Is it Friday already?

I have been meaning to post, but have been too lazy/busy/distracted to actually do it. So here's what I would have posted this week if I had gotten my act together.

Waiting for Godot.

The yarn for Mom's Cabled Cardi was backordered for about a month, but even though I've had it for a week or so, I still haven't swatched it. Why? I really want to use my new Harmony needles, and the size I want to start swatching with is the one size that is mis-threaded. Knit Picks is sending a replacement, but of course the tips had been backordered, too. They're on their way, now.

Deviating from the plan.

I've been pretty good at sticking to my Status and Priority list, but I do have two new WIPs that weren't on it.

First, new purse socks, and a new purse to carry them in. My old bag was really too small to carry a sock-on-the-go, and I was in constant fear of hanging the yarn in the zipper, but this one is just right. I even have a little pocket to place the rolled-up sock in so that it doesn't move around and come free of the needles.

I started these on size 1.5s and ripped because the gauge was way too loose and all the red/blue bits were lining up on one side of the leg and all of the green/yellow bits on the other. So I started over on 1s. Or so I thought. When I had the cuff knitted and was ready to start the heel, I discovered I still had a rogue 1.5 in the mix. EZ says that your fingers will compensate for different sized needles and maintain a consistent gauge, but my fingers must be stoopid, because once I got rid of the 1.5, I started getting these cute little skinny stripes on the foot.

I haven't decided yet whether to repeat my mistake on the second sock or to knit it on size 1s and then decide whether to rip this one and reknit it. I may even have enough yarn to knit three socks and pick my favorite two. We'll see how enthusiastic I am about that after I have two done.

Oh, who am I kidding? I'm already over it.

Second, more catch-up socks for my husband. He is now the proud owner of three pairs of handknitted socks, whereas I have at least three times that many and am churning out more on a weekly basis. So, I have decided that I should have a pair on the needles for him at all times until he gets to at least seven pairs. That should keep him warm this winter.

These are the Gentleman's Half Hose in Ringwood Pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks, except not half hose. The Cherry Tree Hill Supersock is 420 yards, and the pattern calls for 550 yards. So, instead of starting with 76 stitches and 40 rows of ribbing on an 11" leg with calf shaping, I've started with 64 stitches and 20 rows of ribbing and will do about an 8" straight leg.

I may try the pattern as written at some point in Wollmeise; a skein of her Sockenwolle has an astounding 575 yards. Perhaps that should be my Socktoberfest project. What better for Socktoberfest than socks in Bavarian yarn? These will be for me, of course. I'm not that good a wife.

After I took this photo, I thought I might prefer a photo of the wound yarn cake. Things went terribly wrong. After over an hour of untangling, the yarn is still in a mess all over the floor. :( I'll get back to it, but sitting on that hard floor and untangling was killing my back.

Updates.

Book club, in case you were wondering, is off probation. There was only one attendee this time who hadn't finished the book. And only 5-10 minutes of wedding talk.

Grandma finally stopped petting her socks and tried them on. The green ones, she said, were a bit snug, but the red ones were perfect. Which means that her feet are about the same size as mine. Which makes knitting socks for her much easier on me. This could work out very well for her.

As you can see on the sidebar, the Anniversary Socks are finished. More on that soon. Also, the Hex Coat and Lily of the Valley Shawl are missing from the sidebar because I marked them as hibernating in Ravelry.