News from knitting mountain

This week we've hardly talked about knitting at all, in spite of there being a lot of it going on around here (thank you, welcoming new living room, for your many knitting nests.)  So: let's see what's new.

First up, the sunshine and bubblegum sock.

Looking any more on-purpose yet?

No?  Well, how about this: I finally cast on the Mystery Knitalong shawl:

This isn't much of a spoiler because all you can tell from this tiny bit of progress is that the stitches are lace, which was indicated in the initial offering of the pattern.  What I can tell you is that the lace is very pretty, and not impossible to knit.  Also, the way the shawl starts produces a super nice border, and I'm fairly certain the colour of my yarn (Twisted Fiber Art, a club colourway whose name I forget, dyed in an evolution from one colour to another rather than striping), is going to shift just as I start Clue Three, which should look awesome.

I can tell you too that I know who I'm knitting this for (and also who I feel like I should be knitting this for, which does not add up to the same person.)  I'm feeling a bit guilty about the direction it's taking, but this has probably happened to you too - sometimes the knitting just knows where it's meant to be.

Also on the working list this week:

the second, unending, Koigu sock, whose picture I took about ten rounds before I noticed I had started the foot before entirely finishing the gusset.

Gaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh

Ironically, I found the first sock a bit tight around the foot, so this second one might be perfect, but if I leave it the way it is then the two socks will fit differently and that might drive me round the bend.  Also, starting the foot too soon means I've started the toe too soon, which means three choices.

1/ rip out this toe and start later and ignore the fact that the socks aren't the same diameter around the foot.

2/ rip out this toe and the entire foot to fix the gusset problem, then reknit the foot and toe.

3/ rip out this toe and reknit, then rip out the other toe and foot to redo its gusset to match gusset number two.

After trying on both socks and hoping that option one would be viable, I did the preliminary ripping for option three.  Le sigh.  These socks might just take all summer to finish, they are so un-fun to knit, and I don't know why because my goodness the colours are lovely.

In non-knitting news, my friend Jan and I saw a cool basket when we were out shopping this week,

but I saw it first, heh.  I seem to have chosen the one angle for photography that prevents you seeing that it looks as though it's been knit together, but it really does.  Perfect knitting basket!  Well, it's very big unless you happen to have a lot of knitting going on, and I know you know I do.  Plus, I'm carrying a lot of projects and gear back and forth now that I am choosing upstairs over downstairs most of the time.

Actually it's a pretty spectacular thing, those 'knit' stitches on the basket.  I will try to take a better picture for you today.

And one last update: I finally got the sock laundry into the Soak bath.  There were 17 pairs.  How does that even happen?  My sock drawer still has a lot of viable options in it and everything.  Maybe this is just too many socks.

Good thing I signed up for the next round of Vesper Sock Club before I tallied up my inventory, right?

Okay, that's it for me today.  Have a wonderful day yourself, and I'll see you tomorrow!