Thanks to an extra long wait at the dentist this afternoon I am now more than half way finished the leg of my second Solstice Slip sock. I can't wait to wear these. I want to get them all finished to wear for the Equinox on Monday. It seems appropriate - in a round about sort of way.

I wonder what my dentist would think if he knew I enjoyed sitting in his office waiting for my appointments...

Pattern: Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang (Ravelry Link)
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in "Jasper" (green) and "Beryl" (purple)
Size:  Errr..... see below
Yardage: Probably about a third of each skein (maybe as much as half of the purple).
Needles: 2.00 mm, 3.00 mm & 2.50 mm

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I finished the Endpapers!

Does anyone remember me starting these? It was a little under four years ago. Four years to knit two little mitts that could have been done in four or five afternoons.

I wasn't quite sure what to put for the "size" category above. My mitts fit my hands but they are in fact different sizes. Last year I pulled these out of hiding and knit the second mitt on the same needles I'd used the first time - 3.00 mm. It came out much bigger that I was expecting. I frogged and started over on 2.50 mm and then put the mitts away for another year of hibernation. I finished the second mitt last week and it turned out about half an inch shorter than the first one (and very snug). I guess I should have only dropped down to 2.75. I considered frogging them again.

When Rob saw what I was working on - and worrying over - he said "Oh, those. Finish them and knit a new pair." His idea was that something can only be redone so many times before you cease to make any headway and I secretly knew that if I frogged that second mitt again I would never knit it. I finished the mitt. I think I might be able to get the pair a little more even looking when I block them but really, they were my very first colourwork project and I learned plenty of good stuff from them and I'm proud of them. In fact I'm wearing them right now.

I really like Rob's suggestion of knitting another pair (a pair that matches properly). I've never been totally happy with the colours I used for this pair. My choices were limited and in the skein these two looked sufficiently different to show the pattern but once they were being knit together I found they didn't work as well as I'd hoped. Sometimes it is because of one of the little red spots on the green skein (!!!) but mostly it is just that they are too close in value. If you look at them in black and white the pattern disappears completely and all you see are the variations within the yarns themselves.

Almost since I started this pair of mitts I've been daydreaming about other colour combinations: blue and gold, red and ivory, robin's egg and chocolate, saffron and coffee. I'm especially in love with that last one right now. I'm eyeing some of the semi-solids at Sweet Georgia. I've never used their yarns but they look so lovely.

Pattern: Buggin' Out by Stephen Houghton for the 2010 Rockin' Sock Club (September Kit)
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in "Pining 4 Ewe" and "Manly yes, but I like it too"
Size: Men's Medium
Yardage: Full skein (330 m) of "Pining for Ewe" and about 17 m of "Manly"
Needles: 2.00 mm dpns

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These socks had been set aside a while ago because I'd run out of yarn. When I didn't need to order more for my Swing Set socks I decided that I didn't want to buy a whole new skein just to finish the twelve decrease rounds on these socks either. I went hunting for some compatible yarn and ended up using a tiny bit of my skein of "Manly Yes, but I like it too". It actually goes very nicely with the "Pining 4 Ewe". I finished Rob's socks last Sunday and they hung out in my sewing room for a week before we had a chance to take pictures. My husband is awesome by the way; not only does he like it that I knit him things he understands (and even expects) that a little photo shoot is part of the project.

I like the way these socks came out. They are nice and snug and the spiders look cool. They were a good knit. A lot of dye came off on my hands and needles but I always expect that with deeply saturated colours. I got a little too comfortable while working on the second sock and the gussets were frogged out twice because I wasn't actually reading the instructions anymore and they are a little different than for other socks I've made. Once every thing was done I discovered at least two places were I'd missed the two plain rounds in the middle of the spider motif so one sock is a tad bit taller than the other. Rob never wears shorts so I don't think anyone will ever notice.

Rob says the ribbing on the bottom of his foot feels kind of weird. Not too bad inside a pair of shoes but a bit uncomfortable in stocking feet on a hard floor. I've been wondering how I'll manage to darn them when they start to wear out. Maybe these are not darnable socks?