AIMR
(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
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The tip on knitting a few rows before joining is a great one. I started doing this when I kept twisting the join, no matter how careful I thought I was.
I spent some time yesterday organizing and collecting all my sock yarns. I had several WIPS all over the place and will have to decide if I am going to frog some of them or finish them. At least I know what I have on hand!
But, of course, while organizing, I found some yarn that I have started a pair of mittens. Don’t need mittens in our warm climate, but, someone might want them so that is what I am making! lol
Pff, I knit a new pair of socks after we returned from our holiday in June (bought the yarn as a souvenir), I’ve only worn it a couple of times and today I found it with a hole in it. We live in an old house and we occasionally find traces of mice inside our house. The hole is in the toe which is an odd place for a sock to wear out, especially after so few wears. I’m afraid the mouse is back and he’s eating socks this time
We had the worst mouse issues, oh my gosh. Then we tore off some old siding around the bottom of the back addition and found basically mouse highway straight into the kitchen, lol. It’s all sealed up with steelwool & spray foam insulation now, we haven’t had one mouse since.
Find where they are getting in & block it up. Save your socks!
We had all the pathsways blocked up with steelwool!! But we have found a hole on the outside of the wall. It seems they are so intent on getting in our house they dug a hole in a brick wall, swam through the blow-in inslulation we added a few years ago, then somehow created a new hole through the inner brick wall. We haven’t found the hole on the inside yet, but we’ve found the hole in the outside wall, we noticed a little pile of white insulation material on the ground.
To complicate matters, we are going to renovate our home soon so everywhere is full of boxes and nothing is in the place where it should be. I guess that’s why we hadn’t noticed until today. We also found some bread with bitemarks (bread inside the plastic bag, that they ate through as well) so it’s definitely a mouse. We haven’t found droppings, there’s no mice smell, but I suppose these guys live inside the wall now and only come out to eat socks. So far, they’ve never managed to get into the pantry or upstairs, fingers crossed that’s still the case.
The tiny terrors, they only need a sliver of space to get in.
If you put a vaccum against the outside hole and place a stick of lit incense near that spot inside, you may see the smoke moving towards the hole. Worth a try to see if you can find it maybe? Though it’s likely hidden inside the walls or floor. Best of luck! I hate when they steal our bread. Or sock toes!
I’m almost knitting a sock…it’ll look like a large sock until I full it at least. I haven’t knitted socks in a while. I like doing it, but I’ve knitted other things lately, and my attempts at sock knitting haven’t turned out. This is looking good, however.
The needles are really too short for the amount of stitches, but the yarn is clinging to itself. I had to rescue a bunch of dropped stitches after two of the needles partially came out, and it was very easy, luckily.
This mouse talk is so timely as I just had one run around my hall and I had to put out traps, which i hate. This morning my pacifist husband and I wrangled one out the front door with brooms like fools (i told him the little guy would just be coming right back in, but bless his heart he wants to give them a chance.) so then 10 minutes later little mr mouse was passing me in the hall asking if I was done with those carrot tops so…
Le sigh. My house is a drafty 100 year old dwelling and we’ve no money so it’s a battle of strong smells where they tey to come in and hopefully some better weather proofing before winter.
The house mouse has actually evolved to live with humans in our buildings, they don’t exist in the outdoors at all. I draw the line at poison because I don’t want that terrible dehydrating rodent smell but the only other solutions are snap traps or keeping them from getting in. Or cats but they like to give “presents”.
I found what is allegedly the most “humane” they’re electric shock traps that are allegedly instant. I wont do poison, either, and these are potentially less suffering for the wee things.
But, back onto nicer topics: i’ve got sock #2 of 6 on the needles. All 3 of us humans are under the weather so we’ll be having a home day with chicken soup and craft time.
@AntBee sounds familiar! Our house is over 70 years old and we’ve lived in even older places. Most times we’ve succesfully cohabited with mice. I don’t mind coming across one every now and then but they need to stay out of my knitting and my food! Your sock looks nice and cosy. Secretly I love those days where everyone is “kind of under the weather” but no one is truly feeling sick. They’re great for watching old films and knitting.
Our mice are way too smart for traps. I’ve literally not trapped a single one in this house and we’ve lived here 7 years. And I’ve followed all the good advice about setting them in the right places, putting the right bait in… you can literally see the droppings go around the trap. I’m honestly not really a fan of cats, but I have seriously considered adopting a cat for this reason. I grew up on a smallholding so I don’t know any better than living with mice, and cats that hardly ever need to be fed because they find their own food. But Mr Imma would totally baby a cat and if we adopted one, within a week it would sleep in our bed and eat the most exclusive cat food available. @Magpie I will totally try that incense trick! I’m afraid the entrance might be behind our kitchen cabinets, where I can’t reach without breaking them down.
I’m often heard saying, “If I dont see you or evidence you’ve been in the kitchen then I won’t get in your way either.” Lol but this guy was breaking all the rules and hanging out in the hall running by the kitchen. The other mice will be furious. One always ruins it for everyone haha.
We came home to an apartment once and found the cats running up and down next to the floorboard heaters. A mouse was trapped in there and running up and down the heating elements (off of course). The cats were exhausted. We set some traps and captured the poor thing, it was probably exhausted too.
We usually know we have mice when the cats stare under the stove or at the hip walls in the bedroom. Time for traps.
First complete project on the sock knitting machine. A little gift bag with holes for the icord (also made on the machine) and a pico edge with a turned hem at the top. My contribution was kitchner stitching the bottom closed.
And the machine makes it really fast! I hate knitting i-cord too.
I am impressed with her fast learning, but then she has lusted after a sock machine for almost 2 years and has watched every video she can. She subscribed to sock tv and is having fun.
I hope they will be used and appreciated. 