The problem with jumping from project to project is that I don’t have very much in the way of interesting progress to show. I still haven’t forgotten about the 12 sweaters in a year project–although I’m a wee bit behind, technically, I only have to finish the sweaters this year. With that in mind, I hauled Sizzle out of my UFO pile.

I had a few inches left on the front, which were finished quickly, then I settled down to seam it up during the Oscars. On the principle that doing two things that always seem to take forever at once would somehow speed them both up? (Also, can we take a minute here and talk about the Oscars? There were a few great looks–Sandra Bullock, Cameron Diaz, Sandy Powell–and Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren are my role models on how to age gracefully, but what was up with the fooferah on all the skirts? It’s a dress, not sculptural art. Also, Zoe Saldana? I love you, I do, but didn’t anyone tell you that Ursula from the Little Mermaid was attacking that dress? Seriously. Take it off.)

Ahem.

I also picked up and worked the neck. It’s not overlapping quite as much as I’d thought, but is still cute. And dangerously low-cut, so that could be interesting.

And I’m still plugging along on the Atlantis sock. The problem with this is that the chart is just long enough that I can’t memorize it, or easily tell where I left off, so I can only wor on it when I have a little over an hour free, which isn’t always workable. I’m getting there, though!

Is it just me, or do toe up socks look really strange when you’re turning the heel? I prefer cuff down socks, but I’ve been working from several patterns that are toe up lately, and I still find the socks look quite odd as I work the heel.

These are the Atlantis socks plugging along. I’m enjoying these, but the chart is just long enough that I don’t want to work on them unless I have an hour or so to knit. Which makes it difficult to find time! I have been good and held off on casting on for other projects though, no matter how tempting they may be. So that has to count for something…

These commuter socks have been hanging around on the needles for a long, long time. I have a tendency to switch back and forth between knitting and reading on my commute, so sometmes I go for quite a while and don’t knit much. Plus, depending on when I leave, it can be impossible to get a seat. But it’s nice to have a plain project to work on without thinking too much…I took these to Pantheacon and whipped through the second sock in no time at all.

The yarn is bacon yarn from Holiday yarns. I love this yarn! It’s so nice to work with, there’s plenty in the skein so no worries of running short, and c’mon, it’s bacon.

The pattern is just a basic sock formula.

Bacon and eggs. What? If you’d knit these socks, you’d take this photo too. Don’t lie.

I don’t think I’ve shown you my newest project, so here it is! This is one of the socks for CAYA folk–as I mentioned before, I’m giving up any pretense of surprising folks at this point. Largely because I wouldn’t have anything to talk about!

I’ve already forgotten the yarn I’m using, but it’s nice–and a lovely dark teal. The pattern is Atlantis, from Janel Laidman’s book The Enchanted Sole. I LOVE THIS BOOK. Seriously. I am sure I’ll find a recipient for pretty much every pattern in there. So far the sock is zipping along–the first repeat of the chart was a little slow, but it’ s zipping along nicely now.

Through the miracle of the yarn that lated way longer than I thought, I have another finished object for you! I really though I’d run out of yarn before I finished this, but I didn’t!

These are Szmeralda’s Rainbow Jaywalkers. I wasn’t sure who they were for when I started them–I was just frustrated and stalled on socks for someone else, so I picked these up as a break. I was puzzling over the recipient when it hit me that the colors are just perfect for my friend Szmeralda.

The yarn is Plymouth Sockotta and I’ve unfortunately lost the colorway. But it’s a rather old dyelot, and I’m not entirely sure they’re still making this one. The pattern is Jaywalkers by Grumperina. (These are my third pair. It’s great for varigated yarn.)

No matter how many socks I knit, there’s something about turning the heel that makes me so happy. Maybe it’s that I still have a hard time understanding why it works, so it’s like magic every time I’m successful. Maybe it’s that it acts as the halfway moment of finishing that sock. Maybe it’s that it’s the moment where the sock actually begins to look like, well, a sock.

