knit1frog2

leaves are falling--quickly!!

I can't seem to put these socks down.  I'd be closer to being completed if I hadn't gotten the bright idea of reinforcing the heels and toes...but with what?  I looked for my neutral reinforcement stuff and it wasn't with the rest of the stash.  So yes, I thought I would just hold the yarn double throughout the heel and toe.  It sounds innocuous enough, right?

Well, when I tried to find the inside end of the skein...out came this ginormous clump o' green yarn.  I mean huge...as in derail-the-knitting-for-a-good-30-minutes-while-trying-to-unravel-this-maze-and-puzzle-of-a-yarn-tangle.  ugh.  Then of course I repeated said aggravation when I tried to find the end of the other skein.  Tack another 40 minutes of untangling!!  I think I should win a prize in patience, that's for sure.  I finally unwound each...put the ends into center-pull balls and stuffed them back into the skeins.  Man.

As if it wasn't challenging enough to knit both socks on one circular off of two different skeins and keeping THOSE untangled.  Now I am dealing with both ends of each skein...egad.

But at least I can tell you that I've turned the heels on both socks.  I won't have to worry about keeping all four ends of the skeins untangled until I reach the toes...

looks like ice cream scoops!

I think this is the fastest that I've ever worked on a pair of socks!!  Go leaves go!!  Okay I am breaking for coffee.  I haven't had any yet and my head is killing me.

do you see what I see?

Something about knitting that I've learned...if you don't like the yarn suggested, substitute it for another!  If you're not getting gauge, try a different needle!  If you like the pattern, kind of, change it!  Knitting isn't as rigid as I once thought it was...it's pretty fluid, actually, which just makes it all the more fun.

I had hesitations about that yarn I first cast on with, would the pattern get lost in the colorway?  After it turned my hands black each time I spent with it, I knew it had to go.  Now...wonder how I get it back into pre-hank form from yarn cake form so that I can wash it to try to set that color....  (yay!  the knitalong with Amanda would still be ON!)

While I pondered this, I rifled through one of my yarn boxes and I found a most perfect yarn to try again. Here is what I've knit up with so far...

Regia 4fädig Farbe 622/37871

Isn't that yarn precious?  Perfect for the embossed leaves!  This pattern is just...awesome.

leaves!  glorious leaves!

embossed...hand?

So...it was unanimous...Embossed leaves it is.  (Amanda and I are even doing a tiny knitalong...I'm doing Embossed Leaves and she said she'd do Diagonal Ribs!  Love it!) 

I took a look at the pattern...tubular cast on.  Okay.  Something new, knowledge is power...bully for Bixby.  p134 it says...check the glossary.

I check the glossary.  Does 1 x 1 rib cast on = tubular cast on?  Hmmm.  I try it.  Interesting!!  Definitely an interesting way to cast on!  I like the look...I begin. 

interesting, no?

I put the knitting down to get a quick bite to eat...and that's when I noticed it.

do you see the pligg in the background? ^_^

Et voila...

but look at my hand!

I was kind of bummed. The dye was coming off onto my hand. (my hand looks worse after more knitting)  Hmmm. This means a huge wash after they are done to try to set the color. But no, it gets better...

ugh.

Man. I wasn't even pulling hard! My stitches weren't even SO tight that I couldn't get the needle through easily. Does this happen often with Crystal Palace needles?  Sigh.  Well, fine.  I quick ran for my (what else?) SuperGlue!!  So there CP needle.