Glad I made new slipper socks!

Hi Leah- I live in Peoria just west of Phoenix, It sure was cold yesterday! I saw that there were heavy snow warnings on t.v. for the greater Phoenix area LOL. We got a lot of rain and some flooding and in the middle of it all, my son broke the key in the car door and we had to stand in the freezing rain for over an hour for the locksmith! (He did this to the other door, -same car- recently and *forgot* to get the spare key made Friday like I TOLD him to). On my way to rescue him, I had to drive through some pretty deep flooding....but we sure needed the rain, it's been 144 days without. Scottsdale got several inches of snow and I heard up north, I think it was Page that got 48 inches in those 24 hours. Unbelievable! Marie and the cats

Very glad to hear of other people making their own needles.

I bought some of that thick and quick yarn and made some of those socks. (It was October and Xmas was coming.) It was so fast, it was like magic! After I wore a pair for a few hours, all but one got frogged and reknit on smaller needles. That last sock has a tag on it and is sitting in my swatch drawer as reminder. Nothing against the yarn, I just like a tighter fabric for socks.

It is a very good first sock, and homemade wooden needles have a minimal tendency to fall out, which makes learning MUCH easier. Just understand that the FO is going to look a bit 'homemade." But, socks wear out, so we knit a lot of them and with practice become better knitters.

Also, short needles ~ 6 inches long are easier and faster to work with than the commoner 7-1/2" length DPN.

When you are ready to go faster, varnish your wooden DPN and polish to a high gloss with super fine steel wool and furniture wax.

Aaron

Hi Marie

We had the same severe winter storm warnings in the Prescott area where I live, but didn't get too much. It was light snow most of Friday, but the sun would come out and melt it, and then Saturday morning we had a couple inches on the ground, maybe 3-4 inches in places. Not nearly as much as we hoped to get because we definitely can use the moisture! Sunday started out cold and the clouds looked promising, but it fizzled by 11 AM, and by the afternoon, it had almost all melted.

However, since it cleared up and the wind was blowing, it was cold by

4 P.M., and we started our fire in our wood stove for the evening at that time, and had to cut extra wood to make sure we'd have enough for this morning's burn, since we turn off the heater as soon as we get up because of how high they've jacked up prices on gas.

Leah

Hi Marilyn,

You have me wondering if she's going to Prescott College or Yavapai? You don't need to answer, just got me curious. We were hoping for up to 9 inches, but only got about 3-4. Last week, we were in shorts and sandals, because it was 60 degrees, and this week we are back in winter coats and boots LOL!

I've seen the cottage socks on the LB site and thought about trying their pattern, but I'd rather use 2 strands of worsted than having to buy super bulky to make my slipper socks, plus I wanted to crochet them, as it goes faster for me than knitting. I love to knit, but when I want to wear it SOON, that means crochet, and a toe blew out on my old pair without warning.

Leah

Thank you, Pamjam, I was going to say the same thing... but I figured people always make assumptions about it ALWAYS snowing in Canada, so I didn't want to be guilty of thinking the opposite of Arizona. At least now I know I'm not alone in thinking that. LOL

Gemini

Leah, reading your message has me smiling very widely! It is so nice to hear someone who can find the beauty in snow, like I do. ;o)

This isn't snow... but one morning last week one section of road I was driving on had what looked like a thick cloud of fog hanging over it. As I drove into it and looked around I could see that it was a heavy hoar frost which was layering itself thickly all over the trees, bushes, weeds and fences along the fields. It was sooo pretty, I really wish I had my camera with me! The strange thing was, that it was just on that section of road, nowhere else.

I also love it when we have ice-storms! Although they are trecherous to drive in, everything is covered in very thick ice, and when the sun comes out the ice shines and shimmers like diamonds everywhere you look.

Even though we *really* didn't get very much snow (well, we got a lot WHEN it snowed, but it didn't snow as often as other winters) I still hear people b*tching about how they hope the snow is gone for the year now, and they are looking forward to summer. Yep, so they can complain about the heat then. LOL

I love all four of the seasons, and can find something wonderful and beautiful about each of them. Not too wild about rain when it goes on and on for days on end... but a shower once in a while is nice to refresh everything, and then the sun always looks brighter and more welcoming when it makes it's next appearance. :o)

Gemini

Hi Pamjam

Yes, we have desert, and there are actually 2 kinds, low desert, like you see around Phoenix, and high desert, like around Monument Valley, the Petrified Forest, and the Painted Desert areas. In between are the mountains. Prescott, which is between Phoenix and Flagstaff (a town on a major cross-country highway) is in the forested mountains, as is Flagstaff. Prescott is called "The Mile High City", because we are at 5,000 feet elevation. I think Flag ranges between 6-7,000, but don't quote me on it. There is actually skiing around Flagstaff when there's enough snow.

Anyway, Prescott forest has one of the largest stands of Ponderosa Pines in the world. It also hosts several species of oak and juniper and probably other trees, but those are the main ones around here.

It used to snow a lot more around here, and I still have a B&W picture I took April 2, 1981 after we got 2 feet of snow on April 1!

Sheesh, the net search I did has turned up only lousy pictures of Thumb Butte, and the flash on my digital camera reflects off it and ruins the image, so I can't post a copy of my picture on my site. I so need a scanner!

Leah

Wow, I felt like I was being taken on a tour with you as the tourguide. That all sounds so lovely and made me feel like I was there. :o)

Gemini

I'd love to visit Phoenix sometime. My in-laws went down for a vacation and they said it's beautiful.

haha..you said thumb butte! ;)

Pamjam

Leah wrote:

And she said thumb butte.

Pamjam

We don't have any Canadian badguys! ROTFL Yeah, right!

Gemini

*giggle* ;o)

Gemini