Since #1 Son released me from the need to have four cupcake hats completed by today, I went back to working on my Sockapaloooza pal’s socks. I really should get these finished, or at least far enough along to tell if they will fit, before starting a bunch of other projects. (Yeah. I know. Like that’s gonna happen. I can see you rolling your eyes out there.)

The pattern for these socks was fairly vague about gauge. It offered suggestions for the number of rows per inch. But stitches per inch? Oh… whatever…

I do have the rows-per-inch gauge. The toes looked wide, but I think the cables are pulling the width in enough. Of course I’m knitting the things backwards, since I’m a toe-up person. It’s a top-down pattern. But cables are cables in either direction, right? The toes look long and pointy. But, if you look at the pattern picture, the toes there look sort of long and pointy, too. I tried them on, and so far it looks like they are just slightly wide on my skinny feet. So I think I’m good to go! [fingers crossed]

I really want these socks to be nice, since they’re going off to someone I don’t even know. Hopefully the wonderfulness of this fiber will help my pal to overlook any little flaws. (I’m not suggesting overlooking not fitting. That would be a big flaw!)

I’m finding it extraordinarily difficult to get a good pic of this yarn. Of course, if there were any light around here it might be easier. As it is, I’m stuck with a gray sky (and snow fall). This was the best I could get. But you can see how I’ve done the first cable. The needles, unfortunately unseen in this picture, are my brand new 3.0mm Suzanne ebonies. ooooo… ahhhhh… yum!

… yep, that’s me!

Have you ever noticed how four-day weeks seem much busier than 5-day weeks? Perhaps because we try to cram 5 days worth of work into those four days. That’s certainly what happened to me this week. Work. Lots of it!

On the knitting front, I have 5 more pattern repeats to do on the ankles of the basket weave socks, and then I’ll be done, done done! And my needles will be free to start on my Sockapalooza pal’s yummy cabled socks.

I also have to get ready for the sock class. It’s coming up in 3 short weeks, and I have no materials ready. It turned out to be so popular that we are adding a second class. I don’t want to have more than 10 in the class, and I’m being hard nosed about people being able to make it to all three sessions. But it looks like both classes will fill.

So I’d better come up with a lesson plan, eh? 😆

Tangle will be having it’s first anniversary in June, and will be starting to carry Blue Moon yarn at about the same time. Alice has asked me to develop a sock pattern with Socks That Rock. I have a stitch pattern and a name, so now I just need to figure out how to turn my basic trial-and-error sock pattern into something that others can follow and actually end up with a pair of socks that fits. I’ll probably also do a toe-up cast-on clinic. We’ll see.

The pattern will be available here some time this summer, after a lot of test-knitting. Hopefully Knitty.com will have published the cast-on by that time also, so I can link to it.

The green sweater, Clapotis #2, the PNW Shawl and at least a couple of other pairs of socks languish in neglect.

I finished the Wavy Raspberry (aka Vera) Socks last night! Yea!!! Bound off at Tangle Thursday knitting night and washed when I got home.

Aren’t they pretty? I’m so not a pink person, but I just love how the raspberry color sets off the browns and creams and little dabs of teal. I love how the colors sort of spiral up the ankles. I love how it ended up reminding me of grandma’s old afghan. Usually when I get finished with something, it’s sort of like… oh yeah, another pair of socks; oh yeah, another sweater; meh. But every now and there’s a finished object that makes me just want to stop people on the street and say, “Look at what I made! I made this!” And that’s what I want to do with these.

The particulars:

• Lorna’s Laces Shepherds Sock, colorway Vera
• Inox Gray needles, US#2 (2.75 mm)
• Cast-on: My own invention, which I will hopefully be able to share soon
• Bind-off: Tubular bind-off
• Sock Pattern: My own standard pattern that fits my feet
• Heel: Eye of Partridge
• Stitch Pattern: A standard wavy stitch pattern with every 6th row purled.

And all of you Thursday night Tangle knitsters… I saw you guys. You were were all looking at these socks and carefully not saying… so these aren’t going to fit…

Well, here’s the proof that they do, indeed fit my feet perfectly! And my feet are very happy.

so there! 😆

I’m wearing these today with clogs, and despite the wavy, purly nature of the stitch pattern, the ankles are not at all slouching. As always, clicking the pics will get you a bigger version in a pop-up. I wish I could get decent natural-light pics at my house in the winter, but the bottom picture colors are fairly close to real life, at least on my monitor.

Next up: Blue Moon Socks That Rock in colorway Falcon’s Eye, which is a mix of lovely soft greens. I’m currently thinking that I’ll do them in an all-over staggered ribbed cable. We’ll see if I still like that after I’ve knit a few inches.

