Very large stash

Last weekend was the first of the fall craft shows. My friend Nancy, who tends to be a little impulsive sometimes, came on a booth that was selling out the inventory of a yarn shop that had closed. Of course, she bought it all. The photo is a very small part of her new superstash. She plans to send a great deal of it to Mexico, where her daughter has a hacienda in the mountains. They will give the yarn to the women in the area to make things for themselves and their famiilies. I donated a large bundle of needles that had come to me over the years. I think it's actually a pretty cool project.

Photos taken on a rainy afternoon

Fall is here, a good time for knitting socks. I just finished two pairs. The purple and green ones are from our hand knitted yarn, and they are sooo soft. It is the nicest yarn I have knit with, and it makes it hard to go back to the rest of my yarn. However, I have this stash... The socks are knitted on #1 bamboo needles, 64 stitches, and are 75% merino superwash wool, 25% nylon fingering weight yarn.
The second pair of socks is for a friend's birthday. She is 95 and her feet are cold at night, so these are super thick bed socks. They are 100% merino superwash worsted weight hand dyed yarn from Cherry Tree Hill. I knit a strand of wooly nylon serger thread with the yarn. I cast on 44 stitches and used #5 bamboo needles. The socks are quite soft. Next time, I might use #6 needles so the socks are a little drapier. They are very pretty - Cherry Tree Hill has some wonderful color combinations.

Back from vacation

We just got back from a wonderful trip to Italy. I should have photos of me knitting on the steps of the cathedral, in the Sistine Chapel, at Cinque Terre, in the Coliseum, but I don't. I do have photos of the socks I made, however. They both are from Trekking XXL yarn knit on size 1 needles. The burgundy pair are for a person with MS whose feet are always cold, but she can't stand any pressure on her feet. We spend quite a lot of time making sure the socks would fit properly, and she is very pleased. The heather green socks are for my husband. Knitting while you travel always is a conversation starter.