WIP Wednesday :)

Given that it's Wednesday morning, I feel that I should show y'all something that I've been doing. I mean, I've been saying that I've been working on this and that but I haven't actually shown you anything.

And that makes me feel guilty.

But only a little.

Anyway, here's what I've been working on:
1. Mama's Vanilla Socks: (started December 6, 2011) - I've worked a couple rows of this but I'm still working on the leg portion. It's nothing fancy and I haven't photographed it.
2. Little Man's Giraffe: (started May 11, 2011) - I think once I get the blanket finished (mentioned below), I might pull this out and finish it. There really isn't a lot left...I just need to sit and finish. I'd like to finish this before I start working on Sweet Girl's Hippo (this takes you to the pattern page, not the one I've made)...the only reason I mention the Hippo is that they're from the same book.
3. Icarus Shawl: (started March 15, 2010) - I'm sad to say that this has been on the needles for two years. TWO years. I'm nowhere near finished with this. Part of me keeps thinking that I should frog it and release the yarn to a better home...but I really like the shawl and the yarn is very fitting for it. Anyone have any thoughts about this?
4. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit Socks: (started January 23, 2012) - I haven't worked on these. I had every intention of working on them this past Saturday at Knit-In but, silly me, I left the pattern in the car. Oops.
5. Pine Forest Baby Blanket: (started February 21, 2012) - This one has made some progress. I started out with six skeins of Knit Picks Swish Worsted in the Dublin colorway (for a total of 660 yds). Once I got going, I realized there was a possibility that I was going to have to either buy more and pray that they were in the same dyelot or I was going to have to find a contrasting color. And then Husband lost his job...so an order from Knit Picks was out of the question. On to a contrasting color, I guess.

Originally, I had thought of white but after some thought, I decided that might not be such a good idea on several levels (starting with the fact that it was for a baby who was going to do every manner of bodily function on it at least once, but probably several times, over the course of it's life). While I was working on this blanket and getting closer and closer to the end of the third skein, one of the ladies I was knitting with suggested that maybe I should use a pink for the contrast instead of white...but it would have to be the "right" kind of pink. Unfortunately, I don't own pink except for already mapped out projects (like the aforementioned Hippo)...so that meant a trip to the store. Because it's for a baby, it was going to have to be something that was either superwash wool or some other machine washable item. The Swish is 100% superwash merino.

I wound up choosing Loops & Threads Impeccable Solids in Soft Rose.

Impeccable Solids in Soft Rose

This photo is a bit......well, it's too dark, for one thing. But, there you have it. They come in 268 yards/skein. I only bought one because I figured that I'd only need about 220 or so to make the blanket look balanced (if that makes any sense?).

Anyway, I finished up the repeat I was doing and figured that I would be unable to make another full four-row repeat with what I had left of the third skein. So......I started with the pink.

The colors together

I don't think it looks too horrible...I mean, I'm not a fan of pink but it could be worse.

Extreme close-up!

Neither color is turning out correctly in these photos but it was the best I could do. Sorry.

What do you think about the color combination?

6. Hermione's Everyday Socks: (started March 6, 2012) - I spent a good portion of Saturday at Knit-In working on these. I wasn't exactly happy with my needles, however. They're metal so they're not snapping but they are warping like crazy and I can't have that either. So, after working on them on Saturday (and getting through the tedious 20 rounds of 1x1 ribbing), I switched to two circulars. I had purchased them for this purpose and I'm quite pleased with how things are going.

They're not as bright as this photograph is making them out to be but with the chocolate brown background, the only way they would show up at all was with the flash on...and then they turned out way too bright. *sigh* They are, however, very blue...there's a good hint of green (which is good since the color is called Emerald), but they really are more blue than green.

I'm probably going to do some alterations to this pattern because it calls for 18 four-row repeats (which is 72 rows)...plus the 20 rows of ribbing. I'm not sure I need socks that long. I'll probably do 12 or 14 repeats (either 48 or 56 rows)...maybe. Who knows. We'll see when I get that far. I may also alter how I do the gusset decreases. I'm toying with doing a double gusset heel or single gusset heel decrease on these. Or maybe I'll do a band heel. I haven't decided yet.

Anyway, those are my WIPs for this week. Aren't they lovely?



Husband should be back soon from his trip to San Francisco. He's been gone since Saturday afternoon. His face-to-face interview was Monday morning. He *should* hear something later today. I asked how his interview went and he said it was okay...the manager is hard to read. I don't know what that means. Part of me really wants him to get this job.......and then there's the part of me that doesn't want to spend the next two months packing up the house. I'm not averse to moving across the country or starting a life in a completely new place but I'm not crazy about packing up the house.

I'll try to keep you all updated :)

And, for your viewing pleasure: Little Man wearing my Snail Hat.

Look at all my teeth!

Do you like my mama's hat?

For more WIP Wednesday fun, visit Tami's blog.