The sock from hell

Almost done with Robby’s second sock, but I got overconfident because the first one turned out so well, and made some really stupid mistakes that took FOREVER to fix. I now know more than I ever wanted to know about dropped stitches, ripping out, picking up and who knows what else. Probably good things to know, but still.

My first sock

Originally uploaded by bornfamous.

#1 of Robby’s new socks. I’m both proud and embarrassed. Proud because I actually finished it, even though the instructions for turning the heel made NO SENSE WHATSOEVER — but guess what? Do it anyway and it all works out in the end. Who knew? Embarrassed because it didn’t turn out as well as the socks in the picture that came with the instructions — the photo above makes it look better than it is. But it’s not bad for a beginner, eh? On to #2!

[Btw -- It's hard to see, but this sock is humongous. Robby wears size 14 shoes, and the sock is even a little too roomy for HIM. Which means I might run out of yarn before the second sock is finished. Wish me luck!]

Now I know what I’m going to make for Christmas and birthday gifts from now on. Everybody needs socks, right?

Just a thought — back when I was hooked on Free Cell, I hated myself for being so lazy, but I just couldn’t stop. Now that I knit compulsively — also to the detriment of the rest of my life — I don’t care. I look busy therefore I am.

Where have I been, you ask? Nowhere, just knitting.

I’ve gone and gotten myself a new addiction. I’d like to say I’m hooked on knitting, but the metaphor is too mixed. You can really only say you’re hooked on crochet if you want to pun correctly. But I am definitely addicted to this knitting thing. I have, at this moment, six or seven knitting books from the library lying around, and I think this is the third or fourth round of books I’ve been through. Not to mention the knitting blogs and Flickr groups.

Not that I’m much good at it yet. I made a baby blanket of brightly-colored acrylic yarn for the new daughter of one of Robby’s friends and it looks terrible. [Will post a photo as soon as I get some batteries for my camera.] There are holes where there shouldn’t be holes and the cheap yarn looks just that — cheap. Plus I developed an allergy to it by the time I was finished. My hands were a red, itchy, bumpy mess. No more acrylic yarn for me. I even hesitate to give the blanket to the baby. I’d hate to think of what might happen. I bought some cotton yarn the other day; maybe I’ll just start again.

Meanwhile, I just came across this fabulous yarn called Sea Silk that is made with silk and, I kid you not, seaweed!

When worn, your skin’s natural moisture will release magnesium, calcium and vitamin E contained within the seaweed. It has anti-inflammatory properties and has been shown to protect the skin.

Now, THAT would make an excellent baby blanket, if only I could afford it — holy crap. Well, an addiction isn’t really worthy of the name if it doesn’t drive its victims to the poorhouse, is it?

Oops — almost forgot to blog, and it’s only day three of NaBloPoMo — well, day two for me, since I missed day one. Anyways…

So I’m learning to knit. I made a bee-yootiful scarf for Robby’s girlfriend’s birthday [which turned out to be the day Rusty died. Weird.] It wasn’t my mad knitting skillz that made it so nice, but the yarn: gorgeous, rich, wine-colored chenille. I’d take a pic of it and show you, but they’re sleeping right now and I hate to tiptoe into their room and snoop around. It’s kind of awkward when they wake up and ask me what I’m doing, you know? So I’ll show you later. Anyway, she loved it! I was happily surprised because Emily is so low-key and guarded, you never know what she’s thinking. I think she was very depressed for a lot of the time I’ve known her but now she seems to be coming out of her shell, which makes me really happy to see.

Ah, they’re up now. Here it is:

Purty, ain’t it. That little success has encouraged me to go hog-wild with knitting-and-other-crafty plans. I’ll tell you about some of those tomorrow.