finished socks and new projects

I have finished my socks, and they are lovely. The yarn is so soft that I don't want to take them off. I only used half a skein because my feet are short and I made the cuffs about 4 inches instead of 6, so I have enough left for a pair of anklets. I found a pattern that should work, but since I started another pair of fingerless gloves tonight and I have to finish that cowl, I won't be starting those socks for a couple of weeks. They are lacy and cable-y and should be fun to knit.

On Wednesday and Thursday, I knit a Jayne hat. One of my friends who loves Firefly asked me to make it for him, so I said I'd do it if he paid for the yarn. We bought the yarn Wednesday and I gave him the hat Thursday evening. It knit up really fast. Simple pattern and worsted-weight yarn. It was instant-gratification knitting. Hat, earflaps, and pom pom. It was my first pom pom. A part of me almost feels like I committed a crime in a making a pom pom. I realize that this hat, if you are a true browncoat, absolutely must have a pom pom, but without the embellishment, it's a pretty decent hat, and with it, well, it's not as decent. I don't like pom poms, but this one was fun to make.

I was at the coffee shop where he works last night, so when I gave it to him, he put it on and wore it the rest of the evening. I have a sneaking suspicion that every time I go for coffee now, I will see him there with the hat. It makes me ridiculously happy to have knit something that makes someone so happy. I have enough yarn left to knit two, three, maybe even four more hats, so his girlfriend (she who owns Harvey the Squid) may be getting one too. I might just knit one (sans pom pom) for myself.

I also had the time to make rhubarb-ginger jam and sorrel tart, and work on my socks, and read a few books. That's how fast the hat knit up.

I have a couple more projects going now. The trouble with the cowl I'm working on is that I don't like the yarn and I'm still new to cabling. In view of this, I have started another, simpler project involving cables, to get more practice (the fingerless gloves mentioned above). And I just wanted to knit them. There's a pair of socks to make as a Christmas gift that I should start soon, and I'm itching to start a lace shawl, using this pattern. I've already started writing out the charts (which I can read, but I do better with text--this way I can use both).

I also have another hat project going, but it's slower because I'm learning to do fair isle properly at the same time. I keep tangling my yarns. I'm not fond of fair isle, and I don' t know if I'll ever be. There are patterns out there that I like which use the technique, so I'm learning it, but I don't love it like I love lace and cables.

Well, I have to work tomorrow morning, so I'd better stop typing. Blogging turns into a bad habit--I write about pointless things just because I like to write.