It is, in fact, a sweater. Here is my dirty red sweater of guilt (guilt, because I should be finishing those socks). Please note the totally awesome cables that I am doing without cable needles (thanks to Grumperina, who rocks, although I won the most darling set at the LYS holiday swap).

I’ve decided that it’s not procrastination if you’re knitting something else while avoiding the original item.

Up with cables!

Down with boring patterns!

Down with excessive striping!

I know that I just finished my second pair of Jaywalkers yesterday, but I really don’t want to lose my momentum. I enjoyed making those socks and the feeling of accomplishment when I finished weaving in the last strand, and I want those feelings again. Plus, I said that I would make socks for Terea and Stephanie, and I want to do that soon. Also, I know that I sometimes find sock knitting tedious and boring, so I think I’ll mix it up and make sure that I actually work on one of my many other UFOs when I need down time from the socks. I just realized that Zeeby’s bag, which I have been working on for no less than two years, is a nice, mindless project that I could easily complete while watching dvds. I have to do the same row over and over again for 11 inches, and there are no decreases to worry about, so why not?

So I finished my second pair of Jaywalkers, and I couldn’t be happier. I am getting much quicker at this sock-knitting thing. And this time I did not in any way screw up the Kitchener stitch! I think that using the Youtube video to get myself started is a good idea, but that I need to turn it off once I’m on my way. Probably going back and forth between my knitting and the woman’s instructions was confusing me.

Here are my finished Jaywalkers:

I tried them on and they fit, but then I stupidly took them off before pulling out my camera. So I think I’ll take a picture of them actually on my tootsies sometime soon and add them to this post at a later date. I just noticed that I have my red and white socks on my red computer, which is on my pink bedspread. This sudden habit I have of possessing red items is starting to worry me. I must be stopped.

I’ve found the next pair that I want to make: monkeys! I’ve heard good things about this pattern, and I like the way that the completed so looks. I’m encouraged by all the n00bs who burst their sock cherries on this pattern. Now I just need to find out where in the world I can find some 1.5 dpns. I’m not necessarily ready to start a new pair of socks at 11:30 at night, but maybe I 1) do a swatch to test my gauge (which I almost never do) and 2) see if I can find some mods to this pattern to fit what will almost certainly be a foot larger than the one this pattern was designed for.

While in Poughkeepsie for Christine and Justin’s wedding (which was awesome, by the way), I went bowling. First we were going to go minigolfing, which is an obsession of Ben and Elissa’s, but then I saw a bowling alley, and successfully changed our destination. I am no good at all, but I did manage to win two games. I was so excited to get there, but then I picked up a bowling ball and realized: if my wrist was too sore to knit, what in the world was I doing in a bowling alley?? I wasn’t thinking at all. During the second game, my wrist really started to get sore, but I was using an 8 pound ball, which is pretty much the smallest I could use and still be using an adult ball. I worried that I would be in pain during the wedding and the next day, but AMAZINGLY enough, my wrist stopped hurting and I actually got quite a bit of knitting done on Monday and today. Plus, the curiosity got to me and I tried on the socks, so now I know that they do actually fit me. It’s pretty exciting.

I’ve been having some pain in my left wrist, so I find it difficult to knit more than a couple of rows in any one sitting. I’ve been favoring it and waiting for the pain to go away, but it’s been a while now since I felt this way, so I think I’m going to have to go to a doctor. Bummer!

I’ve finished the heel of my second pair of jaywalkers, and now I’m decreasing them and preparing for six mind-numbing inches of the foot. I keep forgetting to see if I can get my ankle into this pair. If not, I’ll have to find SOMEBODY else to give them to. Too late, I found out that there are a couple of larger, official updates to the pattern, which can be found here. If this pair doesn’t fit me, I guess I’ll go up to the next larger size. I’m going to be in Poughkeepsie this weekend for Christine and Justin’s wedding (yay!), so maybe I can try to get some more done on the socks while I’m traveling to and from.

Also, while looking for something else entirely, I came across a bag that I have been 95% finished with for the past two years. Everything is knitted and felted, and now I just have to sew the darned pieces together. Nevermind the fact that this bag is no longer to my exact taste, I should just be done with it, right? I think I don’t want to finish it.

So I finally finished my first pair of Jaywalker socks. As you can see, they’re pretty cute, even though one foot is about 1/8 of an inch longer than the other. Oh well. I need to find somebody with narrow, but long feet. Maybe I’ll have to try them on the feet of all of my tall, skinny friends. It could be like Cinderella, with socks, and a lesbian subtext!
Seriously, though, I really love this yarn. It’s Lorna’s Laces and it is self-striping, which is the greatest thing ever! I think that the stress of the last month gave me the motivation to finish the first sock and start/finish the second one, so let’s hear it for silver linings. I realized pretty early on (but not too early to do anything about it) that these socks wouldn’t fit my feet, so now I am making a second pair in the larger size given, and I hope that they’ll fit me! This pair is going to be magenta and white striped, which will look adorable on me!

Here are the beginnings of my new socks. I really like the way the first pair turned out, so I’ll stop being so lazy and do more work on these.