taupe. It looked sophisticated and masculine.

Meghan dipped an oxblood and chocolate hank that was really rich. I think she should call it My Wedding since it is the colors from her wedding. She also handpainted a two-tone red and then green skein that she said looked like apples. Granny Smith and Red Delicious!

Lisa dyed a 3-tone aqua skein that we were all fans of and there might have even been some envy. She also worked with WBF to get just the right UT orange. She used the highlighting technique to give it some brown and it really did look burnt. Perfect!

I dyed a pink (magenta, I think) and cream (undyed) and green (chartreuse) hank I was really pleased with. Perhaps I’ll call it froggy lips, but it reminded everyone of various flowers. I really enjoyed saying chartreuse. I kept accidently calling colors chartreuse which was pretty confusing. Perhaps chartreuse will be my new curse word. What the chartreuse is going on?!?


The other hank I’d like to use to make “A Roll in the Hay” socks, so I used the highlighting technique to create a color I’ll call Dominican Amber because it is mostly “transparent” and even has a few inclusions! The inclusions were created by accidently getting a tiny bit chocolate colored dye on the hank while highlighting. oops!


Then the whole group painted a grafitti skein together! Overall, everyone’s yarn was unbelievably lovely and pretty and I cannot wait to see how all of our stuff knits up!

Thank you everyone so much for coming to celebrate Meghan! Special thanks to Karli of Gauge and Doug of White Bear Fibers and his helper, Kim! We’ll treasure the memories forever and ya’ll were super welcoming, helpful, patient and nice!

Happy Birthday, Meghan!