Sunshine Socks FO, What to Knit Next, and Blogcation

Last night I finished the Sunshine Socks. Took me exactly a week to knit. If only work and packing didn’t get in the way of knitting, I would have had these done a few days ago! 😉 These are my 3rd pair of socks for the 52 Pair Plunge and the first pair for Summer of Socks 2009!

Bright sunshiny socks!

Pattern: Sunshine Socks from Sock Innovations by Cookie A. (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: June 19, 2009
Completed: June 25, 2009
Yarn: Wollmeise 80/20 Twin, colorway Sonne
Needles: Knit Picks US 1 (2.5mm) DPNs
Notes: I changed a few things about this pattern. After I talked to someone who had knit the pattern already, she said she would have taken out 1 repeat of the chart on the leg and cast on more stitches to start with. I cast on 66 stitches, knit the cuff, then for the very first round of the leg instead of doing the increase chart, I did a knit round and increased to 72 stitches (spacing them out as evenly as possible). This gave me enough stitches for 9 repeats of the chart instead of 10. For the heel, I didn’t decrease any like the pattern says to and instead did a short row heel over 30 stitches. This gave me a few extra stitches when I got to the toe, though. I did the cable decrease round before starting the decreases for the toe and on the first decrease round for the toe, I only decreased on the top of the foot. This evened out the number of stitches so that I then had 30 stitches for the top of the foot and 30 stitches for the bottom. I decreased every other round until there were 9 stitches left on each needle, then decreased every round until there were 16 total stitches left (4 on each needle) and kitchnered it closed.

I’m a bit torn on what to knit next. I want to start four sweaters: Hey Teach (for the second time), Climbing Vines Pullover, February Lady Sweater, and Annette. Usually, when I finish a project, I know what I want to knit next, but this time I’m not really sure. With the move happening this weekend, things seem all up in the air, which always makes me feel uneasy. So much is going on! Right now, a sweater of any kind seems like too much commitment for me.

I thought about continuing to knit the Fountain Pen Shawl I started back in May…

Oh poor neglected shawl!

… but with the charts it makes it not real easy on-the-go knitting which I really need right now with everything being shifted around.

Of course, you know this means that a sock would probably be perfect right now, don’t you? I think I’ll wind up some Lime colored Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn I have and cast on for Absinthe soonish, but I didn’t get the chance to wind up the yarn last night. I need something to knit right away, so I’ve decided to cast on Cotty with the Socks That Rock mediumweight in Dreidel that Laura sent me. Pretty simple lace pattern, so no real worries about having to carry a chart with me or refer to the pattern much. I’ve decided to do it toe-up instead of top down and I’ll probably change the cuff. I find that while picot edges are nice, the socks don’t really stay up, so I think ribbing would be better.

Summer Blocation ™ – I just wanted to talk about this for a moment. Ida, who started Knitting Purls, is hosting a new contest on her blog: Summer Blocation ™.

From the description: “Forget the high price of gas and hotel rooms. Join us and discover fiber-related blogs you might never have visited before. Use your Google, Bing, and other Internet search skills (and don’t forget Ravelry’s search capabilities) and earn prizes. Those who have visited the most correct blogs by Sunday, September 6, will have the chance to win a prize. Other prizes may be awarded during the course of the contest.”

I don’t know about you, but I won’t be doing any traveling this summer. Too much is going on for me with the move this weekend and settling into a house that hasn’t been occupied for a few months and needs some work. This is a great (and free!) way to get to visit some places you might not have been before and get to know some place new through other fiber folks. And come on now, who doesn’t love a good challenge and some prizes?? 🙂

The very first stop along the way was my blog! I was so excited when I saw the first stop and realized it was me. It’s such an honor to be the one to kick off the Summer Blogcation! We’re currently on stop 2 (which closes this Sunday, so get your answers in soon if you want to participate!) and there’s a new stop each week. So come on and join in on the fun! It’s a great way to get to know other fiber folks and maybe even win something, too 🙂