It’s the start of a brand-new day.
A little knitting at the breakfast table.

Delicious coffee.

Some Cheerios.

And, posting this is going to make me late to work.

(extra points if you can finish the vacation Bible school song lyric from the title!)

Thanks for so many kind words, both here and on flickr about the Brancusi sock. Although I was proud of the design, hearing that other people respond to positively makes it that much better. And after a day like today at work, you guys were my highlight.

Coming home after 10 1/2 hours at the office, not working out, no walk in the park for Janie Sparkles, and no sense of accomplishment or pride in what I did today makes me understand addictive behaviour. All I wanted to do was eat a bowl of buttered noodles and bricks of cheese. I understand why people eat or shop to fill an emotional void. Anything to provide a little release or break from the mundane that weighs us down. Don’t worry, I didn’t go out and buy an iPhone…

Dinner with C and a friend at a local pasta joint (how I love thee, starches) was a better end to a day that hopefully won’t be repeated tomorrow. Knowing that knitting is sitting there, waiting to be done, whether or not it’s my design, gives me comfort. Being able to share this activity with like-minded souls (and soles) instills peace.

So, thanks again. And for anyone else who’s had a hectic Monday (or Tuesday or Friday or anyday), go touch your fiber, hug your loved ones or animals, think about the things that truly matter, and smile.

This here sock has been taking up all my spare knitting time for the past month. It’s my entry for the Hill Country Yarns Sock Pattern Contest. Meet Brancusi.

I had been all coy about showing it in progress, but now that it’s been submitted, I’m all for showing it off. I won’t know until August 31st if it was selected as a winner. I’m pretty darn proud of it. It took three sock sketches to arrive at the final pattern combination.

I graphed it out on June 2, the day we arrived back from Paris and started knitting it then. It’s been full-steam ahead since then, stealing 20 minutes at breakfast before work, a round or two between meetings and before-bed toiling. I’m at the heel flap of the second sock, so that should be finished within a week or so.

Inspired by Brancusi’s “Endless Column” these socks serve as support and compliment to one of the world’s greatest pieces of art: you. A densely knit, top-down sock with a hemmed stockinette cuff, a geometric twisted stitches and traveling cable pattern, an eye of partridge heel flap and anatomically-correct toes.

While they could be knit with a finer yarn, the thick Instant Gratification yarn and small needles pay tribute to the solidity of materials explored in Brancusi’s work, resulting in a long-lasting, hard-wearing, handsome, sturdy sock. The yarn tag calls for US4-6, but I needed 64 stitches for the pattern and didn’t want a baggy sock. That’s right, some DK-weight knit on US2/3.0mm!

Special thanks to the following inspiration peeps:

• To Cat Bordhi, for demystifying sock knitting with two circulars.
• To Rachael “Yarn-a-go-go” Herron, for helping me grow and stretch my mind as a designer.
• To Sile, of Knit One One for hosting and getting my butt into Rachael’s class.
• To Eunny Jang, for sharing the joys of traveling stitches in her Bayerische socks (now I gotta finish mine!)
• To Stephanie “Yarn Harlot” Pearl-McPhee, for showing me my first eye of partridge heel and hemmed stockinette cuff
• To Vogue Knitting Magazine’s Stitchionary Volume 2, for feeding my cable habit.

Another t-shirt… but appropriate for ‘mos, trannies, bi-‘s, poly-‘s, pan-‘s and friends.

Avert your eyes, sensitive viewers.

Here’s some gratuitous man-on-dog action.

Little puppy Tank is growing. He barely fits on my lap!

Just another perk of a dog-friendly office.

More knitting-related (and hopefully Paris, too) content coming this weekend. Until then, enjoy the unbearable cuteness of my little furry boyfriend.

No, that’s not Janie Sparkles; it’s Foot Foot! He’s a warm brown brindle Frenchie that we’ve run into at the dog park. Last night, he, Janie and Bibby had a wonderful wander in the dusty paths of Cesar Chavez park in Berkeley. It was our first big off-leash adventure since going away.

While not directly about Paris (they are French bulldogs after all), leaving Janie at Pet Camp was the hardest part about going away. I’m sure she enjoy her play sessions, both with the small dogs and the gentle larger dogs (we asked that she be moved up because she likes ’em bigger). It’s just not the same as sleeping in our bed or snoring next to us on the couch.

It appears that she lost some weight during her stay, as we expected. Foot Foot’s mom said Janie makes him look like a porker. That’s what you get when you’re not food-motivated. She has been a more frequent member of the clean-plate/bowl club and pooping like a champ.

Her stay at camp didn’t affect her personality. She’s getting so much love at the office and looking for cuddles and belly rubs whenever possible. She’s just as playful as always and seems truly happy to see us.

