The Bruins are sucking tonight; after the first period, the radio guys were agreeing that it was a new low.
I'm still coughing; I went to the movies and instead of popcorn, I had cough drops.
So! Let's talk about knitting and pretend the other things aren't happening! Here we go:
Welcome To Knitting Fantasy Land!There are two items to discuss in KFL this week: the Wingspan scarf, and the sock-in-progress.
I haven't washed-and-blocked the scarf yet, but the knitting is finished. It took just over a week, and I enjoyed it immensely: nice simple pattern, fun result. In the end, I didn't have quite enough yarn for the final rows (as I would have had if I'd stopped after eight triangles instead of nine), but I like how it looks anyway. I laid it out for a photo shoot, and look, I had help!
Hmm, what's this?
Okay, I'm ready!
Blocking what?
What could be cuter than me?I did manage to get one feline-free shot. You can see on the left how much yarn remained.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-16XEImcsRXMgFZdO-u4-eamp7GrdS6iyIH9yLzmnHpAs1L6dTDxYjA25QKIYW0K1WvY-hM4JaGE_EUwEyWA33BZw6J6hMkd30si_nKnBFlHHHW4kS6Y4RpRKPx-Ldc2UupL/s320/IMG_0714.JPG)
A year ago, I was using this yarn to make socks, and the first one was
too small, so I sadly ripped it out. (I also tried a shawl pattern that immediately got put aside.) Before I ripped, though, I was much puzzled at how dark the sock seemed to be coming out. If you go back to the skein, you can see that it had quite a bit of yellow:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5urYIqM9nbVn5aZt0DkQmrdaz41kjI4_KKRQR4b9f3I45nFNe7sKgXsZivcfkp1bfiJQVco7hDva2AGS2jKXiQT88D6zrkvonvybTs9H_M5D09f9AdepIP5Ys4bp6jVKwqRCe/s320/IMG_1489.JPG)
but in the sock, not so much.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihNKKds3s1HZHeG4hFj6iROwGRMb9DE7cTEKiINkmWK7sSGwrHz3jAniaqjM9DyzF4Mi1wAPAtHPX1H0x9Am7e7mW8S6gxj6KDw3X5v3XhHz7EDK5Nr6NG0MO4g8jxKswMXN-2/s320/IMG_2919.JPG)
I found this very puzzling. Now, I am validated. If you look at the Wingspan, you see that one end has a fair bit of yellow:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIoyPz7uGB9RrZ2XcOmGu-rNHltLt1yP1-LmDjv9HKpe5zc0jwgW8ITZVyv7hfeMs4QfwyPOt3a8Sv5a__9inXnoPPXZdZfO4H8rnm9G1yfHARrhDlA8kZwZPExe8-9DNv1OyR/s320/IMG_0713.JPG)
And the other doesn't! The inside of the skein is markedly different. Ah-ha! I was not imagining things. How comforting.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpB2XbvPni4VXocBm6NmJsLlhUfRMyZ3XAkaCtKwPjQFW1GesTtTLS7dncwEHaCnQglfNsB8iOWwTyxddiP2c0cOrln082ASJedauayrAM0LV2weJ_9b-PCk8okRjLPIqhm7zm/s320/IMG_0712.JPG)
Where did the thing go? I wasn't done playing with it.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqfxkMyxYRYwl9_nEeP_L3xQqf9JNiE4OPr6Wk0A38Wv8FHbA_KI8yjguhBt7DNKmFmhat_CFMcxB4VBbzt-Pog-_hryirsI2UM6STsIOYd6G6E_sED8ZHZNWekriHFNnZc4D0/s320/IMG_0718.JPG)
Now the sock. This is the one I
asked for opinions on last week. It was done to here, but I was running low on yarn. (This photo also shows why really dark jeans are not a good idea around my house, in case you were wondering why I tend to choose the lighter washes.)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAnXzytoCGWFAfkzJKLTPrs-YtvQ4BAwzqegbkJR9ga4ovDsXmniHRYP3hMjhbT2BrJ4CQtVx0JIDGGXPOhN3z2RrTgi24dwRZ8y8kgQ-XeVTSqxlAuD7ucxmFziHVSQoXBKj/s320/IMG_0719.JPG)
I thought Leslie's idea of finishing the toe with other sock yarn was an excellent one, and knit on for a bit, but then I had second thoughts (or, by this time, ninth thoughts) and on Saturday evening I paused again. I contemplated ... and while I was looking things over, I saw the peril of sock yarn with really good stitch definition.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPWyQpzsR8q2O3serIb7R-yWufEfh3HJ3taYK0Zw6pEczdiMBVwZh574RNMykibA08eSv0k-2s5Ipikxe8SZB0x-8NkbM-7xQGVVZVb-I9GUjYEK4s7mFKsA3Xcj7x4-ObjufL/s320/IMG_0720.JPG)
See that?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfj2FAPrUEJh7Jg0STgcTp9humwhXMEYC5iay6bvTXAn7qbUr29MbRH-wDtXju-nClQvdVDYTZaZ4m5f-AEnX_Cr3_Ve5OSODWSIGkSjMpSYTr9mV1ssTwnEXEIgILuDuQtq7P/s320/closeup.jpg)
It's not the lighter stitch that's the problem, it's that the line breaks just below it. That should be a straight line, but it shimmies. I seem to have messed up my decreases
on the beach. It's not a deal-breaker in itself--my feeling about perfection in socks is that they're just going to end up on my feet anyway--but in this case, where I was already thinking of
frogging, it tipped the balance.
So, back past the heel and removed ten rows (two pattern repeats) from the leg for some extra yarn.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIF6FlVibuUs8Rh-xhGGQumsHwLiP-5xkbc1x4ZZ7YuQfzVVio1RGNT95Z6_JRjX9H4dR4VI8W52L1aeWPtUDiaky3jSWYFEBAUYJ7IPPNvTD28TYErnhC6HBQ_gRfFxp55j_M/s320/IMG_0722.JPG)
And by Sunday afternoon, I was back past the heel.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlBgDMRstJ2oNSeiSkG8fWIVT8Gc7zbbwFdXTKulj00qp3emXX74ZYK7FQNZVyyC5cIJEiHMfWux9Sjtads81RJkQDqhmnRedyeg_N6Iy6XRGYOhIE45rtq8vIN2GQVFXs6BX8/s320/IMG_0726.JPG)
I have since finished the decreases (I think they look better this time, but to be honest I haven't examined it too closely), and am close to back where I was when I frogged. It's amazing how quickly it goes when I'm not working on something else! I am
strenuously resisting the urge to cast on another Wingspan, though I very much want to. Different colors! Longer rows? Heavier yarn? The possibilities are endless! Who wants one for Christmas?