Chokeberry Chugs Along…

Here’s the current sock-at-home project, Retro Rib Socks in Mountain Colors Bearfoot, colorway “Montana Chokecherry.”

This is a wonderful rib pattern, but I’ve found it’s not a great candidate for knitting at work.  I need to watch the stitch pattern instructions a little too closely.

So far I’ve only made one modification: I positioned the heel flap differently than the pattern calls for in order to center it more pleasingly.  Instead of knitting 15 stitches, turning, and beginning the heel flap as the instructions direct, I merely shifted 2 purled stitches from the heel needle to the instep needle before beginning the heel flap.  This way, the instep needle both starts and ends with 2 purl stitches, which will both center the pattern on the top of the foot and show it off nicely.  I may be wrong, but I’m pretty sure the way the pattern is written, this won’t happen (even though both the pattern and I have the flap worked over 30 stitches and the instep over 34).

I love this base yarn (60% wool, 25% mohair, 15% nylon).  If I see some at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival in a colorway I love, I could easily buy some more.

Speaking of the Festival, it’s here in less than a week!  I’ll be going down on Friday for an all-day class on spindle spinning with Maggie Casey.  I’m excited.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get into any of the other classes I tried for.  I guess I didn’t have a great position in the lottery.  So no class with Judith MacKenzie McCuin…  but I’ll definitely be at her lecture on Saturday at noon, which is entitled “How the West is Woolen: the History of the Pendleton Blankets.” 

Sadly, Kristina is up to her ears in grad school homework (it is the end of the semester, after all) so she won’t be joining us this year.  But Kris and I will be there as usual.  I still smile when I think of the first year all 3 of us went together, which was 2008.  It was Kris’s first time.  Here’s a shot I got just after she made her very first MDSW purchase at the Tess’ Designer Yarns booth:

She was hooked!  Kris, did you ever knit that yarn you’re holding in this photo?