Four years ago, I wouldn’t have believed you that I’d be a knitter. The same goes for being a dog person. Although I’ve got the man of my dreams, my heart belongs to this furry little lady and her friends.

I succumbed… this is my project-that-dare-not-speak-its-name. Finished this morning, final dimensions: 6′ x 1′. I thought the drape of the SWTC Bamboo would make a nice gay Euro scarf and it would be a great chance to play with dropped stitches. Why not try the most contagious pattern on the Interwebs?

I blame the podcasts (specifically Brenda‘s first episode) for piquing my interest in this oft-knit pattern. Now, I’m not a shawl guy (per new ex-pats in Germany podcast Knitters Uncensored)… I call it a scarf. Besides, the c(l/r)apotis is not in the same league as these shawls#151;have you seen what Elemmaciltur and Mel have made?

I started this black/white/red/silver guy last December and it’s been hibernating for a few months as socks have taken over my world. Cataloguing it into my Ravelry account brought it back to my attention. Just about a foot left, it was a nice break from the round-and-round of my current cable-y sock fetish to work simple and flat. I started this to satisfy my long-running “gay Euro scarf” crush. Obviously multi-stranded knitted yarn is nothing like woven cotton/linen, as proven by the one item of clothing I bought in France (a striped green and blue gay Euro scarf).

Speaking of which, I’m well-aware that I owe you many a post (or two) about Paris. My best intentions have been sidetracked by the joy that is RAVELRY. (Thanks, Jenny!) Ravelry-ing/Ravel-rizing/Ravellring gives me a sense of control over my stash and future knitting projects. I feel like my knitting is now my friend, not an obligation or a list of to-do’s and to-design’s. Trust me, it’s worth it; so sign up on the waiting list NOW!

Please pardon the interruption to my regularly scheduled sock knitting. In the meantime, enjoy some of C’s Paris photos.

Still in Paris, not writing much (obviously!).

However, Threadless.com, the T-shirt company I’ve posted about before, is having a summer sale until June 3. All shirts are $10, including this cute knitting one.

Our breakfast this morning, procured by my non-Frenchie manfriend. We still haven’t figured out the coffee situation. Any recommendations of French brands?

He went off to take some exquisite photos around the neighborhood this morning as I researched running routes. Found a great run, but didn’t make it out yet (à demain, la promenade plantee).

For Mr. Man’s photo fans, I’m not letting him post his pictures, for fear of him loading up my computer with gigs of gigantor files! You’re just going to have to deal with my cameraphone for now. Our delightful friend and fellow synchronaut just flew in this morning, so we’ve got to take him to his apartment around the corner. A bientôt!

Made it to Paris yesterday, after what felt like an entire day of flying. Good thing Mr. Man called to confirm our flights at 10pm the night before the 8am departure. It had been cancelled. They had been trying to contact me for months, but were using a wrong telephone number, nevermind that they have the correct phone number and email address in my Mileage Plus account.

Luckily, they were still able to get us to Philadelphia (where I finished the second of my ugliest socks ever) for the flight to Paris, but with a lay-over in Chicago. Oh, did I mention the new flight was at 6:15am in San Francisco? They rearranged our flights home, making it one flight less and arriving 3 hours earlier (but still not early enough to pick up Janie from Pet Camp on Saturday).

Thanks to cashed-in miles, we were flying business class on all flights. It was my first time flying non-freight internationally, and I highly recommend it. They feed you non-stop and there’s plenty of room in the wide chairs (which you need from all the food and wine). One of the flight attendants out of Philly recognized me from my college year, some 13 years ago. He was a student at Temple while I was at Penn. (It’s a small gay activist town.) Thanks to him, we walked off the plane with an unopened bottle of wine and a whole bunch of little vodkas and gins. (Scout, I need to learn the word for pomegranate to raise a glass to you and use ’em up!)

We landed in Paris at 7am, having barely slept myself. It was nice to finally see Pan’s Labyrinth and Stranger than Fiction, but I certainly paid for it as I was in a daze all day. We made our way in the rain to our rented apartment in the Marais. I barely conversed in French with Fanny (French isn’t her mother tongue either!) and we signed the contract and handed over our Euros and we were “home” by 10am.

We wandered around the neighborhood (I promise better descriptions) and had an adequate meal at a cafe before I passed out on the couch at 7. Therefore, I was up by 3am and forced myself to listen to tourism podcasts and not get out of bed until 6. I read up in the Rough Guide, as this trip has been completely unplanned—I’m going to decide on what I’m doing as we go.

Our first swimming commitment is Wednesday, with practices on Thurday and Friday morning, with competition on Saturday and Sunday. That leaves today and tomorrow for wandering, shopping and drinking in the beauty that is this city. Then, another week to try to see as much as we can.