Whoopsie!

I didn’t mean to fall off the face of the planet, it just happened. Among other things, I recently purchased my first Mac, and I haven't quite got the hang of iPhoto yet. Photographic proof of some of the things I've finished up recently:

I've got quite the backlog to show you, starting with my Rocky Mountain Sunshine Afghan.

Please see my Ravelry project page for more information on the specifics. I adore it. Love it beyond all reason. Would save it from a burning building. The yarn is delicious (Michigan-based Shepherd's Wool) and the colors are perfect. I think the red edging really helps to bring it all together and keep it feeling fresh and modern.

My dad had a birthday, and I made him some socks. He adores his handknit socks. Frequently when I call him, he'll find a way to work into the conversation that he's wearing socks I made him. He has a serious attachment to these pair from a while back, so I figured it was time he got a new pair.

These are the Gentleman's Half Hose from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. This book is my absolute favorite source for socks in general and men's socks in particular. I used Lang Jawoll superwash with size 0 needles. They were excellently received and immediately modeled by my dad. Knitting men's socks can be quite the slog - their feet are just so big! - and I find I never know for sure if they're going to fit properly. These are perfect.

My sister-in-law also had a birthday. I decided to make good use of the the fabric scraps I've been collecting at an enormous rate since I got my machine last year and make a patchwork scarf. And then I decided that I loved the end result so much that I made one for myself! These patchwork scarves sew up in an evening, with very little thought required.

I apologize for the blurry photo, and for the sans-makeup-Sunday-is-for-homework look I'm sporting.

Anyway, the only materials I bought for this project were 1.5 yards of quilting flannel in that putty grey that is so popular right now. I used it for the backing. While I don't love the color in general, I wanted a flannel back for snuggliness and I wanted something that would go with the overall color scheme (black, white, light grey, yellow, purple, red) without matching anything in particular. If you're looking to do something similar, just Google "patchwork scarf" to see what I used as inspiration. I interspersed long strips and short strips, laying them out in a manner that pleased me. I pieced the scraps with 1/4 inch seams and sewed the front and back right sides together with 1/2 inch seams. Then I just clipped the corners, turned, pressed, and topstitched. The flannel yardage I bought was enough for 2 scarves with a seam in the middle of the length. The scarf is 8 inches wide and about 84 inches long. It is long enough to wrap once and have long ends or to double and pull the end through, if that's your preferred method. I really like that the fabric has enough body to stand on its own in front of your mouth and nose so you can really snuggle down in the face of winter wind. Also, it takes a lot fewer scraps than you might imagine, so if you're looking for a quick and cheap holiday gift, you could consider this.

In other news, I spilled 16oz of hot coffee on myself on Friday in front of (among others) a certain male that I am crushing. All 16oz of coffee. I was wearing my Ravelympic vest. The whole situation was very Meg Cabot, and definitely the sort of thing that happens to me more often than not. Luckily, the vest has a lot of patterning, so the fact that I wasn’t able to remove all of the coffee is not noticeable to anyone but me.

My ego, sadly, has not recovered.

Old is New

These socks are kind of infamous. Or at least, they are infamous in my own mind. I wrote a post about these socks a while back, a long while back when I was still subbing and trying to kill time on one of the fantastically boring days in an English classroom where I was mostly just watching my own life slide past me and the kids were working independently. Well, it was about these socks, and another project that's still in Time Out.

These are Meida's Socks by Nancy Bush knit in Louet Gems Sport in a color that I think is called "Thistle." I lost the ball band.... Anyway, the yarn was bought for my Siberian Iris Socks (back before they had fully finished developing into Siberian Iris Socks.) Plans changed and I ended up using a different yarn. This yarn, while wool, is very tightly plied and knits up more like cotton than wool. These properties make it perfect for Meida's Socks which are knit in sport weight cotton. The fact that I had the perfect yarn for a project I did not plan on meant that I cast on with more zeal than common sense. I ran out of yarn on the second sock a few inches from the end, got cranky, tossed the project in the corner, started another project with the same coincidence, zeal, and lack of common sense as the socks, ran out of yarn on that project a few inches from the end, and got more cranky. I'm pretty sure I didn't knit for a few days after that. After I moved, I needed a new project, or in this case, an old project that needed ripping. The only thing I modified about these socks was to make the leg portion half as long, and voila! I had enough yarn to finish. These went very quickly in sport weight yarn, and they'll join the rest of my stash of wooly handknits for when fall finally arrives.

