Sassy Does It

The photo shoot with Maizy is a wrap, so now I can share my review of this pattern (as modified from women’s size to child’s) and the final product.

Original pattern:  More Fun Than Cables Socks by Marguerite Byrne, available for free at Stitches of Violet (Ravelry link)

My modified pattern:  More Fun Than Cables Socks (children’s knee-highs); mini-me version to fit 3- to 4-year old feet (Ravelry link to project notes)

Yarn:  Valley Yarns Huntington (machine washable wool) in colorway 4150

Needle:  US 3 circular (I routinely use the 2-at-a-Time method for socks on one circular, but pattern is written for use on two circulars; could be used with traditional dpn method)

Finished dimensions:  calf circumference = 4.25 inches (unstretched), knee to heel top = 11 inches, back of heel to end of toe = nearly 7 inches

In reducing the overall number of stitches to fit the foot size of a 3- to 4-year old, I needed to make some adjustments to the pseudo-cable pattern that repeats, and to accommodate a knee-high fit, I also modified the length.  You can review my adjustments via this modified pattern link in PDF format (also above) or through my Patterns link on the sidebar to the right.

I’m really happy with how these turned out:  I mean, come on, is Maizy not adorable in the bright-red knee-highs?  And tell me the fingernails in the picture above aren’t the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.  I love my niece, I really do.  She is so stylin’.

They come up right to her knees - bingo, right on target - and appear to fit her very well; tight enough around the calf to stay up.  I made sure to shoot on the long side for foot length so that she can wear these puppies for close to a year (assuming they hold up!).

Sissy B tells me that she’s enjoyed wearing them several times already, tying them in with outfits of all colors, including some (like hot pink) that grown women might not normally pair with red.   That’s my girl:  fashion-forward.

Sizing-wise, if you would like to make any further tweaks to size slightly up or down in age, I used a couple of resources in determining foot length for children of various ages, among other dimensions (length from knee to ankle, calf circumference…this second link is a lot of data, but I’m a nerd, as you’ve already heard on this subject).  If your wee recipient isn’t within reach to do the measurements in person, this info might come in handy.

I like the Huntington yarn (by Valley Yarns, procured from WEBS).  Soft yet sturdy, smoothly sliding down my non-Addi Turbo cheapo needles.   Not splitty at all - very easy to work with.  I’ve already drooled all over the perfect shade of red.

My research prior to ordering the yarn indicated that the yarn could be both machine-washed and tumble-dried (although the latter isn’t on the label). 

I’ll ask Sissy B how the fabric stands up over time.  Although machine-washing will probably be her choice moving forward, she said she hand-washed after Maizy road-tested them for the first time (getting them nice and dirty, like a good girl should).  Maizy modeled the socks for the photos here after that wash.  I noticed a bit of white fuzz clinging at this point, but not pilling.

These nearly made it entirely out of one skein.  You can see here how close to the toe ends my last bit of first skein stopped (in the 2-at-a-Time method, I pull from both the middle yarn and the outside strand to knit each sock on a different portion of the circular needle at the same time).

I used only 10-15 yards of my second skein in order to finish up with the foot length I wanted.  In fact, so eager was I to manage to crank these out from just the one skein (even though the second one was sitting right there) that I finished these socks once with a shorter length (around 6.25 inches instead of closer to 7).  And these would have fit Maizy now, on the tighter side…but given that the foot length is the dimension that will change the most for her in the next year, I wanted room to grow.  Plus there might be some shrinkage in the laundry.  You know.

So I ripped back re-did them to add that extra 3/4 inch.  Worth it.  Happy I did.

Overall, two thumbs up for both pattern and yarn.  Comment away with any questions.

More soon on other progress, which I’m happy to report has actually occurred.  Sheer Poncho was off the needles, as in off off, but a stretchier bind-off is needed…so it’s back on the needles.  Heavens to Betsy, if I don’t have it ready for mailing to Kymber by the end of the weekend I’m gonna be in my own dog house.

In this moment, I’m about as happy as I can be.

I’ve just arrived back in the UK for a week’s holiday with friends in the north of England, and I can’t bloody wait for the good times to get rolling with some of my favorite people ever.

