Socks in the mail, WisconSocks, FrigNsocks...
Finished Objects:
Polecat's socks in the mail to Ohio...Check!
Amber's Haley's Roses socks in the mail to Ohio...Check!
MrWoody's winning ChatRoom socks in the mail to Wisconsin...Check!

Sorry, no pictures of those...forgot to get out the camera before mailing. You can see Polecat's and Amber's socks in a previous post. MrWoody's socks were plain black, worsted weight in KnitPicks yummy 100% superwash merino Swish, knit 6, purl 3 rib...

On the needles: second-place chat room socks for our friend FrigNbored (John) in Louisiana in this lovely grayish-greenish-beigish cotton and wool blend from Astrid's Dutch Obsessions . This is very nice yarn to work with, soft, warm, and just enough color to keep them interesting without being too 'wild.' I wish the color would show up better in the photo. The dark stripes are forest green, and the background is a greenish beige. I like it!

The pattern: Cast on 72 stitches for each sock. Your stitch count may vary. This is based on a gauge of about 8-9 stitches per inch, minus 10% for negative ease, for a foot measuring ten inches around at the ball of the foot.

Work in K1, P1 rib for two inches or so, then switch to K7, P2 rib for 8 inches.

Work Eye-of-Partridge stitch over half the stitches for the heel flap, turn heel, pick up gussets, work gusset decreases until back to 72 stitches. Work round and round until the foot is 2 to 2-1/2 inches shorter than the length of the foot to the end of the longest toe. Work toe decreases, graft toes, and done!

The buying trip to Atlanta was great fun! We walked, walked, walked, bought, bought, bought, ate good food, and laughed together until we were too sore to laugh any more. Plus! two flights (and I LOVE to fly), and a little touch of slightly warmer weather. Now to figure out where we're going to put all the new stuff that will be coming into the stores soon...

Heading South This Week...

I am heading out early Tuesday morning for Atlanta to see what's new and cool in the retail world for the store where I work. I'll be visiting the Atlanta Gift Market with my bosses and a co-worker, and then will be home Saturday.

<--- Here are the latest nearly-finished-objects. The first is a pair of socks for our friend, "Polecat," who wanted orange socks to match his Pearl Orange GoldWing. The yarn is Garnstudio's Fabel in color 153, purchased from Astrid's Dutch Obsessions. This is a new yarn for me, and I like it very much, indeed! It has a nice feel and is quite soft. The balls were wound in opposite directions, so Polecat's socks are fraternal, not identical, twins...he'll like that, though! Nothing fancy here, just 6x3 rib on the leg and continuing down the top of the foot. These need just a few more rows of toe-shaping to finish them. I'm hoping to have them done before I leave tomorrow.

The second is a pair of Haley's Roses socks for Haley's mommy, Amber. I ran out of the white Opal yarn, and had to go stash-diving to find enough (I hope!) to finish them. See more about purchasing this pattern at the link above. ALL of the proceeds from its sale are donated to the Children's Neuroblastoma Research organization.

I will need a new project to help keep me sane in Atlanta this week, so I held a contest in my GL1800Riders chat room. I will be knitting a pair of boring black socks (his choice!) for the winner. Pictures to come in a week or so.

See you in a few days!

Oh, Sarah? We're another day closer to spring!

Winterscape...

The picture does not do the scene justice. This is a little marshy area I pass some days on the way to work. It was zero degrees F when I left for work this morning. The sun was bright, and sparkled like diamonds on the snow. Yes, the sky really was that blue!

I had to stop and take a photo of this pretty little bit of nature.

I find I enjoy winter more the older I get.

First Snow of 2008
This was what greeted us at the back door this morning. There was no snow there yesterday evening. I had to push back the snow with the storm door to let the dog out.

Happy New Year, one and all!