2007's 1st FOs!

Vital Stats:

2s2c using Knitpicks classic circs, US 1 (Crappiest needles on the market!)

Regia? knit at 7.5spi

For: E, possibly. She initally told me these colors were hideous so I intended them for the parish sock drive next fall but she has since said she likes them. Time will tell.

Pattern: My own 56 st/2x2 rib, short row heel thanks to QK. I carried the ribbing down the heel to the turn point because I wanted to see if E likes that better.

Stripes do not match colorwise but they do line up. Like I care?

Started in 2005, finished one sock and forgot about it. Ended up frogging said sock after completion of second sock this week. Yup, an entire pair in what, 4 days or less?

Vital Stats:

Lichen Ribbed Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush

US1 circs, done one sock at time

Changes to pattern: short row heel. rib carried down heel to turn

Fleece Artist yarn (Merino sock?)

7.5 spi?

Finished on New Year's Day!! (had started before appendix struck)

I like the yarn but not enough to seek it out on my own. I can't explain it. I love the pattern and will, at some point, knit another pair for myself, possibly from some solid Lorna's Laces. I could actually see this pattern as one of the ultimate gifting sock patterns.

One of my goals for 2007 is to use up the sock yarn stash before obtaining more. ALL of it. I'm pretty sure I have enough to knit 5 adult pairs, then there is the leftover stash which should yield about 5 or 6 pairs of children's socks easily. I may amend this goal to allow the purchase of single skeins of black, tan, blue, etc to use with the leftover balls. SINGLE Skeins.

So with the completion of 2 pairs, my knitting socks goal remaining for the year is 25 pairs. I have it on good authority that I am ahead of at least one person in the sock race by 1.5 pairs. While I am enjoying this lead, I know it won't last long. That's why I have 2 more pairs on the needles: one pair on US2 addi turbos with Lorna's Laces and the other with leftover knitpicks simple stripes on their crap-tastic circs.

Those knitpicks classic circs are pure junk. I've emailed them asking for replacements and have yet to hear back from them. No surprise since their customer service department seems to have a love/hate relationship with the public. One of my US1 needles is flaking chunks of silver/nickle and scratching my fingers with every stitch while the other came out of the package with a nick the cord undetectable until a project was CO (Lynn, that's cast on). To say I am disappointed is an understatement but I should have known: we get what we pay for. So it's time to save up for more addi turbos.

ETA: Email from Knitpicks today came with the promise of a replacement needle being mailed out already. Nice of them to do so but the time to reply was simply unacceptable to me. It is one thing to put off an email to a friend so you have time to share everything but from a business? Not so great. So I will use the new needle but continue to save for more addi turbos in a variety of sizes.