DIY Trade! Custom Hose for a tartan pen

**KiltedGunn** · 19th October 11, 02:50 PM

DBHPiper and I worked out a trade...I send him a pen and he teases me with pics of the hose he's making for me!

And this gives me an excuse to try out my new ImageShack account!

The beige yarn he's using has flecks of light and dark blues which go perfectly with the Thin Blue Line cuffs!

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That fella gots some SKILLS!

The pen he chose in return is a two-piece rollerball clad in the official tartan of both Carolinas with the NC State Flower (Dogwood) over the tartan on the cap piece.

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Those hose are looking great, David! I've got my Jones on!

**piperdbh** · 19th October 11, 04:49 PM

Glad you like the picture, Lee. You did want just one sock, didn't you?

The pen is a thing of beauty. It's the smoothest-writing ball-point I've ever used, and is by far the heaviest pen I've ever held. It writes effortlessly, and maybe will correct my bad handwriting.

I carry it in my shirt pocket, and look forward to pulling it out to write something very important with, which is usually a hall pass for a student to go to the bathroom.

Knitters:
The yarn is Paton's Classic Wool, in "Aran Tweed" color. I'm working the hose from the toe up on size US 6 dpns. The cuff is Brown Sheep's navy blue, worked in a 2-stitch baby cable, and the thin lovat blue line is Paton's.

Non-knitters:
Figure out something you have that you can trade for one of Lee's pens. I think he even trades for money.

**Newfoundlander** · 19th October 11, 09:17 PM

I'm waiting for someone to invent a pen that writes in tartan ink!

**KiltedGunn** · 2nd January 12, 01:08 PM

David et al, my sincere apologies for my tardiness in posting these pics! I hope this message finds everyone well! For me, I'm happy the holidays are OVER!

Between extra hours and extra jobs at work, and a load of orders for pens/puzzles/peppermills for Christmas, this little Elf has been BUSY! Time on the computer has been limited to necessity!

I received the wonderful custom hose David made for me during the week before Thanksgiving and finally, New Year's Eve, had time to throw my kilt on for a couple of pics! I'm sure they're a bit too "matchy-matchy" for some, but I LOVE them!

And now that I've figured out what my danged password to ImageShack is, let's see if I can remember how to post pic's, shall we?

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/6470/img0680z.jpg

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/8123/img0678jw.jpg

The yarn has little blue flecks, light and dark, which match perfectly the Thin Blue Line hose toppers that David created! The perfect compliment to my LE Memorial tartan from Rocky. The fit and finish are awesome...these are my only pair of bespoke hose and they far exceeded my expectations. I would've never thought they would be so much more comfortable than the off-the-shelf ones I had!

For those of you who are on the fence about having hose made rather than buying what's available, I highly recommend you contact David. He does a remarkable job!

Now David, I think it's about time we spoke about those bonnets you make...

**Nighthawk** · 2nd January 12, 01:11 PM

Wow! How did you put the tartan pattern in the pen? I love it!

**piperdbh** · 3rd January 12, 07:08 AM

Thanks, Lee. I'm glad you like the hose, and they do match your kilt really well. Just so we're all clear, the cuffs are knit separately and attached to the sock body with a three needle bind-off, and I used a 2-stitch baby cable pattern to add some "visual interest" to the cuffs.