Osborn Fiber Studio

I gave myself a break from my self-imposed sock club during December; I figured that busting my butt to crank out a bunch of small gifts was more important, and I didn’t need to add anything more to my plate during that most delightful and stressful season of the year. I was all ready to give myself a pass in January, too, but then I had this intensive class.

At my school, an “Intensive” jams an entire course into five days of all-day class sessions. By the end of it you’re ready to go into an information coma. But it’s worth it to me, as it turns the upcoming 4-class semester into a 3-class semester, which is good if you’re also trying to be a full-time stay-at-home mom.

This is the most that Naomi and I had ever been separated in the course of a given week. But she was ready. Classes tend to time very well around her naps, and she was more than happy to play with her attentive Deedee. And I got to console myself with plenty of good knitting time.

So much good knitting time, in fact, that I easily knit this month’s pair of socks in four days of class. Granted, they are rather heavy-gauge socks, but I was still a bit impressed with myself.

The Pattern: “Friday Harbor” from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush. I enjoyed the simple lace pattern, which includes a pleasingly funky little leafy cuff. My gauge was a little small, surprisingly, but it was easy to alter. I cast on 60 stitches instead of 50, knit the leg on 57 instead of 49, and the foot on 50. I also kept the two purls on either side of the lace pattern going all the way down the foot; that I did largely because I wasn’t paying attention to the pattern. If you would like to make these, I can advise that they are definitely boot socks, especially knit in the given gauge.

The only other major change I made was to trade the round toe for a wide toe with a kitchener stitch finish. My round toe finishes, where you end up with 8 or so stitches and thread through them all and pull tight like the top of a hat, keep falling apart with wear. It makes sense; that’s a lot of pressure on a weak spot. So I won’t be doing any more toes like that, and I advise against it.

The yarn was a long discontinued selection from the “Sheep Shop Yarn Company.” We picked it up during our first trip to WEBS years ago, and it was already discontinued then, I think. In a fit of logic, they named the colorway “Spring.” I don’t know what else they could have called it, really. It was quite pleasant to work with, and only pooled a bit on the feet.

As for Naomi, she did better with our separation than I did! It didn’t hurt that she had a doting Deedee to play with her all day long.

She’s growing like a weed. Now that she fits into 12-month sleepers, which have grippies on the bottom of the feet, she is pulling up on everything. See the photo series below, which started out being of my feet, but was soon distracted by the background action.

Yes, she’s doing fine. I can’t believe she’ll be a year old in just over a month. And walking before I can say “don’t touch that.” Party, anyone?