Before I fly further north, I’m hanging out at Heathrow.  Normally not something noteworthy, but I’m digging the new Terminal 5 like a kid in a candy store. Building this extension may have been controversial, but today it’s ringing my bell. I can’t get enough.  Now, by the time my connection takes off in 3 hours, I’m sure I’ll have had enough - but until the ADD kicks in I’m luuuurrrving it.

Although severely tempted by the Wagamama and Giraffe, my hungry belly veered me into the pub mecca in which I’m currently hoovering down my Stilton & Broccoli soup and Murphy’s stout.  I’d take a picture to show you, but I’m afraid it might not look as appetizing mauled and half-munched.  I’ll leave it to your mind’s eye.

Right - I could continue to ramble about my delight in the glory of T5 (did I mention that there is a much, much better selection of places to eat and shop and sit around? and that the design is just cool?), but that will get old fast in spite of its shiny newness.  Instead let me update you on my knitting.  What a concept!

My Thermis is off the needles and ready to warm my neck in the chill of the North.

FO:  Thermis

Fiber:  Cascade Rustic

Adaptations:  Fewer number of pattern repeats to account for taller row count in gauge with subsituted fiber

Verdict:  Like it.  Very quick knit.  Feels lovely.  The wool/linen combo of the fiber is surprisingly nice; warm but not heavy or scratchy.  The soft variegation of the gray shades works for me, and I can be picky about my variegated yarns.  The length is nice.  Little loosey-goosier than the pattern called for, but whatever - it’s a cowl, and fit-wise, it will be largely obsured under other warm garments.  And there’s always the dryer.

So much for gifting it:  immediately upon completion, the weather warmed up in all the target markets where my potential recipients were located.  I’m sure it will get cold again, but it seems silly to give a wool cowl to someone when it’s that balmy out.

Thus, I’m, er, keeping it for myself.

I do like the look of it, although even with adaptations for the bulkier row gauge for this fiber it ended up a bit bigger than I planned.  No biggie - and I didn’t sweat too long over my calculations at the start, so it isn’t surprising.  But it doesn’t matter, I do like it, and will flaunt it with pride.

I like the wee buttons I found for it at the LYS, so they make me happy.

I broke down and bought some cashmere mittens a few weeks ago (gloves/mittens for myself are too far back in my queue for my poor fingers to benefit this winter), and these new mittens are the perfect shade of grey to go with the cowl.  Good thing I’ll be in a chilly place this week to appreciate all the warmth.

My other project is moving along, although there is just a lot of ground to cover.  The Sheer Poncho is my gift for Kymber, who’s birthday-girl status is the reason for our reunion vacation this week.

It’s not done on time as I’d planned - of course - but I’m OK with this.  I’m not superwoman - there, I said it.

It’s looking lovely; the cashmere fabric is so dreamy, and the drape is perfect.

I think I’ll be able to finish it this week while we are loafing around.  This will make it less of an on-the-day surprise and more of a work-in-progress display of affection until it’s done.

I’ve churned a lot more out than is shown here, but you get the idea.

Oh look, a plate of mac and cheese with mature cheddar has materialized, as well as another pint of stout.

Yes, that’s two dishes with fatty cheese in it so far today (not to mention the second pint) - aren’t I good to myself?

I rationalize with the following:

1. I’m hungry. I’ve just flown many miles without proper nutrition.
2. I’m veggie. I need my protein from something other than the steak & ale pie alternative (as if this is well-known for its easy-on-the-waistline properties).
3. I’m on bloody holiday.

That’s it for now. Off to finish round #2 of my gloriously naughty not-at-all-good-for-you British lunch.

I’m attempting to thwart that icky I-don’t-wanna-go-back-to-work Sunday-night feeling with a blog post. 

Very similar to the strategy employed in high school in lieu of doing homework on a Sunday night:  write a 4-page note to at least 2 BFFs about the boy who doesn’t even know who I am, then fold the notes into tiny shapes and shove them into my backpack for later distribution.

So much easier - and less heart-wrenching - to just type away here and then click on “publish”.  And knitting is just less stressful than boys.  At least the scary ones I shed tears over knew.  Or wanted to know.  You know.

Couple of new WIPs going now, I’m happy to report.

Like clockwork that doesn’t work quite right, the gifting instinct came a wee bit late for me this year.  This is supposed to happen before Christmas, but I feel less Grinch-ish now and more susceptible to the knitting-gifts-for-others bug.  So people I love will be getting little knitted things now instead of then.

