We took a little road trip to Atlanta this weekend and in the car I finished Toasty Toe Sock Number 1 and made it to the heel of Toasty Toe Sock Number 2. The whole thing went much faster as soon as I gave up on trying to force the color pattern of Lagoon to work with the stitch pattern I wanted to use. Garter rib socks it is!

The colors want to make this nice spiral down the leg. It was easier to just let the yarn have its own way.

I spent the weekend cat sitting my Mom’s cat (ironic since we had to hire a cat sitter for our cats while I was watching hers as a favor).

Usually pictures of Gracie look like the lens cap is still on the camera, so I am pleased wtih this one.

I also ran some errands with my Darling Sister and her hubby on Saturday. One of the things I wanted to get this weekend was a US size two circular for Great Gran who needs a new one to finish the cardigan she’s working on. She is partial to bamboo, but the connections on the Crystal Palace ones pretty much suck (in our opinions) and Clover doesn’t make them that small so she was going to end up with aluminum. This story is actually part of a much larger saga, so brace yourself:

What size is a US size 2 anyway?

Is it 2.75mm like my gauge tool says or 3mm like KnitPicks would have me believe? I ordered two US2 circulars from KnitPicks (I got two so I could do socks when Great Gran was finished), and they looked too big to me. So I tried to shove them through my gauge thingy and they wouldn’t go. Which is when I read the package and saw that they were actually 3mm needles. Which caused me to say “What Gives? That’s a pretty big mistake for a knitting company.” I ran to the computer to do some research.

Yarn Forward and All Fiber Arts both claim that the US2 is 2.75mm (the Canadian 12 is 3mm). Boye, Susan Bates, Bryspun, Clover and Crystal Palace size their US2s at 2.75mm. According to Skacel, US2s measure 3mm. Inox and Swallow think so too. Pony kindly provides both US2 and US2.5 (2.75mm and 3mm respectivly). Lacking a definitive standard (unless one of y’all has further insight), I can only conclude that 2.75mm is the proper size for US2s. This is based solely on the fact that the majority of needle manufacturers appear to have gone that route.

Nease’s Needlework was out of size 2 circs of any dimension, so I had souvenir sock yarn and a smoothie instead.

Bearfoot in “Red Tail Hawk” and Tropical Smoothie in “Strawberry”.

I am off to order some 2.75mm circular needles so that Great Gran can be happy and finish that sweater. But first, a snack. Googling makes me hungry!

My Hurricane Box is here!

Bright Socks! Woot!

It actually arrived from Becca the day-before-yesterday but there was no daylight by the time I opened it and then yesterday it rained all day and there was no daylight. Today it only looks like it wants to rain so I took my haul out onto the back porch to pose. I am really tickled with my sock! Becca wrote the pattern (charted and everything) and it looks like it’s gonna be a fun one to make – I love the stripes on the heel and toe! It’s toe-up so I am going to have to give that another go – what a great way to learn new techniques! You might notice the empty chocolate wrappers. They were quite good and the book is new to me. Everything smelled delicious because of the lavendar soap.

I can’t wait to get started on the second sock – just as soon as I work out the stitch pattern on the Toasty Toes socks. I am on attempt #7 (I lied about just living with attempt #6), and I have high hopes for this one! Of course, I had high hopes for attempt #6 too…

PS When I assigned Epic CounterPain knitting to Monk and Psych, I didn’t consider what would happen when the seasons were over. CounterPain squares are now also made during Eureka, Veronica Mars and Scrubs.

This week has been a Boring Week for Knitting. I am through finishing unfinished projects. It is dull. The pink socks are now my take-around-and-finish-when-you-get-to-them socks. I have pulled out the linen hand towels (pulling out means you finished dontcha know). Since it is after Labor Day, fixing Elspeth’s sleeves is a little pointless since I can’t really wear sundresses again until next summer.

So I started my Toasty Toes Socks.

And I am about to go and REstart them with four fewer stitches because the yarn is doing a funny color thing. I’ll tell you about the pattern when I am sure I am still using it!

PS I have not forgotten that this is Frog-A-Long weekend! I am going to dig out my chosen victim as soon as I mash the “publish” button. More on that tomorrow! Restarting the socks probably counts toward my Total Yards Frogged…

We had a terrible thunderstrom yesterday. I was doing domestic type things when I heard a BANG and Michael hollared really loud. I figured the cats had done something. So I went in and saw him in the process of laying down on the floor holding his hands and making a terrible face. The laptop was on the hearth. I quickly assessed the situation (like they teach you to do in First Aid).

I said: I can’t BELIEVE you had that plugged into the wall!
I said: Are you breathing? (he was)
I said: I CANNOT BELIEVE you had that plugged into the wall!
He said: Stop laughing at me. I am electrocuted.
I said: I’m not laughing.
He said: You sure didn’t run very fast.

I am at the heel of the second pink sock. I took it with me in the car to the DAR district conference in Montgomery. I did not knit during the actual meeting (even though it was Very Very Boring) but I did get the sock out for a picture after lunch.

Lunch was NOT good. The Pie was OK. We stopped at the Russell Stover Outlet on the way home.

Great Gran worked on a baby blanket.

She is also working on a really pretty cardigan from one of the Jaeger books I ordered. But I can’t remember to get a picture.

The above photos are courtesy of Mr. Pink.

The below photo is courtesy of the regular digital camera.

This is how William Henry prefers to read email.

Sure it looks cute, but his claws HURT. It makes me not want to check my email very often. Which might explain why I am so slow about it sometimes. Rotten cat.

I almost fogot! KT (not that one the other one) is hosting a Frog-a-Long! If you have a project that you can’t stand to finish or a finished one that you just can’t stand (and really, who doesn’t), don’t waste the yarn! Rip it right out on September 8, 9, and 10. You’ll feel so much better. I’ve already got my project picked out!

I forgot to mention that I installed an Epic CounterPain Tracking Chart over in the sidebar. As I complete a square, I will fill it in on the Chart and eventually, someday, I will be finished. This way, you can all feel discouraged and overwhelmed right along with me. Hooray!