Not Much Progress

I'm still working away on the January sock club socks from Yummy Yarn Studio, and here it is March already... I'm feeling rather slow at the moment. I'm doing them two at a time and this is my first time using this method so there is that learning curve, and there is the fact that I had to rip them both back after turning the heels because they were going to be just a bit too small if I'd kept going. I had checked them on my foot, as well as measuring, but turning the heel didn't add as much length to the sock as it usually does and so I had to rip out the heels and add another repeat of the pattern to get them to the right length for my foot. It really doesn't help that I have larger feet, too - women's size 9-1/2. I'm finally starting my way up the leg, so the end is finally... well, closer than it was, anyway.

The cable socks I'm working on, however, are progressing very nicely :) I've had time to work on them this week and I'm up to the tenth cable repeat, so there's this one, two more then eight rows of 1x1 rib for the cuff and then the bind off. I use a darning needle for binding off, though I'm thinking of trying Jen's super stretchy bind off, having discovered the video for her cast on last weekend.

I have to try that, too, on my next project. I have to learn new techniques, to broaden my knowledge base, because I've used the same ones for too long and often they're not quite appropriate for the project I'm working on. I've gone to my LYS in the past to bug Wendy to teach me things, which has been very helpful, and I have quite a few books as well, but I learn more easily from seeing something done and being able to follow along with the motions required, which makes YouTube such a great resource too.

I did promise pics of the baby blanket I'd made for my sister's friend in my last blog and forgot to put them in, so here they are. This was the one made in Spud & Chloe Sweater and Outer yarns. They were just beautiful to work with, so soft and squishy. This blanket will make a wonderful mat for the baby to lie on the floor or outside in the summer on the grass.

I do hope both my sister and the intended recipient enjoy the blanket, though I haven't heard from my sister about picking it up. I did call her about it last weekend, but she said she was sick with the flu and so perhaps we should wait to meet up so that she didn't give me her cold. I agreed, because so far (knock on wood) I've managed to avoid any serious illness this winter and I'd really like it to stay that way, thanks very much. I had my share of being sick last October when I had a skin infection that required me to have an IV in my arm for eight days. When the nurse was putting it in my arm I was very concerned about it not impacting my knitting. I was stuck at home for almost two weeks with the illness and to keep myself from going bonkers I had to be able to knit.

Time to get ready to head to work, see you next time :)