I'm Too Socksy

In lieu of a more meaningful title, I give you - Right Said Fred. And my first ever pair of socks. Finally finished, with very little fanfare from Karl and the kitties (they yawned when I modelled them), here they are. I suppose I should give them a name because I feel like they deserve it after all this time...and, to name something is to know it...so I will call them the Fred socks.

Fred was not easy to photograph. I realized this as I tried to take a self-photo of my feet with Fred on; my feet looked huge, my calves oversized. Finally I resorted to laying on my back on the couch with my feet in the air towards the ceiling. Fred was knit on two different needles - Brittany birch DPNs and Addi Turbos. Although they were both size 1's, the sock on the Addi's is larger/looser. I knew this from the beginning and I tried to compensate by knitting tighter but it didn't work. The good news is, my right foot is bigger than my left so having 2 slightly different sock sizes is not the end of the world. In the top photo, the second sock is the bigger one. Additional learnings: measure your foot around the widest part - around the ball of the foot usually - but knit a circumference of 1/2" to 1" smaller than that. For example, my actual foot circumference is 8" but I knit a 7" tube. This is because the wool stretches and I want a tighter-fitting sock. I'm really shocked at how well Fred fits my feet. They have already been thrown into the wash and survived quite well too. Now my next pair will be cotton. I've decided to do the Broadripple socks but haven't chosen the weapon yet...DPNs? Circulars? Wood or metal? Hmmmm. How about wood circs? Speaking of needles, I hope some of you will consider joining Catherine's Gimme Some Needles exchange. I haven't joined the other secret pals and random acts because I would be paralyzed with indecision but you can never have enough knitting needles. Before I leave the knitting topic, I just want to say "Hi Lori!" because we met at Border's today and just knitted the afternoon away. It was all good - the company and the knitting!

In other life news, I have a few things to tell. First, I'm taking a new job. Sort of. It's at the same company but I would be doing something completely different, i.e., less technical. Less of a grind, more schmoozing, and hopefully some opportunities to write even if they are kind of boring topics. Second, I'm going on vacation! Yes, starting Tuesday I will be OOB (out-of-blog) for a little while. I don't want to tell you where yet because I'm hoping to have some surprises when I come back. Keep checking here, though.

I will end with a couple of photos from around the house. I have coveted my neighbor's pink calla lilies for 3 years. He is a former landscaper who has done amazing things with his postage stamp-sized yard. Plus he's done a bunch of century rides and he's Ski Patrol for one of the resorts in Tahoe. Grrr. Ah, but can he putt?

And this is my yarn room. Big K and Little K follow me in here whenever they get a chance. Notice the unused sewing machine. The sewing table is something that Karl built out of an old table and chairs. The tank top is a UFO. Never mind the stash of yarn to the left...it's nothing. Hope ya'll had a good weekend. Until the next day in the life....