A pair of socks only a mother could love

Even that is pushing it. The second sock came out slightly better. If you look closely, you can see how the spirals reversed direction after the gusset. Don't ask me how I managed to do that.

Here is my next project:

Loverly, ain't she? This will be SIL Christmas gift #2 since Miss Lambert met her untimely demise. I'm just waiting for needles to arrive hopefully tomorrow. In the meantime I've picked up the Chevron scarf, and I knit about 2 feet on it yesterday. But the kfb is really hurting my left arm, so I can't do much. I thought about starting the Rockin Sock club August sock, but I haven't decided if I really like the pattern that much.

Ugly Knitting

You sensitive types might want to turn your heads. What you are about to see isn't pretty. I give you, the first completed stems sock:

Arrrrrrrrggghhhhh! The pooling is horrid! I didn't change needles so my gauge must have gone wonky after completing the gusset. I spent the entire instep trying to get it to stripe again but it just...wouldn't....budge.

SO there I was, thinking I was knitting the most beautiful sock in creation, and I come up with complete crap. I don't know what I'm going to do with it. I'll certainly finish the second sock, if only to feed my curiosity. Who knows what it will look like. Can it get any worse?

Onward. The mailman brought two boxes from BMFA yesterday. The first was the sock club kit. No pictures here--you can look for it on someone else's blog. It's mmmmm, interesting. I'll knit this one, and save my reservations until it's finished.

The second box was an order I placed a few weeks ago. From left to right:

Backstabber, Xmas Rock, Hollyday, Falcon's Eye, Lunasea, Ms LaRock, and Lucy in the Sky. Love them all.

Also in the box was:

It's mmmmm, interesting. I believe it was the Harlot that said something like "Just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you SHOULD". And I wholeheartedly agree with her. I flipped through the pages thinking "Now why would you want to go and do something like that?" A lot of my reservations come from the designs being so asymmetrical. Which is fine. But my brain does NOT like asymmetrical. I would be silently screaming "adjust! it's twisting! Center it!" and that just won't work with this book. For those of you who like to challenge yourself, and can completely trust yourself in the instructions, you're going to love love love this book. Me? I'm not totally writing it off. I'm going to put it aside until the dead of winter when I can give it my complete attention. Maybe I'll try one. Maybe.

I had to rearrange my stash basket yesterday. I traded a skein through Ravelry, and the one I was looking for was way on the bottom of course. So I emptied it, and put everything back in a way where I can see more of the skeins. There's more underneath this top layer. There's also 12 skeins of Wollmeise in a plastic bag to the right. And about 27 skeins of STR hiding in the coffee table.

But it sure looks nice, doesn't it?

Starts and Stops

Smooshy socks are done!

These were wonderful to knit. And a near-perfect fit. I had 34g of yarn left over, so this skein will make a pretty heft pair of socks. I can't wait until Sheri restocks the Dream in Color because it just perfect in every way.

I cast on some Monkey socks for my mom, in Gypsyknits BFL. It was looking a bit small but I mustered on. After I completed the gusset I attempted to try it on. With a bit of huffing and puffing, I did get it on, but it was, er, snug.

So I let it sit overnight, thinking it would mysteriously stretch overnight. Well big surprise, it didn't. So I ripped it and started over. This time the pattern is "stems" from More Sensational Knitted Socks, knit on 72 stitches. I've nearly finished the leg, and it still looks small, but this pattern has much more give. I'll remain hopeful. The yarn held up very well to the frogging, and it's very nice to work with. I usually don't like such a fine ply, but I might just make an exception for this one. And the more I look at it, the more I like the colorway. It will be hard to give it up.

In the mail last week was my sock club kit from the Yarn Tree. I heard about the club from Cara. It was pretty expensive--$250 for 5 months, but Cara's endorsement was key and I joined months ago. I'll have to say that the kit was pretty impressive yarn. Schaefer Anne (which I've never knit with--it's very fine (open minds, I know, I know), a gorgeous cable/lace pattern, and a bag. The bag was just over the top, I think. It's beautiful. And reversible!. I may just turn it into a purse.

In other news, I have destashed 5 skeins of STR via ebay (yay me!) And I've traded another skein through ravelry. I'm also expecting the Sundara sock club and STR sock club shipments to arrive by the end of the month. Better finish mom's socks fast!

I'm in love with a sock

Isn't she gorgeous? This is Dream in Color Smooshy sock yarn from the Loopy Ewe. The color is "Strange Harvest". The pattern is 2X2 Alternation rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. I cast on 64 stitches, and I do think it is the perfect sock in every way. The second sock is already in progress.

And I did finish the Checky Waves socks:



They look better on the blockers than they do on my feet!

It's been a busy week here. Da Man left for Seattle Sunday afternoon and is due home shortly. I'm in the process of auctioning off about 50 of Herself's old outfits on ebay. It's extremely time consuming, but I usually net in the hundreds of dollars, so I don't mind the work so much. I've also listed 5 skeins of BMFA Socks that Rock mediumweight. My ebay ID is binky67 in case you'd like to take a look.

Yesterday morning I woke up at 3:15 and couldn't get back to sleep. So I came downstairs at 4am and found that Sheri had activated the Sneak Up. I actually had a great selection of stuff to choose from. I bought 4 skeins, and I can't remember what they were exactly, but will of course post photos when they arrive.

Recovery

I didn't have time for that last post before we left on "vacation". We didn't have a very good time, and are relieved that it's over. Here's the highlight for me:



This was taken in a strip mall outside of Danbury, Connecticut. Lord help the person who tries to find their phone number in the white pages.

We arrived home to find a box from the loopy ewe. Sheri threw in a sneak-up right before we went away. I was able to get some good stuff--from left to right:

GypsyKnits BFL superwash in Blue Moon, Rose Garden, and Giggle. And Fiesta Boomerang in Plum Pudding. I think the rose garden will make some nice monkey's for my mom. And the Giggle will probably turn into monkeys as well. Not sure on the blue moon or the boomerang. As an aside, Ravelry tells me that Boomerang has been discontinued. I guess I'm lucky I got some when I did.

There was very little knitting done while I was away. I did manage to finish the first checky waves sock:

You can't really see the stitch pattern in this photo, and that's probably for the best. It doesn't compliment the yarn very well, and I'm afraid I made a poor choice with it. But I've cast on for the second sock and I'm committed to finishing it. Unfortunately, it's taking longer than usual since I've made the leg longer than usual, and I'm using a size 0 needle. Slow going.

I also brought with me Miss Lambert's shawl, which is in danger of being abandoned, and the chevron scarf. I didn't touch either of them, although I have been taking the chevron to HRH's gymnastics class with me. An hour a week and it's not going very quickly.

We're still licking our wounds here after that stressful trip, but I think we'll right ourselves soon. On the brighter side, we've become much more thankful and appreciative for the people in our lives who can just let us be and treat us like the intelligent adults we are.

Thank God for yarn.