Not now, but soon.

Sknitty got me turned on to Thermis, which I cast on last night and tore through like a bandit.  Something about that thermal pattern mixed with the cowl and then the buttons - Amy likey.  I’ve just got the second buttonhole and a bit of ribbing left and then this puppy will be off the needles.

I do like the Cascade Rustic yarn I picked up for this.  Never even heard of Rustic, and when I saw it in ye olde LYS, I become entranced by the pretty soft grey mix.  Seventy-nine percent wool, the rest linen, which is why the color has such a distinct variation, I think - the two fibers pick up the dye differently.

Normally linen and I don’t get along too well, but I really liked the feel of this yarn. I figured I’d go for it since this is a cowl that’s meant to drape nicely around the neck and probably won’t be prone to lots of wrinkling.  I let the visions of creased pants and skirts float away and just bought it.  Very proud of myself.

Once I cast on I could see that although hitting stitches-per-inch gauge would be easy, the fiber was plumper in row height than the suggested Patons Classic Wool, so row gauge would be off.  No worries - I made a few mods along the way to accommodate.  I still like the way it’s looking.  Will share the modifications with the FO post.

I do have my eye on making another one of these little Thermis guys in a lighter neutral tone. We’ll see.

At the yarn store, along with the grey Rustic, I picked up some Berroco Ultra Alpaca to make handwarmers for my aunties, who tend toward chilliness, even in Arizona.  I hope to get going on those soon as well.

Next, a pair of knee-high red socks as requested by Maizy.  Found a nice little mock-cable pattern that I adapted to a child’s size. 

I had Sissy B run some covert measurements while Maizy was napping, but given my desire to get this right without bothering her with fervent texts about calf measurements again, there are still a few particulars I’m guessing a bit on. 

Sad to say, I actually Googled “child calf dimension” prior to breaking down and asking my sister the first time.

As for my Google endeavor, after finding not much, I did land on this kind-of-freaked-me-out research article reporting the optimal way to measure kids prior to designing and standardizing crash tests for cars.  And I proceeded to use the resulting charts and graphs in sketching out the sock adaptation - uh, is that geeky?

Anyway, here’s hoping they fit her!  Will see Sissy B and the girls next weekend, so I’m hoping these two are FO’d by then.

Sheer Poncho - absolutely no progress.  Maybe soon.  Stockinette, don’t take it personally.

That’s it for now.  And would you look at the time!  Looks like sleepy time - no time to catch up on those work e-mails I’ve been ignoring for the better part of two weeks.  Darn.

Consider the top-secret BFF note folded into a triangle and slid into your locker.

Well, well – somebody’s been absent from blogworld for a while.

And by absent I mean floating adrift in a real pisser of a month.  I feel like I’ve been dog-paddling along in the wake of life as it’s plunging forward, mightily, without so much as a glance back in my direction.  I’ve been struggling in spectacular fashion, but today is when I pull myself up by the bootstraps.

Help me up, girls - I’ll emerge from this yet.

Finished my Curlicue blanket for Kymber’s baby girl – what was it, two weeks ago?  Just needs blocking.  Little K is actually past due, so my shocking pink creation will need to hit the mail any day.  Somewhere in Holland that baby could be entering the world right now.

I’ve been waiting on the blocking because I haven’t wanted to give it my usual (still-frosh) effort: a quick, 30-second soak in the sink followed by a roll-up in a towel to suck out the excess water, and then a layout flat to shape.

My soak in the sink has always included a few drops of Downy (standard April Fresh, thank you) in the water.  No soap - just Downy.

I know – not really a lot of thought about the possibility of my beloved Downy leaving any waxy fabric-softener residue on my little treaure of fine fibers, freshly knitted.

You’d think I’d put more time into thinking it through, given the time spent on the knitting part.

I’ve never put much thought into cleaning my clothes beyond the following:

1. Toss it all in the washing machine.
2. Toss it all in the dryer - unless it’s “delicate” (meaning “might shrink” and make it look like I’ve put on weight).  If delicate, [sigh] air-dry.
3. God forbid it doesn’t fall into one of these categories, which is rare, it goes to the dry cleaners.

It makes sense that I don’t have a good feel for the care of fine fibers, since I’ve not had the luxury of being a person who lines my closet with cashmere sweaters (awww, poor Amy).  Even if I did, they’d probably fall into category 3 above.

