Spontaneous

I have done two spontaneous things this week (well, okay, probably more than two. But two that are knitting related)
1. I spontaneously ordered a bit from KnitPicks. Mostly sock yarn, as well as some new size 1 needles and sock blockers. Oh, and a stranding guide for my Endpaper Mitts. One skein of the sock yarn is for a Christmas present. The rest are for me. This is a bit funny, as I have finished two socks, but lets note that they don't match. I've cast on the second sock for one pair, the other has the needles for it stuck in a half ball in the first drawer of my needle stand. I will not fall victim to Second Sock Syndrome. I promise.
2. I decided to spontaneously cast on for some leg warmers. This urge hit me at 3AM. I couldn't tell you why. I was simply sitting here, checking my e-mail and a couple of Ravelry forum boards, and suddenly... BAM! I need leg warmers. I searched a bit and found Karen's Extravagant Legwarmers and decided this was the pattern for me. I will be using some lovely Malabrigo Worsted in the Velvet Grapes colourway, and they will be delicious. I have a couple skeins of Malabrigo that I had originally purchased for a sweater, but after being pretty unhappy with the measurements for said sweater, I nixed the idea. Since it's in no way the Malabrigo's fault, I've still been happily using it.

The other day, I finished my two aforementioned socks. One of these has taken me over a month. It's not that they're difficult. I got a bit frustrated with the 11 stitch repeat after a while. I also stared at them for a bit and thought to myself over and over again "This cuff is just too big." Finally, I tried them on. The cuff fits great. The socks themselves are a bit large, and I think from now on if I use this yarn (Stroll Tonal) I'll cast on a few less stitches. I'll also be making heel flaps a bit shorter. But all in all, I'm happy with them. The second pair I've started were some random anklet socks from my basic sock pattern. I used the pattern as a guideline, but I greatly reduced the inch-age (welcome to me making up words) before doing the heel flap. They're simply five rows of ribbing, five rows plain stockinette, and then heel flap. I picked up the yarn at Joannes, because it was soft. Certainly not because it was pretty. I have dubbed these my ugly socks. They are, in fact, super ugly. They have little green and blue speckles for a while, then a giant stripe of red, then a small stripe of purple.. ugh. That said, I have put it on a couple times since finishing and the colours.. they're starting to grow on me. I can't explain it. Perhaps I will learn to love them.
Not much else is going on needlewise. I have the WIPs mentioned in my previous post, but they haven't gotten any real work done on them. It's been mostly these socks. I'm okay with that. I've knit two full pairs of socks since learning to knit them, and both have been gifts. It's time for a pair (or two, or six) for me.

Tomorrow marks the first day of December, and I've gotten exactly zero Christmas knitting done. I don't have much to do, but really, did I need to cast on those leg warmers? I did not. But it's Malabrigo. How could I turn that down? Once it was in my head (even though it's unknown to me how it got there), it's a done deal. Oh well.


I baked my first apple pie this evening. I admit, I cheated a bit and bought pre-made pie dough. I've got a cold, as well as two projects and a final, so really I didn't have time to make pie crust. It turned out... okay. I guess. I wasn't too thrilled with it. The apples were too tart, certainly needed more sugar. My apple slices were far too big. And the crust... it was so bland. I shouldn't have cut that corner. Everyone else who ate it seemed to enjoy it, so I suppose it wasn't a total disaster. And I learned what not to do next time. So all in all, a relatively successful experience.

I've also been playing a bit of LOTRO (which I will probably log on to once this blog post is through). I decided my crafting specialty would be a jeweler, and I've been mining like a madwoman. I have so much ore I hardly know what to do with it. So far I haven't done much with it (see?), no real jewelry made, but I am enjoying the process.

I suppose that's all for now. Until next time!