Toe time!

I've finally reached the point where I start decreasing for the toes on my summer socks; only 4 months or so after starting! My goal is to finish the pair by the end of Socktoberfest; since this is Sock #1, that will be a bit of a challenge for me. However, I am very encouraged by the progress I have made in the last couple of weeks, and I am enjoying using the bamboo needles much more than the slippery metal ones I started with. The irony of it all is, now that one sock is nearly complete, I checked my gauge again. It is 8 stitches/per inch, instead of the intended 7 (and I swatched! I swear I swatched big time!). So, I could have been using my usual #2s all this time. Fortunately, this pattern is very stretchy, so the socks still fit. I guess they'll wear well, too.

When I need a break from fine gauge socks, I have been working on these:

CIC socks in Lion Wool; colorway is Flower Garden. I love the colors; it looks like an abstract painting of a flower garden to me. Since my CIC sock pattern only takes about 110 yards, and this skein has 143 yards, I expect to have a nice bit left over. My plan is save the bits from this pair and the two more I have lined up in other colorways, combine them with some of my hand dyed Fisherman's Wool (since the gauge is the same), and make a log cabin sweater for CIC. I think I have some leftover bits of hand dyed Fisherman's Wool from other socks, too, so I should be able to produce a really colorful patchwork. (Note to self: look for those leftover bits; hope the vermin haven't abscounded with them).

Speaking of vermin, here are the pics of the b/f's father's new cat, Peter, that I tried to post a couple of weeks ago. He is settling in nicely, and really starting to catch on to this concept of playing with toys.