Socks, socks, and more socks

I have been on a sock-knitting kick lately. I suppose the colder weather and recent snow fall we've had have something to do with that. The striped socks on the right are for a friend who needs warm socks due to a bout with cancer. They were an experiment because it was a pattern that I sort of made up because he wears "sport" socks and I had not knit sport socks before. They are made out of Red Heart Heart & Sole Yarn in the "Rustica" colorway.

The pink socks in the middle are made out of Oasis yarn that I purchased from the South West Trading Company. They are "soysilk" and knit up with a rather "heavy" feel to them. I am anxious to see how warm they are. The red socks are a hand-dyed wool that I purchased at The Artful Ewe in Port Gamble, Washington. I love the color! The pattern is my favorite - "Wide Wale" by Ann Norling.

Vacation Yarn Stash

I don't know what is more fun - quilt shop hopping on vacation or discovering new yarn shops. With both stores, I am like a kid in a candy store! Here is a photo of the yarn I purchased on my recent vacation. We found two very nice yarn shops, one in Port Gamble and one in Sequim. Most of the yarn I bought is for socks. However, I did buy some for fingerless mitts and enough yarn for 2 sweaters. I have finished the socks I started on vacation. They are made from red hand-dyed wool that I found at The Artful Ewe in Port Gamble, Washington. I liked the yarn so much, we returned a few days later to buy more yarn for a sweater. Only there was not enough of that color left for a sweater. So, I purchased some beautiful varigated blue yarn for the sweater instead. It is in the top right hand corner of the photo. It really is lovely yarn.

The photo on the top right above, are the fingerless mitts I knit for my granddaughter's birthday. I thought they came out rather nice. I found the yarn at The Dropped Stitch in Sequim. The yarn is Universal Yarn Company's Classic Worsted Tapestry in the color of Emerald.

Memorial

The picture on the left is of my brother Bob and my daughter Annie, taken in January of 2008. My brother passed away on September 9th. I shall miss him tremendously! While going through photos of him I remembered many things that I thought I should write down before I forget them.

Bob was always active in sports. I remember one time when I "accidentally" broke his leg. We were keeping score at the ball park at the score board, changing or putting up numbers after each inning. We dropped one of the numbers on the ground. The score board stand was about 4 or more feet off the ground. I offered to hold Bob by the feet if he would reach down and pick up the number. I guess I dropped him and as a result, he broke his foot. We didn't find out until later that night that his foot was broken. Within a week, my parents found him running the bases at the local ball field, even with a cast on his leg.

Bob was very handsome, and thus popular with the girls in high school. We only attended the same high school for one year, as I graduated a couple of years a head of him. He was active on the baseball and basketball teams in high school and I remember him being quite a talented athlete.