Good Things Come...

Don't worry, I'm still here! Things have gotten a little insane lately. Today, the wedding is exactly one month away! That seems weird. I still feel like I have a million little things to do. So what have I been doing instead? Knitting, of course. And working out. [I ran almost 2 miles without walking today! Go me!]

So what do you suppose comes in this package? Take-out?

Why, blueberries, of course!

Pattern: Blueberry Waffle Socks
Needle: US1 Addi Turbos, done on 2 circs
Yarn: Merino sock yarn from seller kbrece on eBay [With plenty left over!]
For: A good friend who just entered the dirty-30 years
Started: March 21, 2006
Finished: April 5, 2006
Modifications: I used Wendy's fabulous toe-up sock pattern to start at the toe and add a short-row heel. I also added four rows of straight 2x2 ribbing at the top cuff.
Notes: If I were making these again, I'd probably add some stitches on the top of the ankle and then decrease back down. They fit perfectly on the ankle and foot, but I think switching to short-row heels made them slightly tight across the top of the ankle.

The view from the top--I love how the pattern shows so well in this variegated yarn:

And the heels, ready for their close-up:

Whew. Now that that's taken care of, I've forbidden myself from casting on for more socks until I make some real progress on the other projects on my needles. [But not from buying sock yarn...wait'll you see some of the acquisitions I've made! Gorgeous socks in my future. But not now.]

I FINALLY figured out gauge for Sea Breeze--my needles were being sort of uncooperative, so my maths involve a slight bit of pattern tweaking and some guestimation at the size needed to work with my numbers. Fingers crossed for me, okay?

The good news is that the RYC Natural Silk Aran is pretty easy to work with [though I've already found 2 knots in the ball....grrrrrrrr], and after all those socks, it's knitting up lickety-split. I've finished two pattern repeats on the back:

And, I've returned to Breezy for some subway knitting and mindless knitting during intense TV-watching [Sopranos, 24]. I knit to the end of the first skein [of seven] and am now well into the second:

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will block out wide enough for my liking. I think it will -- anyone out there had experiences blocking the Blue Sky Alpaca Silk? Should I expect it to hold a good blocking, or will it shrink back? One thing's for sure -- it definitely has some room to grow. Right now, the pattern is forming little hills and valleys on the herringbone lace parts:

And it's turning out to also be a fairly quick knit, even if the rows are long.

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So, the mall knit-out: I suck. I got back from playing in the mountains later than I expected, and I wasn't sure I could make it up to the Mall in time to get any knitting in. In retrospect, I probably blew that call--seeing the pictures on Lolly's blog made me sad I didn't go and at least try to see anyone! Lesson learned. I'll plan better next time!

Tonight, I'll be at Knit Happens to see the inimitable Ann and Kay talk about their book. Fun!

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Final thought: Welcome, spring! It's been so nice to feel the warm sun outside on my face. I'm celebrating by breaking out my only handknit spring sweater today--it makes me smile. [Now stay, spring!]