And now for the good stuff. I am mostly a knitter as opposed to a crocheter, and I think I always will be, but I'm not enough of a snob to let it get in the way of things I really want. Crobots being one thing. Alicia Paulson's Sunshine Day Baby Afghan being another. I really, really, really love this afghan, and I've been planning it in my head for a long time. One of the things I love about it is that the neutral colors in the background make it feel very fresh and modern and less like grandma's leftovers (which is not to diss grandmas. I have one. She crochets. Enough said.) Almost immediately, I knew that I wanted to make my afghan with colors inspired by the Rocky Mountains, particularly those in the Aspen region of Colorado. The colors of Aspen almost more than any other thing about the place really effected me. The bright blue sky, the dual colored aspen leaves, the white snow on hard granite mountains, and the red earth with sage and wildflowers. I went to the LYS today with hope in my chest and stumbled on the most perfect yarn for my project. The yarn is Stonehedge Mills' Shepherd's Wool, a yarn whose soft squishyness would have made me want to stock up immediately, even if it was not a Michigan company. Get ready. Granny squares here I come!

Siberian Iris Socks for FREE!

Just a quick note to let you know that my Siberian Iris Socks are now available for free through Ravelry. It took me long enough, but I finally got it all done! If you're at all like me, you start to crave smaller projects this time of year. Admittedly, socks are not exactly "seasonal" but I knit them at this time of year anyway. You should too.

On socks...

You know, I never really did understand why people would make lace socks. It seems kind of pointless, right? I mean, putting holes in your socks on purpose? So imagine my surprise when my sock design for Elinor's Socks Revived contest formed in my head and it was lace. Lace? Yup, lace.

These will be called the Siberian Iris socks, and they will be available for you sometime in mid-April, if all goes according to plan. Siberian Iris make me nostalgic for the clump that we had in the house I grew up in. They came from my great-grandmother's garden but did not make the move with my parents. I loved them for their beautiful dark blue-purple color and their delicacy. They are quite small, unlike the usual iris you might see coming up soon. Think the difference between paperwhites and daffodils. (By the way, is the plural of "iris" irises or iris?)

These socks are meant to evoke the Siberian Iris petals through the curving V's which run down the back and front of the sock and the "beard" (the fluffy raised part that runs down the middle of the petals) by use of a raised, eyelet ribbing and the side panels. They have a stockinette heel and a wedge toe. Though the socks are lace, the pattern is very simple to memorize - there is only one chart for each size. Ok, two charts. But the other is the ribbing chart, which totals eight rounds. You can handle that, right? The only lace stitches used are yarn-overs and decreases.

And the reality of spring is that it's not as warm as we like to pretend that it is. Given a choice, I would run around barefoot all year long, but sadly I have chronically cold feet. I will consider these socks to be a good compromise between warmth and the feel of air moving over my toes this spring.

Note: The movement of the stitches can be preserved without the lace by replacing the yarn-overs with a lifted increase, a tip I will include in the final pattern.

Obsession

I saw a picture of this a few days ago, and became immediately obsessed. I wanted one, I needed one. I had some yarn which (miracle) knits up to gauge which I had ripped from another project and tagged for a self-made design but I couldn't get this vest out of my head. Today, after running errands for a few hours and dealing with stupid people, and an overly full bladder, I put off the rest of my to-do list and sat for a bit, watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy, and cast on. I'm going down a needle size from gauge, because I want something a in between two sizes, and with this yarn which is a silk blend, I think a bit more stability would be a good thing.

I have other things I should be knitting, but I don't respond well to should. I'm leaving tomorrow for an audition in West Virginia, and I'm going to be passing through my aunt and uncle's in Kentucky on my way back. I'm bringing my Embossed Leaves socks and a pair of Thick Woodsman's Socks for my aunt and uncle. The Embossed Leaves socks don't fit me very well. That's what I get for not checking gauge, however my aunt has very wide feet, so hopefully they will suit her. The Woodsman's Socks will use up the last of that same green on green yarn that's been hanging around for far too long, and although they are a very quick knit (socks on US8 anyone?) I would rather be knitting my plain and simple pullover. I'd rather be knitting my plain and simple pullover than doing just about anything right now, and that includes packing.

Mystery Sock

Pattern: Mystery Socks by Kirsten Kapur
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport in Mango
Needles: US 1
Mods: Omitted one round on each side of the ribbing in the cuff of the sock. It was starting to look a little long for my leg.

