Warped spacetime

I have a theory.

We know that we live in what seems to be a four dimensional world and in which we are subject to certain rules. Nothing can go faster than light in a vacuum. Nothing, even light, can get out of a black hole. For some reason, we can move anyway we want in the first three dimensions but only forward in the fourth. In this world, some things like matter and energy are conserved. Neither can be created or destroyed, although they can be interchanged (but you're probably even less interested in the details of that phenomenon than I am in explaining them).

My theory is that knitting is subject to a similar conservation law. We've all experienced the knitting equivalent of a black hole, where we knit and knit and knit on a sleeve or scarf or something and it just doesn't get any longer. Here's what I think: all that knitting that's not going into your project, despite the motion of your hands and needles and consumption of yarn is actually going to some other knitter by way of some warped aspect of spacetime. Some other knitter is moving her hands and needles and using up yarn at the usual rate but ending up with rapidly growing sleeves or scarves or socks. It's a sort of conservation of yarn and knitting.

I could be wrong, but I have no other way to explain the amount of knitting I've done since I posted last Sunday. Since that post, I have spent approximately 50 hours at work, 9 hours commuting, and 10 hours on school work. I have read Free Range Knitter (start to finish) and about half of Quantum of Solace. I've gone for a bike ride, a swim, and a run (on different days). I've been to church, got my car washed, bought groceries and made a trip to Target. I'm not living in squalor - I've kept the dining room table clear, the kitchen clean and my floor free of dirty clothes. I have slept (not as much as I would have liked - probably about 50 hours for the week). And somehow, even with all of that, I have managed an incredible amount of knitting.

The winter jaywalkers are now a complete sock (I even wove in the ends) and the start of a mate. (By the way, the first attempt at the first of these socks? Too big. It turns out I was right, and size 11 feet aren't quite that big. They're large, just not that large.)


I'd mentioned a scarf. This is the scarf, knit in linen stitch out of Queensland Collection Rustic Wool. I'm really liking it, especially how purple it is. I think the linen stitch is producing a nicely mottled and fantastically dense fabric. I can't wait to get to the end so I can add fringe!


And I think I said something about a sweater, too. I don't have much experience knitting sweaters - I've only knit one before. That was my Olympic sweater and it took me a bit over a year to finish. This time, though, it's going much faster (I've started with sleeves, so that may be part of it), and I'm cautiously optimistic that I'll have it done by Thanksgiving. (Of course in saying that, I've probably jinxed myself, but I like to live on the edge a little, at least when it comes to knitting.)


Really, I think the only way that I could have done this much knitting is if I was benefiting from some other knitter's black hole. To that knitter: I'm sorry I'm stealing your knitting, but thank you for the effort. I hope someday, you get to benefit from one of my black holes.

Brought to you by the number 3

Three scarves, knit for charity (specifically for the scarves for the homeless drive at my church)

Pattern: Multi-directional diagonal scarf. Each scarf is made of short-row polygons with 3 sides (also known as triangles).

Each scarf was made of 3 skeins of Patons Soy Wool Stripes.

Natural Denim:

Natural Plum:

Natural Blue (which has a surprising amount of brown in it):

The yarn is very soft in the skein, and knits up nicely, although it's not quite so soft as garter stitch. The main virtue of this yarn is, I think, that it's inexpensive. It cost wonderfully little money. Unfortunately, the was one drawback: knots. In 9 skeins, there were 7 knots. But for an inexpensive yarn, it's really quite charming - soft, warm, and with much less raw vegetable matter than Lopi.

This post is made possible in part by yarn, blogger, and readers like you.

SSS: Socks, Scarves, and Startitis

As I was updating my Ravelry today, I realized something. Not only have I been absent from the blog for the past few weeks, I've been delinquent in posting some of my better projects for months. And by "better" I mean "anything not actually given away."

A brief survey of unblogged FOs (detailed blogs to come in the future, I swear):






As you can see, it's all scarves and socks. Not a lot of variety. Sadly, there isn't much more variety in my recently unblogged UFOs, either:



Which brings me to my final S: startitis. I'm craving something new, something for myself, and something not socky. But mostly something new. So I've cast on two new projects, both for myself. A linen stitch scarf (linen stitch is slow, but makes a lovely, dense fabric, and besides, it's in a great color) and this. Details to follow when I have pictures.

