A Change is A' Comin' (also: I like knitting socks)

If you don't care about my sock adventures, skip to the bottom for the Big Change teeser.

I managed to turn the heel, and have been proceeding without much fuss through the foot. There was a moment of temporary panic when a dpn came sliding out of my bag (and obviously off of the live stitches), but a calm closing of my office door, a deep breach, and quick remedial action (and luck that there were no yos involved) fixed that slight misstep.

I've also managed to break 2 bamboo dpns. I'm using my US #1s, which are metal Susan Bates cheepies, but I like them for their sturdiness and slickness. However, Monkeys are meant to be knit on 5 needles, and I've only got 4 metal ones. Since I had a bamboo set, it seemed silly to buy more metal ones (and my gauge isn't different enough to matter when it's just one needle), so I've been using 4 metal needles and one bamboo needle.

The first one broke when I was trying the sock on pre-heel turn. They are SNUG (probably slightly too snug). While they fit well on the leg and foot (measurements that I took and felt good about when deciding to go down to a size 1 for this pattern), they are very challenging to get on over the heel. I'm hoping that this will all come out in the wash (literally), but trying it on with a bamboo dpn still attached snapped that dpn right in half.

The second dpn broke right in my hand as I was knitting. I am obviously hard on needles, and after I break the other 3 bamboo size 1s, I suppose I will have to break down and shell out the couple bucks for a second set of metal size 1s (gasp! a couple of dollars! yes, I realize this is positively s-t-u-p-i-d given how much I spend on yarn without batting an eye, not to mention those lantern moon circs I love so much cost)



Anyway, it turns out that I like knitting socks. I am the queen of being late to bandwagons (see: Clapotis, Spring 2007), so please just hush up and let me have my moment, here.



In a moment of stress and weekness today at work, I made my second purchase from TLE - yes, more sock yarn. I also bought a sock blocker, which seemed like a good thing to have (and also scored me free shipping).

I bought:

• CTH Sockittome in Moody Blues (destined to be Pomatamus socks, I think)
• Gypsy Knits Red Hot Candy, mostly because they look like Valentines day :-) and
• Lime & Violet Parcheesi, which I have been putting in my cart like twice a week for at least a month, and decided that if I like it that much, I get to have it (especially given that I have, ehem, actually almost knit an entire sock now)

And if you think that wasn't insane enough, I also ordered this. Because obviously having knit 3/4 of a sock qualifies me for that kind of insanity? Or maybe I just don't want to be late to a bandwagon for once?? I can't help it, I dig those leaves!

Also, a teeser: There is a Big Change in the works at Tightly Wound, Loosely Knit blogdom. There shall be much fanfare, celebration, and a Big Yarn Giveaway Contest* to go along with it. Get excited. Tell your friends. But don't hold your breath, the unveiling is next week. **

*Big Yarn Giveaway Contest is still in the conceptual stage. I'd appreciate some input! What knitting related thing do you reallyreallyreally want? Anything! A book, yarn, gadget, pattern, gift certificate? What? Pretend that the sky is the limit (it's not. I've still gotta pay rent and student loans, yo. But having never done a giveaway, and having reason to celebrate means the limit is somewhat closer to the sky than usual)... So seriously. Whatdayawant?

**Tightly Wound is not responsible for any passing out prior to Big Change unveiling