Socking It (but not Socking It to Me)

My knitblogger friend Vamanta put out a call for some help with an Afghans for Afghans project, one which will bring warm socks to some Afghani kids. So a bunch of us from the Elann Chat Center have hauled out our neglected sock-knitting skills and have been knitting in small circles the last few days. The link is to Vamanta's post on the socks project. Deadline for having them in San Francisco is next Thursday, March 7.

Here's my progress since Saturday. It is incredibly easier to knit socks in worsted weight with size US4 or 6 needles than to work with sock yarn and US 1-2. The green pair I did with size US5, and it is my very first effort at a toe-up sock. I like the concept, particularly since it doesn't involve my own nemesis - Kitchener stitching - but I'm not loving those short-row heels. Even though I carefully made every single wrap & turn, I still had decorative but unwanted eyelets. I will be attaching a mini-skein of yarn and a darning needle for future repairs, even though I've tried to duplicate-stitch or darn every weak spot. This is done with Paton's Classic Wool, in a lovely dark foresty green color, trimmed at the top with a bit of Paton's Decor wool blend. I did use some nylon reinforcement at the heel on this one.

The orange pair is done top down. The 'finished' sock needs some help with the Kitchener, even after 3 tries, and it will go, with its mate, to Unwind on Friday for a sewing lesson. I *know* how to do Kitchener (purl on, knit off; knit on, purl off), it just never seems to come out right. Both of these yarns are left over from my holiday hat-making, being Nashua's Creative Focus worsted weight superwash wool. This is done with the basic slip-stitch heel, but I forgot to go find some reinforcing nylon for this heel - I'm totally positive I don't have any in orange - though IMHO the slip-stitch technique makes a sturdier fabric than the short-row heel.

All the WIPs from my last post are still WIPs-in-waiting, but I'm a bit jazzed! Today's post at the Yarn Harlot shows that Stephanie herself is also doing an EZ ribwarmer, the same pattern as my lavender-pink project!!! Her pictures are better than mine, no surprise, and she's got both pieces done. But still, knitterly sisterhood, y'know.

A few weeks ago an online friend of mine had a little girl, nicknamed the Wee Imp by those of us who were helping the mommy wait and cheering her on. I knitted a little vest for the Imp, but I couldn't show it here till the Imp was born and the mommy received it. I got an official announcement this week with a big thank-you, so herewith are photos of the Wee Imp and my baby gift. The pattern is an adaptation of a pattern designed by the LYSO of Unwind; I modified it so I could knit it all in once piece. The yarn is some very nice acrylic I found at the Stitches from the Heart LYS; the camera has washed out the colors, which range from aqua to a nearly-forest green. The Imp has some growing to do before the vest will fit, but I'm hoping it will be useful by the end of the year.

I will finish with a completely off-topic bit of news: the Powers That Be who decide when a favorite, long-cancelled TV program becomes a DVD have smiled and the First Season DVD of Beauty and the Beast (not a Disney product) has been released. I got mine from Amazon by way of the TV Shows on DVD website, which is the source of information on all sorts of past TV favorites and the DVD release dates. (Follow the link from the website to Amazon; it's the same price and helps pay the people who keep track of these shows and DVDs.) So the tales of Catherine and Vincent are available for viewing in my house; just call to be sure of show times.