Antidote

This week has been one of those weeks. You know the sort. One of those weeks when even though nothing major goes wrong (no serious illness, job loss, financial crisis, etc.) and you've still got a lot going for you (you've got your home, food, clothes, family, friends, etc.), the week still seems awful. All the little things pile up until you think this adulthood kick is one lousy deal, and you really wish that everything would just go away and leave you alone for a little while.

This week, while I felt like I was being smothered by a gajillion little things that refused to go right (for instance, the gallon of milk that went sour more than 10 days before its sell-by date), even my knitting wasn't much help.

I've been working on the second Bayerische sock. It's actually going pretty well, and when considered on its own, I'm quite pleased with it. The problem is in comparing it to its mate:


This shows the problem even better:


They aren't the same size. I think to get a matched pair, I'm going to have to knit 3 socks. Fortunately, I have plenty of yarn for doing so. The real problem is that I'm just not that in love with this pattern. While I think it's absolutely gorgeous, I also find it a little fiddly and hard on my hands.

So as my alternative, easy, mindless sock project, I started some Jaywalkers for Mr. Darcy. I really like the Jaywalker pattern. It's easy and smooth and I can knit it while I'm reading. In less than a week, then, I got the first sock done:


Looks pretty good, no? And it even took less than half the yarn I had. There's only one problem. I'm a little nervous about the size. Are size 11 feet really that big?

(Sock that fits a ladies' 9.5 included for scale.)

So it's on hold until I see Mr. Darcy in a week and a half and can make him try it on. There's no way I'm frogging two socks, if it comes to that.

Given the state of things, what's a woman to do? What antidote can there be for all the unpleasantness and frustration, when even the knitting is involved in the conspiracy? There are, I would think, many options such as hiding under the bed, running away, or setting fire to something, but I chose a different path.

I took some very lovely, recently acquired yarn

(Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 in Blue Lagoon)

and wound it into an equally lovely yarn cake.


And then I cast on while watching Sleepless in Seattle. (I did get further than the picture suggests.)


New sock in pretty yarn while watching delightful chick flick = pretty effective antidote.

A Weekend in Which I do no Knitting.

None. Not even a single stitch. Shocking, isn't it?

So, you may be asking, if I didn't do any knitting, what did I do all weekend? In addition to the chores and errands necessary to keep up the appearances of being a functioning adult, I sewed.

I've been on a mission lately (several weeks now), to de-clutter my place. I don't think I have a lot of stuff to begin with, but much of it isn't well organized, and I know that some of it, I really don't need. So as part of de-cluttering, every few weeks (largely as I have the time and motivation), I go through some particular aspect of my belongings, and give it a thorough sorting and organizing. Anything I don't need/wear/use gets thrown out or donated. Everything else gets put away neatly. A few weeks ago, I did my closet. This weekend, I tackled a corner of my office. Yes, just a corner - it's a slow process. One can't rush these things, you know. The corner I picked was the one with my sewing table. I use the term loosely, since prior to Saturday, I hadn't once used it as such, but it did hold the sewing machine. And a bunch of stuff.

Incredibly, much of the stuff on the sewing table was sewing related, specifically projects that I'd left out in the hopes that looking at them sitting there unfinished would inspire (guilt being more likely) me to do something about them, like actually finish them. Well, it turns out that all I really needed was a tropical storm to keep me trapped inside:


(Hanna dumped all kinds of rain on Saturday - I don't think this picture accurately conveys just how wet it was.)

So I sewed. I hemmed and hung curtains. I fixed a sweater (store-bought, an underarm seam had come undone) and a blouse (somehow, the button band had come unstitched near the collar). I lined a headband (the ear-warmer sort). But mostly, I turned this:


into this:


The first is exactly what it looks like - a pile of fabric sitting on a chair. The second is two quilt tops and backs (sitting on the ironing board), just not assembled to each other yet. These are to be quilts for my former roommates - one who loves blue


and one who really likes orange.


The plan for next weekend is to attach the backs and quilt them!

Blue Scarves

So, you may remember a while (like early-July) back, I scored some blue wool for charity knitting. It turned out that the wool was quite nice to knit with, and made two lovely blue scarves. (It would be odd if the scarves had turned out some other color...)

Exhibit A: The Long Miter


This was a fantastically easy, yet somehow not completely mind-numbing knit.
Recipe:
Cast on an odd number of stitches (I think I had 37).
Row 1: Kfb, knit to one stitch before center stitch, do a double decrease (I slip two stitches together, knit 1, pass slipped stitches over), knit to last stitch, kfb.
Row 2: Knit.
Repeat rows 1 and 2 until you're running low on yarn. Then continue, but instead of kfb, just knit the first and last stitches in row 1.
Continue until you've got one stitch left. Pull yarn through this stitch to bind off. Weave in ends.

