Orchid Socks

These have been done for a week, but due to a nasty head cold I had to quarantine myself and deny the photographer access so he wouldn't get sick. I remember reading blogs, so if I've left a comment on anyone's blog that made no sense, I'm sorry! Sinus meds put me in a haze. I also owe some emails, soon soon! Anyway, these here socks are made from Nature's Palette Fingering Weight Merino in orchid. I did them toe-up, short-row toe and heel. The lace pattern is a mix of doing yo, k2tog twice and the leaf pattern is from a sweater in Rebecca 28. It looks identical to MJ's scarf, so you could also look it up in the book she references. I might just write it up together with the Springgrass socks pattern, let me know if you're interested in the patterns and I'll put them on the blog.

Initially I wanted to make them knee-highs, but I didn't place the increases right, the lace pattern stretched too much and it looked bad. I frogged the trial sock, but not enough, so now one sock is one pattern repeat higher.

I'm not sure yet if that will bother me...you know, trying to be non-chalant about the mistake while the inner perfectionist is having a fit. Let's see who wins.

What else is new? I've been hovering in the knitting doldrums lately and I'm not sure why. I've noticed that other knitters have been feeling them too, so I'm not alone. In my case, I feel a little overwhelmed by my stash. You'd probably laugh if you saw it, as it all fits in one bin. So I've been trying to come up with projects to reduce it, yet nothing has caught my fancy. I frogged Butterfly because I dropped a stitch and wasn't able to retrieve it. The Corset Pullover is scaring me because it looks so tiny even though I know the yarn relaxes after a wash. I've lost my confidence, and that's why I've been sticking to socks (since I for sure don't need any more scarves). So here's what I got from my LYS to keep the hands busy until I figure out how to get back on the horse:

Two skeins of Koigu, in a color that can't be photographed, a color that I have a hard time describing, a dark red with a hint of magenta. Glowing from the inside like the sun shining through a red robe in a stained-glass window. It's religious and sinful. It'll be the antidote to the blues on a chilly winter morning. Did I mention it'll be another pair of socks?