A Quick Getaway – 1976

Where were you in 1976? Even though I arrived in the U.S. one year earlier, 1976 was the year when I became immersed in the American culture. Vietnamese and French music was replaced by the Eagles, ABBA, and Fleetwood Mac. Rocky was the movie of the year and Sly was the man. Charlie’s Angels was a big hit that keep us sisters glued to the TV. But there was one event in 1976 that opened up my world. The Montreal Olympics.

For the land and population of Vietnam, the Vietnamese people are way under-presented in the Olympics. Countries such as Jamaica or the Bahamas average about 200,000 per medal, where as Vietnam and India are dead last. Sports are somewhat frown upon because it seems so vain to be faster/stronger than anyone else. And if you’re a girl, forget it. While watching the 1976 Olympics on TV, I held my breath following Nadia’s every move and cheered for the 10 that followed. I began to see possibilities from her achievements and with determination and hard work, I can be somebody.

Last week we visited the Olympic stadium in Montreal and it brings a lot of memories of who I was in 1976. We were poor, lived in a tiny house belonged to our church, spoke broken English and faced an uncertain future. But I dreamed to be rich one day, just like the TV miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man.

Olympic village in Montreal.

Montreal Tower where the Olympic torch presided over the stadium

Olympic pool and diving platform

A Quick Getaway

The great thing about being an almost empty nester is that we can take advantage of inexpensive airfare during off-season. Thanks to Toan’s sister, we flew to this fabulous place for free and thanks to the negotiator, we stayed at a four-star hotel at budget rate.

This city isn’t quite as far as Paris, but looks like Paris and sounds like Paris. It has amazing food, vibrant nightlife, efficient subway system, bicycle rental, majestic cathedrals and even a river runs though it. You will need a passport and go through custom but we breezed through the US custom at the host country (we were the only ones there), and did not suffer the immigration line at LAX.

Montreal!

At the river front looking at old Montreal.

Where you can get amazingly good breads

Fresh French breads at the market.

and very trendy croquez.

Colorful and flavorful croquez at the market.

The metro is super-efficient, clean and safe, and conveniently underneath our hotel.

On-time, clean and safe metro system underneath the city.

The weather was warm, humid, and perfect for strolling after sunset.

Restaurant row in St. Denis in Montreal.

I’m a Sock Designer!

Ever since I got the the Just Socks booklet from Jenny Deters, my head has been busting with possibilities. For the last few weeks, the creative muse hits me and I have been thinking about how to come up with my own design. Somehow, I can not NOT think about the design and have been doodling and obsessive with creating my own pattern.

Here are some that didn’t work. The yellow swatch was intended as the center panel and I started with the original 18-stitch repeat and reduced it down to a 13-stitch repeat. It is important to get the repeat less than 21 stitches and in odd number to work with the rib and the 72-slot cylinder. But when the pattern is compressed too much the gracefulness of the curve is lost, so… toss!

Swatch of a 13-stitch pattern

The red swatch is a simple 3-stitch pattern, but it is too skinny and there is too much empty space in between

Swatch of a 3-stitch pattern

And finally one that works! At first glace, it looks masculine with the cables and rib in the front. But from the side it looks totally feminine with the laces. Ying and Yang!

Cables and ribs on the front

Lace on the side.

Close up of the Cable and Lace sock. Yarn is Sheila’s Sparkle, dyed in the purple color way by me.

Cable and Lace sock on the sock machine.

Hot Socks

The difference between a pair of “meh” socks and hot socks depends on who is wearing them.

Check out these hot legs!

They belong to two very patience pair of plastic legs from eBay. These mannequin legs are best to show hosiery but they are so anatomically incorrect that you can’t tell whether one is the right or the left foot. In fact, they are identical.

These legs are so strange from a short and “sturdy” person like me. They look like bird legs. I wonder how people balance on legs that look like sticks.

So below is a better shot of the heart and rib socks from the previous post. Inside a light box, no less!

Heart and rib socks from the CSM

By the way, Kroger was in the way and he got a picture.

Lace and Cable Socks on the CSM

The circular sock machines (CSM) are wonderful for knocking out one pair of socks after another and I’ve been doing the same style of socks for two years. It gets stale. I want a challenge and want to crank socks that look like they were hand knitted. CSM guru Jenny Deters just self-published a book Just Socks and the socks are lovely. The booklet is expensive at $30 but it is a wealth of information and open up my eyes to possibilities. However, in order to knit these socks, I have to learn a few new tricks.

For the past week, I’ve been giving the Legare a deep cleaning, then start making socks with the 1×1 ribbing, selvage edge, and the 3×1 ribbing down the foot. I was intimidated by knitting the heel blind but I have been doing the heel for a long time and can maintain the right tension even though I can’t see below the ribber. Looking at these socks, those that don’t have a sock machine probably would say “meh”. But believe me, it is a leap forward.

Rib 1×1 cuff, 1×3 leg and foot.

With the new confidence, I knitted the easiest pattern in the book, Heart and Rib. The first pair (in red) took me four hours. The next ones (white) took just half the time. I’m pleased with the way they come out but having the hardest time take picture of my foot without showing my daikon legs.

Heart & Rib Socks by Jenny Deters. Yarn is W2D4 MCN.

Heart & Rib socks by Jenny Deters. Yarn is W2D4 BFL Platinum.

James’ Hat

James hat is done and on its way to New Jersey. He is one spoil baby because this is 100% cashmere from Colourmart (red) and a recycle sweater (brown). Cashmere is pricey but perfect for babies. The cashmere is warm for the baby and easy-care for the parents. Knowing that the hat can be tossed in the washer and low heat in the dryer and still come out fine is a great comfort for new born parents.

The hat has a garter band with an i-cord border and a flap to cover the ears. The edge is picked up and knitted round with tendrils for a fashionable mohawk. This hat was designed my me, although it is so simple that I’m certain some versions of it existed before. My favorite thing about this hat is that I don’t have to think about the gauge or the number of stitches to cast on. All I have to do is knit the band until it fits around the head, pick up, knit round, decrease, and I’m done! The video to make the tendrils is by Cat Bordhi at http://bit.ly/I2UoM3.

James hat in red and brown cashmere and a "mo-hawk"

James hat on an up-side-down vase. Taken on the awesome f1.8 35mm lens.

Spring Socks

These socks found new homes today. The base yarn is MCN (Merino, Cashmere, Nylon) from Wool2dye4. Most people prefer Merino wool and the socks are luxuriously soft and warm, but they are not as hard wearing as yarn from other breeds of sheep.

The wisteria vine is putting on a show with blooming fragrant violet flowers. It is one of the first tree I planted when we settled here. It is doing wonderfully well despite my neglect.