But whatever it is, there’s something deeply stisfying about turning the heel of a sock I’m working on. This week, I reached the heel turn of my bacon commuter sock (the second in the pair) and on Szmeralda’s rainbow socks. (Did I mention that? The rainbow socks I was working on earlier–I finally figured out who they belong to.)

See? There is knitting progress on this blog.

So, I’ve been on vacation this week, and I started off with grand intentions. I was going to write a lot! And knit a lot! And it would be fantastic and good and you know what they say about the best laid plans, right?

Most of all, these past few days, I have slept. Seriously. I wake up, I take a nap. I get up, do a little bit, sleep some more. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve been sleeping too much and that has made me more sleepy, or if my body just really really needs me to catch up on rest. Either way, it’s not ideal, but I’m trying to accept it.

I have been knitting on this sock though. It’s very colorful, and I’m quite sure it belongs to someone in CAYA….I’m just not sure who, yet. It’s my third pair of Jaywalkers. I don’t know what it is about that pattern, but I do seem to like it quite a bit. (Despite not having kept any of those pairs for myself.) I’m sure at some point I’ll figure out the perfect recipient for these, and all will be well!

Amazingly enough, I have yet another finished object to share! There may have been much cursing and gnashing of teeth, but I finished my Yule socks! In time for Yule, even!

The pattern is the Spiral Coriolis from Cat Bordhi’s New Pathways in Sock Knitting. The yarn is Noro Silk Garden Sock. After making the pair, I definitely have a better feel for how the patterns in this book are structured and work; I still don’t understand *why* they work but I think at some point I’m just going to have to let that one go.

The socks are lovely and cozy; they make me want to curl up in front of a cozy fire drinking hot cocoa while it snows outside. Never mind that I don’t have snow or a fireplace, or anyone to curl up in front of it with. I can dream, can’t I? (Or at least make some cocoa.)

I also made more cupcakes.

Yesterday’s cupcake adventure was hauled to my office via BART and MUNI–and frankly, I wasn’t entirely sure the cupcakes were going to make that whole trip without getting stolen by ravenous commuters–and promptly devoured. (And, I hope, enjoyed.) Today’s batch is meant for CAYA’s Amazon Yule; I don’t usually bake for Friday circles, but in a rare fit of not being involved in planning anything at all, I actually have time to stop by my apartment and pick up baked goods before I go.

For this batch, I made more lemony gingerbread. These seem to be clear winners; they went the fastest at work, much to my surprise. I would have pegged the peppermint mocha as the front runners.

I also made maple cupcakes with maple frosting. The cupcake recipe is from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, but sans sugared walnuts. I meant to do those, but wound up going to The Sacred Well and chatting with Iris and Molly instead of having time to make the walnuts. Oops? The frosting is adapted from a maple buttercream I found online, since I couldn’t find powdered soy milk to make the frosting from the book.

Pretty good for a Friday, right?

Thora asked if could show a picture of the lace stockings I’m knitting. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything embeddable, but I you can see the original photos on this blog.

I didn’t like the look of them in white, so I’m doing a dark red. I can’t imagine white stockings would look good on me..or anyone really. It calls to mind go-go dancers or something. I’m not a fan.

But yes. I’m making progress, however small. Admittedly, they aren’t my main focus by a long shot. I do want to have them finished, but I’ve also got so many other things to knit! Gifts and socks and baby gifts (yes, more baby gifts) and there’s so many projects I want to make!

Someone needs to invent a 28 hour day. Please?

It’s been a very sock-y week here on the blog, I realize now, so it only seems fitting to wind up with a finished pair of socks. These are my Samhain socks–admittedly, they’re rather late, but still finished and ready for the upcoming year. I get the feeling it’s going to be a rather watery, Cup-y year for me so I might as well embrace it with the Queen of Cups on my feet!

And the obligatory modeled shot. Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of your own feet?

The yarn is Malabrigo sock in violet, and the pattern is Queen of Cups from Knitty. My row gauge was off slightly, so they were a bit shorter than intended. But I don’t always like super tall socks, so I like them. And, it’s one more square for the blanket!