Pictured here with its
new-fangled labeling

I have a vague recollection of Woolite being on Mom’s laundry shelf.  I don’t recall seeing it used, but I think I may have inquired once what it was (”but why do we need extra soap when we’ve got the magic of Tide?”).

This curiosity arrived around about the time I reached that plateau of womanhood at which first-ever pairs of pantyhose and the dowdiest of rubber-heeled pumps are bestowed upon thrilled-beyond-words pre-pubescent girls.

For me, I’m pretty sure this occasion coincided with some type of after-school event in sixth grade that involved – oh, dear heavens – square-dancing. 

Emphasis on the square.

I grew up in the Midwest, what can I say?  This is what we did in gym class when we weren’t pelting each other (in my case, being pelted) with surprisingly painful rubber balls.

As I recall, I made it through one wearing of the stockings, miraculously, without any (super-obvious) runs or ladders that required retiring them to the bin.  Hence the onetime use of Woolite to wash my delicate, delicate, $1.99 Leggs pantyhose before they were trotted out for the next later-embarrassing grade school social event.

After that I promptly forgot about Woolite or anything resembling it.

So you get the picture – I’m not well-versed in the blocking or washing or even rinsing of delicates.

But now that I’m a knitter and all, I probably should be.

It’s been on my list to order up some wool wash of some kind.  I remember reading about Kookaburra first on somone’s blog - darned if I can remember whose - and then on another and another.  Something about making your wool super-soft and super-supple.  Super-supple!  Gotta get me some of that.

Then, recently, when the plan to order some Kookaburra was near the top of my mind, SouleMama made a loving reference to Eucalan, of which I had also heard rumblings.  It seemed compelling enough to give me pause about my choice (probably her fantastic photography added to the delicious appeal of her choice), and this put me all in a jumble.

It dawned on me, as if it were a surprise this would happen, that a decision between more than one option would be required, which would necessitate (possibly months and months of) analysis.

You know, since I’m me, and I can’t just pick one without going through the analysis.  Or just buy freaking both of them in small quantities to try - because doing that would be wasteful.

Oy.

Suffice it to say that after a bit of Googling, I forced myself to stop with this review, which was scientific enough to whet my OCD appetite as well as lead me to a conclusion.  In a nutshell: both leading brands are great.  No perceivable differences in method of use or in the look and feel of finished garment.  Both environmentally friendly, both contain lanolin, both excellent washes for any natural fiber.

By this account, only variations in scent seem to separate the choices (and perhaps a slightly different potential for repelling moths, which wasn’t at the top of my concerns list).  Although I’m as picky as the next girl with smell, I couldn’t tell over the internet which I preferred (I’d already contacted my LYS about whether they carried wool wash – ah, no).

Ultimately it was personal preference, and by all accounts I’d read, each of the multiple scents available was very nice.  Subtle, in every case, which helps.

Could have gone with unscented – but what’s the fun in that, pray you?  This recovering Downy Girl needs some kind of scent to remind her that this garment has been pampered in some special way, just like Mom would have done.

So I flipped a virtual coin – something that is very hard for me to do, even virtually.

I went with Eucalan.  Original eucalyptus scent.

I ordered it from Webs, along with some new blocking equipment, since I don’t have any.  I’d purchased some T-pins a few months ago whilst whisking through Jo-Ann’s for something, but alas, T-pins don’t do much good without something like the soft surface of a blocking board in which to stick them.

Yes, I know I could get creative and use a pile of towels, a spare bedspread, even part of an ironing board.  Yeah, that hasn’t happened.

I sprung for a blocking board, the big one, deciding that I’ve waited long enough - and if I’m going to get a blocking board, get a blocking board, you know?

Of course then Webs e-mailed me to tell me it was out of stock and would have to be shipped later.

Oh well.

Good thing I had one other goodie in the shopping basket, besides the aforementioned Eucalan wash, which is en route to me now:  Fiber Fantasy Sweater Blockers.

Sounds exotic, and I’m expecting to be impressed. 

While researching all things blocking that I had been missing out on, I discovered the existence of these little guys.  It’s a set of blocking needles that can be used for more than just your mama’s sweaters.

“Great for scalloped edges”, I read – hey, my Curlicue blanket has scalloped edges! – so I read on.

