It's not easy being green

It has been a week since I finished my last pair of socks, but I have not yet cast on for Thelonious. My fingers are aching for the tiny needles, so what's taking me so long? Well, if you must know, I can't decide on which yarn to use!

(Click here for descriptions.)

My sock pal likes greens and earthy colors, and she has no preference between solid and multicolored yarns. The original plan was to knit Thelonious in the Lorna's Laces pictured above, but now I'm not so sure. There are so many other yarns in my stash that also would fit the bill.

A solid yarn would certainly show off the pattern best—a great argument for sticking with the original plan. But I've seen a few examples (like this and this) of the pattern knit in a variegated yarn, and they look great too. What to do, what to do?

The good news is that Print O' The Wave has been getting all of my attention for a week. Today I'll be able to graft the center panels together. Then I'll probably need a little time (and maybe some liquid fortification) to contemplate picking up all those stitches for the inner border.

Finally, Loksins!

They are finished! And they are very purple.

Pattern: Loksins by Cassandra Thoreson
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Blackberry (nearly solid)
Needles: size 1 (2.25 mm) and size 0 (2.00 mm)
Modifications: added 1-inch 1x1 ribbed cuff, eye of partridge heel flap

I really loved knitting these socks. The lace pattern is interesting, but not so intricate that it required my full attention (a very important quality for a project one takes to knitting night). It's entirely likely that I will need to make a pair of these for myself.

The modifications I made were simple. The pattern calls for a short garter stitch cuff, and I substituted an inch of 1x1 ribbing. Apparently I'm a traditionalist, because I really like ribbing on my sock cuffs. (The garter cuff looks very nice too.) I did an eye of partridge heel simply because I felt like it.

The Lorna's Laces love-fest continues here at T4SHQ. I have a particular weakness for subtly shaded solids, and this yarn did not disappoint. Now I understand why Grumperina is such a LL devotee.

I'm off to give these a quick soak so I can block them and ship them out. If I don't get these out of the house soon, there's a chance they will never leave. I'm afraid my mother will not believe me if I disclaim all knowledge of the purple socks.

Planning

One sock down, just over half a sock to go. I'm still loving the pattern. Purple is not normally my color, but part of me really wants to keep these for myself. Must. Be. Strong.

Since I'm now on the second sock, I'm allowing myself to think ahead to the next pair. The time has come to knit socks for my Sockapalooza 4 pal, I think. I've chosen Thelonious, another pattern I really would like to knit for myself.

A while ago I found this note stuck to the pattern. The Professor claims he wrote it late one night in a spontaneous fit of romance, but I'm wondering if it was his way of telling me he would like a pair of these too. Is he asking for man lace, perhaps?

This 'n' that

I actually haven't gotten much knitting done this week, despite having more "free time" than usual. Part of the problem is that I've been playing around in Ravelry (which eats up so much time I wonder if it's some kind of hitherto undiscovered black hole).

The other problem is that I spent a lot of time searching for the right pattern for my next pair of socks. A few weeks ago, my mom asked me to make a pair of purple socks for a friend of hers. I've known this friend all my life, so I'd like these socks to be a bit special. I had even found a pattern I thought would be perfect, but after knitting a couple of inches, I knew it was not to be. (I won't mention the pattern, because I still have hopes for it in another incarnation.) Rip, rip, rip. I tried another pattern, but it was painfully boring. Rip, rip, rip. (Shepherd Sock frogs like a champ, by the way.) Finally I settled on this.

It's Cassie's recently released Loksins! I think I'm in love. The charts are easy to memorize, but still interesting. Plus, the two stockinette sections make it easy to modify the pattern to suit any gauge or foot size. Love!

By the way, the DPN protector in the photo is from Three Owls Knitting. Thanks to Jersey Shore Deb for pointing them out to me. (Get it? "Pointing"? Yuk, yuk.) These protectors come in sets of two. One of mine has a black sheep, and the other one has a white sheep. They're too cute for words.

Print O' The Wave is coming along nicely too. The second center panel is aspiring to grow as big as its older sibling.

I'm knitting this on the recommended US size 4 (3.50 mm) needles, but I sort of wish I'd gone up a size or two. With the pattern's stated 17 repeats for each half, there's no way this would come out as long as I would like, even with the most aggressive blocking. Since I don't want to rip everything out and start again, I'm adding two repeats to each half. I've done the math for the border, but I hope it works out as well in practice as it does in theory.

Saturday night on my own

The Professor is out of town, so I'm left to entertain myself. I think I've covered all the necessities.

1. Knitting: check. I should finish the first panel of my Print O' The Wave tonight.
2. Tasty beverage: check. The drink of choice this evening is tawny port. Apparently I was an old British guy in a former life, because I do like my fortified wines.
3. Entertainment: check. Oh yes, Mr. Darcy!

Cheers.

PBS rocks

Did anyone watch Craft in America? It was enthralling. The only negative thing I can say about it is that it didn't feature any knitters.