Hopscotch and Air Raid Sockliness

Most of my weekend knitting involved socks. But, I did stick Flit 'n Float on wires and managed to fit it on the bed to block it. It's still drying, so maybe tomorrow I'll have that Finished Object photo of that. It looks so much better already--I have to say that its finished state resembled some kind of tropical constrictor snake or something. A big ole green stockinette tube. I sure hope it stays flat after it dries! And I hope the ruffles look OK. The bind-off turned up rather unattractively, but I think I smooshed it down well enough.

Above you see a surprise project. I haven't had two pairs of socks on the needles in over a year. But, the other socks take a bit of concentration, plus, as I mentioned in the last entry, I decided I need more "summer" socks. So, this very bright colorway of Panda Cotton jumped off the shelf to become Fiery Air Raid. The yarn is actually a LOT brighter than it came out. I could make it either so bright it hurt your eyes, or this overly tame color correction. Maybe the next time I photograph it I'll get it in natural light and it will look right.

You can't see the little "bombs" in the sock, but they are there. When I have more done, I'll stick it on a foot! The pattern is just great. Lots of fun and easy to remember. Yay to Emily!

I must report that I love this yarn. I love bamboo, and mixing it with cotton is just the best. The elastic isn't as pronounced as in some other yarns with it, so I am happy as can be. The yarn does unravel a bit (partly my fault because I had to rewind one ball after I'd started, which twisted it). But, mostly it's a dream to work on, and I know I'll enjoy these under my sneakers and other summer shoes.


And here's yarn I am loving, but a sadly doomed sock. I have been using my 00s for my last couple of socks. As you recall the last ones came out a bit large. These are the opposite. And you can guess why--it's a slip stitch pattern, and those do tend to draw in. I could get these on, but even on the foot part, it was "hugging" a bit too much. I'd increased the body to 72 stitches, but that hadn't helped. So...I have started the second sock on large size 1s, and I think I can have 64 stitches. The pattern suggests maybe doing the heels and toes in a smaller needle, and that makes sense to me. I can haul out a 0 for those parts.

I did like how the colors were moving around (partly caused by me trying to knit more loosely toward the end there). I have a feeling the revised version will be more like the usual more stripey effect I tend to get with Lorna's Laces colors, but I think that is more the effect I'd hoped for, anyway. Again, the color is Gone Fishin', which was the color of the month in September of last year. I have noticed that one skein's reddish color is a bit more vibrant than the other, but I don't think this will be a problem. I don't know how the LL gang manages to get them as close as they do, with the quantities they make!

OK, more knitting today--until my job picks up or I get another one, I'll be making more progress than usual. I'll also move along on the vest.