June 26, 2014

The End & The Beginning

I have so much to say and so little time to say it lately.  The podcasting is a little more time consuming than I thought it would be, but I have no regrets - other than that blogging seems to have taken a back seat.

Not everyone is interested in video podcasts, so I think it only fair that I share what I can't fit into a 30 minute time slot, along with other things I didn't get to talk about.

First, there's my newly bound off socks called Ugly Duckling Socks by Karin Aida:


I used to spin yarn and put it in my stash bin because a) my handspun never looks like the braid of fiber I ordered and it takes some getting used to seeing it in yarn form, and b) sometimes the yarn is just too busy.  Lately, however, I've had a second look at the hand spun in my stash - and as the saying goes 'there's a lid for every pot' and for my wildly beautiful and colorful handspun, there is a solid colored companion to rein it in with.

The socks being fraternal doesn't even bother me, every 'box' has it's own identity and I love each and every stitch.  I love the socks, but I love more that I don't have to knit anymore - all socks going forward are at will.

And then there is the heartbreak that is the Monkey Socks by Cookie A:


Honestly, the skein of Pagewood Farms in lilac fields (#42) was not impressive, and while I was making the socks I still wasn't impressed, but then, when they were washed and blocked - awesome!  Imagine my heartbreak when trying to get them on my feet only to find that they wouldn't go past my heel!  Shucks!

The last two pairs of socks fulfill my commitment to make 26 pairs of socks in 12 months.  I did it!  I had my doubts, but I powered through - I even made socks I didn't want to make, with patterns that were poorly written, and quite a few pages long.  Whew!

So, you'd think I would have had enough, right?  Not so fast!  I've been seeing the Mystik Spiral socks pattern go viral and it seems like everyone has a pair, or two, and I've been drooling over this pattern since I don't know when.  I was saving my self-striping yarn for a special occasion - like the end of the 52/26 pair plunge, apparently, and now I have a chance to have a pair of my own.  Woo hoo!

The Moms With Yarn Ravelry group will be hosting a sock KAL in July, and while you may think I've had enough of sock knitting to last me a lifetime - or at least another year - au contraire, mon ami!  I picked out yarn from stash: Fishknits Yarn in the Fuji - Fight Like a Girl colorway and purchased the pattern today:


And I am ready to go!  Only four days until we start and Tracey is cooking up the details as I type.  I won't win any prize other than a new pair of socks, that is, and I'm still excited.  Yay!

Finally, with the Tour de France/Fleece coming up, I'll have handspun galore - maybe.  I'm not going to join any of the Ravelry teams this year, I'm just going to enjoy the race on TV while I spin and cheer on my favorites (whoever they are this year).  Maybe this year I'll just get the t-shirt.

2 comments:

  1. I love that the Ugly Duckling socks don't match. I love the different colors in them. The Monkey socks are beautiful. Will they be a gift, since you can't wear them? And the Mystik Spiral socks look amazing! I hadn't heard of them - I need to look them up!

    Finally, I haven't listened to your podcasts because I usually read blogs at work & we can't open videos. I keep meaning to listen to them at home, but by the time I actually get home, I've forgotten. :-( So, I'm happy you're blogging again. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Angelia, the Monkey socks have a home to go to, thank goodness. There is never a shortage of folks waiting for my knitting to come off the needles.

    Also, I'm happy to go back to blogging, it was never my intention to replace it. Not everyone watches video podcasts, not everyone is on Instagram, and until recently I counted myself among them. However, blogging was my first love and still is, but time is the enemy and podcasting was (I thought) faster. It's not.

    So back to blogging in my bedroom, hair uncombed, shabbily dressed, and snacking all the while.

    ReplyDelete