Rubber Donuts and Painted Metal

Apparently, those four little black rubber things under your car (also known as tires) need air in them to work properly. Who knew?!

I drove with a flat tire to, not one, but three gas stations to find an air pump that worked. Along the way, several nice people flashed lights and pointed at my car. Yes, I felt dignified to be driving this hunk of *&%!*. Upon arrival at a working air pump, there should have been no problem, just fill the tire with air and I could be on my way. Uh, Yea. Remember, I am knitter, not a mechanic. But after a nice little visit to the local tire shop, I am now the proud owner of one new tire and new rim.

I did not want to spend my money on a tire and rim. I wanted to buy yarn. A nice chunky cashmere or some really great hand-dyed sock yarn would be nice. But, instead I get a big black rubber donut and metal painted to look like chrome. Gee I am bitter lucky.

I have decided to show you this. It's a sample for a sock of my own design. The swatch is knit in Knit Picks Palette line. By the way, red is hard to photograph, so this is not a true color, but a washed out version (even without flash). The 100% Peruvian Wool knits up nicely. I wanted a gauge of 7-8 stitches/1" on my Addi Turbo US 1 circs, but I am getting more like 9 stitches/1". Some minor adjustments can be made, since it is only a swatch right now.

Well, I am off to enjoy my new tire. If I am lucky, the remaining tires will need to be replaced in the next weeks, effectively ruining my yarn budget for the year.