Shawl progress and completed socks

Somehow I managed to finish Amy's socks and complete the center part of the shawl within the same 24 hour period. In a way, I feel very productive having done this, although I don't think I would haven't chosen it to be this way. I like starting something new when I still have an old friend to come back to at the same time. But, the result? Pictures!


So do you guys like seeing pictures? Cause I often find that I can't decide on what angle to show. I just want to show them all. I like to see pics on people's blogs, so I hope you do too. Is there a reason to limit pictures?


Anyway... So, I completed chart 3 on the Flowing River Shawl. I had taken about a week off from the shawl at one point since I got discouraged after a mishap. Happily though, I fixed it and progress continued.

(Yes, that's a Holiday Inn pen on top of the shawl- to give some scale to the pic. No endorsement of Holiday Inn is intended...although I did choose IT over a Travelodge pen...hmmmm.)

At the end of chart 3 you bind off and then pick up stitches along the bottom two edges of the triangle to make the border. I am now stuck at this point since I don't seem to quite understand the directions. I'm fairly new to this, so I probably have it confused. But, when I do the math for the directions, I come up with 1 fewer stitches than I'm supposed to get. I have emailed the designer and am hoping for some pointers to get me back on my feet.



Unfortunately, I committed a grave error at one point and glided over a crucial direction. I'm meant to bind off WITHOUT BREAKING YARN!!! Well, I read that, but then decided that Elizabeth Zimmerman's sewn bind-off would be perfect for the lace. Somehow I conveniently forgot (until I completed the bind-off) that the breaking-of-yarn required in that bind-off contradicts the no-breaking-of-yarn required. So, I'm not sure what I'll do now. Silk doesn't weave in easily. I don't want a knot in it either though. IDEAS ANYONE? Can I weave it in somehow after all?


For a short time however, I'm content to just enjoy the stage I'm at. It's fun to have it off the needles for a bit.

and...SOCKS! Prior to Christmas, my best friend Amy and I had a good conversation that helped us both relax. We agreed that we wouldn't stress to get each other Christmas presents by Christmas Day itself. This has felt very good, since I wanted to do something special for Amy, but knew I wouldn't have time before Christmas. Knitting these socks has been a joy; they helped me contemplate on her, our relationship, and aspects of the ways we relate. This colorway jumped out at me as THE socks for her, even though I didn't necessarily think of them as her colors. For reasons that are too complex to discuss on a blog, I have come to feel that this skein was, and is, the perfect yarn for her socks.

Happily, I present...Amy's socks.

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill "Supersock", colorway "Northern Lights".

I used size 1 DPNS (except size 0 for the cuff, as I usually do nowadays).

I really like this yarn. As everyone says, it's very squishy and has strong stitch definition. These are solid socks, but still very soft. CTH impressed me and I will definitely be using them again. Since I've been knitting socks, I think I've had happy things to say about every brand I've tried. However, as I try more and more, I realize that some I had tried at the beginning aren't necessarily my favorite anymore. CTH showed me a quality in sock yarn that I like- the stitch definition and the solid, squishy feel. I didn't think I liked stitch definition, but I do. The sock itself feels like it holds up better somehow.

I balled up some Autumn House Farm yarn today. These will be for ME! I actually have no socks for myself at this point. I'm very excited. This yarn looks happy.