Wow--It's Here Already

I can't believe how fast time has flown by since Thanksgiving. I'm leaving for Austin tomorrow. There are a lot of people I was hoping to touch base with before I left. I guess that will have to wait until after I get back. I guess that's what happens when you take long holidays. I'll be in Austin for over two weeks. That's a nice long time. I'm looking forward to just hanging out with my family, and knitting. We'll probably go see a movie, I'll probably go shopping with my sister, we might go out to eat once or twice, we'll talk a lot, but that's probably about as exciting as it's going to get. I can't wait.

I've been giving thought to what projects I'll be taking with me. I think I'm going to try the Koigu shawl again--I'll be there long enough this time that there will be times when I can really concentrate on it. I'm also going to bring the sweater I started while I was down there for Thanksgiving. I haven't worked on it here at all--I was saving it for my return trip because it's such a simple pattern.

Of course I'll be taking some sock yarn. I always start socks when I'm there, and this last time I even finished them within a week, which is outrageously fast for me and socks.

And speaking of socks, I've been holding out on you. There's a fair-isle sock I started years ago that has spent the time since then languishing in a drawer, all but forgotten. But then someone else at the shop decided she was going to make them (and Mary made them years ago), so I decided to take them out and brush them off. And brush them off I did--all the way off the needles. I was new to fair-isle at the time and it didn't look so good to my more experienced eyes, and it had been sitting so long on the needles that there was a definite ridge where I started knitting again. So I started them over. Here they are:
It's the Ilga's Socks pattern from the Spring 2001 Interweave Knits. I sent away for the kit, but Jamieson's will work just beautifully. I'm still not thrilled with the fair isle, but I'll keep going on them. I'm still trying to decide whether to take these with me or not. Once I finish the fair isle, it's just a basic sock. And I don't want this to sit around for another few years.

You can see all the ends I'm going to have to weave in. (I can hear Mary out there chanting "Weave as you go . . . weave as you go . . ." I wish I listened more.)

And speaking of Mary, she sent off for a bohus sweater pattern that has to be seen to be believed. Go take a look at what she's been up to

I'm going to be posting from Austin so I won't say goodbye, or happy holidays, just yet . . .