Happy Birthday Country!

I have always loved the 4th of July! Not the fireworks which drive my pets crazy - but the concept. Except for some interludes during the anti Vietnam war protest days - I have always considered myself to be very patriotic and I love being an American. I love putting out my flag every 4th of July and realizing how blessed we all are. Can you imagine having all that we have and doing all that we do with fewer freedoms. Yes - God Bless America..

And back to knitting.. I am well into my second pair of socks:



I'm doing these in Austermann Step (so soft with Jojoba and Aloe) with size 1 Crystal Palace bamboos - 6 inches long and I like the fabric better.. much less stretchy. I hope they aren't too small! I think this is the hardest part about socks. A sweater can be a little big or a little small but the socks need to fit "just right". And I guess this starts all over again when I get a new yarn? I've been bad the last few weeks - have bought some more sock yarn to feed my addiction - even some fancier ones - like Socks that Rock. I'm wondering tho if I can get a pair with 360 yds. May need to try the toe up technique.

I am off of work from the 4th thru the 9th - so have LOTS of knitting time. I plan to dye my Melon Shawl, finish these socks and then start my Kauni. I just joined a Kauni KAL. When I got my yarn I thought it was a bad batch. It is much more muted than what I have seen on the net.. here is a photo - which explains the confusion. It photographs REALLY bright:



The actual yarn colors are more muted. But the KAL gals reassured me that the final product will look more like this:

I am hoping - after doing my Dale - that this one will be a breeze. We will see. The yarn is somewhat scratchy (may be hard to knit on hot summer days altho with my new A/C it should be OK) - but I really want to start this since the KAL is just kicking off. I think I will violate my intent to only have one project at a time on the needles. I will keep my socks going to do at work (so easy to transport) and do the Kauni on weekends. Lets see how that goes.

So my blog should have prettier pictures soon!