My lucky day!

Thank you, D, for your sound advice. A polite veneer can only hold up for so long, so a sudden urge to flee to the bathroom is probably my best bet. Although my needles are pretty sturdy...

I have been blesed with another great day. Coffee with one of my favorite friends, a trip to the LYS (And they had new stuff!), and a sale on Fuji apples at the local co-op. To top it off, I found a penny! A 1958D to be precise. Woo-hoo!

I must pause to hang my head in shame. I'm setting aside the baby shawl for an undetermined length of time. BUT! I found a replacement project that can be accomplished in an evening or two. One of the new items at the LYS is organic cotton in natural colors. SOFT. Squishy. And it comes with a pattern for a teddy bear! Every baby needs a bear, right? This isn't just the little lunatic in the back of my head trying to rationalize my terminal KADD, right? Right.

The manly socks are progressing rapidly. For those of you following along at home, the pattern is dead easy. Cast on 72 with US2 dpns, (18 stitches on needles 1 and 3, 36 on needle 2) and work 35 rounds of 1X1 ribbing. Work 6 rounds of stockinettte. Now it's time for the heel flap, worked on half of the total number of stitches. Row one: Slip 1, purl across. Slip 1, knit 1 across for row two. Repeat for a total of 35 rows.

On to the turn! The right side is facing you, correct? Okay. Do the slip, knit thing for a total of 27 stitches worked. I think. Now do a SSK and turn. Slip 1, purl um...until you have 9 stitches left to be worked. Sorry, my math cells are misfiring. P2tog, turn. Continue working in the established manner until you have worked all of the stitches. You should have 20 stitches left on the needle. This gives you a band heel, something described in much clearer terms by other people.

I had to stop in the middle of the gusset-picking-up part, but I will have 20 stitches for each, plus the 20 from the heel, arranged like so: needles 1 and 3, 30 stitches; needle 2, 36 stitches. From here, I'll work the usual decreases for the gussets and a 3X1 ribbing for the instep. Follow with endless rows for the foot, and I'll deal with the toe when I get there.

My photographer friend wants a model for his "available light" homework, so I guess that's what I'll be doing this afternoon. I also get to talk Himself into appearing before the camera; no easy chore! Brownies, here I come!