Knitting for the greater good...

I am trying to knit socks for the Mystery Sock KAL...and I REALLY hate the way the pattern looks. I've just decided that I will get it over with so no one else will ever want to use this pattern! It's great yarn (Memories from Knit Picks) in calm shades of blue - perfect for sitting with your feet up and reading a new book, but the pattern (Shell Socks) doesn't do it justice. Of course, I could be doing something wrong, since I don't pay quite enough attention sometimes! Anyway, after others see the picture of the finished socks, no one will have to endure this pattern again!

Other news...I finished all the pieces for my green tweedy cardigan and am ready to block them. I still have to add front bands and the collar, but I think I may be finished before my Oct. deadline. I had to take a little while off from knitting to complete the Broken Dishes quilt for a friend. I made all of the blocks about 2 years ago and actually completed the quilt a whole 25 minutes before the birthday party. It's all in pink, yellow, and soft green scraps - very sweet looking-not at all what I usually come up with, but it was made for someone special and I think it fits her nicely! It also turned out much larger that I expected (although it was the exact demensions of the pattern! See what I mean about not paying enough attention?) and took longer to quilt that I realized. I've made many baby quilts that had to be finished after I wrapped them up for a shower present, so maybe I'm getting better in my old age, after all! My other top priority is to seam together the completed pullover for my husband so he'll have it to wear when we do finally get some cool weather. I had a little trouble with the neck being too tight, but solved that with a technique my daughter taught me over the phone!

My current reading material is the book, Wicked, by Gregory Maguire. We'll be going to see the musical while in London in Oct., so I figured it would be good to read it first. Right now I'm trying to decide what knitting project to carry on the plane. I'm hoping to find some great yarn while I'm there, too. Any suggestions? I'm feeling much calmer about the trip since finalizing all the hotel details. Now...what do I pack?

This is the beginning of a new experience for me - blog land! I'll try to keep it updated on what I'm knitting, what I'm reading, and where I'm going. Right now I have several projects on the needles at once (I'm not unusual in that, am I?) - a mystery sock, a non-mystery sock (!), a wonderful bright green cabled cardigan, and a pullover for my husband that needs seaming. I'm trying to finish the pullover for football season since it's maroon (Mississippi State-GO DAWGS!) and the cardigan for my upcoming trip to England in October. I just returned to knitting after about 30 yrs. off. In the meantime I did just about all the other crafts at one time or another. The only one I'm still hanging onto is quilting. I just finished a Broken Dishes quilt top for a friend's 50th birthday. I now have a little over 2 weeks to machine quilt it and finish the binding. Wish me luck!