May - may there be no more snow, may it stop raining, may the lawnmower start up because the grass is growing!

These socks are a pair.   There was no repeat in the sock yarn!   There was one which at first looked close, but it was missing one of the colour repeats, so after much fussing, I just kept on knitting.  They are fun though and definitely bright and colourful.   The colourway was called flame.  They were nice to knit up, and fairly fast.   I used a square heel, also called a Dutch heel.  It doesn't fit me quite as nicely as the flap and gusset heel, but it seems faster and more simple to knit.  Once the socks are on my feet for a couple of minutes, I can't tell the difference, so I consider that a win.  

I knit another pair of socks after this one, but despite
checking the dye lots on two skeins, they are noticeably (at least to me) different shades and I'm still ticked off about that.  Since they aren't planned differences, I kind of expect the reds and browns to be a bit closer in colour than just similar.

After two pairs of chaos socks, one which didn't match sort of on purpose and one that didn't match due to dye lot issues, I decide to play around with some buttons.  I have a lot of odd bits and bobs left from my crazy quilting days.  I grabbed some plastic and metal rings and started making some Dorset buttons.  The first two too a bit of time and effort because I'd been using 2/8 cotton.  I learned a lot though and that is what I'd use if I couldn't find the appropriate linen thread if I were making reproduction buttons.  However, I was just making fun buttons, so I dragged out the crazy quilting threads and started experimenting.  Not all of them worked, but I was trying to see what threads worked and what didn't.  So embroidery thread covers well, but you need to reduce the strands used, as you go down in button ring mould sizes.  Rayon threads are very shiny and super slippery.  That slipperyness causes the threads to not lay nicely or to pack in properly.  They weren't fun to use.  Perle cotton was nice.   Weirdly, some cheap 2 ply embroidery cotton worked so very nicely on the larger rings. 

Making these buttons works nicely for keeping my hands busy in the evening.  This means when DH has a game on, or is watching something gory on the tv, I have something to occupy myself with.   He's finally getting around to watching Game of Thrones and I can't tell you how many socks and how many of these buttons I've made while they kill off most of the main characters and all of the extras, in flaming, bloody battles.

Off topic - a few years ago, a guild member took me to a fibre arts group meeting in another town.   I was told they were welcoming and friendly.  However, because I'd brought a spinning wheel and some bits of roving with me, rather than a weird and funky arty project,  they were all rather cool, until I told them that yes, I did crazy quilting.  They they were a bit friendlier.  There was a drum carder set up in the room, and was told that I could use it.  So I blended some of my roving together to make this gorgeous fuchsia batt and proceeded to spin it.   Then I was told that it must have been from an indie dyer they knew.  When I told them I'd just blended it, they looked at me like I was an idiot, called me a liar and ignored me the rest of the afternoon.   It was hilarious as I watched them pat each on on the back for some of the iffiest projects I'd ever seen, but that they had no idea you could take multiple colours of fibre and card them together for optical colours.  I didn't go back but every time I think of or see a crazy quilt, or the threads I'd used to decorate them, it brings back that particular memory.

Yes, the rain seems to have finally stopped, but the promised sunshine is nowhere to be seen yet!