"Though I do not believe that a plant will spring
up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that
you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders."
— Henry
David Thoreau
Have you ever worked on a pattern that didn’t bring you joy, but when you finished the object it gave you great joy? This is how it was for me with these socks. The pattern is the New England Sock from Knitting on the Road and I used the recommended Koigu.
Now, I do love Koigu….I mean I LOVE koigu, but when I knit with this yarn, the fabric that I like the best is produced with size 0’s (2.0mm) and this is what the pattern called for as well. To me, it is amazing the difference a 2.25mm makes in terms of ease on your hands. I find that knitting with the 0’s causes my hands to cramp up from time to time and even more so when doing a lace pattern.
This particular lace pattern was not one that I could seem to commit to memory, which meant carrying the copy of the pattern around with me when I was knitting, so it was easy to put this second sock down and work on other things……..but having said all of this. I absolutely LOVE these socks. I know that they will be my new favorite socks. I love the pattern, the yarn, the color and the fabric. Nancy Bush is a master when it comes to sock patterns!
In between work, dyeing and knitting, I have been working in the garden. Ok……maybe I have more weeds than I would like, but truly I don’t mind weeding, so a day of weeding will happen next week.
What I do hate however are the bugs. I have quickly remembered one of the reasons I put my last garden to rest a few years ago……….cucumber beetles…..sigh.
How is it that this pretty beetle, who by the way matches my Big Yellow Yaxi socks so nicely can create such havoc in a garden.
Early every morning and again late afternoon, I go into the garden and pick off as many as I find, but of course the next day there is a new batch of pretty black and yellow relatives happily munching on my yellow cucumber flowers. If any of you gardeners….Liz, Norma...out there have any non toxic suggestions, give me a shout!
I will leave you with a few pictures of my favorite garden things……
The Woolen Rabbit 
Exactly what you’re doing- handpicking! Pinch the little critters between thumb and forefinger and squish their guts out- sorry for the violence, but it usually does the trick. Check you plants several times a day- wash, rinse and repeat.
Beautiful socks!
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Your cucumbers may be suffering, but your sunflower and pepper show such promise!
The socks are lovely! I’m about to circle down to 0s on my socks. sigh Yeah. Then I really WILL run out of yarn.
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The bugs and pests are exactly why we opted for the CSA this year. Hope the harvest is still plentiful.
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Darn those yellow bugs. I hope you can find something that will rid your garden of them. The socks are very cool…Koigu is fabulous. I usually go up a size needle on Nancy’s patterns…she’s a loose knitter, but your socks turned out wonderfully!
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Really nice. I love the color.
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Not all journeys are happy the whole time through…but it is the ones with obstacles that we overcome that produce growth. Give yourself a pat on the back for some awesome socks…what a beautiful colorway!
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Yep, handpicking, but also you can spray them with soapy water each morning. It works, and it’s nontoxic. I have been thrilled this year to find some spiders that have somewhat camouflaged themselves to look like the beetles, and have spun webs and caught a lot of the little suckers! Want MORE of those spiders!!!
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When in doubt reach for the washing up liquid! Whitefly, greenfly, mealy bug, whatever it was that had a go at my cauliflowers…. all fall with a drop of fairy liquid in the watering can. If only it cured black spot on the roses as well…..!
The socks are great. I don’t have that particular Nancy Bush book….yet!00 needles are not much more than cocktail sticks so I do agree, although the one pair of socks I have knitted with 00’s are very neat although I say so myself!
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Good for you for sticking with it. The finished socks are impressive and lovely.
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Those socks are fabulous and the next best thing to hand-picking those little beetle buggers is chickens! Ducks are okay, but I don’t like their disposition, they get a bit too demanding. But chickens are great bug eaters and then you get the eggs! You won’t need but a couple of hens.
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Oh, the socks look gorgeous!! I’ve had such perfect luck knitting any NB pattern – it’s just knitting magic when I pick one up and always love the results.
The soapy water is a great idea and I’ve also heard of using diluted garlic juice in a spray bottle to get rid of various bugs in the garden that just eat the leaves and stuff. I’m terrible and resorted to actual poison to get rid of my squash vine borers.
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i’ve been using the rotenone you suggested as an organic, non-toxic insecticide for the aphids on the tomatoes. i buy it locally from an organic farm products dealer and they also sold me something for a mild blight that has hit my tomatoes.
they told me that what kills the cucumbers and squash is NOT the beetle, but the infectious blight it carries around the garden. so they gave me a copper product to spray on the plants, and it’s working! the blight has stopped in it’s tracks just about; you have to keep applying it each week though because the beetle will still come back.
one more thing that helps is a seaweed fertilizer that you spray on the leaves to nourish the plants. it won’t kill the bugs, but they don’t like it.
all these products may be mixed in the same sprayer and applied at the same time. they are safe to apply within a few days of picking produce, and all cost about $10 to $12.
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