Trick or Treat!

As a rule, I NEVER wear orange -- but Halloween is a time for breaking rules just a tiny bit, right? So I figure if I can accept candy from strangers on Halloween, then I can wear orange. :) So here are my Halloween socks, knitted with Opal "Magic" purchased at MeadowFarm in Nevada City. I used my favorite pattern -- Wendy's Toe Up with feather and fan leg.

And here's my stitch marker for these socks, knitted into the leg ribbing on the second sock. I love those little kitty beads!

I have been asked how I wash my socks with the beaded markers knitted in. The general answer: Very carefully. I wash my socks by hand, so it isn't a problem. If I wash them in the machine, the markers tend to get bent. They don't snag on the rest of the sock, but they do bend. So hand washing seems to be the best option. However, sometimes -- like this morning -- I do need to dry socks quickly in the dryer. So I pinned the stitch marker to the sock with a safety pin so it wouldn't bang around, turned the socks inside out, and tossed them in the dryer. No problem.

Hot Socks Swap!

Wow! I received my Hot Socks Swap box from Hege -- all the way from Norway! (I haven't ever received a package from Norway, so I was just excited about getting the box in the first place. Silly maybe, but that's the way it is.) Inside the box were two lovely skeins of sock yarn, two kinds of teas, some beautiful beads, a cute little felted sheep pin, and a sweet note. Thanks, Hege!

It's finally (!) getting cool here in Sacramento, so I am looking forward to spending some happy hours curled up with a comforting cup of tea and a new pair of Norwegian socks on my needles. :)

And -- after some unexpected delays in my cross-country travels, I finally mailed MY hot socks pal in England her box today. Since I was late mailing it to her, I added a couple of extra treats collected at airports during my sojourn. :) What a great swap! Thanks, Laura, for organizing us.

Rockin' Sox

Last Spring my friend Emmy went to Portland -- and on her return, surprised me with a beautiful skein of Socks That Rock in Tanzanite. I love the rich, not-quite-variegated subtle shade changes and ooooo, that color!

It took me a long while to find the perfect pattern, and even longer to actually finish knitting them, but here they are at last! I used MJ's lovely toe-up Mirabella lace pattern, but with size 0 DPNs and my gauge, I had to add circumference stitches and knit additional repeats.Such special yarn from such a nice friend deserves a special stitch marker/charm, so this one has genuine amethysts and Swarovski crystals.

I wore these socks for the first time last weekend, and they felt fabulous -- the yarn is so resilient, yet soft and yummy. I can hardly wait to work with Socks That Rock yarn again. And that's a good thing, because another wonderful friend went on a yarn excursion to Friday Harbor -- and guess what she brought back? :)