Socks!!!

Pattern: Fiber Trends Mt. Hood Socks
Yarn: Mieleweit Fun and Stripes (color?) 80%wool/ 20% nylon
Needles: Blue Sky Alpacas, size 1 (more on these later)
Notes: I loved this pattern. Easy to memorize, worked great with the stripes. Not sure I'm too crazy about this yarn. The colors are wonderful and much more vibrant than the pictures show (why can't I get good pictures? The green looks yellow in these shots; it's actually a nice lime). The yarn I'm not too sure about. It's definitely not the softest, and it split a lot while knitting. But, I'm sure it will wear well.

These socks cover me for both Socktoberfest and Sock-a-Month Knitalong Two (pair number two).

As for the needles. I'm pretty torn on these. For $27 I expect greatness. And I will say, I have loved kntting with these. The problem? When I first got them there was one needle that had a little split on the end. Rather than take the time to return them, I decided to just sand the edge down and knit on. They've been great since then. What sucks is what Clara had to say in this review. Apparently others have had the same problem, often worse, and the company says these needles should only last 3-5 projects. HUH? I'm sorry, but that is just insane. For this much money I expect better than that. I know wooden needles get bent and sat on and the like, but 3-5 projects? I was so excited about these, especially for their claim to have been made on a "fair trade" basis. That's important to me and I'm often willing to pay more for that, but fair trade usually means better quality as well (at least in my experience). I'm not sure that I'd invest in another set if they aren't expected to last. I guess I'll have to see how these hold up, because I will say they were the best wooden needles I've knit with in awhile. If they only last...

On the swapping front, I sent my SP9 her first package and I have to say, I was pretty excited about it. She loved it and it seemed to arrive at a good time for her. As for me, I'm not sure what's up with my pal. S/he sent me a couple of nice e-mails about a month ago and I haven't heard anything since then. I'm hoping s/he's just been busy. SP9, are you out there? :-)

The Coffee Swap is underway and I'm busy matching members up. I'm excited for the number of knitters that signed up. I think this will be a great swap.

Coming soon: the sweater that made Little Man say, "Mooooommmm, don't wear that!"