the sock knitter

i was good and cast on for my sock mate immediately after sewing in the ends for sock #1. i'm very pleased with these socks. it's all about the tubular cast on!



the tubular cast on has made me fall back in love with my self patterning sock yarns, because now the top edge is continuous, vs. how often the top edge is an obvious horizontal line, often of a different color than the first row of knitting. so, i dug around in my stash and pulled out another ball of yarn. this yarn is meilenweit fantasy by lana grossa.





i'm still on the heel flap because i got distracted by this ...





here's my defense ... i'm at my parent's home babysitting all weekend. my parents left before dawn this morning, and i'm taking care of three kids, ages 6, 9, and 14 yrs. i was optimistic and brought home lots of knitting possibilities, and really thought i would have some time to work on butterfly. i even thought i could finish butterfly! i even thought i could cast on for something new, like a hemp summer sweater. i brought home my pinky striped meilenweit socks to work on too, which, i'm grateful i had them in reach during the drive, as i ended up in an interstate parking lot twice on the way here.

i stopped along the way at needles in concord, nc. this place certainly has the right name, as they stock more knitting needles and crochet hooks than any another shop i have visited. the bulk of their business is mail order, so their shop is rather utilitarian vs. decorated. i was on a quest to fill in some gaps in my sock needle sizes ... such as sizes 2.5 mm and 3 mm. i found both, and am trying some new needles. the 3 mm needles are by swallow. they're smooth, flexible, and light. the points are good too.

special notes on swallow needles if you are considering them: it would be nice if they came in a set of 6 or 7 needles, as i've almost lost 2 needles, both in the same day. the first time my mom was showing me, under the hood of her doodlebug(volkswagon bug), where to reconnect the battery. i had a needle in hand. i leaned forward to see the special dial, and OOPS! i DROPPED MY NEEDLE INTO THE GUTS UNDER THE HOOD! AAAAAAAAARRRRRG! &$#@+! it took us about 30 minutes to retrieve the needle with an 18" contraption with a grabby thingy on the end ... think cable release with a claw on the end. later, we were at wally world. and of course, i'm walking around knitting. we get back to the car and i'm sitting in the passenger seat looking at my sock with only 3 needles on it. ummm, where's needle #4? WHAAAAAAA! luckily, i didn't have to look far for it, as it had fallen on the floor next to the door. just so you know, they're easy to drop, barely make a sound when they land, and are almost invisible!



this yarn is strapaz multi by steinbach wolle. it is a sport wt. sock yarn and is knitting up nicely with the 3 mm needles. the other needles i bought are pony pearls in a size 2.5 mm.



and i got this too, as i was weak to the fantasic lime green merino ...



i have 2 balls. future socks. fresh yarn. this yarn is a finer version of this yarn i used for my stampato socks i made in november.