Favorite Socks Knitalong

I finally broke down and bought Favorite Socks by Interweave Press when I saw there was a knitalong for it. How backwards is that? There are many gorgeous patterns in this book one of which is the RETRO RIB socks, the very first sock pattern I was captivated with many years ago. In fact, since I had the very yarn for it in my stash in the very color in the photograph I immediately cast on. I remember giving up on it years ago because the pattern seemed difficult. I was astonished to see how easy-peasy it is now! So, hang in there you novice sock knitters, it does get easier.
One of the many wonderful things about this book is the ability to knit these patterns in several sizes. That possibility finally got me over the hump of deciding which sock to knit for my Sockret Pal's size 11 feet! The Uptown Boots pattern had her name written all over them in one of her favorite colors, blue. These are coming along slowly because of the unique cabling. I love how they are turning out and hope she likes them. I only have one week left before the Sockret Pal swap comes to an end so my knitting focus next week will be focused entirely on these.
I am progressing quickly along the back of my Central Park Hoodie. The Donegal Tweed is lovely and using size 8 needles is quite enjoyable. I am so used to size 0-2 needles! The arm decreases are done and I have about six more inches to go before the back will be complete.

I want to thank all of you for reminding me that I can use one of these for the Knit From Your Stash 2007:

On a side note - my nephew flew to Texas last weekend to live with his grandparents. My parents decided that it would be best for him to be accessed by the school system. Living with us here in the mountains was really not his best option since we are somewhat isolated. The closest public school is down the road in a casino town and we really didn't want him going to school with casino kids. The time he spent with us here was profitable for him both emotionally and academically but there are many holes in his education. The eight weeks were exhausting for me emotionally but they were good weeks. And best of all, DH and I are enjoying getting back into our "empty-nest" routine...we really are set in our routines!