Travel Project

I want to be able to knit on the plane and since those seats are so tight, I've set up a sock project. But first I had to finish what was on my needles.

This yarn is not really a sock yarn, but I thought I could use it anyway and end up with some warm boot socks. I do not recommend this yarn for the size 2 needles I used, or for socks. It is not spun together like conventional yarn and would twist into a knot if I pulled too much out of the skein at a time, and it split like crazy. It took me twice as long to finish these socks because I had to make every stitch carefully to keep from having all those little loops because I didn't pick all the threads up when forming a stitch.

I made it, though! And they will be nice boot socks for someone on my Christmas list. They really are a full purple color but, even though I love my camera, it hates purple and won't show it right.

You might remember this brand of yarn from here.

I absolutely LOVE this yarn. As with the last color, it's 50% merino wool, 25% bamboo, and 25% nylon. It knits up quickly because it's so easy to handle, and this particular skein is one of the self striping colorways that I love. Not sure who'll be getting these, I claimed the last pair. One DIL is allergic to wool, so I felt I had to sacrifice and wear them myself.

I scoured the Internet to find a toe-up sock pattern-found a nice one on Ravelry. I've pretty much gotten the hang of the Kitchener Stitch for finishing the toe, but I don't like how it looks, I'm shaky about how well it will wear, and I want to be able to use up all the skein and make the sock as long as possible. I'm already a convert, and next I'm going to try the Magic Loop using one circular needle. One thing I did, though, was to bury the starting thread right away. I spent much too much time pushing that thread out of the way, so away it went. When I'm done, I just have to bury the thread at the cuff. In order to make both socks identical, I pulled out enough yarn to match colorways on both skeins, and I even made the beginning slipknot on both, tucking the knot for the second skein back under the label. (We'll see how that travels-no biggie-I can redo it) The only thing is I'm so hooked on it I'm almost done with the foot on the first sock. I have to go to town today, so I'd better hit JoAnn's again for more of this yarn to tuck into my suitcase.

I am so looking forward to sitting on my balcony, sipping coffee, watching the ocean, and knitting. Yep, that'd take anybody's stress away!

Speaking of stress, the DIL that is staying with me is Bi-Polar. Things are pretty stressful in their lives right now, so the other day I loaned her a crochet hook and gave her a skein of yarn. I coached her a bit and she is really going to town. She says the crocheting has carried her through several Bi-Polar episodes already. Between that and the supplements I'm pouring down her, she might be much happier when they finally move out!

Oh, and the knee is healing just great! Still tender if I touch it right on the bump, but the swelling is gone and I have most of the flexibility back. Lighthouse here we come!