We start our vacation on Friday evening which includes a wedding in CT this weekend. I have to be totally packed for everything, including the wedding, the camping trip on the way down and Bassoon Camp by Thursday night because our timetable this weekend is rather tight. With so much to do and so little time I’m feeling desperate to finish some things.

Simba’s favorite toy, Miss Ladybug, decided to help with the picture.

These gloves. They’ve been on the needles since February. That is far too long in my book for such a little project. They must be finished before I leave. End of story.

I also want to finish this yarn from the carded batts I showed you the other day.

This yarn too.

Then there are these new socks that I started. I don’t really feel so desperate to finish them since I just started them a few days ago. The sock mojo was just itching away at me and I couldn’t help but cast them on despite knowing that the gloves Really Needed to get Done. The pattern is Nutkins and the yarn is handspun and handyed from this fiber which became this yarn. And yes, that is me doing a top down sock. Try not to hurt yourself with the shock. To help you recover I will tell you that I replaced the short row heel with a flap. Feel better? Yes, I thought so.

Am I the only one that needs to push projects off the bobbins/needles like this when going away?

And since I’ve been tagged twice, I figure I might better do this meme:

6 Things Meme

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was in undergrad doing a double major in music and hating the music education part with a passion but continued to do it because my parents insisted I needed to be able to eat when I graduated. I was in a long term toxic relationship which I would eventually get out of, but not for another couple of years. I was a pretty co-dependent workaholic without much of a social life and afraid of my own shadow. Nice to look back and know I’ve grown a bit.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order): An ILS Meeting, packing, finishing that yarn and those gloves, packing, making dinner, did I mention packing?!?!

3) Snacks I enjoy: Ice cream (we had some wicked good B&J the other day- Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream and Strawberry Cheesecake, *so* not on my diet!), grape tomatoes, yogurt, granola bars.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

* Take care of my parents for the rest of their lives and pay them back for all the money they spent on me through three degrees, a bassoon, a contrabassoon, a couple of cars, health insurance when I was too old to be on theirs and god only knows what else I owe them.

*Buy a house with some land somewhere remote and clean and far from cities and live off the grid. Have some sheep and horses and whatever else I wanted but keep the house only for Simba since she doesn’t really like other kitties. Stitches would stay inside too. Maybe start an animal rescue.

* Start my own fiber business.

* Donate copiously to charities that make the world better.

* Maybe marry that boy of mine.

5) Places I have lived: Accord, NY – Fredonia, NY – New Haven, CT – North Haven, CT – Hamden, CT – Plainsboro, NJ (Wow. For the longest time I only had three on my list. Time flies.)

6) 5 peeps I wanna know more about: The 5 who feel like doing this as I am short on time these days. See above.

The FO I had wanted to share today is not quite as finished as I thought it was, so I’ll be resorting to a meme I saw on Stacey and Kristy’s blogs:

1. What’s your favorite sock yarn? (please note that the word ‘yarn’ is singular. Just pick one. I know it’s hard.)
Wow. That is hard. I think for how they feel I’d pick Regia silk. For hard wearing and all around awesomeness it would have to be Trekking.

2. What’s your favorite type and brand of sock needle?
I’m a die hard circs girl and addis are my current love. I do like the lace needles for certain patterns. I asked santa for some Harmony needles though, so we’ll see if that changes.

3. Do you knit your socks toe up, cuff down, or sideways?
Almost always toe up. The feet I knit for are just too darn big to risk it otherwise.

4. Do you knit both socks at once or just one at a time?
One at a time. I’ve done two at a time and liked it but it just isn’t commuter friendly.

5. What’s your favorite toe and why?
It’s hard for me to say specifically. I don’t think I’ve really narrowed that down yet. I like short row toes but I’ve also been using the one in Wendy’s pattern a lot recently and I like that too.

6. Favorite heel?
Flap heel. Short row heels just don’t fit me well. Guess I’ve got fat ankles.

7. Do you prefer plain or patterned socks?
I like both! I find a stockinette sock very soothing to knit but also like to give my brain a workout at times.

8. Who do you knit the most socks for?
I’ve been a pretty selfish knitter in recent months. Most are for me, then the boy, then my folks.

9. Do you darn your socks? If not, what do you do with them?
I haven’t had to darn any yet, but I will if needed!

10. Do you only wear handknit socks?
I’d like to say I do, but I don’t have enough just yet. I would say this time of year that I mostly wear handknit socks.

Bonus question: What pattern, if any, is your basic “I-just-need-a-pair-of-socks” sock pattern based on? Do you keep it written down or memorized?
I’ve pretty much committed the sock pattern I teach my students to memory. It’s based on several sources including Wendy’s pattern mentioned above, the recipe in Knitting Rules and a couple of Internet patterns.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!