Black Socks

This week I've been struggling a lot. Not sure what's going on, but I haven't had much energy. About the only thing that has gotten any attention is my dad's socks. I have a few rows left on the leg and then I get to move on to the heel.

I'll admit right now I'm not loving the black. It's really hard to see the pattern and it's so dreary. I keep reminding myself that as a pastor my dad does a lot of winter funerals. There are some brighter socks in his future that will be appropriate most places, but funerals tend to be somber occasions.  I'm sure he will be very thankful for these socks this winter when preparing for graveside committals on days that the windchill is -20. (Yes that is still in Fahrenheit. Iowa winters are brutal.)

Sneaky Blueberry

The Father's Day socks are progressing very slowly. Not sure why these socks this sock is taking so long. I was informed yesterday that Father's Day this year falls on June 15th. For some reason I had it in my head that I had until the 21st. (Not that a week will make that much difference.) It might be time to start looking for an alternative gift and throw these in the box of Christmas presents. 

If you're wondering what that blue little ribbon of ribbing is, that is blueberry. I have my pattern for these socks on my ipod and was listening to it in the kitchen this weekend. I was feeling lazy and didn't want to go get my ipod so I cast on for blueberry. I had toyed with the idea of knitting blueberry in one piece, but I realized I'd be stuck with the paper pattern and wouldn't be able to read it on my ipod. When I pulled what I thought was enough yarn to cast on the 250 some stitches for the whole piece and only had enough yarn for the 120ish stitches for the back my decision was made.

The Forgotten Sock

Monday was Memorial Day in the US so that meant I got an extra day off of work. My husband and I both work with adults who have physical and mental disabilities. I work in a classroom setting and he works in one of the houses. Unfortunately he still had to work this weekend so I had three days to do whatever I wanted to. My goal was to finish the first of the Father's Day socks. Saturday I woke up with an overwhelming desire to start playing with my hedgehog fabric. By Sunday I had finished the quilt top, two Farmer's Wife blocks, and made this cute little pouch for a giveaway. Go to Sunday's post and tell me your favorite animal for a chance to win. You can also get an extra entry by following my blog and telling me you do so on Sunday's post.

I figured Monday I could really put some time in on the sock. I finally worked up the courage to talk to our neighbor about using some of her extra rhubarb so I made rhubarb jam Monday morning. I woke up really early so my kitchen was back to it's normal state by 7:00a.m. Still plenty of time to work on the sock. Then I realized that if I spent the morning working on Farmer's Wife blocks I could almost get caught up. I really shouldn't be surprised that I'm still working on the first sock. (I did finish the instep last night so it might even get done before Father's Day.) Of course yesterday in the mail I got my background fabric for the Supernova Friendship Swap and I got some cute Briar Rose fabric for a little girl's comfort quilt so who knows. Sadly the plain black sock does not compete well against cute little frogs with backpacks. I need to remind myself that when I finish this pair of socks I can go back to knitting my blueberry. Maybe the temptation of a bright blue happy yarn will keep me on track.

Father's Day Socks part 1

My Father's Day socks are coming along really well. I couldn't believe it when I finished the leg last night. I figured with the quilt show this weekend eating up most of my time these socks would be sadly neglected. It's a very strange moment when you realize you've moved beyond the stage of beginner. I'm sure most of the people around me would say, "Well duh," when they read this, but I haven't really stopped to examine my skill level in a while. I remember my first quilt show 3 years ago. I entered one quilt that is a great example of a first quilt. The points didn't match, a few seams popped open, and there were more than a few wrinkles on the back. Oh, I did I mention I made it using old jeans. Not the fabric a first quilter should choose. 

I remembered walking around the show and looking at all of the amazing quilts the other ladies had finished that year and wondering if I'd ever be that good. I was seriously questioning if I should just quit since it felt like such a hopeless cause when my husband asked if I enjoyed making my quilt. I thought for a few moments and realized that yes, I did have fun with it. Then I heard a few of the women talk about how long they'd been quilting and most had been at it for 5-7 years. Five years wasn't so long. I continued to quilt and learn as much as I could from the quilters around me. This year I entered 6 quilts into the show! Even more exciting 4 of the 6 were original designs. Walking around I realized that I have moved so far beyond a beginner quilter.

Now seeing how much of this sock I knit this week in all of it's busy chaos I realize I've moved beyond a beginner knitter too. Having such projects as my lace shawl and my heavily cabled green sweater under my belt it's weird that a sock makes me feel accomplished. I read once that all knitting is broken down into the knit and purl stitch. Everything else is just a variation of those two stitches. This has given me the ability to look at complicated patterns and say, "It's just two stitches, I can do this." However I may not be able to do it fast. Knitting fast takes experience.

Here's a close-up of the pattern. Old Joe Socks is a great pattern for guy socks. It's nice to have something more than a vanilla sock, but still very simple and appropriate for work. I love how perfectly my water bottle fills in for a leg. It really gives the sock the shape it needs to show off the pattern.