Sorry for the long delay in posting. Our household had been taken over by the flu, and blogging wasn't one of those things I really felt like doing. Knitting and reading got me through some sleepless nights. It's amazing how soothing the tinking sound of knitting needles are.

I have completed two more pairs of socks this month. First is one of my DS's favorites. These were knitted in 4-Seasons Hot Sock yarn in 927 Jacquard Rio and I used my own formula for his socks. It seems like every pair I make, I am tweeking and changing a little bit. I'm looking for that "perfect" fit for him.



My next finish was for the Socktopia KAL knit-off. A pattern was released on Saturday, and we have until this evening to finish the pair of socks. I finished mine last night. This is my first marathon KAL, and it was a blast. The pattern is called "Eleanor" and I used Sockotta color #15. I tried making identical socks, as I love how the first came out (sock on bottom), but found I couldn't duplicate the pooling, so I gave up and figured a fraternal pair would just have to do. I will be making these again, but will either use a plain color or a yarn with a longer color stripe. Sometimes the colors in the Sockotta lasted only 2-3 stitches before they changed.



I've started my first stranding project. It's a lovely pattern called "Simple stripes Fair Isle Socks" that I purchased from Knit Picks last year. It was purchased just before they discontinued the Simple Stripes line. I finished the first sock, but only have this WIP pic to post at the moment



I joined The Knitter's Sock of the Month Club and have received 2 mailings so far. To say I'm pleased with what I have received so far is an understatement. The first mailing contained a toe-up pattern and Reynolds Whiskey yarn. I've never done a toe-up before, so I used Wendy's Generic Toe-Up tutorial to try a sock. First I tried the sock using the pattern and yarn from the kit, but decided after ripping it out, that I wouldn't want to rip it too many times. The yarn is lovely and soft, but I'm not so sure how it will hold up to ripping. I did Wendy's sock with great success, but found it too large for DD's feet. I even did a fitting a few times on her, but it fits differently than the cuff down.

The kit for this month contained a beautiful pattern and Trekking XXL #187. It's just gorgeous and is in a purple/blue colorway. After the Fair Isle socks I think I'll do this one. The colors are just calling me. :)

When my mother died, (almost 12 years ago now) I inherited her spinning wheel. It's a lovely Ashford Traditional but sadly, there hasn't been any place to put it up and use it here. I've been so anxious to learn how to spin, so I decided to bite the bullet, and try my hand at a spindle first, then do the transition to the wheel. I bought a lovely little beginner's kit from Carolina Homespun but upgraded my spindle to a Cascade Little Si It is being shipped this week, so I should have it in my hands soonly - but certainly not soon enough.