Short row toe comparison

I finished the toe of the second sock last night. I tried to knit tighter on this one and I thought that the toe was better than the first until I took it out in the bright light of day and saw this.

I was trying to compare the toe on sock one to that on sock two and I’m not sure if it really improved at all. I think that it looks nicer and yet more pronounced. That doesn’t seem right. I was hoping that the join would be less visible. What do you think?

No other real news to report except that I’m going to the hockey game tonight and I expect to make a lot of progress on the second Jet sock there. Let’s go Caps!

I came very close to buying more yarn yesterday but I managed to get a grip at the last minute and resist the impulse. I want to do the VK sweater but I’m really concerned about finding the right yarn in the right colors. I decided that I really need to go to the LYS and see it in person. The ‘net would be cheaper but the color representation on the monitor is unreliable.

BTW, did you see this yet? It’s too cute for words.

The Worst Job Since Keymaster *

It has to be Cookie Mom. It’s not so much the job itself as it is the fact that if you do it once then you’re stuck with it forever. I think that I’d have to do something really horrible to get out of it - like running off with the troop proceeds. That’s actually not a bad idea. I could go to Cancun and drink many margaritas with the money I’ve collected. I’d be free of cookie obligations for life AND get a vacation. The downside, of course, would be the involuntary, state-sponsored vacation that would await me upon my return. Damn! Anyway, I just made the last deposit for this year’s Girl Scout cookie sale and I’ll drop the last paperwork off tonight after work. By this time tomorrow I’ll be a very happy girl.

This is the first Jet sock. I finished it Saturday night as we watched George Mason play Florida in the Final Four. Bruce put it on immediately – perhaps the green might give Mason a little luck. Sadly the Patriots lost but the sock fits perfectly and it’s exactly what Bruce wanted. I could’ve gone longer on the leg but he said that this was the perfect length for him. Who am I to argue?

In the same picture you see the very beginning of the second sock. No Second Sock Syndrome here! I was thinking about SSS on the way in this morning because I really have a lousy track record when it comes to finishing crafty stuff – or anything for that matter. (It would take a considerable effort to flash all of the crafty stuff that sits, unfinished, in my basement) It would be logical to expect that I would be the same with knitting and, as such, be a victim of SSS. Not so! I say that emphatically because I realized this morning that this will be the 5th pair of socks I finish this year. Not bad!

I am also nearing completion on Aubergine. It’s really not so fancy as bags go but it’ll do the job. I’m always amazed at the difference in the appearance of a bag before and after felting. Pre-felting they are blah and kind of shapeless. After felting they have more defined form and they can look really great. I’m never sure what the end result will be.

* Recognize this? It’s from Say Anything. I absolutely admit to being an 80’s throwback.

Glorious blossoms

Today is a grey and ugly day here but it’s really quite alright because the weekend was glorious! We went to see the cherry blossoms on Saturday with thousands of other folks and it was a treat. I love being so close to the district that you can just hop in the car and be downtown in no time. We got to the basin and found a PRIME PARKING SPOT FOR FREE! The odds were crazily against us and yet there it was. It was certainly a sign of good things to come.

The day was really windy but the blossoms were out in full force. There were people everywhere. We’d stop every few minutes to take pictures ourselves or to avoid being in someone else’s. Words truly don’t do it justice so here are just a few of the pictures I took.

As I mentioned, it was super windy. At one point, as we gazed across the tidal basin, a cloud of dirt from the path surrounding it blew across the water. It doesn’t sound picturesque but it was interesting at the time. It also illustrated just how windy it was. The other thing that fascinated us for no good reason was the large number of petals that were floating in the water. In a way, they make you sad because they demonstrate how fleeting it all is. Today the rain will remove many more of the petals from the trees and by the weekend most of the beautiful blossoms will be washed away.

I offer a shot of my GOLD toe ring dangling above the petals floating in the tidal basin as a nod to the start of Project Spectrum’s yellow and orange month.

There was also knitting this weekend – I finished the first Jet sock and I’m nearly done with Aubergine. More about them later or tomorrow.