Various Temptations

Right now, I am tempted to work on my Aqua Jacquard Socks.
The are so close to being finished! But if I do—What will I have to knit tonight on the subway?

On the way to work this morning, I added a 3 round stripe of the grey; now the foot is slightly longer than usual. The solution will be a round toe, worked in a similar style to a hat—in this case, 6 spiraling decreases every other round. This toe, with 6, (not 4) decreases every other round is shorter than usual and will be fine with the longer foot.

I did the first round of decreases already; 60 stitches are now 54. From 60 to 6, will be 9 decrease rounds, with 9 more no decrease rounds between them. Less then 18 more rounds (and each one getting smaller!) till they are finished. No sweat to having them completed today! And I can finish them on the subway because the finish will be a drawstring, not grafting.

A quick review of the month--A month of socks for sure!
The Cross Purposes Socks (Patons Kroy Stripes Socks were started in the evening of March 31st—and finished on April 3rd. And unconventionally, already worn once.

The Beaded Beauties –(Zircon's Trekking (XXL)) are almost the identical pattern, with the addition of beads. They were knit starting April 3, and finished 7 days later, (the 10th).

These socks are part of my contribution to the fund raising efforts of my DD for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer (research).

Next up the Ripple Socks--(JoAnne's Sensations Soles and More) These socks got started before the Beaded Beauties were finished (April 7th) and weren't finished till the 22nd. They were knit on a much finer gauge than I usually work. I love how the simple twisted stitch pattern changes the look of the stripes.

Finishing up the month, the soon to be finished Aqua stripes.
Certainly, it really as been the month of socks!

And I have been holding out—earlier this week, I was looking for something, and managed to pick up (and was unable to put down) some old Lion Brand Magic stripe yarn—in the Denim stripe color way. 2 half skeins—left overs from a lazy pair! The LB Magic stripe (and the current Lion Brand Sock Ease) are 100gm skeins, and I had 2 skeins to start. So rather than divide one skein, I knit a pair using half a skein of each, and left behind 2 half skeins.

Each of these 2 half skeins are enough for 1 sock--together, another pair. And because I matched up the skeins to start, I ended up with the 2 half skeins already matched up.

The Denim stripe is a very long repeat; the 6 inches knit so far hasn't repeated the pattern once! This makes it perfect stripe for a flap/turned/gusseted heel. There is no noticeable break in the pattern--since there isn't a noticeable pattern of stripes to begin with!

The colors are bright and clear, and good 'go with's'. Certainly good go with's denims—and I (doesn't everybody?) have a good deal of denim in my casual wardrobe.

The first pair—at least 7 years old, are getting worn looking—but are still free of holes; which is pretty remarkable. Now, with 40 odd pairs of socks, I have enough socks that I don't wear any single pair often enough in a month to wear them out in years. But back when I knit the first pair of Denim stripes, I was just returning to sock knitting—after a 20 year break. In that first year, I don't think I knit a half dozen pairs. Those socks got worn, washed, and worn, time and time again.
And –I almost forgot! I repaired (re knit) the toe on my swap socks from 2 years ago! So these socks--worn just once--are now part of the mix.

Earlier this month--I heard a twist on the old adage: If wishes were horses, beggers would ride.

The new version:

If wishes were horses, she'd have stable.

In my case, if hand knit socks represent wealth, I have a fortune--this month alone has added 10% to my stock!