A sock, a sweater, and a soup

Yes, friends, that is a 13-year-old sock project, and yes, I have finished the gusset decreases on the second sock. I actually managed to figure out where I was in the pattern (and figure out how the heck I did the first sock) fairly easily, and my only complaint with these is that the needles are shorter than I'm used to using, so that slows me down a little. The needles are a vintage set, though, and I'm not 100% convinced that I have a set that matches them exactly, so I'm not really comfortable swapping the needles out. Once I've finished this sock, the set will be retired in favor of my usual seven-inch DPNs. 

I've also reached the point in my sweater where I'm starting to get nervous about having enough yarn. I'm currently on my fifth of seven skeins, and of course this yarn is discontinued. The body is currently measuring about 12.5 inches, and I think my current skein will get me to at least 17 inches, which would leave two full skeins for the yoke. Fingers crossed! I'm really enjoying knitting this, and I'm excited to add it to my wardrobe. I don't know what it is about the lighting in my office, but the green isn't really photographing well here, it's much warmer in real life.

On Saturday I spent the entire day making soup! I started in the morning putting a pound of white beans in the crock pot, and then when those had about an hour and a half left to cook, I prepped a whole bunch of shallots, potatoes, and asparagus. It definitely used up all my spell slots for the day, and left a lot of cleaning up to do, but the end result is about 18 cups of creamy, delicious soup. Getting it all run through my blender was a bit of an ordeal, but I managed, and the end result is worth it!

 

I had hoped to make a loaf of sourdough this weekend—I'm so close to having figured out the perfect technique for my GF flour blend!—but it turns out I'm out of all my GF flours, which makes sense, given that I've had Vitacost open on my computer since the last time I made bread. So further experiments in breadmaking will have to wait a couple weeks, alas.

A Visit, a Doll, and More Socks

Happy Monday, kittens! My mother came to visit over the weekend, and Coleslaw was SO EXCITED to get lots of snuggles with her. We hit up several thrift stores as well as the gluten-free bakery, and we watched lots of British murder shows. 

I found several puzzles and a couple books at the thrift stores, as well as a new quilting project (the finished top together with its backing fabric, just waiting for batting, sandwiching and quilting!) and a new haunted doll for my collection. My mother and the cashier both gave me grief about bringing her home, but she has a nice place in my office now and she seems to be settling in great.

I also managed to finish another pair of socks! I started this pair in January 2024, same as my last pair, and I've been banging them out during meetings and when mum and I had the tv on. They are squishy and cozy and just what my sock drawer needed! 

Now I have just one pair of socks on the needles: the pair that I've been "working on" since 2012. I'm hoping to get them finished quickly—I think I remember how I changed the pattern for the first sock, so I just have to pay close attention to what I'm doing to make the second sock match. 

I did pull out two new sock yarns last night, but it's sitting on my desk and I'm going to try not to cast either of them until this last WIP is finished. One of the yarns is for a plain ribbed pair, so if wrapping my head around the mods to the WIP socks is too overwhelming (because of course I didn't write anything down!), I can cast on that pair so I at least have something for meetings this week, but I really want to get this 13 year old pair off the needles and into my sock drawer! 

The weather is still doing its crazy spring thing, and I am well and truly sick of it. I had to fight with my "smart" thermostat last night to turn the air on because it was just too warm and humid for me to be comfortable, especially since the temperatures haven't stayed above seventy for long enough for me to get acclimated! We're back in the high forties-low fifties today, so the HVAC is set back to heat and we'll see how the rest of the week goes. 

Brother's Hat 2: Electric Boogaloo

Good news, my mug shelves are still secure! Bad news, I keep having bad dreams about them collapsing again! Hopefully my subconscious accepts that the shelves are secure now and finds something else to worry about!

I got pictures of my brother's finished hat! I love it just as much as I did the first one, and I swear the next time I knit this pattern it will be for myself.

 

I spent all day Saturday deep cleaning my apartment, which really needed it. It's much nicer now, and it's been warm enough the past couple days to have a couple windows open to air out from winter. The temps are still swinging back and forth a bit, which makes my bones ache, but hopefully things level out soon.

The grocery store in my neighborhood has asparagus for $1.99 a pound this week, so I got four bunches. I rinsed and chopped three of the bunches before freezing them in baggies so I have them on hand to throw in packet risotto. Asparagus is probably my favorite vegetable, and fresh asparagus is one of spring's few redeeming qualities. I'm looking forward to eating lots of roast asparagus over the next couple weeks, and I'm glad I thought to put some aside for risotto once asparagus season ends.

Mugs and Trains and Socks, Oh My!

Great news, my mug shelves are back up and secure! It ended up being a five-day ordeal, as it took me two tries to get the right drywall anchors, then I needed to get different screws, and THEN I needed to move all the shelves down an inch and drill new holes because I absolutely made a mess of one of the initial holes and couldn't move that one shelf without moving all of them. But it's done now, and fingers crossed that nothing precarious ever happens to my beautiful mugs ever again.

The last weekend in March there was a model train show in town. I didn't find out about it until that Saturday, but I went over on Sunday and really enjoyed myself! There were some really cool setups, and even a club that ran miniature steam engines! While I don't have room for a train setup in this apartment, I've always wanted one, and I picked up two cars to start my collection.

Knitting wise, I finished my brother's hat (unphotographed), and I also finished a pair of socks (Ravelry page) for myself! Aside from the worsted weight house socks I knit myself for the GAL last year, I haven't finished a pair of socks for myself in over three years. Carpal tunnel surgery has been an absolute game changer, and I'm so pleased that I can handle knitting on 2.75mm needles for longer periods again. I've also been making progress on my green sweater: both sleeves are done and I'm about six inches into the body.

The end of last week I had to go out of town for a conference and Coleslaw got to go to camp. It was a little rainy, but that didn't stop her from climbing all over the playground equipment! I am glad to be back home, though, and as much as Coleslaw loves camp, she's definitely been catching up on cuddle time now that we're both home.