First FO of '10

Hello everyone! Hope everyone had a great holiday season!

I had a fantastic Christmas myself and hoped to give more handmade presents away but unfortunately, due to working an entry level, minimum wage job, I didn't get enough hours which lead to me not having much money. And we all know that knitting is typically NOT a cheap hobby.

So I felt that I really needed, well, I wanted to give some gifts to my closest loved ones and went to raid the stash. This was enough motivation to start plugging away but then I found out that my family and I would be moving to New Jersey within the year. So this, coupled with my gift motivations lead me to evaluate the stash. I really did not want to have such a big stash to take with me since I have moved with it before and it is just irritating. Luckily, most of my stash is something close to Red Heart acrylic which is a great for a Granny Daughters swap on Craftster. I also went through my WIPs and was honest to myself and frogged about 90% since I had not touched them in the past two years. So that freed up a drawer. But I had much more that I wanted to achieve so I made a list.

Sock yarn:
Nutkins WIP for me
Start some socks for my mother in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock. In the color Blossom, which is this lovely antique-y rose color my mother is so fond of.

Wool:
Two sweaters for my Cocker Spaniels, Miller and Marty.

Lace:
Girasole WIP for an unknown recipient.
Swallowtail for my Memaw

That is all I have so far but I think it's manageable. I tried to keep it small since I'll be returning to school within the next two weeks.

Luckily, I can cross something off my list! My Nutkins are finished! They were knit in the Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi in the colorway Devon. I love these because it incorporates all my favorite colors and the pattern was super simple. I just the heel and toe differently. It worked up so fast that now I can start on my mother's socks which should go even quicker since I'm just going to make simple stockinette socks.



These are my third pair of socks. I have been successful in avoiding the dreaded Second Sock Syndrome. I have a certain procedure to avoid this. After I finish a sock, I put it on and walk around the house. This helps in multiple ways.

1. I feel foolish wearing one sock.
2. My uncovered foot is uncomfortabley chilly whereas my other felt nice and toasty.
3. It drives me nuts to have something halfway finished.

Luckily, it didn't take long for me to knit the second sock since I had two socks on DPNs.



Have a happy new year! <3