Socks and Scarves

The person who inspired me to knit (and continues to do so), came to visit this past week, and we while we did knit and shop for yarn some, we showed admirable restraint and did a wide range of things with her family, not all of which included fiber. Janelle came to my regular knitting group on Saturday, and on Sunday, we visited Natural Bridge Caverns, which I hadn't been to since I was a kid. Tiring, but fun! Janelle wrote about her trip, if you want a more articulate version of what we were up to.

While she was here, we got some knitting done, and today, while enjoying a delayed holiday gathering at the in-laws', I finished up my Fishbone Gansey Socks. I made them on my new extra-pointy Signature Needle Arts size 1 dpns. I usually default to size 0's, so these are quite roomy. Unfortunately, the extra needle girth ate up a bit more yarn than i'm used to and I wasn't able to finish the socks with the yarn I had. So the toes are navy blue, made from some leftover Knit Picks yarn I bought years ago. They look a little goofy, but only I and people I'm comfortable being shoeless around will know. I'm wearing them right now on a chilly north Texas night, and my feet are quite cozy.

After finishing the socks, I started on a Stephen West scarf design called Spectra. Janelle was planning to make it, and after seeing a sample at Hill Country Weavers, I decided to jump on the bandwagon. We got some nice dark green hand dyed yarn from Yarn Carnival for the background, and the same Freia ombré handpaint for the "panes." It's going to be circular and the colors will gradually shift as I work my way around. It's rather brighter and more whimsical than I could pull off, but I have someone in mind for it.