Knitting: Accomplishment all the way around

This was a fantastic weekend to knit! On Friday, I had the day off and it was lovely. I sat out on the deck for a few hours while the dogs lolled around in the grass. I had my Iphone playing some Itunes and knitted away on Secret Garden. I finished the 2nd sock and then had a pair. And LOTS of smiles! Was so happy. The pattern was a lot of fun to knit. For the entire second sock I barely had to look at the pattern. It was such a memorable one and really easy to read your knitting, etc. The second sock is a far better knit than the first. I spread the first sock out over weeks, picking up/putting down, etc. But this 2nd one, I finished in under a week, so it's a much tighter, more consistently knit sock. I love these socks, they are so comfortable. I can't wait to make another pair with Socks that Rock. I knit these socks for a challenge. I've been in the ravelry group Sock Knitter's Anonymous for over a year I think, but I've never finished a challenge. I've tried a few times, but have always failed. So this was for March and you have to cast on in March and finish by end of following month. I DID IT! With a few days to spare!

So, I opted to enter the April challenge as well. Earlier Friday morning before finishing the sock, I cast on for the April challenge, which was to knit a sock from an online magazine, or a Cookie A design. My first thought was to knit Pomatomus. I picked my new hazelknits Cabana yarn and thought it would look amazing. But, for some reason I just wasn't into the pattern, so I ended up with Azure (from Knitty). It's a great pattern and I had several great yarns in my stash. I picked one and started. So I did my cast on, a toe up using Judy's Magic and I began the toe. Paused to finish Secret Garden and went back to the Toe Friday night. I did quite a bit of the pattern and still hadn't knit very much in inches. I kind of panicked a little. The yarn I was using was finer than I normally knit and it was 100% merino. I had some concerns about durability because of the lack of nylon as well as if I'd actually be able to finish 2 socks in time.

Then Saturday comes along and I changed my mind yet again! Many people in the SKA group had made Wanida by Cookie A from the Sock Innovation book. Now I must admit, looking at that pattern in the book, I never really cared for it. Not sure if it was the yarn chosen or the photos, but these folks on SKA... wow! Their socks were amazing and it was great fun seeing all the different yarns used. So I jumped on the bandwagon, took my hazelknits and started Wanida. Holy knitting frenzy, 6 hours later and very late Saturday evening, I had knit the sock all the way through the heel turn and was decreasing for the gussets! I couldn't believe how far I had gotten. This sock has been so much fun to knit though. I'm not entirely sure why, but it just is. THe pattern, while easy to remember and follow, still has me looking at the chart... but it's so easily read if you get lost, you can just look at your stitches and know where you are.

When I started the sock, I had hoped to get through the cuff and a bit through the leg... but now as Sunday evening closes in, I actually only have like one inch left to knit. Had I not gotten this cold and slept so much today and knitted more earlier, I probably could have finished. OH well, it will definitely be done tomorrow, perhaps during my work lunch hour. I'm so excited about these socks. I'm hoping to continue this sock momentum and hopefully not come crashing down.

Couple of things on the horizon, Cookie A is designing the Mystery Sock Challenge for the SKA Group's MAY challenge, so I plan on knitting that. And I might even try my hand at knitting another sock during the same time (we'll see, let's not get over zealous). The 2nd thing is there is a designer contest to come up with a sock pattern for free or sale and it was to be posted by 5/21... so I have some ideas rolling around in my head for that.

I have put my sweaters on hold for the moment, Tappen Zee and the BSJ. Need to ride this sock wave out until it's over.

Here's the last pic I took a few hours ago. Tomorrow I'll post the finished sock.