Cables and Socks

Photo by Mr. Thystle with Thystle's Camera. Model = Thystle

I've had socks on my knitting needles since February. I signed up for a sock class way back then with the goal of knitting a pair for my sister's birthday in March (along with this apron). I got the first sock done probably in late April/early May and then immediately cast on the second one since I've heard of the second sock curse and slowly bit-by-bit my made way through the sock. I got waylaid by gaming for a bit but then a friend talked me into doing a project with her so we went to the yarn store to shop. She then decided she had too much on her plate (smart woman that she is) and I decided that I really needed my plate to spill over onto the floor so added two new projects to my queue. But the store visit was what motivated me to get these socks done, since apparently a birthday deadline isn't enough. I'm very happy with my first pair of socks. I used two circulars. Its a self striping superwash wool blend which I think makes a lot of sense for socks, but isn't exactly candy for the hands. I'll probably use two circulars again even though I'm not crazy about pulling the needles through and they have an annoying habit of the stitches getting stuck at the joints. However, with double-pointeds I tend to drop stitches way too frequently.

Once I finished that I had to fly through the next item I had in my queue to get to the the new projects I was inspired to start from our visit to the yarn shop. I had purchased the yummy alpaca/wool yarn during my sock class with the intention of making a hat for myself as well as learn how to do cables. Easy-peasy! Its probably my fastest hat to date (6 hours? 8 hours?) and I've been wearing it around the house constantly in the last 48 hours. Its way too cold in San Francisco right now. Cables are a cinch. I like how they decrease in size for this pattern, making them look like unicorns horns. I also like doing a hat with chunky yarn.

Next up, slippers and a sweater for my little boy.