Aren’t they beauteous? I’m not sure they’re small enough for A, though…

Pattern: Cookie A.’s Monkey, without the purls

Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock Multi

No purl monkey socks

Regular Monkey socks:

Purlful Monkey socks

If you look closely, you can see the purl stitches (they look like bumps) at the sides of the v design that repeats over the socks. As you can tell,  really like this yarn, and I’m bummed that Purl Soho doesn’t sell it in their store anymore (although the woman did say that she thought they still carry it online). I bought some variegated orange and solid orange Koigu to console myself.

Here’s a photo of the cover of Knitting With Dog Hair, the book that I mentioned yesterday. The best part is the subtitle, which I neglected to include before: “Better a sweater from a dog you know and love than from a sheep you’ll never meet.” Link again goes to the Amazon.com listing for the book.

Out of curiosity, I checked on Ravelry to see if anybody had made any of the patterns featured in this book, but the only person who has done so is…Kendall Crolius, the woman who wrote it. This is not a shocker.

I cleaned up last week, not really in honor of Independence Day, but more because I couldn’t stand the sight of my dresser anymore. I decided that there are a few things I want to accomplish in July, and that includes finishing things that I’ve been working on for a long time. Number one on that list is my Op Art blanket, which I’ve been working on since October. The baby it’s for is almost 6 months old; I do feel a little bit ashamed, although previously this shame wasn’t enough to spur me into action.

Over the course of May and June, I slowly worked the final rows of the second color, and tonight I finished the last few rounds with it. I’m up to 720+ stitches, and I frankly don’t understand any of those brave souls who consented to make the larger blanket. Right now I’m about to bind off using the main color. Then I’ll have to worry about the weaving in and the blocking, but for now I’m just going to be proud of this accomplishment.

I’ll rest on my laurels for a day or so, and then get back to the socks I’ve been making for Amy Sue since January. I feel slightly better about those, though, because I warned her ahead of time how slow I can be at finishing things. I want a pair of socks for me, though, and I’m not allowed to have those until I’ve finished hers.

Oh! And I also need to finish the baby beanie that I’m making with the knit group I lead at work. This is our inaugural group project, and it would probably look bad if I didn’t finish it, right?

Okay, you may have noticed that I have a new site theme now. I just couldn’t take looking at the other one anymore. I’m not sure how long this will last, but I like it for now.

In knitting news, I am making great progress with the mystery socks and I love them! The yarn is so prettyful, and I love the way this is turning out. Although it pains me and I could go on about this forever, I shall say no more!

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!

aim-less |ˈāmlis|adjective