Finished my Ruby Slippers

Ruby Slippers STR
I finished these socks that I worked on while I was back in Missouri. It is Cookie A's Monkey sock pattern, done in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Ruby Slippers. Note the little grey patch on the heel. This is fiber from one of my grandcats, Coal, who was "helping" knit this sock. I brushed him and handspun the fiber into a short length of yarn, and carried it along with the STR sock yarn to commemorate the moment. awww.


It was an interesting coincidence that I picked this colorway (I usually don't wear much red), and that I took it with me to knit in Missouri. "There's no place like home" and Dorothy's yearning for home always gave me a twinge. As a military brat, I moved every couple years, often halfway around the world, until culture shock really had no meaning or impact on me. I continued my wandering ways after leaving home; in my early twenties I often threw Hexagram 56: The Wanderer. Later, even though I spent years living in a particular place or situation, I seldom felt "at home" or settled. I do feel a thrill of delight when traveling to old, familiar places: the curve of Highway 1 up the hill to Monterey, flying into SFO, catching sight of the Arch in St. Louis, driving across the bridge into Memphis, driving south on Highway 63 into West Plains, Missouri. I was graced with seeing some old friends on this trip, but I also missed getting to re-connect with others. I saw old familiar places, almost unchanged, and also some unrecognizably changed. At the end, I was glad to click my heels and come back to Monterey. It may be true that for all of us wanderers, though we aren't necessarily lost, we are just visiting. No place, and every place, is home.


I also finished the Silkie Wild Tide socks. This was the June sock club yarn, but knit in a different pattern. I used Tropicana from Magknits.