{Yarn Along} Dipped, Stripped, and Dead

Although I'm thrilled that I finally got brave enough to cast on with special yarn that was too precious to actually use,  I'm not loving the Mock Croc Socks.  The first sock is done and fits my foot. So it should all be downhill from here, right? I've got notes and know exactly what I need to do to make the second one just like it. But I'm not enthusiastic about the idea. I don't like cuff down socks as much as I like toe up socks, and the stitch pattern isn't fun. It's not hard, but it's not fun.   (My new blue stretch socks are fun -- I'd rather work on those!)

The only reason I'm casting on the second sock now is because when I get it done I can use the needles for a different pair. And if I don't do it now....I'm probably not going to do it ever.



I just finished reading Dipped, Stripped, and Dead, the first book in the Daring Finds mystery series. Wow!  Lots of cozy heroines try to come across as quirky, but Dyce Dare has them all beat, starting on the first page when she tells the story of setting her mother's quilting frame (with a quilt in it) on fire while trying to be a lion tamer.

Dyce is barely keeping herself and her son fed with her furniture refinishing business. Dumpster diving can turn up salvageable pieces...and in this case it turns up a gelatinous corpse that's been soaked in a vat of lye. One of the local furniture refinishers has been dipping more than desks and dressers into the harsh chemicals.

The best thing about starting an older series is that when you fall in love with the characters, you can grab the next book right away.

For more pretty knitting projects to drool over, check out On the Needles at Patchwork Times and Work in Progress Wednesdays at Tami's Amis.