Week wrap-up.

I kept my promise to myself and finished this pair of socks in two! short! weeks!

I think I finally mastered the art of Kitchener stitch on the sock toes with the second one, the blue toe on the left. It involves not passing the yarn through the end stitches twice. Remember this, Stephanie, and never again try to make things “even” by going through the end stitches more than once. I’m sure I’m the only one who understands what I mean. Sigh.

I kind of love this picture.

Basic Stockinette:
Pattern: None particularly. Sock recipe burned into my brain from Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s Knitting Rules. 60 stitches, some 2×2 ribbing, eye of partridge heel flap, French heel from Heels by Number. ‘Standard’ toe decreases to 24 stitches. Good fitting sock, now packed away in a drawer reserved for things I want to take back to school in the fall.
Yarn: Umm… Ravelry tells me it’s “Schoeller + Stahl Fortissima Colori Socka Color”, but I’m not entirely sure if that’s exactly the right one. It’s the right brand and all. But maybe not the right yarn. Apparently I don’t look at labels too closely.

As soon as I cast off these socks, I realized I didn’t want to cast on with more socks right away. (Considering the pile of sock yarn I came home with, probably not the best of ideas. But I think putting pressure on myself to do things just makes them ugly and unexciting, and I don’t regret my decision to put off the socks.) I’ve been meaning to make a BSJ ever since I received some birthday yarn earmarked for it (which, ahem, it’s now my turn to buy some birthday yarn for a friend…). I cast on last night.

(click for bigger and better picture)

The giver of said birthday yarn and I decided I need an orange hat. I used to be a HUGE orange person, orange and yellow. Lately, though, my wardrobe has stepped away from orange and into reds and blues, and this must be remedied. Hat: perfect wardrobe remedy. Also, I’m further along than this picture suggests, and at the part where I need to find extra yarn for a provisional cast on. Please wish me luck with that.

And, what yarn I brought back from vacation.

My mom’s plea for socks (as evidenced by her convincing me to buy some souvenir yarn), plus my aunt and uncle realizing I wouldn’t get around to knitting them socks unless I had the yarn in my hands, turned into more yarn coming home than I (and my budget) really thought necessary. Meh. Will have to do more sign spinning and earn a few more bucks. (Will Work for Yarn.) The turquoise is for my mom. For some reason, even though her favorite color is purple, all of a sudden turquoise is Her. Ever since Saturday really. I don’t know what that means, other than she’s getting turquoise socks. Also, I am pretty sure they will be Brigit turquoise socks. I want some twisted stitch cables. Even if those aren’t twisted stitches. (I should invest in some Cookie A. patterns, honestly. If only I weren’t worried that they would be too fancy for WEARING.) They will be absolutely beautiful if I get over the fear of them NOT being absolutely beautiful and simply cast on.

The more blue yarn in the background is for my aunt (pattern to-be-figured-out) and the red, yellow, and white are for my uncle, who wants colorwork and already picked out his pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. I’m excited to do colorwork in socks, actually, as well as very nervous. Hope I have enough yarn for men’s size 12 feet. And patience. Good thing my last pair of socks took only two weeks; that’s going to have to set the standard of knitting speed for all this to get done.

Hate having a queue of things I Have To Knit By A Deadline. Hate. But love that I can make things my family will treasure. Love.

(More photos of basically everything here can be found at Flickr)