Queer Socks

I followed the, stoical guidance of Pam Allen’s ‘Knitting for Dummies’ no-frills Basic Socks pattern for my first attempt at knitting in the round. And, true to the pattern, they be socks*. Odd socks of course.

To be frank I am chuffed. What I like about the socks is that they are substantially more 3D and constructed than my earlier scarf projects. Seeing a sock literally grow on the end of your knitting sticks is entrancing. In gas bill terms, since they are as thrifty as boiling a kettle filled with just enough water for the number of cups of tea required, one can never have too many woolly socks for pootling about in. Me thinks I’ll be knitting more.

*For those techie knitters out there I used 4x50g balls Jaeger Extra Fine Merino Chunky, shade 023 - Red Ink and Debbie Bliss merino dk scraps for the heels.

At the same time as I was working on the Basic Socks I ploughed through making this pair in Regia 4ply sock wool that I’d been given by a well-meaning mate as encouragement. I followed the free pattern that came with the wool.I was frustrated by the yarn repeatedly petering out and having to start new lengths, holding the loose ends for a round or so to maintain the tension and prevent holes forming! In truth I was underwhelmed by the colours and combination thereof and the ONLY thing that kept me going to the end was the prospect of learning how to graft the toe.

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    Maison Grenouille et Chez Crapaud

Living near the supposedly longest (but not the largest) daily outdoor market in Europe I am dismayed to see the number of unmarked pallets being collected by the street refuse service along with all the other cardboard and plastic packaging, rotten produce and detritus of the market. Living just a hare's breath from Britain's largest waste incinerator I am even more alarmed by the fact that if this waste stream is not being dumped in landfill it is being incinerated, contributing further to the accumulation of greenhouse gases both in the atmosphere and in my lungs.

It doesn't take a large leap of the imagination to see that REUSE, REUSE, REUSE is the operative solution to this improvidence.

If only the council deployed one of the Bulky Items Collection trucks from their fleet to collect these pallets and distribute them among the 38 allotment sites in the borough or, if goodwill is deemed too expensive, to a depot where a commercial initiative can be run to redistribute the pallets to local haulage / distribution / storage firms.

• Firstly the council would benefit as it wouldn't have to pay for the disposal of the pallets as waste.
• Secondly in comparison to transporting them to waste processing sites, the transportation of the pallets would be minimised as they would be distributed within the borough.
• Thirdly folks on the allotments would find numerous applications for this wood source thereby reducing loss of viable wood and since not many people have access to the means to transport pallets they will be much appreciative of the fact that these heavy, bulky items are delivered to site.

Inspired by the Amphibian Ark Global Campaign and their efforts to redress the amphibian extinction crisis I built this vegetable planter with integral frog shelters for Doris, a friendly neighbour of mine so that she can grow tomatoes in her garden in a spot where she can protect them from voracious slugs. I have published an Instructable of the step-by-step construction of this combination vegetable planter / frog shelter here.

But remember, if you plan to build something similar FOR BOTH THE WELL BEING OF THE FROGS AND YOURSELF YOU ARE COMMITED TO USING ORGANIC METHODS OF GARDENING. THAT MEANS FOR INSTANCE USING ORGANIC COMPOST, NOT USING TOXIC SLUG PELLETS (usually Metaldehyde or methiocarb) OR CHEMICAL PLANT FOOD OR WEED KILLERS . YOU CAN FOR INSTANCE USE A LIQUID SEAWEED PLANT FOOD SO LONG AS YOU DILUTE IT CORRECTLY.

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