Confessions

Of the knitting variety, of course. This is a family blog, after all.

So confession number one is that I've been working on the second sock of that pair that time forgot (TM). I think it shows some super human strength that I managed to get past the heel before I thought ... damn, I'm bored. And man, are these needles ever tiny! The glow of the Lantern Moon has worn off somewhat, alas. But I am persevering. They will be nice when they are done, and they are for ME after all. (Mostly because expecting someone else to wear socks knit three years apart is just too much. Especially since -- further confession -- they lingered so long on the needles and were so poorly stored that they have moth holes. I know. I feel like I just admitted to something dirty, like, I never clean the bathroom (which I do!). Moth holes in knitting seem to be something that you only whisper about, and never in mixed company.)

So yesterday in my day of quest for self-fulfillment I also hied myself to the yarn store, determined to overcome my intimidation and fear of mitten knitting. I had the gauges all worked out and knew what I was looking for, and was sure that I could go in, find it, and buy it and come home with it and NOT BE SCARED. 

And then, as I was walking towards the yarn store, I saw something that made my heart go pitter patter. A large red sign with SALE written on it. 

I gathered my strength and went in. And looked around, and saw some yarn and at first wasn't interested until I saw this:

Be still my beating heart! Sock yarn! On sale! And not just any sock yarn. Lorna's Laces! Koigu! Oh heaven, oh rapture!

Well, ok, perhaps I exaggerate. I'm not insane, after all. 

So I snatched up a few items, and almost bought some wool in a bag as well, enough for a sweater. I thought that perhaps I would soon become one of those people who has more stash than she knows what to do with, but I stopped myself. I don't want to be able to insulate my house with yarn, and I think that overbuying in this economic climate is probably a bad thing. Neither The Man nor I are in any immediate danger of job loss (which is to say, we are no more or less likely than anyone else right now to lose our jobs) but I still think that prudent spending is wise. Not that buying loads of sock yarn is exactly prudent. But at least I know what I will do with it, and buying yarn without a project in mind, especially yarn you don't LOVE, is probably silly.

I couldn't help myself, I cast on for a sock right away:

This is the Koigu, and I admit that I can see at only this stage why people love this yarn so much. It's very nice to work with. Alas I can also see why this particular colour was on sale -- it pools horribly. The greens all pool together (nice!) and the grey, yellow, and purple all pool together (hiss!) and the result is not exactly pleasing. Ah well. It was half price, which helps.

These socks are also for The Man, and I fear that there is not enough of it to make decent length socks for him, as he has rather large feet. So we shall see. In any case he won't mind if the socks aren't the prettiest in the world, as he only ever wears boots and no one will ever see them. He's likely more concerned with how they feel than how they look. 

Last confession: I have gone completely off my rocker. I bought this because I finally found a source for it and this was the book I wanted in the first place. Seems ever more ironic that it arrived on the day  went to buy mitten yarn and didn't end up getting any. But I will keep it close by and stare at the cover lovingly and longingly and eventually find the courage to go and find something to fulfill my mitten dreams. 

(To be completely honest, I did find some mitten yarn that would have been fine, but it wasn't exactly perfect. I have a very clear idea of what I want for the mittens, and I just couldn't find it. Had it been there, I likely would have bought it, but I think that I'm likely to find what I want at another -- cheaper -- yarn store. I'm not so intimidated as I pretend ... it's just that if I'm going to put in the effort, I really do want the yarn that I have in mind. That's all.)

(And wow, that was quite a load of confessions, all in all.)