Rock Around the Clock

On our original schedule, March was to be devoted to knitting for afghans for Afghans. But -- the due date turned out to be March 1, making that a bad plan, and we bumped it back to February. Because knitting for Valentine's Day in March seemed an even worse plan, we needed a new category. Ta da! We'll be knitting with Socks That Rock, the original "luxury vehicle" of sock yarns. Delicious.

I had several colorways to choose from, and it was hard to make up my mind. In the end, I decided to go with Christmas balls (why is it called that?):



I'm hoping that using the medium weight will at least partially counteract the curse of the Bigfoot. I'll be using a slipstitch rib to try to keep the colors from pooling:

round 1: *k3, p2* around
round 2: *k1, slip 1 [as if to purl], k1, p2* around

Picture later this week; casting on tonight.

East meets West...

So titled because Pat lives 23 miles west of Elizabeth. . .

Both of us had exercised heroic self restraint. Even though the green socks were done in mid-January, we waited (and waited, and waited) for the photo shoot to put them on. Finally we managed to synchronize our schedules and headed for a local college (always a good place to act peculiar -- nobody bats an eye).

P: Wow, you're right -- yours are a whole inch bigger around than mine.
E: I told you I had to travel more miles per sock -- no wonder you always finish first. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Atmospheric window shot:

Two sets of feet, in green socks for the first time.

E. I told you they were bright!
P: You're right, your pictures didn't show the color accurately. That's some green!

Wow, this Zauberball feels so cushy. . .mmmmmmmmm.

Two sets of feet again.
Do Elizabeth's socks have their own power source? Scary.

moving right along

Although I'm still frantically trying to finish up something for the Afghans for Afghans Youth Campaign (must be in San Francisco by March 1, and it's not looking good), in my spare moments I worked on another pair of socks. These were started last fall, in September or October; the first sock was completed and the second sock had been cast on. I picked them up again last week. Drum roll, please:



The last end was woven in immediately after watching Shaun White's second run, after he'd already clinched the gold medal. Amazing (Shaun White, that is).

Opal, Hundertwasser series 2, color #823

socks at play

Bartlett Maine wool. Knit for the A4A sock class -- just a week from start to finish. February's goal met already! These will go in the mail in a week or so, with a couple of pairs of mittens and, I hope, a sweater. Will post a group shot here before they go.

February Socks - Finished and in the mail

Elizabeth,
I really enjoyed knitting these socks.  Your tutorial was fun to follow and it's great seeing all the socks being posted over at A4A.  Thank you for being you and teaching all of us about sock knitting.

 

Stay warm, Pat

February Socks - A4A

For February, Elizabeth and I are knitting socks for a group called Afghans for Afghans. We've both knit for them for years and fully support their efforts.  I've been knitting mittens, using Elizabeth's pattern and sending them off to Afghanistan the last several campaigns.  I just finished these two pairs.

 

The yarn was given to me by dear knitting buddy Gina.  I loved knitting with it and it made such soft, colorful, warm mittens for Afghani kids...thanks, Gina!

Anyhow, I'm knitting along on my A4A socks, I'm following Elizabeth's tutorial using Cottage Craft yarn.  Here's where I'm at, hopefully finished by Monday...and able to send them off.  I was going to say that the pattern is coming out a bit large but after reading Elizabeth's post, over at A4A, I understand that I've been duped!  These were meant to be for teenage boys...ah, you tricky knitter!

Everyone stay safe and warm, Pat

The Yellow Scarf

I finished the yellow scarf and wanted you to see the results.  Warm, soft, lovely...