Twelve of the fourteen needle thingies are used for standard straight-edge blocking (8 are 36″, 4 are 18″); the other two are flexible (but not permanently bendable into a new shape).  Thus, these later two are touted as a nice solution for blocking the curve of the top of a sleeve or, better yet, stretching out and holding an edge pattern by winding wires through the ends of your knitting, locking the design in place during blocking.

There’s a great review of these here, which is where I also found this photo.  [Note to Angelika at yarn-store.com, from whom I also considered purchasing the blocking board: the extra $20+ in shipping for the board couldn't compete with the free holiday shipping offered by Webs, but now that I've found your store, you are on my list of vendors!]

Not rocket science, this bendy wire idea, but since the concept hadn’t occurred to me, it felt like it.

My previous attempts to get scalloped edges to lay flat (for Maizy’s and E-dot’s Little Girl’s Shrugs) involved the traditional approach of pinning the fabric down flat and then steam-ironing the heck out of it – and this did not result in what I’d call a success.  Stubborn, those scallops.

The memory of that challenge made me click on “buy” without much further delay – mercifully, I spared myself further research.

So - it took me all that to fill you in on where I stand with Curlicue.  Final pics once the blocking is done.

Sheer Poncho is moving sssslowwwwly in the midst of tumultuous life lately, but over the weekend I finally got my booty into the LYS to procure some US 5 Addi Turbos.  The cashmere stockinette is looking lovely, but with only a fat inch or so on the needles, my cheapo Michael’s circulars weren’t cutting the mustard.

In my frustration to just Turbo it already, earlier last week I’d swung into another yarn shop (off the beaten path from my usual LYS; I might add that stepping into Someone Else’s LYS and passing it off as my own with the sales lady was seductively naughty, especially since it was such a cute shop) for this purpose.

I was tacking on the quest for these needles to a list of already annoying errands and trying to cram it all in to not enough time (shocker).

I arrived at SELYS four minutes before closing, breathless yet triumphant that I’d actually located this place before it closed.

No standard US 5 Turbos on the shelf – curses! – only the Lace Turbos.  I’d thought about whether to Lace or not to Lace my Turbos before walking into the store.  I’d pretty much decided not to Lace.  Worried that they’d be too slow for simple stockinette; that the previously appreciated fine drag wouldn’t be appropriate for this project or this fiber.

But with only the Lace variety available, and time ticking away – oh, I couldn’t wait – I just went for it.

Shifted the stitches from the cheapos to the Lace Turbos that night, gagging for a few quick rounds of Sheer Poncho before beddy-byes.

Oh, poopy pants - too slow.  Not an improvement, even in all their pretty gold shininess.  Drag not appreciated, cashmere too clingy.  Darn.

But.  Now I’m all set with the right ones - straight up, slick as all get-out, standard Addi circulars.  I’ll be non-Lace Turboing it up for the rest of the week.

Thanks for sticking with my blog and with my writing-lots-of-words-makes-me-happy ways.  I’ve missed you.  

Curlicue Glamour Shots coming soon.

In the spirit of basking in fall goodness (and in Halloween preparation mode, in Squeezer’s case), we ventured out recently to get ourselves a spiffy pumpkin.  We’d previously picked up some smaller pumpkins for baking, but we were in need of a bit of ceremony, and thus journeyed out to a neighboring town with wider open spaces and plenty of pumpkin patches.

Immediately upon return back home, Squeezer wielded the knife and gave our new friend a toothy grin.

Boy howdy, that girl doesn’t waste a minute in getting projects like this started (and finished) - she’s my hero.  The pumpkin was carved and propped on our front porch within 20 minutes.

The crisp fall air inspired me inpsired to whip up some pumpkin-based dinner that evening. 

I removed a couple of cups’ worth of pumpkin pieces (as previously frozen from the cut-up baking pumpkins we’d bought a few weeks earlier) and altered a favorite go-to recipe from Mediterrasian.com (a fan-freaking-tastic site) to create the following:

Pumpkin Curry Soup
1 tablespoon canola or peanut oil
1 onion—chopped
3 cloves garlic—chopped
2 teaspoons red curry paste
2 cups of fresh pumpkin —peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup red lentils (or yellow split peas)
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup coconut milk (less if desired)
1 heaping teaspoon each of ground cumin and coriander
pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
fresh cilantro

Lightly brown the garlic, then add the onion; cook for a few minutes.  Add red curry paste and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.   Add the pumpkin, red lentils, stock, coconut milk, spices, and brown sugar and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20-30 minutes.  Puree the soup in food processor until smooth, then add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.   Add a few tablespoons of fresh cilantro and serve.  Serve with a dollop of nonfat natural yogurt and garnish of cilantro and freshly ground black pepper. 

