Friday

as in T.G.I.

Not much progress this week on the sock-related front.  I have been knitting dishcloths.  As in, I think I've knit 5 of them.  And I'm on number 6.  I don't understand it.  It's a phase, and it will pass.

In terms of non-cotton knitting, the only thing I've done is part of a vanilla sock in the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid. 

I am knitting 72 stitches on 2.25 mm needles (one of which is bent -- story of my life).  I did a long leg and decided to do the Strong heel from The Sock Knitter's Handbook by Charlene Schurch and Beth Parrott.

I'm not sure how much I like the heel.  Or maybe it's the vanilla stockinette that I'm not crazy about.  The sock is a little baggy on the front of the ankle, and I do *not* have small ankles.

So I decided to try it on Lola who is a much better sock model than I.  

I was toying with the idea of ripping back and doing another heel, but maybe I'll just carry on.  I'm part way through the foot.  The end of the finish line is in sight.

So without further ado, I give you the squid.

Oh, but first, I have to talk about the colourway.  If you look on Ravelry at various people's stashes, you'll see that some of the Hawaiian Bobtail Squids are much more purple.  Mine is much more green.  But in real life, apparently they can vary in colour because they're bioluminescent and they reflect what's going on around them. 

My skein is more like the second guy down.

I love the colours in the yarn, and I love the almost luminous quality of the colour.  But I have to say, the Skinny Bugga is not really soft in the way that the Bugga is.  I've only knit with the Skinny Bugga once before (I know -- how can that be?), and I think I recall the same thing. I guess you gain in twist what you lose in softness.

Why yes, I *am* going to eat my yarn. Doesn`t it look delicious. ^there`s supposed to be a question mark there, but the keyboard has gone all French on me again and I don`t know how to un-stick it.

This is where ¸the sock is today.

You can see how baggy it is on Lola.

So what do I do, dear readers?  Do I carry on with a large sock? Do I frog the whole thing and cast on again with 64 stitches?  Do I frog back to the heel and do a different heel? I await your recommendations.

Here's the overly sunlit dining room buffet.

And what, you ask, is that drop-dead skein of fuchsia goodness at the front?

Why, it's Valley Girl.

And yes, it really is that colour. I have a serious crush on this yarn.

That was the only delivery this week.  Probably because it's not quite sock club time (although Tanis Fiber Arts will be the first to arrive), and because I haven't actually ordered anything lately.

But I have been looking. 

So for those of you who are feeling kind and want to save me from myself, please go ahead and order these and take them out of the way of temptation.

This week's window shopping comes mostly from Etsy, but a bit from Cephalopod Yarns.

Here's what I haven't bought:

  

Those are Cephalopod Yarns (Skinny Bugga or Bugga Bugga) in Hermit Crab, Golden Tortoise Beetle, and Violet Sea Snail.  Oh be still my beating heart.

Then there are some seriously cool project bags from Ocean Patch Creations on Etsy.

I've been sitting here trying to justify what I could put in them.  Circs, perhaps?  Notions?  Fountain pens? I want them very, very badly, so someone needs to buy them.  Stat.

Fortunately, someone has purchased this skein of Robot Unicorn Attack yarn from Dark Yarns on Etsy.  It was in my cart, and I'm happy to say (kind of ) that it was cartjacked.

This Bright Butterflies Bag from Peg's Procrastinations on Etsy is also in my cart waiting to be jacked.  I have a couple of bags from Peg's Procrastinations, and they're great.  This one would be no exception.

I think  skein of this would look fabulous in that bag.  Don't you agree?  It's Snorgle Diva from HamptonArtisticYarns.

I also desperately love this skein, but I`m not sure about alpaca. This is from Spotted Circus on Etsy.

The Fire colourway is also pretty awesome.

As a final thing, I am also not going to buy this skein of Northern Lights in an MCN base from Countess Ablaze.  It`s only $20.60 with the conversion from the UK 12.50 pounds, which is a steal for MCN.

It`s apparent that bright things are appealing to me right now.

I am feeling serious project bag lust, though. Honestly, I don`t need the bags.  But I really want those Ocean Patch bags.  

Off to torment myself. Drop me a comment and advise what I should do about Squidly. 

Happy weekend. 

Comments

[Magda]

Rrrrrrrriiiiiippppppp! It feels so horrible while you're doing it, but imagine knowing that your sock won't fit through the rest of this sock, and then having to start ANOTHER too big sock to finish the too big pair!! Terrible... Take it from me, who is hated by the gauge gods...

[Jo-ann]

That sock is going to annoy you so much. Frog it and re-knit it. Nothing worse than a baggy sock. I have one in plain stocking stitch that I have done 3 times now to get it to fit properly. In the end I knitted it patterned, much more forgiving.

How about some photos of the dishcloths? They are deserving of their moment in the spotlight too.

[Tash]

This is going to be such a pretty sock, it's just going to annoy you if it doesn't fit properly......I think the only option is to rip back and start over with the magic 64.

P.S. How many pretty things in your post today? Droool.....

[Roobeedoo]

Oh crivvens! A link to amazing yarn from the UK! Now I am done for! ;)

[Leslie]

Having just ripped out a pair of almost completed socks myself I can say that the frogging can be liberating. So thats my vote. I agree with you on the skinny bugga.