May Socks Completed

Sitting here with a big grin on my face ... The May Socks are finished! And here's the first photo I've taken with my new digital camera!

Specs
Pattern: leg - k4, p1 rib - continued on top of sock down to the toes
Yarn: Opal Feelings #1703
Needles: 5 dpns [US 1.5 bamboo] for the legs and then US size 1 for the rest

Blue Stripes update

Slow going... working-for-pay and sleeping seem to get in the way of knitting. Darn. But, since this sock has been on the needle for ever so long [before surgery], I've taken a vow to Finish the pair in a week. [I think I can, I think I can....]

Scanned this -- the leg really isn't odd shaped - just squished under the lid. And that bit of rose colored yarn -- just a marker/reminder for when I finally get to sock #2.

Details posted on April 29. Addendum: switched to size 1 [US] after leg.

Red Sox and Blue Socks

Last evening, just as I finished cooking supper [egg & potato scramble...no onions], DD1 phoned. She got off work early & ask if I wanted to go out to eat. Of course! [Last night's supper immediately became today's lunch.]

DD1 wanted to go to a sports bar...with her mother yet! There had been one only 1.5 miles away - we kept talking about stopping in there. But it closed several months ago. So we went to one about 8 miles away [next town west.] Oh. Right. It's Friday night. That's why there's no parking spot within five blocks. The sign outside flashed "Immediate Seating," but that seemed very doubtful. Drove to a smaller sports bar up the road and across the freeway. The parking lot was full...except for one spot where a car was backing up. Yippee!! Inside...smoky bar atmosphere. I don't do "bars" and I don't do "smoke." The hostess said the non-smoking section had a 30-45 minute wait, but she could get us in the smoking section immediately. Sure. I'm hungry.

DD1 used to work in sports bar in NC. That's where she became a baseball fan. A Red Sox fan to be precise. I didn't count all the TV screens, but the Yankees were on about 20 of them. [Why?] Other TVs were showing the Rockies [I'm so out of touch with them - they're strangers now!], Oakland, and another baseball game. About five screens had basketball. And one [a big one] had Hockey :-) DD1 checked the schedules on her cell phone and when the Red Sox-Twins game didn't come on, she asked that it be put on the TV closest to us. She was happy! I'm sure she would have rather stayed to watch the end of the Red Sox game, but when I got tired she drove me home.

So who did the Blue Socks play? Well, they are battling it out with each other for first place. Knit me, Knit me they yell from the bag. Earlier this week I decided to schedule the Blue Socks: Mother's Embossed Leaves [see April 29 post] on even days and the Blue Striped OPALs on odd days. That worked for about two days. It was an odd day - and I realized that I had frogged the heel flap on the Blue Stripes about five times -- and after the leg, switched from size 1.5 US to 1 US needles. I'm feeling like I'll never get this first sock done, let alone the second. SO... I'm going to go the distance, extra innings, [over time], whatever ...till I get the pair finished!

Back to Work

Maybe I'm not as recovered from my surgery as I thought. I worked from 8:00 a.m. - Noon. And I slept from about 1:30 - 3:11 p.m. I would have slept longer, but DD2 arrived with the boys. They were only here about an hour before the mama came back for them.

The weather is still unseasonably cool, but the sun was warm. [Oh, and the humidity was a perfect 20% -- just like back home in The West.] The boys brought bottles of bubbles, so we sat on the front steps and blew bubbles. Well, Sport did. He's a pro at it. But, Buster had shaken his bottle so much that the wand was full of tiny bubbles - not blowable. I guess Buster got bored with chasing his brother's bubbles and high-tailed it around the corner of the house.

I'm not ready to run. But run I did...that short, chubby fellow can Move! Then they played on the slide out back...until Buster decided to bounce a big ball on the empty parking lot behind my house. OK. We can do this. Bounce the ball. Toss it back and forth. Coax Buster to come back closer. Play "soccer" with Sport.

Of course, they didn't want to go back in the house when I was ready. Do you want juice? No. How about hot chocolate? Yes! Sport likes to hold the glass with the "hot" water while I stir in the powdered mix. He loves "Grandma's hot chocolate." Poor kid...someday I'll have to make him Real Hot Cocoa.

OTN update 1: Ribbing for sock #2 for a CIC kid's sock. [I joined the CIC knitting list recently. Still waiting to hear what the new challenge will be.] Yarn: Wool of the Andes worsted weight in Cranberry, needles: size 4 [U.S], pattern: "Swirling Confetti" Kids' Socks from the CIC group file [I think.]

OTN update 2: The blue striped OPAL "Feelings #1703" is on hold for now. Leg for sock #1 is completed.

OTN update 3: Belated birthday socks for mother. She's always said that she doesn't like blue. But, she picked out KnitPicks' Essentials "Dusk" - it's definitely a denim color. But, that's OK. She wants them to wear with blue jeans. [Mother is 79, by the way.] Since the yarn is a solid, I offered to do a pattern from my [very own] Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs. I was thinking of the Uptown Boot Socks, but when I showed Mother the book, she said she'd rather have the Embossed Leaves. So...that's what I'm doing. When DD3 was here yesterday, she took a digital photo of the few inches of pattern that I had completed at that time. I'll add the photo when she emails it to me.

People just aren't knitting anymore? Say it ain't so!

Two road trips in the past few days and visits to two new-to-me LYSs in two different towns.

1) This was really a "Fiber Arts" shop - and it must look like heaven to a quilter. But when I asked about yarn, the Owner said she's discontinuing most yarn, because "People just aren't knitting anymore." Oh, Really? I replied. And I mentioned being on the Socknitters list with thousands of others who knit socks. Her eyebrows KNIT together in a puzzled frown. The Owner said that we could look through catalogs and she'd special order for me. That was a great offer, but I declined since I don't know when I'll ever be up that way again.

2) Yesterday we visited a newly opened YARN shop. What fun! DD1 & I went to visit DD3 at college, so they both went into the shop with me. We did a lot of browsing - and squeezing of the yarn! :-) There was a smallish, but respectable, selection of sock yarn. Only one Step - in an orange colorway. Yuck. I bought a ball of OPAL Feelings in #1703. Also, touched a skein of Buffalo yarn! $60 per 50 g. I'll pass on that one!

OTN: February socks. Two legs and heel flaps completed. Doing the heel turn on the first. I should be able to do a lot of knitting tomorrow...These WILL be done in February!