Frog Bavarian Socks?

Bavarian Socks, should they stay or should they go? Isn't this a beautiful color Teal? Nice stitch definition, as always, from my beloved Cherry Tree Hill.

Hmmnn....I've been working on these for a few days now and you can see how slowly it is going. I can do the cables without the cable needle for the most part but it's SO tiny and still quite easy to drop a stitch with this slippery little yarn. The problem? I don't like the fabric. It's really lumpy to have cables on a sock leg. I haven't ripped it out yet but as I was knitting, I was thinking how nice this yarn would be for Embossed Leaves. The second problem? Embossed leaves uses little yardage. It seems such a waste to make it out of this beautiful teal Cherry Tree Hill yarn. Sorry that the picture is a little blurry, I was trying to crop out that hair at the top, I seem to be shedding again. Why do only the brown ones fall out?

In the meantime, Karen of the Village Knitter e-mailed me yesterday to tell me she has a hank of Dream in Smooshy In Vino Veritas for me. Isn't it gorgeous? I have seen some dark wine and some mauve so I don't know what I'm getting. I am very tempted to bring my needles and make something out of it tonight. My issue with Smooshy is that my other pair grew in length and width when washed. It just stretched and stretched right over the top of my sock blockers. I nearly have Froot Loop Kilt Hose.

They grew nearly 2.5" in length and you can even see how they got wider and longer by looking at the holes between the stitches. This was taken when they were wet and they did shrink back a bit but I still don't know how happy I am with them.

I must say, you know what I really like, as far as sock yarns? Valley Yarns Franklin. It may not be as soft as some others, a little on the coarse side when you start to work with it but softer after washing. I wish it came in nearly solids. That would make me so happy. At 450 yards for 20 bucks, discountable at Webs, you just can't beat it. I can get a pair of socks out of one hank and still have enough left over to make a baby pair for little Boobette. She'd be thrilled with the purple ones....

In other news, I taught DH how to make bread. He doesn't follow directions fully so he had a little sinking in of the top yesterday but for the most part, he's getting good at it. Here's his first loaf. (Ok, ok, I twisted it for him but he did the rest by himself!)

In other news, ponderings... the next debate is to be held at Hofstra University. My friend works there in a prominent position. Hmmn, do you think she could get me in? Do you think I could get close enough to actually say, "Here, hold this"? Which color would look the best with John or Barack? It'd be really hilarious to photograph them with a yarn named "In Vino Veritas" (translates to "in true wine") Hofstra is a mere 15 minutes from my house on a good day. Realistically, I could be standing next to the next President within, say 45 minutes of leaving my house, knitting in tow. I wonder how you get in? Invitation? Do they give out bracelets like American Idol or a Rock Concert? I would be honored...I could go Kinnearing. Regardless of who I have decided to vote for, I find it amazing that anyone has the gumption and drive to actually run for this office. The other thing is, considering what you have to deal with the salary is awfully low. ($400k, used to be alot less only a few years ago but they gave him a raise.) I may not agree with everything that Sarah Palin says (or does, for that matter) but I really admire her, too. She's working her way up the political ladder and she's a woman......do you think she knits? She might knit, it gets cold up there in the land of the midnight sun. And how about her beautiful family? They're so pretty, all of them. Ok, she names the kids with almost hippie names, Bristol, Trig, Track, Piper, Willow. Track and Trig are named after classes in school. I like the name Piper Palin for some reason. And, one more thing, she's distant cousins of FDR and Princess Diana. I think that may make her related to Nancy Reagan somehow who is also distantly related to the royal family. In fact, many people are distantly related to the Royal Family but I'm not one of them.

OK, stay tuned for an update on Shawl Collar Sweater!