On the first flight leg of my trip, my seatmate asked if I'd have a sweater by the time we got to our first stop and said he didn't know how long it took to knit things.. I replied that we wouldn't have a sweater but we would have a good bit of sock leg. He thought that was pretty cool. Later on I amazed him because I was reading the airline magazine *and* still knitting. Apparently he'd been watching me for some time. Initially he thought I was just flipping through the magazine, but not really reading it. Then he realized that I was actually reading and continuing to knit (while not looking at my knitting at all). He was truly amazed when I told him that I sometimes knit at the movies, even though I told him that I keep to simple, uncomplicated stuff for knitting in the dark
On leg number two, my seatmate asked what I was making and we chatted about knitting in general. Being a Union electrician, he understood the concept of paying more money for a high quality, long-lasting job. The idea of paying $20 for the yarn to make socks which might last me 5+ years was not absurd to him. He also admired the finished sock #1. We chatted nicely the whole flight about various things, including the nasty face the flight attendant made at a fellow passenger who left the overhead bin door open. All in all, it was a fun trip out and I got all the way to the heel turning by the end of the travel.
During my visit with Boy, I got a goodly chunk of knitting done, thanks to one road trip and a couple evenings hanging out at home. I could have gotten more done on the boat tour we did, but I was too worried about dropping a needle. I also took far too many pictures to have had much time for knitting. Most importantly during the trip, Boy tried on the re-knit Sock #1 and declared it to be an excellent fit. Of course I didn't really take good notes on what I did to make Sock #1 fit better the 2nd time, so I'll have to hope that Sock #2 mostly matches. (I know that I made the toe shaping more gradual, but exactly what I did isn't documented. Fortunately "close enough" will likely be good enough.)
The flights back weren't quite as prolific in a knitting sense. Leg number one was spent writing a summary of my trip. Knitting on leg number two was interrupted rather frequently by taking photos of the landscape passing beneath the plane (I like flying over mountains). And I took a bit of a nap too. But I got the second sock finished on the day after I returned so that's pretty good. I'll stick the socks in the next box o' cookies I mail to Boy. He's very excited.
Yarn Souveniers!
There are two yarn stores in the area where Boy lives. One of them, Sheep's Clothing, is actually just a mile or two away from his house. I purchased two skeins of Socrates sock yarn there. I picked out the colors Dress Blues and Navi's Blue. To my eyes these are more of a purple heather and a teal heather, but they're gorgeous regardless of name. I'm favoring the Fisher Price socks by Loumms and the Naive socks by spillyjane for these yarns.
The other shop is Knitty Gritty and I found a skein of Misti Alpaca sock yarn there. The colorway I chose, Maple Gray, reminded me of the colors of the landscape in the Tri-Cities area. I've decided that this yarn will become a pair of Tri-Cities socks. I've chosen the pattern Pittsworth by spillyjane. I thought it would reflect the three rivers that run through/near the cities and the three cities themselves, plus the steppes, orchards and fields. These socks are rather high up in the queue right now.
I find it amusing that I all the yarns I bought were alpaca blends. I hope that they wear well. I'd hate to end up with gorgeous socks that wear out far too soon. I'll have to pay attention to having a proper tight gauge.
Sis' Stripey Socks
I'm working on the heel flap of Sock #3. I might get past the gusset shaping by the end of the weekend. I've got a metric bucketload of house- and yardwork to do this weekend. Part of it is getting back on track after travel and part of it is getting things squared away for some house repairs/maintenance and an impending upcoming move.
Chemo Hat
The chemo hat is trying to entice me with its softness and nice color. I really don't like the splitty yarn very much at all. The hat will be needed by the end of the week, but I've already let the hat organizer know that it'll be closer to the end of the month the way my schedule has been. Unfortunately it's not likely the recipient will grow her hair back by then so I'm still in good shape time-wise. So, if I get sick of the stripey sock, I'll have a crack at the hat and vice-versa. Perhaps I'll stagger things so it's 15 minutes each project. Wonder where I put the hat pattern.....
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