Starting and Finishing

Finally I had a bit more time to knit this week, even with 12-hour work days. I was thrilled to finish the Vilai socks. It was pretty nerve-wracking there for a while, because I could see holes in my skin of yarn toward the end. I had no idea if there would be enough yarn to finish them. But, as you can see, there was. I had I guess two yards left (I originally estimated three, but two is more like it).

You can see that these are really nice socks. They came out a bit large--I would suggest anyone using the Glam Grrl yarn consider a sock designed for sport weight, not fingering weight. I am happy with the shiny aspect, though!


I think these are worth another photo! If you can't see all the patterning, click to see the enlarged photo. You can see the silver shining on my legs. Oooh, ahhh. With these socks, I honestly don't care if I get a lot of wear out of them. They were just so much fun to knit. I really loved the pattern and the chart. It was just hard enough to be engaging but easy enough to enjoy working on while watching RV and stuff. I recommend this pattern highly! And you can bet that my next complex socks will be from the Sock Innovation Book. I actually think I am making the next pattern in the book, Angee. It's going to be in navy blue Pagewood Farms sock yarn--not so thick!


I also finished another sock, the first in the pair of plain socks that I work on when I am unable to concentrate. These just FEEL great. It's just merino sock yarn, but it sure feels good, and is incredibly easy to knit with. It's from Intention Yarns (made by Lime & Violet) and is called Simplicity. I like simple socks with a plain foot and a 2x2 rib top, so they fit with the name and intention of the yarn! I am having a dickens of a time with the second sock. First, I started the gusset (they are toe-up) and realized I had switched from doing the increases on one side to the other. So, I ribbed all that off and did it right. Then I started the heel and managed to get it quite off center. So, I get to re-do that, too. Good thing I am liking that yarn, huh.


And finally, I decided I wanted to so something fun. I think I already mentioned that I found this pattern in the Fall 2009 Knitter's Magazine that used yarn I already had. I decided to go ahead and make those, just for fun. The pattern is called Wave Gauntlets, and is quite simple. Kits up fast in the bulky yarn. When I only went down two sizes of needles, they still seemed pretty big, so I went down four sized. This way the end of the gauntlet is still fairly wide, but the part on my hand fits well.

Since it's a two-color pattern, I need to block it to see it in its best light, but the photo at least shows the waves. In person, it just looks like colorful globs. I guess the yarns don't contrast enough. And I was not real happy that the thumb ended up such a different color. I guess we will just have to see what colors happen to pop up in the second one. They certainly won't be identical twins. Looking at the yarn, I may be able to get a second pair out of the yarn, and make another pair to give away.



We had a fun Halloween at the yarn shop. Cindy did a lot of face painting, and lots of us (even me) ended up either very lovely or very scary, whichever we desired. She is quite an artist. Oh, what the heck, here's a photo of me. It is intended to go with my fortune teller outfit.



Everyone looked beautiful in their ensembles!

One thing that I regret about becoming so valuable at work is that I have to work long hours some days, so I miss out on Wednesday knitting. And next week I have to go to a work dinner, so I'll miss it again. I miss the camaraderie and the relaxing conversations! I have a tarot workshop next Saturday, so I may not be able to hit the yarn shop next Saturday, and I do believe the wonderful Kid-n-Ewe is the next Saturday after that. I hope I can round up someone willing to go with me (most of the group events these day's don't include me--my fault for not being around much, I am sure!)

Hmm, leaving my post on a whiny note--sorry 'bout that!It looks like I have another set of mitts for a teen to knit, then I think I want to make a scarf with the handspun Jody gave me a few weeks ago. Who knows what else.