and the socks ....

in between shawl knitting, there has been progress on the sock knitting. i am nearing completion of my first two cast-ons for the january challenge of ska, and i even cast on a 3rd sock.

first, cauchy is getting very close to the toe ...


this knit is faster than my other projects, mainly because there's not too much switching back and forth with knits & purls, and the sock is only 60sts. that makes a difference.

my favorite feature of the sock is the wee picot cuff. you do a provisional cast on with smaller needles, do the eyelet row, and change to larger needles and knit the same number of rows. the change in gauge keeps it all nice and tidy, with no flare or flipping. love it!

socken #2 is my child's french sock by nancy bush.


the progress here isn't as great, as this sock has more stitches (72 i think) and there's lots of switching back and forth from knit to purl, and there's patterning every row. i have the pattern memorized, but it's just not a quick knit. it's lovely, but slooooowwwww.

i am not to the heel yet, but perhaps i will get there by the weekend. maybe. unless i knit on the shawl, cauchy, or my new heart socks.


this pattern is a wendy johnson toe up from her book, _socks from the toe up_. i don't usually have success with her patterns, but i'm a glutton for punishment, so thought i would try try again.

and this yarn screamed "valentines" and "hearts"!


the hearts aren't really that obvious with this yarn ... it all depends on the lighting. but, they'll be in there, and that's all i need to know for the entertainment value.

now, this design does qualify for the wendy johnson kal on ravelry, but only if i finish the pair before the month's end, which will never ever happen.