the usual Prime Suspects, plus knitting and anime

[verbminx]

Happy birthday to poutling!

Relaxed day, decent fun. I slept for a long time and had the kind of dreams where you're mad at who- or what-ever wakes you up, because you want to find out what happens next. Eventually I did get up, and then Tom came over here and we all sat and watched Prime Suspect 2, which is good, and infuriating. Sexism and racism are the two major subjects of the show, once you get past the mystery plot. I am proud to say that I figured out the killer as soon as I saw them, this time, based on the mannerisms of the other suspects.

While watching the show I worked on the heel of a sock, which requires a lot of attention and work because it isn't just knitting in a circle. I've made the heel flap and gusset and now I'm joining it all together. I almost always have a sock going as a small portable project, which I work on while watching TV or at ppl's houses or waiting in line for things, but this one is really gorgeous, made of Koigu handpainted merino wool, and I want to finish the sock before it gets really cold. The heel and toe are the only places where I have to pay attention to instructions, so I usually knit those parts at home when I can keep careful track of what I'm doing.

I still haven't finished "Sueet Suede" from spring Knitty. Garter-stitch straps are no fun. The lining isn't going to be any fun. I don't like working with Berroco "Suede" yarn - it's prone to catching on hangnails and stuff. I have hated making the project, but I'll like using it when it's done.

Found out tonight that, while the library has almost all of Ayashi no Ceres on DVD, for some reason they have no copies in any format of the fifth disc. There are 8 volumes of 3 episodes each. Weird! Uncool! I guess I'll just read synopses of those episodes?

Comments

[keever.livejournal.com]

That particular Prime Suspect is especially great. I actually gasped out loud when the boy's mother slapped Tennison.

[verbminx.livejournal.com]

Yeah. As soon as Oswalde arrested Tony, I was like, oh, no, Tony, no, it's gonna be OK. What did you go and do that for, Oswalde?

Too busy knitting to cover my face with my hands, but I was really bummed by the inevitable and hoping it wouldn't happen until the last minute. Still, I don't think Tennison deserved the slap - Oswalde did.

[purplecleo.livejournal.com]

Would you be willing to knit a pair of socks for a fee? I'm doing a Victorian historical re-creation costume and and I hear that sock-making has not changed a whole lot since the 1800's. And I have no talent for knitting. If I sent you the supplies is this something you'd be willing to do? I won't need them until February.

[verbminx.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... I don't know if this would be the greatest idea.
First of all... I am a very very very slow knitter. For a Victorian sock you'd need more like a shaped stocking that came over the knee. I've never made anything that was particularly shaped or that came very high on the leg (usually mine stop mid-calf). Even these take me months to do... working fairly diligently, the mate to the sock I'm working on now took me 2 months, a year ago. Lace socks might be faster, but they also require a lot more attention. The materials are pretty cheap - for longer stockings you'd want maybe 5 balls of yarn, but for regular socks I usually use 2 balls of yarn, varying between $5-10/ball. You would probably want a plain wool, but most of these come blended with 25% nylon for strength. Stockings could be made from a thicker yarn for speed - sport or worsted weight rather than fingering/sock/lace weight, but they would also be coarser and probably inauthentic.

At any rate, because it's soooooooooo much work and I'm not a fast knitter to begin with, it would probably not be financially efficient to have me make a pair of socks for you. It would end up being pretty expensive. I also honestly couldn't guarantee that I'd be able to have them done by february... between being slow and also probably needing to knit a few xmas presents.

Have you got the Amazon Drygoods catalogues? I bet they have just the socks or stockings you're looking for. Machine-made socks are period, but would have been on the expensive side. I think the site is victoriana.com.

There is also a book - Folk Socks by... Nancy Bush, I think. This would be worth you looking through for yourself. You'd want something like the Latvian Stockings, I bet, or the lace ones that I think are "French". The book "Socks Socks Socks" - from a Knitter's Magazine competition for sock designs - also has a couple of over-the-knee ideas, some very period-looking.

there MAY be faster knitters than me over on knitting who could do this for you in a more timely way (thus also making it cheaper). But I think it would be a lot more cost-effective to go through a recreationist's supplier.

[purplecleo.livejournal.com]

I will definitely check those places out. Thanks :)

[verbminx.livejournal.com]

Also, check out this site:

http://www.fetishize-me.com/wool.html

I've linked to the wool page, where they show a natural-color over-the-knee sock that you could wear with or without garters. They look reasonably period (or at least period-neutral) to me. They only cost $8 and you could easily dye them to whatever color you wanted (look for Dylon at a local craft store). These would not look majorly different from anything I would make, with the exception of the toe seam, which nobody is going to see anyway.

http://www.fetishize-me.com/cotton_over_the_knees.html
other possibilities on this page.
check also the pages for appropriate lengths and materials.

Depending on the year you're going for, elastic may or may not be period. You can also always take the stocking and cut off any elastic bands, put the stocking on your leg, and roll and hem the top of it. (if you do it off your leg, it may not be able to expand enough to get back onto your leg!)

HTH!

[verbminx.livejournal.com]

also - striped cotton & solid ribbed cotton. these should also both be OK, though not perfect.
http://www.fetishize-me.com/m_stockings.html#stripes

the wool socks i mentioned in the last post don't have a fully-fashioned heel, btw. i hadn't noticed that when i was looking at them before.

also be sure to check out the sock garter page. they have an array of button styles, and they also have links to all the really long socks on the site. (like these! http://www.fetishize-me.com/crazy_long_socks.html)