Missed it by that much

Turns out I can not knit a pair of socks in four days. Alright who called the knitting police? You can't have my needles, Coppers! I'm going to finish these socks, I tells you! (My pathetic attempt at 30s gangster talk.)

I did get much farther than I thought I would. I have a finished sock and another sock with the gusset decreases done. It just needs the foot finished and a toe. Not bad when you consider that I went on a picnic, worked, did laundry, changed the bedding, had a non-knitting evening out with friends and managed to provide a few meals in that time too.

I finished the first one on Saturday and was thrilled to post a picture on Ravelry. I thought a day and a half is not enough to knit a sock. Well I could have been wrong so I kept on knitting. 

I would have thought about knitting on our evening out Saturday night but it turns out you need your hands to do sign language and play Uno, so I sacrificed a bit of time to simply having fun. 

Did you know that laundry is a great way to take knitting breaks? I set the buzzer on the drier to go off and trotted downstairs every time it went off. The buzzer on my washer is way too annoying to be turned on. The first time I set it I thought I was under attack when it went off for 2-3 minutes, just a very loud sustained buzzer. Then I had to coax the cats out from under the beds. No one likes that buzzer. Usually I am a bit more lack about swapping laundry in the machines, but this time I needed a schedule to keep me up and moving at regular intervals.

I'll proudly show off my new socks when they're finished. It was a fun challenge and I wish I could have made it. But I am so happy to have tried. I may just need to join a knit along on Ravelry sometime in the future. It was nice to see people connecting.

A bit of fun on the side

Sock Summit(SS) starts today in Portland Oregon. Alas, I am not there. D said I could go but all I could think of was the time and expense and how I am really not a solo social person. I'd be the one off in a corner looking longingly around. Well not really I would probably be burning up a credit card at the marketplace but still. And I have a couple of really good festivals around here. Just cause I don't go to Sock Summit does not mean I can't work with yarn.

There was a thread started on Ravelry called "Can't foot it." Those of us that could not go to SS are attempting to knit a pair of socks in the four days that SS will be held. We cast on at the time SS's doors opened in Portland, which means that I cast on at noon, East coast time, and should be done by the time the doors close on Sunday.

The patterns we're allowed to pick from were all patterns the Yarn Harlot (Co-founder of SS) knit. There was quite a few to choose from, I'd say 20 to 30. They range from A Good Plain Sock, color work, lace and whatever else you could wish for. So far I've knit five from that list, some a few more times than once.

I figured if I wanted to give myself the best chance I needed to do A Good Plain Sock. Plus I think a plain sock shows off the colors so much better in my hand painted yarn. For yarn I chose one of my new acquisitions that has been calling to me, Blue Ridge Yarns Kaleidoscope in the Crimson Redbud colorway. 

I started on my way to D's company picnic, I did not get very far but I'm sure I will be able to add some stitches in the next few days. Who knows I may even have a new pair to wear into work on Monday. 

When I saw the thread I thought it was a cool idea but I don't really like to place deadlines and stress on my knitting. I finally caved this morning when I thought about the spirit of this endeavor. It is such a neat way to come together as a group of knitters. I don't think the knitting police will show up on my doorstep if I don't finish them in time. I think the worst thing that could happen is that I don't get put into the prize pool, if that is the worst thing that happens to me...I think I can live with it. 

I'll see you on Sunday night to let you know how it turned out.