This weekend was surprisingly productive. Well, maybe not surprising because I didn’t leave my house all weekend. Travis said it was scary that I was more of a home body than he was, and he has a point. But, it was nice to spend some time at home after the craziness of last weekend. You’ll all be so relieved to know that I have finished the kimono sweater! That’s the good news, the bad news is that I don’t have pictures for you yet, but as soon as I hear back from Sundara, I’ll let you know where we stand on that. I also made good progress on the wedding square for Cindy. I’m officially half done, but I should finish it this week.

It’s called Heart Strings and it’s from the 3rd Barbara Walker stitch book (the yellow one). It’s a little smaller than the required 8 inches, but I have it on good authority that the yarn grows when washed, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed on it working out to be the right size. Sure, I could have knit a swatch and blocked it, but it’s cables, so swatches lie. I’m winging it and hoping for the best.

The other thing I started this weekend were the knee highs.

I wasn’t sure how much of the toe should be the solid and I did too much the first time. I ended up going with 1.5 inches, which is basically the short-row toe, and then I switched to the striping yarn. That is one great thing about toe up socks - you can try them on as you go and see how things are working.

This week should be pretty quiet. We’re going to visit my dad and stepmom Friday, so it will be a short week. I have a few things to do at work, but nothing outrageous. I’ve been thinking about painting my bedroom dark brown - like chocolate brown. Anyone have any thoughts on that? I’d do the walls dark and then use cream or off-white on the bed and maybe a print with brown and white/off-white on the windows and pillows.

A pretty glass ball I have hanging in my bedroom. The ball is a pretty reproduction of a glass fishing float. I love the random swirls of colors and how the glass changes from clear to pink and finally to red. Have a great weekend.

A finished pair of socks. Oklahoma was ok, not great, but ok. It was a really long trip - 12 hours in the truck each way, early mornings, late nights, and not a lot of luck on the team roping front. We left the hotel before 8 o’clock every morning and didn’t get back to the room until about midnight. All I did was knit and watch team roping. Well, I guess I also fed horses, cleaned stalls, ate a lot of concession stand crap, and visited with Travis’ brother and sister-in-law. The good news is that I finished the Spey Valley socks.

Project Details:

Pattern: Spey Valley from Knitting on the Road

Needles: Addi Natura 2.0mm 6″ dpns

Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Island Blue

Thoughts: This is a really good basic pattern. The design is, of course, clever and well-executed - it is a Nancy Bush pattern after all. I like the 3 ribbing patterns. The cuff is done in a purl 2, k2, p1, k2 rib that mimics the look of the leg and foot ribbing, but provides a bit more stretch to hold the sock up. The second ribbing is done in a diamond pattern and I think adds just a bit of interest to an otherwise basic sock. The leg and foot is made up of a 5×2 ribbing and provides nice stretch, but is a bit different than your basic 2×2 ribbing. The very best part of this sock is the round toe. I just love how it looks and fits. These socks are not for me, they’re a gift for a friend, so I’m going to block them tonight so they’re ready to send off next week.

I didn’t start another project while I was gone. I have to tell you that I was little burned out after knitting for 10 hours a day for 3 days. I know, it’s a shocking statement, but rather than start a new project on the way home yesterday I read a book. And now I’m feeling energized to start something new. I wound the yarn for the knee highs, but I am going to finish the Kimono Sweater and work on the squares I promised Cindy for her wedding. I’m thinking something with cables. I’ve been in the mood for cables lately. I have a lot of blog reading to catch up on, and hopefully I’ll get that done in the next day or two. For those of you who are interested, the new computer rocks. I absolutley love it.

Ok, the brown box isn’t very exciting, but look at what was inside.

And the most exciting of all:

Have a great weekend. My new eye candy is going to Oklahoma with me, so I’m going to try to blog and check e-mail while I’m gone.

The first Spey Valley sock is finished except for the weaving of ends. I’m quite pleased with how stretchy it is and I just love the toe (maybe the round toe - I’ll have to look that up to be sure).

I actually finished this sock before I started Fetching, and snuck Fetching in between the first and second sock - a little variety is a good thing. Travis and I are driving to Oklahoma City over the weekend (we’re leaving Saturday and coming back late Tuesday) for a team roping. Travis is roping, I am not. I am knitting. So, I have a whole lot of driving time which equates to a whole lot of knitting time. Travis’ team roping partner and his girlfriend (the partner’s, not Travis’ - obviously) are going with us, so chances are good I won’t have to drive. I do believe I’ll have time to finish the second Spey Valley sock, and I need to decide what to do next. If I don’t get the Kimono Sweater seamed before I go, I’m taking it! I have had it with my procrastination on this project. It’s a really cute sweater that I know I would wear a lot (I really wanted to wear it today, but I can’t because it isn’t freaking done yet), but what the hell is my problem? I don’t even mind seaming. I’ve reached the point of being really annoyed with myself on this project, so I’m going to finish the Kimono Sweater before I start something else (and maybe even before I finish the second Spey Valley sock). I think the second travel knitting project should be socks - for a couple of reasons. First, I have a whole lot of sock yarn I’m anxious to knit and second, socks are so small and portable and I doubt I’ll have a whole lot of room in the truck for a lot of yarn (like Butterfly would require - although now that I think about it maybe I should take Butterfly. Hmmm…). We will have the horse trailer with that very large front tack room. I could put a whole lot of yarn in there. Ok, realistically, I’ll have 4 days of knitting time - most of which will be done around lots of people (and I suppose I’ll be expected to participate in a conversation every now and then), so socks make the most sense. The ultimate question - if I’m taking sock yarn, should I take the yarn for the knee highs or for the Jaywalkers?