Exhibit B: An Easy Bias Scarf, with a Hint of Lace


This is ever-so-slightly less easy than the Long Miter. For this scarf, you have to be able to knit, purl, and not be scared of a yarn over.
Recipe:
Cast on 2 stitches.
Setup:
Kfb, K1, turn.
Kfb, K2, turn.
Kfb, K3, turn.
Kfb, K4, turn.
Increase section:
Row 1: K3, YO, K3.
Row 2: K3, P1, K3.
Row 3: K3, YO, K1, YO, K3.
Row 4: K3, P3, K3.
Row 5: K3, YO, K3, YO, K3.
Row 6: K3, P5, K3.
Continue in pattern until scarf is desired width.
Middle section:
Row 1: K2, SSK, YO, K2tog, knit to last 3 stitches, YO, K3.
Row 2: K3, purl to last 3 stitches, K3.
Repeat rows 1 and 2 until scarf is desired length or you're running low on yarn.
Decrease section:
Row 1: K2, SSK, YO, K2tog, knit to last 6 stitches, SSK, YO, K2tog, K2.
Row 2: K3, purl to last 3 stitches, K3.
Continue until you have 11 stitches left.
Ending:
Row 1: K2, SSK, YO, S1 k2tog psso, YO, K2tog, K2.
Row 2: K3, P3, K3.
Row 3: K2, SSK, YO, K3tog, K2.
Row 4: K3, P1, K3.
Row 5: K2, S1 k2tog psso, K2.
Row 6: K5.
Row 7: SSK, K1, K2tog.
Row 8: K3.
Row 9: S2KPsso (slip two stitches together, knit 1, pass slipped stitches over).
Pull yarn through last stitch.
Finishing: Weave in ends. Block. Blocking is especially important to keep this one from curling up.

Catching my breath

I'm back. I had a lovely trip to Denver, although I did not make it to the Lamb Shoppe (this is probably because none of my girl friends are fiber addicts like me). The trip was the first time we'd all gotten together since we graduated over two years ago, but in many ways, it was like we'd never been apart. In short, it was a weekend full of much talking and giggling, and it was a fantastic time. And to top it off, not only did one of my dearest friends get married, I got the gift done in time!


Ballband dish cloths in Peaches and Creme worsted weight, colors white and shaded blue. I think I had them done about 12 hours before the wedding. (Apologies for the lousy photo - it was around midnight in a hotel room kitchenette - the lighting was bad and the counter ugly, but it was the best I could do.)

Since I'm still trying to recover from all the travel/work/school work/life as an adult, I'm going to keep it short tonight and save the scarves for later. I'm not going anywhere this weekend, though, so there's the possibility that I might even get to relax a bit...

Overcome by events

So, the last two weeks or so, I've been pretty much completely overcome by events. Work has been absolutely nuts (staying until 9:30pm really isn't my idea of a good time), there's a huge looming deadline for class work (which I've been studiously ignoring), and there's my social life -I had a friend staying with me last weekend, and I've spent this weekend visiting Mr. Darcy, which has been completely wonderful. In fact, the only reason I can justify blogging right now, is that I'm sitting in an airport, waiting for my plane that was supposed to have taken off almost an hour ago and isn't even here yet. They tell me that I have another hour and a half to wait.

But despite the crazy hectic blur that is my life of late, I have managed to do some knitting. Although I've kind of fallen down on the job when it comes to photographing said knitting.

I've worked on the second Bayerische sock - I'm almost done with the leg. No picture, though.

I knit two of four wash cloths (again, no pictures) that I'm planning to be a gift for my friend who's getting married on Saturday. I have a couple of commutes and a flight to Denver between now and then. I can totally get them done. (Please don't disillusion me. Clinging to the illusion of hopeful competency is much better than falling victim to the pit of despair.)

And I've been knitting scarves.

I've knit a scarf and part of a second (no pictures of either) out of Patons Soy Wool Stripes, and I'm pretty pleased with the yarn. It's soft and has nice color changes. It's reasonably consistent in thickness, although there has been a frustratingly high number of knots (two or three so far in four balls). Even so, it's great yarn, especially when one factors in the price.

