This week is flying. How is it already Wednesday? I’ve made such little progress on my knitting I’m going to share a story about knitting to make up for the fact that I have so little to show this week.

Last Saturday I was at Cup of Joe, my usual coffee shop in Cedar Falls. It was crowded, so an older couple asked to share a table with me. I welcomed them and then got back to working on my sock. The man seemed very interested in knitting and asked me all about the time it takes and the cost of the yarn. He was surprised, as most non-knitters are, that knitting is such an expensive hobby. I was wearing a hand knit sweater and he asked how much the yarn was for the sweater. I shared that it was $200 (knitting is a hobby, it is entertainment, it is not cheaper than buying your clothes). He was surprised.

That was a normal knitter to non-knitter cost discussion. What happened next was not. What happened next was so odd I wish I had been prepared with a better response. He asked “Does your husband know how much you spend on yarn?” I responded in the affirmative. He said “That is nice of him to let you spend that much on yarn.” He then followed up with “Do you work outside of the home?” I said no. He said “Then it is extra nice of him to let you spend that much on yarn.”

I sat there stunned. How do you respond to such an antiquated, sexist comment?

Anyhoo. Happy International Women’s Day.

This week I’ve been working on a few projects. I don’t have a l lot of passion for any of the projects at the moment, so I’ve been doing things like reading and cleaning instead.

I’m about halfway done with the right panel of the cocoon cardigan. I’m starting to get into the groove on this one, but it requires me to pay attention to where I’m at, so I can’t knit it while the kids are awake.

I started on a pair of black socks and promptly discovered why people don’t knit socks with black yarn. I can only work on them in bright light in pants that are not black, lest my vision goes the way of Mary Igalls. I’ll share more about those socks in a few weeks, if I can bring myself to work on them again.

About one day into the black sock vision loss debacle I cast on a pair of Hermione’s Everyday Socks with some Berroco Comfort Sock. I changed the ribbing to 2 x 2. I could tell you that I made the change because Elizabeth Zimmerman says that 2 x 2 ribbing is the stretchiest, but really I changed the ribbing because the yarn is the color of terra cotta poop and the yarn is 50% nylon 50% acrylic which makes me want to fly through the socks and a 1 x 1 rib would make me poke my eyes out with my knitting needles.

How did I end up with this yarn? It was given to me by Ivy when she destashed. When I accused her of buying poop colored yarn she assured me that it was given to her by her aunt when she destashed. Her aunt had received it from someone else who was destashing. I’m the fourth person in possession of this yarn, and the only one cheap enough to make socks with it.

I’m not sure about the acrylic/nylon blend. I’m usually a natural fibers snob. I like some nylon in my socks, but my feet start to sweat just thinking about a 50% nylon content. Neither fiber is exactly breathable.

I’m continuing to knit these because I’ve convinced myself that they will be good around the house socks. I’ve come to terms with the colorway by convincing myself that it is an homage to late 80s Aztec sweaters.

If I hate the color and yarn so much, why am I making socks with it? Quite simply it was the first sock yarn I saw when I looked at my stash. I have enough sock yarn in my stash to make about 20 more pairs of socks, so when I’m done with this pair I can make a luscious pair with Lorna’s Laces, Malibrigo, or Madeline Tosh. I will deserve it.

I hope I’m on the second sock next week and on the left panel of my cardigan. I’m looking forward to starting a project I adore soon.

I hope you were more productive than me this week!