They are so pretty, and they were fun to knit! Of course, you never know what you're going to get with a mystery sock, but I would have picked these if I'd had a choice.

Knitting's going pretty slowly Chez Double G. Well, the knitting isn't going slowly, it's just that the mistakes are coming faster than the progress. I had to rip back almost a whole sweater yesterday. That stung. But I'm trying to remember that a perfect fit is worth it! What's new with you?

Socktober

Are you doing it? Kirsten Kapur's Mystery sock knitalong for Socktober Fest? Join in the fun!

Finished

I'm all over the place lately.... Happy and excited and relieved to have finally finished my degree and to be graduating, but also sad and a bit lost. The future is shadowy, and while I know that continuing my education is not the right choice for me now, it certainly would have been the "safer" decision. I'm staying in my happy apartment for a little while longer, but thinking and planning and hoping aren't the same as having. I'm taking it a day at a time, and trying to find the joy in the uncertainty.

I promised you finished knits, so here you are:

Pattern: Embossed Leaves Socks by Mona Schmidt from Favorite Socks.
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport in Enchanted Forest
Needles: US 0
Comments: I shortened the leg, and used a slip stitch heel instead of the German heel in the pattern. I love the star toe on these. I'd really like to add it to other socks. Kitchner stitch is not my favorite. Maybe the dark green was a bit of an obvious color choice for leaf socks, but whatever. I like them. I think they're a tad bit big for me.... gauge wasn't exact, but I'll wear them anyway.

Pattern: Ukranian Socks by Nancy Bush from Folk Socks
Yarn: Leftovers of Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport of various colors and Dream in Color Smooshy
Needles: US 0
Comments: These are my crazygonuts socks. They were fast and fun. Colorwork always seems to go by so fast for me. I like the afterthought heel, but if I were to do them again, I would leave the colorwork off of the toe. The floats up there can get caught in toes, and I think the polka dots are a little bizarre after the wavy lines in the other charts. I did not have enough purple for both heels, so one heel is blue. Like I said. Crazygonuts.

For whatever reason, I always knit socks in the spring, even though I don't wear them until December. It's an odd pattern... maybe it's because I'm no longer knitting sweaters to keep warm?

Chalet Socks

Pattern: Chalet Socks by Nancy Bush from Folk Socks
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport in Butterfly Blue
Needles: US 0

Pretty socks in the pretty sun.... I am working to acknowledge the sunlight and enjoy it while it's around. Stick my head up every now and then. Today I went for a run outside and felt at least 50% more myself afterwards.

Anyway, about the socks. It's a good thing that the sunlight is so flattering to these socks since they don't, well, match. I mean, they match.... ish. I had a lot of trouble reading the chart, especially in the center panel. It's not very well written, and the changes aren't very intuitive. I decided that I didn't care enough to rip back. That said, they're still very pretty and absolutely wearable. Those twisted stitches really do pop and the color is wonderful for when you're wishing and hoping and thinking and praying for spring but then you get four inches of snow like we did this past week.

Find a patch of sunlight and let it soak into your soul.

Socktober Fest

Just sneaking these in under the deadline. I'd have loved to get more socks done for Socktober Fest, but these will have to do, and at least I've got one Christmas present to check off my list.

Pattern: Waving Lace Socks by Evelyn A. Clark from Favorite Socks
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport in Nordic Blue
Needles: US 1
I probably could have done these on US 0 but if I had, I would have run out of yarn. Somehow the yardage on this colorway seems much less than on other Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sports I've used. I've only got skeletons left from the two balls I used. They're a teensy bit big for my tastes, but these are for my brother's fiancee who's feet are the same size as mine, just (hopefully) a bit bigger around.

Catawampus

Lately, my world has gone all catawampus. Catawampus is a deliciously fun word for what has been a decidedly un-fun fall. Everything that can fall apart seems to be doing so, all at once. In fact, one reason I’ve been so delinquent around here is that my cable and internet went out without warning two weeks ago. That is a story I don’t need to rehash for you, because I’ll just get upset again, but let’s suffice to say that my cable was mistakenly disconnected by Comcast and it took countless customer service calls, five scheduled service appointments (2 of which no one showed up to), two weeks, and more waiting that I have patience for when I’m not massively stressed out to restore my ability to check my email from the comfort of my own apartment. Not to mention the episodes of Pushing Daisies that I’ve missed (not that I had time to watch them at the time, or even now to catch up on them…) My car had a little issue that has now been solved, but not before royaly screwing up plans for transportation to a conference in Chicago. Not too mention those little student-y things like papers, presentations, midterms, projects, and let's not forget concerts.