And I knit the Chinese wool (thanks, Nicole, for confirming that it's wool!) into two scarves - a large mitery thing (no picture) and an easy, bias-knit scarf. There actually are photos of the bias-knit scarf, but the free wi-fi in the airport won't let me get to Flickr to get the photo so that I can post it here.

Perhaps I should take this as a sign that I should be working on my project for class instead of blogging... I expect I'll be back with pictures in a week or so - I just have to survive the week and a whirlwind trip to Denver next weekend. Easy, right?

It was a dark and stormy night...

On Saturday, I got an email from one of my friends along the lines of "Ack! The wedding's in three weeks, what are you getting them?!" To which my reaction was, "Ack! I have no idea! I wonder if I have time to knit dish cloths?"

So, I'm thinking, three weeks, four dish cloths - I already have cotton yarn on hand, so this should be easy! (Thinking that something is going to be easy is usually a nice bit of ironic foreshadowing. I should have known better.) I pulled out the yarn, and went to find needles. Now, I'm pretty sure I own at least one size 7 circular, since I've made dish cloths before, but I couldn't find one for the life of me. I checked the needle stash. I tossed the yarn dresser and the yarn closet. I went through all of the bags in which I'd stuck yarn while traveling at any point in the past few months. No needles.

Okay, the needle situation can be rectified. It just means a trip to my LYS. I had errands to run on Sunday after church anyway, so I just added the LYS to my list (it wasn't even out of my way). Sunday afternoon a thunderstorm rolled through (the only part of the story that was literally dark and stormy), which made it hard to do what I probably should have done.

What I should have done was written down on a sticky note the size and kind of needles I wanted, flagged down some passerby, given them the sticky note and a twenty, and told them they could keep the change if they went in and got the needles for me. That's what I should have done. But did I? No. Of course not.

No, I thought to myself, "It's just needles. I won't even fondle any yarn. I can be strong." In short, I lied to myself. Although, to be fair, I did make it to the needle wall and pick out what I needed without fondling any yarn, but somewhere between there and the cash register, I was overcome by wool fumes. It's the only explanation for how I went in just for needles and came out with these:


Watershed, by the Neighborhood Fiber Co. in Truxton Circle (the colorway). It's a wool/seacell blend that's fantastically soft. And given that I have a distinct fascination with seacell (I love the way it smells like the ocean still), a love of all things purple, and a weakness for local dyers, I suppose I had zero chance of making it out of the shop without this.


Penthouse Silk Lace, also by the Neighborhood Fiber Co. in Randle Circle. It's a two-ply lace-weight in 100% silk and one of the softest things I've ever touched. Plus I absolutely adore the silvery-blue colors and the way it seems to shimmer, even in the hank. When I touched this yarn, I couldn't help but dream about how wonderful a silk stole this would make and how fantastic it would feel on bare arms and shoulders. And I knew that if I didn't get it, someone else would, and I would be plagued with doubt and regret.

But first, I should probably go work on those dish cloths...

I like socks.

I had a friend in high school who would fill awkward pauses with the statement, "I like rice." As a question, it was useful for diffusing tension: there's nothing for breaking up a frivolous but heated argument quite like, "um, I like rice?"

Anyway, I like socks.


I like plain socks.


I like blue socks.


I like wool socks.


I like warm socks.


I like socks.

From the top: Jane Doe socks in Regia Stretch. John Doe socks in Mirasol Hacho, colorwarys Midnight Velvet and Northern Lights. All three pairs were knit from the Jane and John Doe Socks pattern by me and available on Ravelry.

Chinese for wool?

My church is collecting hand knit and crochet scarves for the homeless. To encourage people to participate, they're even providing yarn for those who want it. Since I like knitting and doing good, I stopped by to get some yarn. It was mostly acrylic in various colors and qualities, but I was fortunate enough to find some much maligned wool in the stash. At least, I think it's wool. It certainly feels like wool, but the labels are in Chinese.



Does anybody read Chinese? Can you tell me what this yarn is? Brand? Fiber content? I'd be grateful for any light you can shed on this.

Looking on the bright side

If I'm not my usual, chipper self for the next few weeks, I beg your kind indulgence. I'm going through a bit of a challenging transition right now. You see, Mr. Darcy might actually more appropriately be called Captain Wentworth. He has gone off (under Navy orders that were decided long before we started dating) to seek his fortune. So, like a long list of Navy wives and sweethearts before me, I find myself necessarily left behind. Fortunately, modern communication and transportation mean that we'll be able to talk to and see each other far more often than Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth.

