Mea culpa and other stuff

Well, actually, I was wrong when I said I'd never seen that heel shaping before. It's in the Folk Socks book. I guess I just hadn't paid any attention to how the Dutch Heel is made because I didn't particularly like how it looked. I'm still not wild about it but it made an interesting side trip.

I went to Skein early yesterday so Ann Mary could get away for a while. Her son came in to cover the register and phone while she was gone. She'll also be away for the rest of the week starting on Friday. So I'll be there with her son. This could be a disaster as he doesn't know anything about knitting or yarn. If I get busy with a lot of students it's going to be hard to cover the sales floor as well. I've done this before and it's not a lot of fun. Since the shop will be closed for the next couple of weeks there may be a crush of knitters trying to get their fixes before it's too late.

I delivered some yarn to Dorris last night on my way home. Dorris is 90 years old and is no longer allowed to drive so we don't get to see her as often as we'd like. She tempted me with some Petit Sirah but I had to leave as I wanted to get some more work done last night. I'd like to take her out to do her errands but she can't get into my Blazer. So once in a while she hires someone to drive her around or her daughter will take her out. That's about the only time we see her at Skein. The last time she was in she ordered some Galway in a color we didn't have in stock. She showed me a picture of her younger sister and asked me to write a pattern for her. So I dropped that off with the yarn last night. Hope it's the right size.

I'm going in early again today so I can spend some time with Mendy. She was in yesterday and we got her started on finishing. Showed her how to do the mattress stitch. That was exciting. I love how she just absorbs new information! I'm not sure what we'll be working on today but whatever it is will be fun. I'm going to try to put together a mini yarn shop crawl sometime next week if she can make it.

Got another student started on making cables. Why are people so afraid of this? I'm pretty sure I learned how from a book. There's just something so logical about it that I can't imagine why people find it difficult. But I guess that's how I felt about turning a heel, until I tried it. Which I also got from a book. No complaints! The more people I teach the more money I get! And it adds to the list of people who knit.

And I finished the front of the latest shop sample and cast on for the back. Picture soon. Also worked on the current sock project. Am ready to do the toe and to find out if I have enough yarn. The Plymouth sock yarn doesn't have as much yardage as most of the other ones out there. It's going to be close. I had about 8 yards left when I finished the first sock so I can use that if I don't have enough for the second sock. But I'm planning on reknitting the first one since I don't like the short row heel. Seems like the Dutch Heel might take a little more yarn than the short row. Or maybe the second skein is a little short. I should know by tonight.