Friday Knitting Blog (06/01/2012)

My knitting week in pictures: 

First up, Lingerie sock #1. I got this far on Sunday and haven't gotten much further. The leg is done, and a lifeline has been placed. I've tried several times to turn the heel and ended up ripping back because I'm getting big honking holes on 1 side. Since I've successfully turned a heel using the YO short-row method before (with no holes) I'm finding it frustrating. I'm very glad for the lifeline. I'm going to try another short-row heel method to make this work; I would like to soldier on for the foot chart. BTW, just in case you're wondering, this is the back of the leg, the front is much simpler, but I hope to show that off next time. 

Next up, Monday. Little Knits in West Seattle has an annual Memorial Day sale with some of their yarn priced at up to 90% off. Mom and I made the trip and were greeted by this sign. 

Yep, the store was over capacity. It took us about 20 minutes to get in, and it was still what you might want to call a close encounter.  We didn't quite need a lubricant, but there were a lot of people in a very small space, all high on yarn fumes. I got some nice yarn, nothing from the 90% off sale, but I'm happy with my purchases and stuck to my budget. (Yes, I have a yarn budget; it's pretty generous a lot of the time, but there is a budget.) I haven't taken pictures of the yarn yet, but I'll get to it one of these days. 

Lastly, there's the Everyday Roses sock. The leg is done and the heel flap has been knit. This is just about the halfway point of the sock, just need to turn the heel, pick up gusset stitches, and work my way down the foot while doing the gusset decreases and then make the toe. Piece of cake. I'm mostly working on this sock while I'm watching TV in the evenings; no chart for this one, and I can pretty much work on it without looking at every stitch.

A word about the green needles in this sock. This is the only set of Signature Needle Arts double pointed needles (DPNs) that I own. I love them more than I can say. There are 4 more sets that I would like to get, and that's yarn budget money, too. These babies are $45 for a set of 4, but since I prefer knitting with 5 most of the time, I have to pony up another $10 for the fifth needle. I don't like to think about how much I'll have spent altogether on these needles when I have all 5 sets that I want, but I feel better knowing that I have not had a cigarette in more than a decade, and overall, I spend far less money on yarn and tools than I would have on cigarettes, so I'm calling it a bargain.

OK, I did the math, it would take me me less than 2 months, depending on what else was doing on in my life (and how much wine I was drinking), to spend on cigarettes the equivalent amount of money to 5 sets of SNA DPNs. I feel so much better about the number now.