New Beginnings

This week is a week of endings and beginnings for us. Ending a long and enjoyable stay in the little house on the corner- and beginning what will hopefully be another long and enjoyable stay in the bigger house out in the village. It's not really that far out- we're still considered a part of Portland (even though it doesn't say it in the address), but it is farther out than we are now. And bigger. We are really excited about this house. The landlords seem to be just great, and the house has all the wee little details I wanted and thought I would have to do without. Even some that I really like and wasn't thinking about.... ;-)
It is so very nice to know where we are going! The stress is just lifted. No, we aren't actually there yet, but the moving part is not that stressful for us- we've done it before....:-)

In the meantime, I've been trying to knit- but when it takes me 2 days to work one little heel flap, you know it's not been the highest on my priority list!

This is mainly what I've done in the last 2-3 weeks. 2 very wee little socks, and I'm not even half done.
Okay, yes, I did write out an extremely complicated pattern and one not so complicated(you'll get to see it later, I promise)- but knitting has been slowed way way down.
I am liking these socks. It is a "mystery" pattern, where the pattern is released one part at a time. I've kept up alright so far, but am really getting slowed down now. I need to finish the heel and work the foot. My guess is, it'll take me another 2-3 weeks. There's a lot of twisted sts and ribbing- which I'm not especially fond of doing (probably b/c it slows me down), but I am liking how it looks.

Now, I'm off to clean and pack!! We've got people coming tomorrow evening to get us moved out the new place, so I've got a lot to finish up. Knitting will have to wait once again.

Lord of the Rings Sock Club Installment #3

Introducing:

The Fellowship

This design was inspired by the Fellowship of the Nine
Walkers in the Lord of the Rings. Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin,
Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, and Gandalf. Each
member of the Fellowship is depicted by one strand of the
cable. Worked from the toe up, the cable intertwines and
gradually unravels, just as the Fellowship traveled together
and then began to take separate paths.

This was a fun design to put together. I started with 9 strands to cable, then interwove and eventually separated them. The color I originally did it in was this:






Which turned out nice- but it needed just a little boost. With The Unique Sheep's Gradiance technique of dyeing yarn, we were able to incorporate some story into the color as well as the traveling cables. Blue typically stands for courage and Red for danger. Green can signify growth, health, and inexperience. Purple is associated with nobility. The flow of the colors along the traveling cables enhances the symbolism of the journey of The Fellowship.

I am so pleased with how this sock turned out and the response we are getting from the club about it. It was Laura's (the dyer) personal favorite, and probably my 2nd favorite.
I should have posted this a couple weeks ago- but with the move and all, I've been a bit busy. But here it is now, and I hope you like it too!
Like all the patterns from this club, this one will be available for purchase 6 months after the club. :-)