I also need to find just the perfect yarn for my Sockapaloooza pal’s socks. I may need to do a field trip this weekend to Woodland Wool Works. They tend to have unusual yarns that the rest of the Portland metro area LYSs don’t carry.

I also need to find the perfect sock pattern for my pal, but I usually find that the yarn speaks to me and tells me what to knit with it. I want to make some really great socks, because my pal makes pretty great socks!

The Gold Hill Socks that I started just before going to Las Vegas are finished, finally, and here they are! I wrapped these up last night, mostly at Tangle Thursday knitting night, but a bit after I got home, too.

This is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in the colorway “Gold Hill.” I knit them on US#2 Inox Gray needles. The pattern is basically a 2×2 ribbing, but every other knit pair of stitches is twisted in baby cables every 5 rows.

I made these to be “clog socks.” The 2×2 baby cable pattern continues on the heel flaps. I’m rather proud of the way the cables twist over the ends of the gusset rows. Not bad, eh?

I’ve heard of others having problems with Lorna’s Laces pooling. These did pool a little over the instep, but when on it’s not very noticeable. On the whole, I’m pleased with the way the colors knit up.

This was my first experiment with this yarn. Even though I swatched (really!) I made about three false starts with the gauge too big before settling on 64-stitch rows. I have skinny feet, and the socks are still a little big and the heel could be shorter. But I don’t care. I’m wearing them anyway.

I’ve started a new pair of socks in the “Vera” colorway, and I’m going to try 60-stitch rows. That should be just about right, I think.

#1 Son and I are back from our annual trek to Las Vegas for the holidays, and a fun time was had by all. I’ll post later about the trip, which featured a tour of Death Valley on an unbelievably gorgeous day. But this is a picture I took just before we left. I had put my carry-on bag up on the bed to pack it, turned around to gather up a few things I wanted to take, and when I turned back this was what I found.

Do you think that Moo Cow wanted to go along with us? She wasn’t too happy when I removed her from the top of the bag so I could pack. And which bag is your’s ma’am? That would be the one with cat hair all over it.

That’s a standard-sized carry-on bag that she is taking up most of the side of. Moo is, shall we say… big boned and “fluffy.”

And lest anyone think I did nothing but gamble, drink, take tours, go to shows, and otherwise goof off (all of which I did), here’s some proof that knitting was also accomplished. This is the Lorna’s Laces sock I started awhile back in the color called “Gold Hill” – a fitting color for Las Vegas, I thought. As you can see, I have progressed a lot! I made it around both of the heels and started up the ankle.

If the heels look a little strange, it’s because I used the same ribbed faux cable pattern that is on the instep. I’m rather pleased with the way that it’s coming out. Once the socks are blocked, it will look a lot better. The colors pooled a little bit over the gusset increases, but on the whole they are behaving themselves admirably.

The soscks are a little big on me, but I plan to wear them anyway. A lot. They’re not so big as to be uncomfortable; just a little looser than I usually prefer.

Happy New Year to everyone!

OK. Not really. But I must have been wound up tighter and more concerned about #1 Son than I was letting on, even to myself. Right after he arrived home yesterday morning, I was overcome by sleepiness and couldn’t even keep my eyes open. So I went back to bed. And slept until noon. I can’t remember the last time I did that, but I know it’s been years. Despite that, I went to bed fairly early last night. Vacation is a good thing!

#1 Son wasn’t home for very long before he was off to see his friends and to go to work. He came in very late last night. I probably won’t see much of him. Good thing we have a little enforced togetherness coming up next week to give us a chance to catch up. 😀

Not much knitting yesterday, but I have made some progress on the socks since the pic I snapped a couple of days ago. I do have hope these might be finished by the end of the year, if I don’t get distracted. I’m just about ready to begin the gusset increases. I think I’ll make these “clog socks” and work the twisty faux cable pattern on the heels, too.

Tomorrow we will go over the river and through the woods to grandma’s house (that’s my former in-laws) for Christmas dinner. We didn’t have big plans for Christmas day, so the invitation to come for dinner was a pleasant surprise. It should be fun. (My ex will not be there.) Or at least tasty. Grandma is an excellent cook!

I’m going to make some risotto to bring for #1 Son. Grandma is having ham, and risotto should go well with that should others want to share. I still have to decide what to put in it. (Yes, yes, I hear you out there. I mean besides rice.) I’m thinking veggie stock as a base, or maybe tomato soup… and onion, mushrooms, bell peppers, beans… should be good.

Today I’m feeling much more like a “real person,” and that’s a good thing because I have a bunch of running around to do!