An idea.

Here's what is going on around these parts:

The husband is enjoying a new hat:


The second of the Koigu traveling socks is doing some sort of very weird pooling/striping thing:


So. Here's the idea. A local knitter has read my blog posts about 40 guy and has made a suggestion. She thinks I should knit him a 40 cosy. She has even suggested a pattern. But here's the thing. I think that 40 guy might be just a little crazy, and I am not sure that I would be comfortable presenting him with a gift, and thus, initiating conversation. After all, this is a person that deems it entirely acceptable (and presumably normal) to BYOB to the Barnes and Noble Cafe. Thoughts?

Halfsies

That's one half of the pair of Koigu traveling socks, and one half of Fetching. Boy, I can't wait for autumn.

Seriously.

Didn't I say last month that we are fun? Tonight was the Barnes & Noble knit night. What fun stuff was there this week? Well, there was a guy walking a pig:



and 40 guy was back! First, he set the 40 down at one table while he browsed the books:



Then he moved the 40 before going off to browse some more:



One of us (not me) was brave enough to peek in the top of the bag to learn what 40 guy's favorite brand was, and it would seem that he favors Hurricane. Clearly, a man of refined taste.

Also, we made a new friend. Marsha (sorry if I have the spelling wrong!), who is a knitter, joined us for some lovely conversation. We hope you'll join us again, Marsha, and bring your current shawl-in-progress for us to ooh and aah over.

See! We are FUN!!! Come join us next month, won't you?

Other than that, here's what I've got going on:



Clockwise, from top right: Cashmerino Aran that is on its way to being Fetching, a new Noro hat for Mark, and Koigu traveling sock #1. Thanks for all of your nice comments to my last post about Green Gable, you all are so sweet!

Ta da!

the obligatory mirror shot


and trying to get one outside - not a great shot, but it does show the underarm and side shaping pretty well

Pattern: Green Gable, Zephyr Style, size small
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, Caribbean Sea, about two and a half skeins
Mods: One less repeat of the lace than the pattern called for. Spaced out the decreases five rows apart instead of two and used a k2tog, ssk decrease instead of just k2tog. Added two increase rounds at the waist, three inches later and five rows apart - used lifted increases, both right- and left-leaning. Added about three inches of additional length. Picked up five additional stitches under each arm, which eliminated the need to sew up the hole that's created if you follow the pattern instructions.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this, and it's definitely the most wearable garment I've made so far. I wore it to work on Tuesday, then to knit night at Yarns By Design. Lori was there, and since she doesn't have a blog of her own, I feel obliged to blog about her newest FO, the Kittyville hat from Stitch & Bitch:



She'd just finished it when I made her pose for this photo. Other than that, I've got only the Koigu socks going on right now, and I am nearly finished with the gusset of sock #1. I bought some yarn at YBD for Fetching. I think those will come in very handy in the fall, so I guess I'd better get started!

Look who's blocking...

This has actually been finished and blocking since Saturday, but has proven to be a slow dry-er. Hopefully it'll be ready to go by tomorrow, when the weather will actually be reasonable enough to wear it! Photos of it on me to come...

Oh, and if anyone is in the Oakmont area on Tuesdays, do stop by the Yarns By Design knit night (6-8 every Tuesday). I had a perfectly lovely time there last week, and I am hoping to stop by tomorrow, though I likely won't be able to stay until 8.