Four!

Four socks.
Two complete pairs.
Three socks currently OTN.
Eighteen days.
Yay!

Yes, I ripped and reknit the leg to get rid of that hole. First, I tried to pull the dropped stitch up, but that left me with one too many live stitches and the whole thing looked sort of wonky and wobbly. Usually I can make that particular repair work. But not this time.

I don't mind reknitting. I'd rather get it right and feel good about the end product. The Bearfoot stood up well to ripping. I was concerned the mohair content might gum things up, but it was fine. It's a nice sturdy yarn despite its fuzzy appearance.

So now, with that done, I'm finally allowing myself to obsess over which yarn to take to Dallas for this conference. I leave in 36 hours! And I'm only now thinking about yarn! Something is clearly not right in my world. I should have, by now, made a complete stash inventory, browsed patterns for two hours, arranged likely yarns on a spare table in order of pack-ability, changed the assortment six times, changed the pack-ability order nineteen times, and at least once per hour seriously considered taking my entire stash .

I really do love my stash.

But this time, because it's all socks all summer, the focus is tighter and the dilemma is greatly reduced. I don't have to spend one thin second dwelling on socks, bags, sweaters, hats, mittens, scarves, gauge swatches, and all the yarns for all those items that could possibly fit into my suitcase, just as long as I remove my shoes. And my clothes. And all my underwear. And probably my toothbrush.

The definition of "travel necessities" sure does evolve some once we take up knitting, doesn't it?

Okay, okay, I'll pack clothes and toiletries. But I'd still rather pack my stash.




















This is a very pretty skein of Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the Wildflowers colorway. It's similar to the Flathead Cherry socks I just finished, but pinkier and purplier. Not as much burgundy. It occurs to me that if I knit this, and knit the skein of Raven (a nice inky black), I would have finished all the Bearfoot in my stash. That would feel like an accomplishment, especially given that the jaywalkers are the last of the Regia. Because I joined the Summer of Socks as a stashbuster, this would make me feel like I've actually managed to bust some stash. I could legitimately claim that I knit all of the Bearfoot, Regia, and Koigu sock yarn in my stash. That's got a nice ring to it.

So the Wildflowers will fly to Dallas with me. I'm also taking the Dale Baby Ull turquoise socks. I'm excessively tempted to pack a third sock yarn -- maybe the Gypsy Girl, which has really been calling my name lately, or the Shaeffer Anne -- but I am trying to resist this borderline insane urge to pack three month's worth of knitting for a five-day conference.

Then again, it's only sock yarn, and everyone knows sock yarn doesn't count. It hardly takes up any room at all. I could pack all of it, and the STR and Wildfoot too. And the Lorna's Laces, too, if I don't pack my clothes and my shoes and ....

Dang. There I go again. ...sigh...

I really do hate being parted from my stash.