Too bad I didn’t take a picture to share with you.  It was so pretty.  And so delicious and warm and cozy.

Other reminders of cozy fall goodness include the wooly comfort of The Big Project (Bidie-In has now shortened his name for this sweater to just TBP), with which I’ve made the opposite of progress.

Yeah, I frogged my Fisherman’s Sweater, like, entirely.

It was just getting a little too baggy.  And by a little I mean a lot. 

Even after the first few inches of stockinette I knew it was on the big side for Bidie, but I hoped it would be within the margin of error for “big, cozy, hot-toddy-by-the-fire” sweaters. 

Then I held up my in-progress front and back pieces to the actual width of Bidie this weekend.  Ah…no.  

The wool I’m using has a bit more give than the acrylic blend from which my seaworthy-sweater-model was knit.  This makes “a little baggy” more like the way-too-droopy clothes on the kid version of Tom Hanks in Big after the Zoltar wish machine brings him back when he’s done being an adult.

This problem is exacerbated a *teensy* bit by the fact that I screwed up with the gauge at the very beginning. 

I know, I was shocked too, because usually the smoking gun of improper sizing doesn’t simply lead back to the fact that the dimensions of the starter swatch were completely ignored.

Bit too quick to green-light the gauge for Rowan Plaid on US 11s. 

Hello!  Look at this picture! 

In spite of the photographic evidence shown here that clearly illustrates how NOT close the size of the brown stitches is to that of the off-white stitches, I think I just thought my swatch was close enough to the existing knit gauge to base my design roughly on the number of stitches of the prototype pattern rather than the actual measurements. 

[boo, hiss]

I know.

Argh, rookie mistake!  I should have either tried a smaller needle or adjusted my first swipe at the design, or both.  Which is what I’ve now done.

Frogging it isn’t that big of a catastrophe, though, really.  Don’t feel sorry for me.  The yarn knits up at about 3 stitches/inch, even on a size 10½ needle, so it’ll knit up fast all over again.  And the yarn wears/frogs well, so it’ll look fine the second time around.  I hope. 

Right.  Done with the ripping out part, starting with the re-doing part.  Yes!

Swatching now on US 10½, I can see the fabric holds its shape a bit more to my liking.  And my design notes are headed in the right direction, too.  I’m using a bit more actual math, boys and girls, in converting the real gauge (not a pretend one) into a number of stitches based on the desired finished dimensions.  Capital idea.

In other news, my 2-at-a-time Practice Socks are off the 40-inch Addi Turbo Lace needles (still sexy, as previously reported).  The Raindrop Lace Socks, bless their wee hearts, are on.  Really and truly.

Although it was touch and go during my first hour or four of learning the 2-at-a-time method, I’m happy to report that once I hit my activation energy I was off and running, with fairly infrequent consternation.  Perseverance led me through the initial (heavy) cursing at tangled yarn to a happy harmony of satisfying, quicker-paced sock knitting.

At the heel flap

At the heel turn

Best tip I’ve garnered so far from Melissa Morgan-Oakes, other than the actual technique of keeping both socks on the needles at all times, was to put the ball of yarn in a Ziploc and pull two ends of yarn from the ball (one center-pull and one from the outside) and poke a little hole in each bottom corner of the bag, such that one end of yarn comes out each side.  Then any (short) length of yarn that is stretching from the bag to the needles doesn’t get tangled.  Smart.

These two little guys would need blocking before gifting (due to my beginner’s inconsistency), but we’ll see if I end up gifting them at all.  I don’t think I have enough of the green sock yarn to do another, even small, one.   Maybe I’ll whip up a second tiny beige one on its own.  We’ll see.

More soon.  Cannot wait to show you my new yarn coming from WEBS - yes, Allison, I went for the bonus yarn and told the boys in Massachusetts to throw another few logs on the fire with my order (boys = boys or girls, logs = skeins, fire = pile of yarn).

Two words: Cash. Mere.

Cannot. Wait.