Lest you think, gentle reader, that I have totally deserted the blogosphere, I offer a little proof that I have at least been knitting.

These are the socks that I’m knitting along with my current class. (They aren’t doing the ribbing, though.) This is Socks That Rock in a colorway called Downpour that I picked up at the Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival. The colors are pooling in a spiral stripy sort of way, but I do like it. I reminds me of rain streaking down the windows and blurring the outside gray/brown view. Just like what I’m looking at through my windows every day now.

At least the power has been on, and fairly stable. There are no high-wind storms predicted for at least a few days, so I will keep my fingers crossed. You’d think in a city the size of the Portland metro area that the power lines would all be buried. You’d think, eh?

I need to be ready to turn the heel on the class socks by Tuesday night. I only have about 12 rounds left to do on the gussets, so I should be able to make it with no problem. (Then I can start the sweater.) Then after Tuesday it’s just up the leg to the top. The leg never seems to take very long to knit. It’s the instep that is just interminable on every pair of socks. I swear I can knit instep rounds for hours and hours and when I measure I’ve gained maybe 1/2 inch. Where does all that yarn go? My theory is that it goes into a yarn-sucking, sock-instep-stealing black hole that requires extra knitting energy in order to break free of. The gravity thing, ya know?

When I hit the gussets, I know I’m out of the black hole and home free.

These socks are being knit for a man. They are the replacement to the ill-fated Socktober Socks #1 that swam into the frog pond never to be seen again. I love to knit socks for gifts. But men have such big feet…

Speaking of men… #1 Son (I know I think of him as a boy, but really he’s a man now) called yesterday from North Dakota. Today they will be in South Dakota. The show in Missoula fell through, thank goodness unfortunately, so they will have two days to drive to Spokane. That’s a long, long drive from Rapid City to Spokane. I don’t think they realize how long it will be in the winter. The tour is going well, but he admitted that he is ready to be home. Thursday morning is the expected Portland arrival time, so I will have many things to be thankful for.

Now… back to the socks!