Okay but you have to admit they are ridiculously cute.

I did get distracted. Now I have more WIPs than before. I am naughty, but I'm using the excuse that I needed distraction as I healed from my second sinus surgery (which was last Monday, and went fine -- ~6 months for full effects, though, so I can't say if it worked or not yet).

First there were these — Ysolda's "Tiny Shoes" from her first book of patterns (a darling little book which you should pick up, it's full of cute little somethings):

They only qualify as 95% done because I don't have buttons that fit them yet, and they're not blocked. But they are to be a gift for a coworker who recently had a baby girl. They took very little leftover sock yarn — they seem a great way to use such scraps up.

But another coworker had a baby boy recently, too, so I had to knit these — Yarn Hugger's Sneaker Booties.



I'm just about done, though I might do some fooling around with i-cord laces. Seriously, aren't these hilarious? I knit them out of acrylic yarn so they won't block — I may have to do another pair out of wool. They make me laugh every time I look at them. (Another pair I have to try are Xalleykatx's Converse Booties.)

And that wasn't enough. A very dear old friend had a baby boy a couple of months ago (I'm a slacker) and he warrants a Star Light Star Bright baby blanket (of wonderful Sandnes Lanett Superwash). I admit my friend Sandi was an inspiration on this pattern choice — she's knitting it too right now. It's going slowly because it's fingering weight, but it'll be lovely when finished.

And I haven't forgotten my brown socks! I've been knitting dutifully on them, after having to frog the entire gusset because I messed up the decreases. But they are not far from on my feet! (Well, in this 95-degree heat maybe they ARE pretty far from on my feet.)



What are you all up to?

She prefers wearing it with her tutu

Carson had her 4th birthday the other day and we partied. In addition to the T-shirt, I gave her a tutu for playing dress-up. She felt these went well together, and even better with her Snow White high-heeled shoes. She is probably correct.

The T-shirt fits all right — as I suspected, it's a little wide. The arms just fit; when she grows a little more, I'll pull out the sleeves and crochet around the armhole and she can wear it as a sleeveless top.

I finished one of my pretty brown Conwys:



I know brown seems like a boring color for a sock, but I wear a lot of brown socks to work. On the days when I can wear a handknit sock, I feel very happy. I'd love to wear nothing but handknit socks to work (that won't actually happen, because some of my shoes are a little too snug to accommodate a handknit, but it's a nice fantasy).

The best part of this sock is the calf shaping. I've never knit a sock with calf shaping before and man does it fit well!



Now I have to cast on for #2...

Hey, baby, it's the Fourth of July!

It's also my mom's birthday, so Rob is making a Key lime meringue pie and we are trekking over there for a few hours to hang out. It's our house guest's last day, so we drive to LAX tonight.

I hope you all are celebrating to your satisfaction (if you're an American) or just having a great day (if you're not).

Meanwhile, some progress:


Carson's top is done and blocking. It looks far too wide, the armholes too small, and the arms distorted, but we'll see what happens when she puts it on — sometimes these things are deceptive. If it doesn't fit, I'll either fix it or make her another. The nice thing about making things yourself is you can change them, too.

When I finished the Kraftie socks, I immediately had to start another pair of socks. I don't know why, I'm just in one of those moods where I have to have some socks on the needles. I decided to do Conwy correctly this time, and picked a simple brown yarn (these will be work socks), Lang Jawoll Color. This is one of those yarns that comes with reinforcing thread — my first time using such a thing. I used it on the heel flap and turn, but I think I'll stop now (on the gussets) so I don't get extra bulk at the front of the sock. Ideally I would have it reinforced on the bottom of the heel too, but the heel turn is always the worst part so I should be okay. I might reinforce the toes too; there is enough thread. This yarn is really fabulous to knit with, soft and supple, even if it doesn't look exciting:


Sorry it's blurry. I am the queen of camera-shake. Kind of like being the queen of maracas, but less musical.