How did it get to be mid-August?

The socks that started off as little bitty wraps on toothpick-sized needles ended up looking like socks made for a pair of stilts. Here they are ... observe what happens when you don't purchase enough of the same dyelot to complete a project!

The next pair of socks OTN will look like two of this picture. The ripple pattern is the Ridged Feather from Sensational Knitted Socks.

I decided to do some gauge checking, since my standard sock pattern threw me for such a loop with the new KP needles. The pink socks, knit on size 2.5 mm needles, have a gauge of 10 spi in stockinette. The other pair has a gauge of 8.5 spi with 3.0 mm needles. My Brittany birch needles are 2.75 mm, and they give me a gauge of 9 something (and that's after wearing and many washes.) Save time, take time to check gauge. Or have a wide variety of feet available to fit whatever size sock comes off the needle.

Many blue ribbons were earned at the County Fair this year. My children got their first blue ribbons. The ferris wheel is an original design, and the poncho is an adaptation of Rosemary's Poncho to a sportweight yarn and a toddler size. I think the only part we didn't adapt was the shaping.

I got a Box of Yarn in the mail yesterday. Since I am suffering slightly from an abundance of sock yarn, I decided to take a short break from that and knit some hats. At a church outing in the evening, I finished off a Packer Hat and a Vikings Hat. And today, I made a Hat for Small Boy with No Football Affiliation Yet.

But socks, despite my current malaise, are quite nifty and neat. I got some sock yarn this last week in a swap. I'm looking forward to working it up, after I make some more non-sock items. Really, what I need is a Home Project. I haven't had one for a while, so socks have been my home AND travelling project. There are a few projects in the works, but nothing that's ready to cast on yet. That may change this week, since we're heading up St. Paul to enter some of my knitting in the State Fair. There are two yarn stores that we've never laid eyes on, right on the way home from the fair. And there's a bookstore along the way too. I wonder -- how long will it take us to get home?