And Anais, which I got this far, has to be frogged. You plan and measure and calculate and pray, and then the stupid thing comes out too big. And here I was thinking that stockinette in the round was completely within my mental faculties.

Not only is it too big, but it's also too short, which I can see now that it's off the needles. I'm reknitting it in the next smallest size. P.S. This pic is NOT an accurate representation of the color.

I also started a pair of socks for my brother's fiancee. Now that she's going to be part of the family, she won't be able to escape handknits any more. So I stared Azure, which is a lovely pattern, but it required me to knit on two circulars, which I haven't done, so I was doing it on dpns. It turned out to be a lot more work that I was willing to do. They really are meant to be done on circulars, and even though it can be done on dpns, I don't recommend it. Another thing frogged. I'm now on making the Waving Lace socks from Favorite Socks which I inherited from my aunt who has abandoned knitting for beading. They are much more my speed. That is, fast. And simple. With a familiar construction.

And the next thing to hit the needles (as soon as I'm past the ribbing on Anais again so I can use the needles) is my dad's vest. I swatched last night, and it's really going to be sharp, but I'm a little concerned about sizing (since I haven't been doing so well in that department lately). I'm going to have to do some extensive modifications to the pattern, plus I lost the measurements I made months ago. They were last seen stuck in the book with the pattern, and now they're MIA. I'm going to have to enlist my mom to measure again if I have any hope of finishing this by Christmas. A vest for a man with a 48 inch chest on size 3 needles is no joking matter. I'd better get on that....

Anecdote Saturday

This morning I went to go pick up my race packet for the Dino Dash 5K that I'm doing tomorrow morning. The bank where the race committee had set up shop was hopping, and I had to circle the lot a couple of times before I found a parking spot, so I was already a little annoyed walking up to the table. I told the guy my name and he says to me,"Adult Division?" Just like that, in question format. Now, to be fair, this race has children's and adults' divisions - it's a family oriented event, hence the name "Dino Dash" and the cute little dinosaur dressed up in a race t-shirt at registration. But still, this guy looks at me and says, "Adult Division?" "Yes," I say, giving him a funny look.

Now, maybe this doesn't seem like such a funny story from the outside, but if you knew how many times people ask me if I've graduated high school yet or how many times I've entered a high school and gotten mistaken for a student, this would be just one more story to add to the pile. A personal favorite of mine involved a high school, a gig I was playing in said high school, a security guard, and a tardy list that he was trying to force me to sign.

You know how when you're 13 all you want is to be older? Well, now I am older, and people don't believe me!

Anyway, knitting.

Pattern: Evangeline Mitts
Yarn: Plymouth Encore
Needles: US 8

Destined for gifting, though I'm not sure who will receive them yet. I needed a quick, gratifying project, and these certainly fit the bill. Less than 2 evening's distracted work for the pair.

I finished the Man's Vest v2.0 but, alas, it does not fit. Too small. What I needed was something between the two sizes I made, but after knitting it twice, I can't say I'm anxious to rip it out and do it AGAIN. Besides, we seem to have skipped over vest-wearing weather here and have landed squarely in sweater country. I have only good things to say about Classic Elite Four Seasons, though. Lovely to work with, blocks beautifully, and showed zero signs of being ripped and reknit. If you're looking for a cotton blend, I highly recommend it.

So, I've moved on to Anais. Here's what I've got so far:

Not much. I think I've got sizing figured out, if I can get gauge, but that requires purchasing some smaller circulars. To speed this thing up, I'm going to knit it in the round.

I'm also on board for Socktober Fest, and I've got my pattern picked out - another Nancy Bush special in a medium blue for my brother's fiancee!

Things that are hard...

... photographing one's own feet without a tripod.

I gotta get me one of them. Sigh.

Pattern: Canada from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road
Yarn: Bits and bobs lying about. The main color is Knit Picks Gloss in Woodland Sage left over from Thermal. The others are left over from various other socks - Dad's Gentleman's Shooting Socks and my Child's First Socks (incidentally, both Nancy Bush patterns)

What's that? You want a close up of the color work and Latvian twist?