And in the meantime, I'm looking on the bright side and thinking about all the time I have for my things that I didn't before. All the things I'll be able to catch up on, and finish, and start, maybe.

I pulled out Picovoli from the WIP drawer - it's almost finished. Just needs cap sleeves and sewing of the hems.


Remember my first sock? In what is possibly a miraculous recovery from second sock syndrome, I've started it's mate.


I started new lace. This is the Arabesque stole in Jojoland lace-weight.


This pile of fabric? It's destiny is to become two 9-patch quilts - one in red, one in blue.


And then of course, there's my rather lengthy queue on Ravelry, my venture in spinning, and a couple thousand pages of reading I'd like to do. So really, I don't think there's the slightest risk of my being bored. In fact, I might even come to enjoy the extra time to myself...

On the bandwagon

There seem to be some things that every knitter knits at least once. A scarf, a hat, a sock, a baby surprise jacket. And until one has knit those things, one may be faced with many crises of self doubt - am I a real knitter? Can I call myself a real knitter when I haven't knit (fill in the blank)? In almost every case, the answer is yes, you are a real knitter, even if all you've ever made are garter stitch scarves. That notwithstanding, it can be deeply satisfying to knit those items that seem to make "real knitters."

Now, I've never really questioned my credentials as a knitter (at least, not much), but that hasn't kept me from feeling woefully left behind a time or two. Like when it seemed everyone in the blogosphere was on Ravelry and I wasn't. And I'm still sad that I missed the Tulip Jacket rage. But I did recently knit one of those "everybody knits it at least once" items. I made my first baby surprise jacket:


It's knit out of Baby Ull, held double on size five (I think, it was a while ago) needles. The buttons are the small bear buttons from Schoolhouse Press.


The pattern is delightful and ingenious, if a little hard to follow at first. And I don't know that it's possible to say enough wonderful things about Meg Swansen's video guide. All in all, it was great fun to knit, and I'm sure I will knit many more in my time as a Knitter.

Back by popular demand

I won't even try to explain (in detail) what I've been up to for the past several months instead of blogging. There's been work, chores, school work, travel, volleyball, dancing, more travel, more dancing, and lots and lots of time with Mr. Darcy. There have even been some fiber-related activities. In short, I've been busy (I'm not sure that word adequately conveys how much I've been doing), and blogging hasn't quite made it to the top of the to-do list. But thanks to several factors (things settling down a little, Mr. Darcy's being out of town, being informed that I've been missed in the blogosphere - this was particularly touching - and the alignment of the planets), I'm back. And I think (no promises, especially given my track record) it will be on a regular and somewhat frequent basis!

Unfortunately, as behind as I am on blogging, I'm just as behind on going through photographs of my yarn, knitting, and other fiber endeavors. So it'll be a while for me to catch up. And it means that tonight, instead of writing about recent knitting, I'm going to tell you about my new hobby, because it's the only thing that's got a picture ready to go.

For well over a year now, I've been thinking about spinning. I really like the magic of knitting and all of the things you can do with yarn and sticks. But I'm also fascinated by the yarn itself, and how it gets to be the way that it is. One of the manifestations of this was my foray into dying (there are plans for more). Another manifestation is my interest in spinning. I'm deeply intrigued by the process that turns fluff into usable yarn.

For Christmas, my mom gave me a drop spindle kit that consisted of a small drop spindle and about half an ounce of purple roving. When I opened it, I immediately had to give this spinning business a try, and so sat there spinning until I'd turned that half ounce of roving into this:


It's not enough to knit into anything, really, so I'm just going to put it on a loop of fishing line and call it a Christmas tree ornament.

About a week ago, I got the spindle back out and started on some new yarn, but pictures will have to wait. And, even more exciting, I discovered that there's a yarn shop/fiber artist school only a few miles from me. I can't wait to take some classes and learn to really spin!

A Harlot moment

So, I'm blogging on the road. Well, not literally. But I'm in Boston for the weekend, visiting one of my dearest friends. It should be a fantastic weekend of seeing the sights (I somehow lived here for four years without managing to get pictures of any of it...), a bit of yarn, and some really excellent catching up.

I had a moment in the airport, though, that I just have to share. I'd gotten off the plane and was walking through the terminal. My ears still needed to pop, though, so I was fishing around in my bag for the gum that I was sure I'd stuck in it. As I'm rummaging unsuccessfully, a couple of men call out, "Um, excuse me, you dropped your yarn." I'd manage to knock the ball of sock yarn out of my bag (the sock was still in the bag, though), and was, at that point, trailing about forty feet of yarn. One of the men very nicely picked up the ball and handed it to me, while the other tried really hard not to laugh. I did laugh, though, since the only other alternative would have been mortal embarrassment.

