Socks On Schedule

It's been less than three weeks since the We're Not In Kansas Anymore kit arrived from Woolgirl and I've already finished my socks.  (I actually finished them this past weekend but didn't get photos of them until last night.) 

I'm proud to say that this newest pair of socks is evidence that I'm keeping up with my sock club schedule really well!  I can't claim a perfect record since: 

1. I only finished the Flying Monkey anklets from the Enchanted Forest/Flying Monkeys combo kit and the Enchanted Forest socks are still just mostly toes.
2. I have not yet gone back to the dusty rose yarn from the Ruby Slippers kit.

but I'm going to claim that 7 out of 9 is a good record.  And I'm finished with plenty of spare time before the next kit is due to arrive, so there's always a chance (even if it's slim) that I'll make some more progress before then.

Pattern: Kansas
Yarn: Mama Llama Perfect Sock - Not in Kansas Anymore
Needles: US 1½ - 2.5 mm (Signature Stiletto)
Completed: April 16, 2009

I love the way this color knit up -- it's not at all a plain brown but had a lot of reddish and greenish tones mixed in.  The yarn itself was also nice and smooth to work with and worked up very evenly.

I do try to follow the patterns as they're given with the kits, but I made a minor modification to this one.  The pattern flows all the way into the toe and I just couldn't see myself getting as much wear out of these with the lacy holes all the way to the tips of my toes.  So I followed the toe chart, but made sure to knit the yarn overs through the back loop to twist them and close the hole.  I think the feeling of the pattern still carries through and I know I'll wear them more this way.

I also used a smaller needle size than was recommended, partly because the yarn just did not feel thick enough for a larger needle and partly because I really wanted to work these with my Signature Stiletto tip needles.  It was a risky change and although it seemed like they would almost be too tight at first, it worked out beautifully and the socks fit me perfectly in the end.

Of course keeping up with the kits is not at all an indication of how well I'm keeping up with my yarn stash as a whole.  I have a lot more yarn than I ever thought I would as of this time last year!  But I've been working on that, too, and with the exception of 2 balls of Berroco Blackstone Tweed that I bought for my sweater that I started in the end of February, I have not bought any additional yarn in over 6 weeks.  Oh, well... that's as long as you don't count the Wollmeise... but it's such a rare thing for me to catch an update for something like Wollmeise that it doesn't really count, right?

Haha!  Well, I am working on knitting from my stash, even if it's hard to tell.  After all, another Stitches Midwest is looming!