Oh, fine. The Latvian twist is pretty darn cool. It's the kind of thing where you're pretty sure it's not going to work or if it does it's sure not going to look good, but you trust the pattern and you keep on going even when it looks like bollocks, and lo! it works! And looks freaking cool!
The only mods I made were to shorten the leg. I think that this is actualy more visually pleasing, plus even if I had left the leg long, I thought that it would probably collapse around my ankles under the extra weight of the colorwork. The original had this same colorwork chart with about 3 or 4 inches of extra stockinette with the clocks. Speaking of colorwork, did you know that it's supposed to be maple leaves? No maple leaves I've ever seen, that's for sure.

Been awhile...

It's been awhile since I've had knitting progress to showcase here.... I did actually knit a darling little baby sweater back in May. It was a Ribbed Baby Jacket by Debbie Bliss in a dark navy blue for a pretend-nephew across the ocean. Alas, I finished it the night before I left for Colorado and didn't manage any pictures before I left for my flight at 4AM.

This here is the "Man's Vest" from CEY Summer book 1. All I need are some buttons and it's ready for a FO shot.

I rather predictably chose the Four Seasons yarn in the exact color as the sample. I feel the need to break out of my box, but on the other hand, brown is a good color for me, and it will coordinate with many things in my closet.
And then there's socks. There's always socks. These are the "Canada" socks from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road made with odds and ends left over from other socks. I felt the need for some colorwork, and these certainly fit the bill.
Wool sock weather will be upon us soon enough. Better start stocking up! Get it?

Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern

Pattern: Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport in Blueberry
Needles: US 1
Mods: Shorter leg, longer foot. These are acutally on the verge of being too long for me in the foot since I had to add a full extra repeat when what I really needed was half a repeat in order to get back to the correct stitch count.

I'm inclined to agree with Wendy. Somehow, putting holes in your socks ON PURPOSE just seems wrong. But a very pretty kind of wrong. I'm not a huge fan of lace socks. My feet freeze as a normal course of action, so I like to surround them in as much wool as possible. Funnily enough, after I finished the first one, I tried it on with a regular old cotton sock on my other foot which I had been wearing already, and the handknit one (holes or no holes) was definitely warmer. Still, I think this is as lacy as I will get. And I can jump around pretending to be a mermaid, since my feet look like they're covered in blue scales. So it's win-win.

A note on sizing: The pattern says that these are for women's shoe sizes 6 1/2 to 7 1/2. I wear a 9, but I have what they call a "low-volume foot" which means that while my feet aren't narrow, they are skinny vertically. My mom just thinks this is another term for fallen arches. Whatever. In any case, these fit me perfectly. Of course, that might be because I *cough* didn't check gauge *cough*. Don't call the knitting police on me. It all worked out in the end.

I love purple in the springtime....

Pattern: Conwy Socks from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road
Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Moutain Twilight
Needles: US 1
Mods: Shortened the length a bit, as I always do. Also, inadvertently invented a new kind of toe decrease, which needed to be cut off one of the socks. They match now.

Love does not describe my feelings for this yarn. Eternal devotion, maybe. It makes a nice thick fabric with US 1 but not too thick and the colors are perfect in my view - nicely varigated but nothing that's going to jump out at you or take over a stitch pattern. Just a bit of depth, that's all.

Incidentally, the other thing on my needles, right now is purple - my mom's Dollar and a Half cardi. I'm making some pretty extensive modifications (already resulting in one major frog session) so here's hoping. It's a bit nerve wracking to 1) be making something for someone other than myself and 2) have that thing be the most heavily modified piece of knitting you've ever made.

My head's full of new inspiration this spring.... I've got a couple ideas floating around up there that I can't wait to get started on!

Anastasia

I love me a pair of handknit socks.

Pattern: Anastasia by Mintyfresh
Yarn: Brown Sheep Wildfoote, 1.5 skeins in Purple Splendor
Needles: US 1
Mods: Shortened the leg a bit.
New techniques: Toe-up socks! This is my first pair, and I am quite tickled. I like not having to graft, and the heel turning seems much faster and easier. I don't like the lack of depth on the toe and I wonder how that same lack of depth on the heel would effect other patterns. That said, they fit perfectly.

I'm contemplating new ways around this blog... I'm definitely going to keep it, but I think that it will turn into a finished objects only kind of thing, unless I stumble across some problem or bit of news... We'll see how it goes. Nevertheless, you shouldn't be waiting too long for the next FO. Seat of the Pants cardi is getting close, close, close!

