If this is second prize...

Then I can only imagine how awesome first prize must have been! I entered Sangeeta's "guess the baby animal" contest on Knit One, Wag Two. I didn't guess the right animal (turns out it was a zebu), but apparently I cam close enough to deserve a "runner-up" prize:


Clip stitch markers, a mini crocheted sweater keychain, Rowan Calmer
in off-white, "Soak" wool wash, and Nature Spun wool in dark red.
(Believe it or not, I took this pic with my regular camera, not my phone.
Obviously I still have a lot to learn about the correct settings for close-up
photography...)

I can tell you right now that the red yarn is going to go toward a scarf for the Red Scarf Project. I'm also excited to try the Calmer, since I've heard good things about it. Thanks so much for the generous gift, Sangeeta! Now maybe I should come up with a good contest...

Quickie

I may have beaten my own personal record for Shortest Completion Time for a project. It feels even faster given how long most of my current WIPs have been on the needles. On Friday, I went with a work friend to Stitch DC, (which is about 3 blocks from my office) and picked up some yummy Karabella Aurora 8 (100% merino) for a baby hat. I cast on when I got home that night, knit a few rows and went to bed. By bedtime yesterday I was done:


What I always make: Umbilical Cord Hat from the
first Stitch'n'Bitch book.

While I was at Stitch DC, I also found I couldn't resist this gorgeous sock yarn, though I'm still not sure what kind of stitch pattern will work the best for it:


Claudia Handpainted fingering weight in the Walk in the Woods colorway.

I think I also forgot to mention that shortly after accepting my job down here, but before we moved away from CT, I decided to treat myself to some Cherry Tree Hill, since I'd heard so much about it:


Can't remember the colorway, but it made me think of autumn, with the
maple trees lit up with color, hot cider in my mug and a fire in the fireplace.

So before I do anything else as soon as I get my Jaywalkers off the needles (finally!), I'll be casting on for two or three more pairs of socks. I was really late in joining Socktoberfest, but it's obviously not due to a lack of interest in knitting socks!!

Three generations

Over the weekend, we drove down to Charlottesville to visit my grandparents. They are 92 and 93, and I regret to say that I hadn't seen them in over two years. I was really happy to be able to make the trip now, and for them to meet my wonderful husband. My mom and brother were there too, and we all enjoyed a quiet afternoon of looking at pictures and chatting. Taz, my mom, and C put together a nice light dinner for all of us. I didn't help because I was still knitting madly away on Grandma's sock. It was down to the wire, but I did manage to finish it before we left:


Toe-up, using PGR's short-row technique. Cuff is 2x2 ribbing, and top
border is a few rows of 1x1 ribbing, with some stockinette and a couple
rows of eyelets in between.

Grandma was very emotional when I gave them to her, and she immediately put them on. She remarked that she used to knit socks once, and then Mom observed that life comes full circle. Grandma was the one who taught my mom to knit, and Mom was the one who taught me to knit, and now I was giving knitted socks to Grandma. So Taz asked us to pose for a Three Generations of Knitters picture:


Me, Grandma, Mom, and Grandma's sock.

It was really a perfect visit. And on the way home, Taz nearly made me cry when he said that he had really enjoyed meeting them and helping to brighten their day a little, and that anytime I want to go down to see them, he'd love to come along. Even though they're in relatively good health for their age, they're definitely getting on in years, and no one knows how much longer we'll be able to share moments with them like this past Saturday afternoon, so it really meant a lot to me to know that Taz understands that. I am so lucky.

Next in knitting: finishing at least one of the two cardigans I have on the needles, finishing my Jaywalkers, making some progress on Hanging Vines (so much for the Amazing Lace) and casting on for socks for Taz. Any suggestions for a manly pattern stitch to make the charcoal gray yarn more interesting to work with? That means no cables, lace, or eyelets of any kind. Don't ask me why cables on socks aren't manly, I just know that if I put cables on these socks, they won't be worn very much. Maybe it's the bulkiness?