I wonder how long it would have taken me to notice if they hadn't said something...

Um... hello?

Anybody there? I wouldn't blame you at all if you aren't. I mean, it's my blog, and I haven't even been here in an embarrassingly long time.

But if you are there, you'll be happy to know that although I've fallen off the face of the blogosphere, I haven't actually fallen off the face of the planet. In fact, aside from my utter lack of blogging, I'm doing pretty fantastically. I've just been unbelievably busy - take a look at what's on my plate:
1. Work - typically I spend 12 hours a week day either at work or getting to/from it
2. Grad class - lots of math I can handle, teaching myself C++ is quite a trick, though. And it's a time sink, since it's sucked up something on the order of 12-15 hours a week.
3. Dancing - I've been spending one or two evenings a week swing dancing. It's the bees knees.
4. Fundamentals of Engineering - the exam is in just over two weeks and I am so sick of studying for it. And by studying, I mean relearning everything I haven't thought about in four years.
5. Mr. Darcy - possibly the real reason that I haven't been knitting (much) or blogging (at all) is that I've been spending nearly every free waking moment (and probably a few that aren't free) with a gentleman we'll call Mr. Darcy.

Good news for blogging, though: I just got a spiffy new laptop that is way faster than my desktop, in addition to being more happily compatible with such things as my camera, and a million times more portable. So, despite the fact that I don't know where in my average week I'll find the time (I've been thinking lately that sleep is vastly overrated. Actually, even when I was really little, I didn't like sleeping since I was convinced that if I was asleep, I'd miss something interesting.), but I think there's a pretty good chance that I'll be going back to semi-regular blogging. I'm thinking once a week would be a pretty good start. And then maybe twice, post FE.

So, even though I've completely blown my New Year's resolutions about commenting and blogging frequency, there's still the possibility of meeting the one about real fiber content. Even though I have been doing some knitting, I don't have any pictures of it (they're all on the other computer still). Instead, I give you my oldest WIP:


The beginnings of a Twisted Bargello quilt that I started 8 or 9 years ago. I really like the pattern, and I love the colors I chose, and really, I think it will look awesome finished. I just haven't had any sewing motivation in ages. And at the moment, my machine is buried under yarn, so it'll be a while yet before I get to it. But it's on the list!

Not according to plan

I didn't intend to let another week go by without blogging. In fact, I'd planned to blog last Thursday, but due to circumstances beyond my control (from Thursday evening through Sunday evening, I was unpleasantly ill), I had to shift my planned blogging time, and in the end, for various reasons, it turns out that today is my earliest opportunity to sit down and produce something for this establishment of mine.

For reasons closely related to my not blogging, I also haven't been knitting much. And to make matters worse, I have no good pictures of the few things I have been working on. Fortunately, I have a four-day weekend coming up, so I should be able to get in some good blogging, as well as catch up on the other things in my life that convince people I'm a civilized adult (laundry, vacuuming, etc.).

As I recall, about six weeks ago, I made a resolution about there being real fiber content in every post. Now, it turns out that there are actually several things I could present here: some very pretty yarn sitting on my floor, the very lovely laceweight I acquired a few weeks ago, my first venture into the world of the inimitable EZ, my oldest WIP, or what is likely to become my newest obsession. But for various reasons (mostly the aforementioned lack of pictures), instead you get... more socks!

Are you not just thrilled?

I finished the Hawaii Jaywalkers (finally. I'm a little ashamed to admit that I started them back in August).


The original idea with these socks was that they would be a KAL with my chief enabler (CE). But I was moving/traveling/losing my mind in August and was in desperate need of something simple to knit with yarn that wasn't boxed up and sitting in storage somewhere. So I started (and finished, I think) without my CE, which I guess means we'll have to pick something else to do as a KAL.

I really like the way the pattern knits up and does nice things with variegated yarns. And I really like Lorna's Laces - it's such a smooth, soft, well-behaved yarn. I'm not such a fan of this particular colorway, though. It's a bit too heavy on the bright green for my tastes, but fortunately, I know lots of people (probably 2) whose feet are the same size as mine and who would wear socks with this much bright green.


But come to think of it, I do like them inside out...