I got a wonderful little package from Knitpicks this week. My aunt had given me a gift certificate for Christmas, and in my little package was The Opinionated Knitter by Elizabeth Zimmermann, Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush, a bottle of Euclan, US 6 16" circulars (which do not seem to exist outside of mail order), and one ball of Elegance in Daisy to finish my cardi. This is plenty enough to get me into some serious trouble this weekend. The needles are for my brother's hat which he commissioned me to make last, um, May. Yeah, about that. I've been putting it off because 1) I didn't have the needles and 2) he really wasn't open to any fun patterns or anything. Enter EZ. In The Opinionated Knitter there is a pattern for a Very Warm Hat which is lined. This seems to me to be a perfect solution to satisfying both of us. Not only will it be warmer with a double layer ( the yarn is a hemp/wool blend which knits up like a cotton) but I can sneak in some fun designs on the inside. And should he decide that he likes the pattersn, well, it's reversible. Only one slight snafu. I lost the measurements I took last May.....

Socktoberfest socks #2

Child's First Sock
From Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Nature Spun sport weight in N20 Arctic Moss
Needles: US 1
Modifications: Shortened the leg by two repeats, and a good thing because I may have run out of yarn otherwise. Also, slightly shortened the heel flap - just knit until it measured 2 1/4 inches, since that's what fits me best.

These are without a doubt the most beautiful socks I have ever knit for myself. I knit a lot of socks for other people, but up until last winter, I had never knit a pair for myself, and then when I did it was with generally inferior yarn. These are gorgeous. I love the texture and the friendly pale green color. And they fit like a dream. I couldn't be more pleased, especially in the wake of my recent knitting disappointments.

I finally got a library card yesterday and immediately Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road fell into my hands. I had no intentions of knitting any more socks just yet, but I fell hard for Conwy, Friday Harbor, and Traveler's Stockings. I'm still thinking about my last skein of Barefoot....

But my Dollar and a Half Cardi is still waiting for sleeves and it has finally cooled down enough around here so that I will be able to wear it soon!

edited to add: I'm having problems with the formatting on blogger. Why is the text on this post so scrunched together, and why wouldn't the spaces I added between paragraphs show up, and how come the italics suddenly disappeared? Anyone know?

New ball of yarn, new pooling pattern. Well, that's my first pair of Socktoberfest socks done, anyway. I think they're pretty ugly, so I'm not thinking they're going to get a lot of use. The pattern is Flutter-bys, which I would recommend, in Knit Picks Essential Multi, which I would not. I've got 2 balls in a different colorway that I was going to use for Anastasia but I decided that with my recent history of knitting disappointments, I wasn't going to take any chances on new techniques with iffy yarn.

Instead, I cast on for Child's French Sock (in Citron Pattern and Diaper Knitting) from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. Nancy is reliable, and the yarn is just a plain light green the name of which I have currently forgotten. It's a wonderful pattern and the subtitle makes me laugh. Neither "Citron Pattern" nor "Diaper Knitting" are every explained, which just makes it funnier to me. The pattern has obviously been sized for an adult, and the very moderate lace panels with the textured stitch should make a very cozy sock. I'm cruising along on them, and since this picture was taken, I've made it to the heel flap. I'm shortening them a bit, as I generally do, because I want them to sit nicely below my calf so they don't scrunch up or fall down.
I'm considering using my last skein of Bearfoot for Anastasia, but I think this pair will be my last for Socktoberfest. All this sock knitting has renewed my desire for my $1.50, so I'm ready to finish the sleeves!

Socktoberfest!

Woohoo! I'm so excited about Socktoberfest! It's my first event/KAL ever! I always seem to be too late to join in any swaps or KALs.

And here's my first Socktoberfest sock done just minutes before this picture was taken:

They're Flutter-bys in some Knit Picks Essential Multi I got on clearance. The colorway is Peacock.
Unfortunately, the pattern is a bit obscured by the colors. I didn' know that this was a self-striping yarn, or I would have chosen something else for this pattern. Actually, maybe it's not self-striping, just massively pool-y. Anyway, I'm going to finish off the other sock and then choose something else for Anastasia, which is next on my list of Socktoberfest socks. My first socks from the toe up! Originally, I had planned to use this same yarn in a different colorway (also bought on clearance) but I think that the spiraly pool-y nature of the yarn would not be good for the spiral eyelets.
You can really see the pooling on the bottom. Anyway, they're not pretty enough to gift, so I'll just have to wear them around the house.

Also, you really really really need to see this. I have a need to go make some ramen now...