Machine Work vs. Hand Work

I'm a bit surprised that I have any knitting to share this week. I hear the clock ticking on my quilt guild's annual show (I have 41 days left. Eek!) Usually my knitting and quilting don't get in the way of each other because in my mind machine work is separate from hand work. Machine work gets done in large chunks on weekends and the occasional mornings when I wake up super early and inspired. Since my sewing studio doubles as our kitchen I don't set up my machine unless I can dedicate a minimum of an hour to work. Hand work gets done while I sip coffee in the morning or am watching t.v. with my husband at night. Normally hand work is knitting. However right now I'm buckling down and sewing on some long waiting bindings. (Unless it's part of a workshop or the mystery all of our quilts have to be completely finished in order to hang in the show. The grace period in this is that there's no deadline of when we have to start so any quilts that don't get finished in time can hang in next year's show.)

I'm not sure how my knitting post has turned into a quilting ramble. Back on topic. Last week I had two cuffs and this week I've got stuff attached to both cuffs! You can tell Blueberry hasn't gotten much attention this week. I am feeling a bit more confident with the pattern and aren't tied so closely to my stitch counter or pattern. (I think that will change when my increases move from every 4 rounds to every 6, but I'm right now I'm just appreciating that little bit of lace that's grown above the cuff.)

I'm really late to the party with Hermione's Socks. I know lots of people have knit them before, but there's a good reason for that. This pattern rocks! It takes me a long time to memorize patterns (please note that I'm still using the pattern for blueberry when there are only two lines where anything happens.) I had Hermione memorized after only three repeats of the pattern! Granted the pattern is only 4 stitches wide and only 2 rows have action, but it's still memorized. I love that this sock can go into my repertoire of easy sock knitting when I want something that's just a step above vanilla. I also enjoy the fact that it will work great with hand painted yarns. I never know what to do other than vanilla which doesn't seem to do justice to those lovelies. This pattern is even basic enough that I can see using it for my husband or dad with a more masculine yarn color. The pattern only gives directions for a women's sock, but since the repeat is only 4 stitches wide it won't be hard to change.