I finished them! And just in the nick of time…I wove in my last end just before midnight on Friday. Saturday morning we swung by Kricket’s on our way out of town and she graciously agreed to model them. See those slender ankles? The graceful curve of those toes? Those smooth and silky calves? All Kricket.

The Specs:

Pattern: Pomatomus from Knitty, by Cookie A., Pattern here.
Yarn: Socks that Rock (light weight).
Skeins: Almost exactly one 4.5 oz skein in Olivenite (I haven’t seen this color on their website lately…I’m not sure if they still make it.)
Needles: Size 2 bamboo dpns.
Start to Finish: July 28 to September 22.
For: my cousin Jessica, finished just in time to give to her at her commitment ceremony to the beautiful and wonderful Liz. Hooray!

Notes:
I loved this pattern. It may not be the quickest knit ever, but it's so unusual and clever. I especially love the way the pattern on the back of the ankle grades into the ribbing on the heel (hmmm…I forgot to get a picture of that. But trust me, it's stunning).

I did end up shortening the first sock so that I could get a pair out of the yarn, but that was the only real snag I ran into with these. I think they were a little too long anyway, so it’s all for the best.

Final Verdict: Best. Socks. Ever!

Posted by Elli at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (29)

the first sock

what's left

Not the end of the world, but a bit of a pain. I tried on the first sock and it's sufficiently long for my largish feet and they only need to fit Jessica's (comparatively petite) size 9.5s. So...I'm going to knit the second sock from the other end of the skein and shorten the first one appropriately when I get to the end. Still, I hate cutting things this close.

I'm also cutting it a bit close on time. In the time since I took the pics I've made it halfway through the cuff of number two. While this is good progress, I’m going to see Jess this weekend and really want to give them to her then. Of course this is a week that I have something scheduled every single evening…

Posted by Elli at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Ack! Is it Monday? It is.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Actual celebration of the birthday with family (which is really the best part of birthdays anyway) will happen this coming weekend, so I still have that part to look forward to. My birthday itself was lovely... I feel older and wiser and everything.

This past weekend flew by. Saturday was our anniversary, so there was a little more celebrating. Somewhere in there I found a little time to knit. Sock progress currently looks like this:

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

I've rounded the heel and I'm heading down the foot. The goal is to have this one finished by the weekend so that I can try it on the intended recipient and make sure it fits before I embark on number two. I've got gauge, but it just seems smallish to me. So we're just going to play it safe.

Most of the weekend knitting was devoted to this:

That would be a mystery project involving Lamb's Pride worsted, size 10.5 needles, and lots of stockinette. You'll find out what it is soon enough. It should be fast and easy...I'm already half way done with the knitting.

p.s. I'm accepting entries for the birthday contest until noonish on Wednesday, so if you want in just say so in the August 17 comments. Birthday wishes are no longer required. Lurkers welcome.

Posted by Elli at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Back from Michigan now! I have a bunch of catching up to do in blogland (seriously people...I leave for three days and you all post like maniacs...)

I started a new project in the car on Friday:

Pomatomus, eventually for my darling cousin Jessica who is a keen crochetist and is lucky enough to work in a yarn shop (which I will visit someday, I promise). She claims to read this blog, so I'm not even going to try to be sneaky about knitting these for her. Besides, I already told her I was making her socks. Surprise, honey!

The knitterly highlight of the trip was a visit to the Ann Arbor District Library on Sunday to see this lovely lady:

Yeah, we got stuck in the overflow room watching the live video feed. They'd better start finding larger venues for Ms. Pearl-McPhee. Despite our lack of proximity, we had a fabulous time. Thunk was thoroughly diverted by the whole spectacle and one-upped me by knowing more knitters at the event than I did (his ex-boss Diane was there, having traveled across the state to attend. Hi Diane!).

I achieved my lifelong dream of holding the sock. I can now die happy:

famous knitter for scale

I enjoy the coincience that the artwork behind Stephanie makes her look as if she has simultaneously sprouted horns and a halo. Perhaps this is symbolic?

Bonus shots:
My pomatomus meets Dana's pomatamus (in line, waiting for book signage).
Goofball shot (she jumped/I ducked--it didn't really work out as planned, but hey...I'm shorter than she is in that shot).

Posted by Elli at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)