Travel Knitting Redux....

I headed north this past week for my sister's graduation from nursing school. I had her try on the first of the striped socks and, as I feared, the leg was too short. I did, however, get most of the second first sock knit with a longer leg, though I just realized (now that I'm three hours away and on my way home) that I failed to have her try on the new first sock to verify the leg length is good. Sis is thinking that to lengthen the first sock that all I will need to do is add on to the top of the leg. That would be true if this was a toe-up sock, but it's not and I wouldn't be happy with the sock if I just tacked on an extra couple of stripes. I'm perfectly fine ripping out the entire sock and re-doing it right. But then, you knew I was crazy.

Nearly all the progress made on the second first sock came while driving my Grandmother back to Iowa. Or rather, while sis drove and I knitted in the front seat. Grandma sat in the middle row, while the niece and nephew sat in the back row and watched DVDs. Niece is enthralled with my knitting (which she sometimes calls "sewing") and likes to hold the ball of yarn while she watches me. Perhaps I'll get her some needles and yarn for Christmas. She's just about to turn 6 years old. She could manage a garter stitch potholder/project, I think.

Travel Yarn Buying....
You may or may not remember that when Sis visited Nashville a few months back that she became enamored of the February Lady Sweater. We made a foray over to the Fine Line Creative Arts Center in St. Charles. I figured we might at least settle on a yarn color, if not actually find the yarn itself. We very nearly actually got the yarn, except they were a couple balls short. Sis has chosen Brown Sheep Naturespun in Plumberry.

While we were at it, Sis bought a pair of earrings that a student in a lampwork class made and I picked up three skeins of handpainted sock yarn, plus a skein of lace yarn with a label entirely printed in Chinese. I was only going to buy two skeins of sockyarn but when I asked Sis to help me decide between two particular colors, she said she'd buy one of them for me and then I wouldn't have to choose at all. Gotta love a sister who not only wears, but also requests hand knit items *AND* enables fiber purchases. I'll post pictures in the next few days.