I finished the booties! Well, actually, they’re socks. I used short rows for the heels and toes, and liked the final product. I wasn’t sure how they’d come out, and I definitely fixed some fatigue-related errors whilst weaving in my ends, but I’m really happy with how they came out. And my coworker really liked them, so that makes me feel good. Everybody else was impressed, but it was his opinion that matters, since it’s his kid I made them for. Also, he was happy to hear that the blanket is still in the works, and that I may actually finish before his child makes his debut into the world.

I’m exhausted, but it’s totally worth it!

I like these socks, and I’m going to make them again, but next time I will not add the third stripe of the contrast color, just to make them look more like the Old Skool socks I was picturing in my head. 

Also, and it’s worth noting, this is the best my short row anythings have ever looked!

I’m not going to finish the OpArt blanket in time for tomorrow’s baby shower. It’s getting pretty big, and I’m up to 668 stitches total. I’d probably have pulled an all-nighter and finished it, anyway, but then I remembered that I’d still need to block it, and it definitely wouldn’t have been ready in time for the shower tomorrow at noon.

Still, no worries. I decided to use that old baby shower standby, the booties. Not just any booties, though. I am using (what I hope will be) leftover green and white from the blanket to make booties that are reminiscent of old school socks. I’ve made enough booties that I don’t really need a pattern at this point, so I’m just kind of winging it, and throwing in a short row heel because I hate myself.

aim-less |ˈāmlis|adjective

I was able to go back and change all the pictures in my posts from those on the Blogger servers to those that I uploaded to WordPress. In general, it doesn’t make much of a difference, but in reality, I need every bit of space that I can wring from Google without ponying up extra cash, and now I’ll be able to delete that album. Here’s what I’ve been working on lately: one mitten (Subway Mitten pattern), finished, and horribly oversized (now palmed off on my dad, or will be whenever I finish the second); a pair of socks using my lovely Brooklyn Handspun (prettier to look at than to knit with, although I no longer loathe it); and the ever-present OpArt, which is growing, but not nearly as quickly as it should be, given the kid is expected somewhere in the next 3 weeks.

I just moved this blog from Blogger to Dreamhost/Wordpress, so I guess that the cheesy title can stay. There’s nothing wrong with Blogger or Google, but I have really grown to like WordPress and find it unnecessary to maintain blogs on two different platforms. I’ve been knitting a fair amount lately, and I never even uploaded the pictures from my Touch My Monkeys, so I will definitely do that very soon!

I finished Terea’s monkey socks! I’m so glad that they’re done, because it’s always so satisfying to finish a project, but they were fun and quick to knit, and I miss the project already! This is me modeling them, just because.

I was going to make a pair of monkeys for myself, but then I saw another pair of socks by Cookie A, Hedera, and I knew I had to make those! She’s such an amazing designer. I have this lovely sea green yarn by Brooklyn Handspun, and I think it’s perfect for this project. I opened my Magic Loop book and tried it out, and I really get this method! I’m sure, though, that I’ll find a way to eff up these socks using this method. To make things really interesting, I’m going to try them toe up.

I’m really concerned about how little trouble I am having with my revamped Monkey socks. I had started them in September, done a lot in a little time, and then got bored with all of the purling and stopped. Good thing.

It turned out that I had been knitting them backwards; I’d pushed the right side into my the space between my DPNs, and therefore was knitting the whole thing in reverse. Stupid, but it was still okay, at least until I went and did the heel inside out, too. Then I was all messed up. I frogged the whole thing, and started over again this Tuesday. Right now, I’m about to start decreasing, and I feel so much better about my skills as a knitter, and my ability to read and understand a pattern. Also, I got to practice my short row heels again and am really getting the hang of it now, which is awesome.

I can see why people keep making these socks again and again (the other day I met a woman who has made 5 pairs of Monkeys in a very short time). They’re cute, fun, and really easy, and I think I will make myself a pair soon, after I get through all of the obligatory knitting that I need to finish up.