And The Winner Is…

Lorna’s Laces Watercolor, in a landslide. The Opal Orange was second, thanks to Claudia stuffing the ballot box. The other two were tied for the finish. There may have been a few convicted felons voting as well, so the vote may be thrown out months from now. But for now the LL will be my next pair of socks, though I think I will keep that orange stuff close by for inspiration. I’ve become a bit partial to it myself.

John’s Striped Socks are now done. I finished them up this morning as my sweetie cooked me bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns for breakfast. And he did the dishes, so he certainly deserves a new pair of socks.

He put them on as soon as he got out of the shower. Conveniently, the temperature has dropped 30 degrees since yesterday, so he will actually be able to wear them. What was that rumor about the arrival of summer??

You might notice that these socks are identical twins. It took a bit of fiddling, but those stripes match nearly perfectly. This was my first foray into toe-up-short-row-heel socks. I still like doing them the other way, but this method has the definite advantage of allowing you to use every bit of yarn if you want longer socks. I know that a lot of sock knitters don’t like top down socks because they despise grafting toes, but I actually enjoy that step. It’s nice to know more than one way how to do something, though.

Here’s the morning cat picture:

Yes, that’s a pile of wood in my kitchen where the table used to be. We are in the middle of some home renovation. All the ratty cat-puke stained carpet on the main level will be replaced by wood flooring, and it got delivered Friday morning. At 6:15 AM. There’s more going on, including a few projects that involved cutting holes into walls that didn’t have holes, and plastering up a window that we just hated. It’s been a mess around here. The floor is due to be installed in a couple of weeks, but the wood was here, so there it is. We actually aren’t going to replace the kitchen table. We figure everybody always ends up in the kitchen hanging out at parties, instead of using the other rooms of the house, so we’re going to put a sofa and coffee table here instead once the renovation is done.

We’re off on a road trip on Tuesday for a couple of weeks. We’re headed to Napa for some wine tasting (out of plastic safety glasses, of course). We’re going to head down the coast of Oregon and California, then drive back up through the Mt. Shasta area. On the trip home we’re taking in a Shakespeare play in Ashland, Oregon, then spending a day with friends in Portland. I’m taking my laptop along, but posting will depend on wi-fi access along the way. I heard a rumor that Oregon and northern California have some swell yarn shops. Then when we get home, reality will set in, and I will have to get to go back to work, after three months off.

I’ve updated my Finished Projects page as well with all the details.

Author: Lorette

My name is Lorette. I learned to knit in 1999, and took up spinning in 2009. I'm a physician specializing in internal medicine, and live in the Pacific Northwest. Enjoy my blog!

17 thoughts on “And The Winner Is…”

  1. I can’t remember if I’ve ever commented before, but I’ve been reading along for a while, anyways. 🙂 Just wanted to congratulate you on your graduation AND those socks. They look fabulous!

  2. It’s actually good that the wood is there waiting for a couple weeks before installation. It allows it to acclimate to your place, the humidity levels, drying out properly, etc., so you’ll have fewer cracks when it’s installed. Enjoy it! I have two more rooms in my house left to do, and I can’t wait.

  3. Ooo – a road trip! I’m jealous. I’ve decided I’m not taking anymore plane trips – they seem so rushed and frustrating compared to a nice trip in the car, with knitting, stopping when you want to, etc. Now if I can just figure out a way to drive across the Atlantic. Let me know how you like your wood floor. My husband and I have discussed replacing our living room/hall carpet with hardwood flooring and I have mixed feelings. Have a great time on your trip – taking any knitting?

  4. If you’re driving all the way to Napa, it’s not TOO far out of your way to drive over to San Rafael to check out Dharma Trading (it’s on 4th, which is the main commercial street). Yarn and dyes and always lots of fun stuff for fiber freaks. Take the backroad (Hwy. 121-116) to Petaluma and then head south on 101. And of course you could always head a little farther south and check out the yarn shops in San Francisco!!

  5. Birch looks awesome!!! As do the twin socks!!! I’m glad to see you’re doing so much better!!! Have a great trip!!

  6. congratulations,LL Watercolor!! Great choice – I made clapotis from their very same colorway, the Lion&Lamb. I just found your blog – and it’s outstanding! I like it so much that I linked you to my infant blog. And to tell you a secret… I’m a fellow knitter…AND a doctor 🙂

  7. Oh wow where do I start? Breakfast sounds lovely. Occasionally hubby does that sort of thing for me but lately one of us is always NOT home at breakfast time so it doesn’t get to happen. I actually like top down socks and am more afraid of the toe-up ones because I have a hard time with the toe cast-on… Go figure. And ohhh. I’m loving your finished projects. The lavendar sweater is beautiful!! Sweater Wizard, huh? I’ve been tempted to buy it but I wasn’t too keen on paying so much and then having to pay for updates… And the Ice Blue Sweater… reminds me eerily of Big Sack but I notice the few differences. I see you did some cable changing on it. I’ll have to check out the original. 🙂

  8. Woo Hoo!!! for the Lorna’s Laces!
    Your husby’s socks look great. My husby isn’t a fan of the knitted socks. Whatever…his loss…more socks for me.

  9. Those socks are great! Congrats on the identical twins… I hope that mine come out like that, but I heard Trekking yarns are fairly random in their stripping from one skein to the next. Anyhow, have a great trip! I was just out in Oregon for a site visit for work and didn’t get a chance to visit any yarn shops. My boyfriend and i want to take a similar trip, so I definitely want the details on your return. Go home renovation!

  10. If you make to Walnut Creek, try Prima, a wine shop and restaurant run by my brother in law and partners. Delicious. John is an enthusiastic wine guy, helpful too. Cyndy, another knitting doctor.

  11. I found your site through the BH&G article. Wonderful!!! I live in the PNW myself, but grew up in Redding, CA. I wanted to give you a few travel tips for your trip. In Redding, be sure to see the Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay (I-5, take Central Redding exit, then Auditorium Dr or follow signs to Turtle Bay). The bridge is free to walk across, but Turtle Bay and the Arboretum are worth while also (fee). In Mt Shasta, eat at Lily’s. In Ashland be sure to visit The Websters yarn shop, 11 N. Main, right across from the theaters at the entrance of Lithia Park. “Eye candy for the knitter” as my mom used to say.
    Have a great trip. You are going to a gorgeous area.

  12. We make the drive to the San Francisco area once or twice a year to visit my husband’s folks. In the Napa area you might enjoy the di Rosa Preserve – a really outstanding collection of contemporary art set in an old winery that was turned into a home on 200 acres of rolling hills, olive groves, and vineyards. Jack London State Park near Sonoma is also quite memorable. It contains the ruins of Wolf House, London’s dream house which was built in 1913, but burned to the bare walls the week before he was set to move in. Our favorite spot for breakfast on the trip is in Ashland at Brother’s Restaurant downtown on North Main – they have wonderful scones, and I’m partial to the scambled tofu. For yarn stores – I enjoyed stopping at Molehill Farm in Lake Oswego – lots of yarn in a cute little house (I got my first skeins of Koigu KPPM there)- and not too far off the freeway. Have a great trip – and get a lot of knitting done!

  13. Hooray for getting rid of cat-puke carpet and for beautiful finished objects! And thanks, so much, for the “good courage.” Need it more than ever now. All best to you! Lift a glass of the good stuff for me 😉

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