Not a good start to a sock club

Look at Livia:

I have been trying a few things to get rid of the ladders....that's why you see some imperfections in the sock. I thought about frogging back to fix it but then decided this is such a slow going sock that I would rather leave it as a character compliment :) .....

....then I tried it on....

...and then,


I frogged :(

I guess 80 sts on size one needles, as the pattern calls for, might not be so giant. I thought this sock was going to be huge so I casted on 60 (usually cast on 64 sts) as I needed the number of stitches divisible by 20 and used my usual 2's rather than US 1's. While there isn't a ton of cabling I think the twisted cabled stitches result in little stretch to the sock. There is no way this thing was going on. There were two options, (a) try to bind my feet and hope they shrink or (b) acknowledge I am not an incredibly smart knitter and just follow the silly pattern!!

Seeing as binding my feet would likely only make them uglier, I am going to cast on now with 80 sts on size ones. If this doesn't work out this sock is going to go in a hibernating pile.

The sock club has started

February first was the start of my personal sock club. I had Joel draw a random number (1-13, you will see this was unlucky) and started to cast on for Knotty or Knice from a recent interweave. After battling the pattern cables I pouted "I QUIT!" In defense of the pattern, there were no problems with the pattern itself and it is a gorgeous sock, it is just the damn cables that drove be nuts! My hands were cramping, I was sweating while doing (ok, not really, that is gross) and I just wasn't enjoying the process. As a result, I instead casted on for Livia:




Yarn: Malabrigo Sock
Colorway: Lettuce

I wish the photo above was my gorgeous sock but they definitely aren't a quick knit. Initially I had some problems with some big ladders but have been able to remedy that with some ravelry and local knitters help :). Still, the pattern is a slow go. A sock that is largely purling is somewhat irritating on DPN's, I feel like a new knitter with ten needles in my hands. I have a feeling when I finally finish these socks I will be afraid to wear them as I don't want them to wear out. Overall, I am happy enough with my first sock club surprise. My only disappointment is that I just finished Nana's socks in the same yarn and was looking forward to something new. Oh well, new socks to come March 1st!

I am also making quick progress on Ginny (Color is most accurate in the second picture):


Pattern Source: Amber
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed
Color: A gorgeous purple that didn't photograph so well

I am changing a lot on this pattern (the puffy sleeves are ridiculous) and am happy with how quickly it is coming of the needles. I am nearly done with the back in just a week. At this rate, I am hoping to have it completed by the end of the month.

In going through some of the projects I have done since I took a vacation from blogging I realized there were some I should share.

This was Joel's Christmas Present:


It is the Penrose afghan which I truly love. I probably have never been more excited to give anyone a gift before. The pattern comes from the Wooly Thoughts website. All the patterns on the site are designed by a mathematician which caught Joel's eye. In July he said "If you ever want to make me anything, I would like one of these," say no more, he was on a business trip the next week so I marched to the yarn shop, bought my weight in ultra alpaca and casted on. This afghan was done without him ever knowing. At the time, I was working in DC and would take the metro an hour early each morning (he thought I was doing it because otherwise I was late for work) and would knit squares and pentagons in a coffee shop before work each day. There were nights that I would tell him I was tired and would 'go to bed' and instead sit hunched over the pieces in the bedroom listening for his movements while I knit away. There are so many stories that go along with this beast but in the end, I couldn't be happier with the results or his reaction to the blanket...pure shock. Unfortunately, since I was so happy with his appreciate and shock, now I feel like I need to one up this effort for the next major occasion. Any suggestions? (many thanks have to be given to Claire for crocheting the border, a seamstress in PA that backed the blanket for me, and Melissa for carrying me through the project with encouragement!)

I decided to try and cook and make a nice dinner tonight. Joel has recently taking up cooking as a hobby and always makes wonderful things for us to eat. I feel like it is making me an even worse cook since he is so good! Tonight I tried to show him up. While cooking I thought 'geesh, this is a lot of work, how about a drink"....low and behold, my ravelry shot glass has seen better days....

....and then the wine cork was less than willing to pop off the bottle. Come on!

Anyhow, a drink or not, I ended up making homemade herb pasta (possibly more of a pain than Knotty or Knice), meatballs, and fresh bruschetta on wheat bread. Yumm! I did good!!