A Sea Breeze

Boy, I could go for a Sea Breeze right now. Couldn't you? A great refreshment on a hot summer day. But, given that it's a little early in the day for libations, how about a Sea Breeze of a different variety?

Sea Breeze
Pattern Source: RYC Classic Beach, third size
Yarn: RY Classic Natural Silk Aran, in Palm Leaf, 16 balls (more than called for!)
Needles: US5 and US6 Addi Turbos
Modifications: None to the pattern; I blocked the body an inch longer than called for.
Comments: As I've said before, this yarn takes on a totally different quality when blocked--it improves for the better by about 1000 percent, transforming from twine-like and stiff to soft and drapey. The pattern shows off both the lace and the cable stitches really nicely. The picot edging, while kind of fiddly to knit, also helps lend some polish to this sweater. This version is going to live in the happy place for a little while, but I can see myself wearing it both with a tank top or with a button-down shirt.

*****

While in Kansas, it was SO HOT [and humid!] outside that sometimes, I just had to stay inside and knit. Look what all that knitting time produced:

Butter Pecan Socks
Pattern: Child's French Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: Claudia's Handpainted Yarn in Butter Pecan from MDSW
Needles: US1 Addi Turbos, done on 2 circs
Modifications: None.
Comments: What a quick little pattern! I loved watching them knit up. Just enough of a stitch pattern in the 6-row repeat to keep me from lapsing into a coma. It's a standard flap heel, with the elongated seed-stitch pattern along the border:

This picture is probably the closest to the actual color. Yum.

And, a quiz. Can you spot the difference between these two?

I know, it's not that hard--they're pretty different. But why? The center stitches are reversed. I did the first sock by doing a k2tog, skp -- but then when I looked at the chart for a refresher on the second sock, I realized the first sock was backwards! So the one on the left is correct -- it's skp, k2tog. So if you've ever wondered what happens if you reverse your decreases, now you know.

Good thing these socks are for me -- I just care that they're sunshiney yellow and COMFY -- that Claudia sure paints a good yarn.

*****

And, in some non-knitting news, I have the best husband ever. I came home to find this:

Which means that this

I, Podomus

(a Christmas gift) finally comes out of the box and is getting put to good use. Hooray! Also, blogging should get a whole lot easier and faster, so hooray for that too.