good-natured ribbing

A few of us have started a knitting lunch at work. Every Tuesday, more or less, we get together for an hour. This faded out somewhat over the summer, but there seems to be interest in reviving it now that we’re starting to gear up for Christmas knitting. We’ve re-dubbed it the “Fiber Arts Lunch” in an effort to extend it beyond knitters to crocheters, needlepointers, and others. And, we succeeded in getting Sanjay to join us, where he is learning to crochet from Kristen:

Note the emphasis on proper fingering!

Went to New York last week for work. One of the perks is that I can use my time on the plane to knit socks. So, I decided to dip into the recently purchased Knit Picks yarn. I am knitting one sock out of each of the striped patterns I bought so I can decide which color to give to my sister, and which to keep for myself.

On the plane, I worked with the brown (size 3 needles):

During my commute last week (during which I knit at a pace which lets me finish a sock a week while my sweetie drives), I worked with the red and maroon (size 1 needles):

I still don’t know which one I like best…

I also found out that our friend Stephanie lives by Purl, so the next time we go to NY to work we need to go a day early to check it out.

I took the girls to the mall, something I don’t do very often now that one of them can drive, and was surprised to see all the knitted wear out for fall. I am not at all up on fashion, ever, so maybe everyone else in the world is already clued in to all the scarves, ponchos, shawls, felted bags and purses, and even footwear available, one variation of which is apparently called a sweater boot (this example from Zappos).

The sweater boots did not really inspire me, but the other items did. And so did a visit to Kristen’s, during which she showed me the first of a pair of handwarmers she was knitting, from Stitch ‘n Bitch Nation. Now I want to knit handwarmers, too, and am planning to throw down the gauntlet, as they say.

My sweetie has been saying that his initial impression of knitting as a social and supportive activity is starting to change as he sees the cutthroat and competitive side of it emerging.

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In the meantime, I finished some socks. The cable sock, while having a cute behind, didn’t quite thrill me in its overall design. The toe was perfect — I will use this method again — but I should have switched to smaller needles for the ribbing at the top. You can tell from the photos, I think, that the top should be tighter. I can either redo it, or add it to the knitting crimes archive.

Top is too loose!	Behind is cute, though.

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And, I finished a green sock. Pattern from here.