YOP #43 or Fruits of Being Productive

This has managed to be a surprisingly productive week. This past Saturday was an event called Yarnover, which I have been debating about going to since about February. When I didn't get a job that I had applied for (I was in the top 3 though!), I knew it would be realistic for me to go to this except there was a show at work that day. At my job, there are some things I know I have to work and the only way to get out of them is a funeral (or getting married, but that was a show that I enjoy working but my boss insisted I take a full weekend since I was getting married). There are some shows that I think I don't have to work, which end up being more complicate and I have to work (I only pout a little) and then there are the shows that I know I can get out of working. The show this past Saturday fell right into that category. It's not that I don't like working choir concerts. It's just that I prefer to not work choir concerts. With the day off, I approached Husband about the prospect of my going to spend the day knitting. Our house, like all houses I believe, needs a lot of work done to it. Husband got a little down seeing as how I had spent the weekend two weeks previous out with my mom going to 17 yarn shops. He didn't say I couldn't go but he did seem down about it. I countered with the idea that I could stay home and we could work on a massive house project together. He cheered up with that suggestion so we spent Saturday cleaning the basement. My reward was a hot bath in an attempt to melt the spider webs off my body.

I also made some amazing progress in the knitting world.

Friday night, at my church small group gathering, I cast on a baby sock. It's an attempt at a pattern I dreamed about after seeing a pair of socks that belongs to one of the group leaders. She showed me a pair that had been hers when she was an infant and she wanted to know if I could figure out how they had been made.

The original sock.

 I eventually found a similar pattern but one night I actually dreamed about the sock and I think I know how to make them. I worked on them during our Bible study (knitting helps me think sometimes) and while there has been progress and I'm pretty sure they will work, I need to go down a couple of needle sizes. The knitted fabric isn't tight enough to be socks.

My first attempt at the sock pattern.

 The exciting thing about this project is that one of the classes I had wanted to take on Saturday was on backwards knitting. When I first saw the class description, I got excited because of sock heels. I don't always like the flipping back and forth when working on heels especially if I'm doing two at a time. It just becomes a mess. Knitting backwards would keep it from becoming a mess. It also is apparently a neat party trick. I had gone to the link I posted to see what it was like and I've been thinking about it since then. As we were socializing before the study, I decided to see if I could do it. I started by flipping the work and purling and then flipping back over to knit the stitch, watching how the yarn moved. It's still a little shaky and on my Vanilla eyelet socks it's still hard to do, but I can do it!

Speaking of the Vanilla eyelets (which may need a different name), I'm almost done with the first one. I've gotten to the toe, which I'm doing the "No Kitchener Stitch" version. I kept thinking I would have that done by this week but...yeah. I got distracted with work. And the rain made it hard to knit and walk at the same time. I'm talented but I can't knit and hold an umbrella at the same time.

The sock so far.

 The most exciting part about this week was in regards to the TARDIS shawl. The first section is finished!!! I keep forgetting how much I don't like picking up stitches. I've currently got 161 of 311 stitches picked up for the TARDIS section. The middle bonus kid asked why it is called a TARDIS shawl since it looks nothing like the TARDIS. I had to explain that this is the vortex section. She and I (and possibly one of her friends) will be going to Comic Con this weekend to see Matt Smith. I'm still debating about going Saturday as well. It's fun when you go between being an extrovert and an introvert. I'm not sure how much time I want to spend around that many people but it would be fun to go to some of the panels on Saturday.

Finished Objects

• Japan Scarf
• Birthday Bag 
• Socks, the Final Frontier
• Ladders to the Sky Socks (Test Pattern)
• Waves of Love 
• Colormatic  
• Here Fishy Fishy I
• Gingy
• Fuzzy, the baby blanket
• Japan Scarf II 
• Scarfowl
• Here Fishy Fishy II 
• Gilligan
• The Angels Have the Police Box  
• Mini-Socks 
• Grandma's Tam
• Neck Hugger 
• Blood Orange Newtons
• Alpaca Tam 
• Trip 

Works in Progress

• Police Box
• Vanilla Eyelet Socks
• Lilia Socks