Sunset and a Little Contest

The sun is going down here and it’s not the dramatic sunset that you see elsewhere – more of a gentle fade out. It’s actually rather like the purple socks. They’re coming along well and I expect to have a lot to say about them when they're finished because I experimented a bit here and there. Unfortunately I slept funny on Thursday night and I’ve had horrible pain in my neck and left shoulder since. I’ve tried to knit through it but, in the interest of healing before the big vacation, I’ve put the knitting away till the pain subsides.

I’m hoping that this pair of socks will be just one of a few projects that are completed or make notable progress during the coming week. I’ll be bringing ALL of the projects in the sidebar with me… and then some. Ambitious? You betcha! Cross your fingers.

I’ve been a little vague about the upcoming vacation for a reason. I thought that it might be fun to do a little contest. It’ll be my first. I’ve thought about it before but I always chickened out. Not this time. It’s the middle of a great summer and I'm on vacation so I’d like to commemorate the good feeling by sharing a little joy in the form of a knitterly gift.

Since it’s the first time I’m trying this, I’ll keep it simple. I invite you all to guess where I’ll be on vacation. Feel free to be as specific or as general as you’d like. I’m kind of curious to see what you have to say. I’ll give you a little hint. I’m going to a state I’ve never been to before. According to my trusty Shopfinder, there aren’t many yarn stores near our destination but, as you know, I’ll be prepared with plenty of my own. I’m hoping that the river we’ll be canoeing on won’t be too wild and I’m sure that my girls will have a wonderful time with the horses. Weather permitting we’ll have a fabulous time. That's it - that's all I'm going to say.

Do you have a guess? Please leave it in the comments and I’ll pick one at random when I return 8/7. By the way, I’ll need to contact you if you win so please don’t sign in as “anonymous” .

Gray haired assassins

I’m feeling so happy today because not only is it Friday but it’s the Friday before vacation. Woo Hoo! I can barely contain myself and get any work at all done today. I’m trying though. Really I am. *wink*

Actually the vacation is just a small part of what’s got me off the walls today. We are going away during most of this vacation and, as I mentioned in Monday’s post, the Drama Queen will be with us. We pick her up in the middle of the vacation week. In preparation for her return I went and got my hair done yesterday. You may not think it matters to a tween but I offer you this conversation which took place immediately prior to her departure:

DQ: Mommy, you need to go see (insert name of fab hairstylist here).
Me: Yes, I know. My hair is way too long. I need to get it cut.
DQ: Yeah, and your gray is showing really bad too.

When I mentioned the exchange to hubbo he agreed with DQ. I was a little distressed. There was a time when I would complain about my gray hair and everyone would look at me funny and tell me it was nonexistent. I miss those days.

Never fear! I’ll have the last laugh this time. I went shopping and found the perfect outfit to wear when I pick DQ up at camp. I can just hear it now – “Mom, you’re so embarrassing!”

***
Have you seen this yet? It sounds so cool. I just love the kill or be killed aspect of it – and the fact that I’ll get a pair of handmade socks that I didn’t knit.

Somebody tried to talk me out of it but I signed up anyway. The naysayer was worried that I might get assassinated quickly by some knitter with lightning fast needles. I’m thinking that stuff happens and it’s just as likely that the person with my name will be delayed by some unforeseen situation that prevents them from knitting for days or weeks. It could happen! Needles snap. Yarn gets tangled. I’m not wishing anyone ill – I’m just saying that sometimes life throws us a curve… and I hope that this time it curves in my favor.

I’m almost ready to turn the heel on the second squishy purple sock so it’s very likely that I can finish it by tomorrow. I hope to post it tomorrow along with my Saturday Sky.

Squish!

As promised, here is the first Squishy Purple sock. I started it on Saturday (while I got my toes done – ahhhh) using my new love – the Turkish cast on. I’m finding this super-easy method to be very freeing in my sock knitting. I pick a number to start with – increase until I have achieved the right size – and away I go. Easy as pie! How did I not figure this out earlier? All I can say is that eventually things have a way of clicking and sometimes, the click is more like a huge clap of thunder that rocks you to the core and changes everything.

This is a detail of the leg. I wanted to show off how well the pattern turned out. I agonized over what to do because I was so afraid that the texture of the yarn would mask any pattern I used. As you can see that just isn’t the case. There are certainly changes I’d make to the pattern if I did it again - like eliminating some of the yarn-overs where I transition from the pattern to the rib – but mostly I’m happy. Stink is too and that’s the most important thing. My girls wear Keens (super cool shoes) year round and I suspect that these will be perfect with them. If all goes well and I remain focused, this pair of socks will be finished on Saturday which would make them my fastest pair ever.

We’re nearing the end of July so here are two more purple shots. I couldn’t finish without showing the new stash of purple office supplies that hubbo recently scored for me. You may recall that I have a thing for purple pens. Naturally I use them with purple steno pads. Perfect! I’m sure that many of you will recognize the logo on the t-shirt. I waited on line for an hour at Maryland Sheep and Wool to get this shirt. I do love it though and I wore it when I did my recent Asheville yarn crawl and one of the women working at Earth Guild commented on it and how she wished she got one. She said that by the time she got to the counter all the best colors were gone. I suppose that hour on line was well spent.