Speaking Of...

My biggest knitting accomplishment in the past week or so? I started the second Monkey sock. My second sock syndrome doesn't usually start until I'm past the heel of the second sock, but this time I couldn't even get the dang thing cast on. Ha! I showed you, cast-on-second-sock-not-wanna-do-it-syndrome! Observe:

I'm already past the ribbing already, too. I'm halfway through the first pattern repeat. Yeah. Take that.

And speaking of pattern repeats, one more and I'm calling it a cuff on my first twisted pretzel sock. That will be a grand total of ten pattern repeats on the cuff. I re-he-heally like this yarn. And this pattern. I just feel guilty when I work on it because I should be working on deadlines. It's too bad you can't hear me say "deadlines". I say it in a very sing-songy-sarcasticky voice. You would like it.

And speaking of deadlines, I'm halfway done with the University of Kentucky baby sweater. I thought I'd clarify for those of you not from around here who might think that "UK" stands for United Kingdom. I mean, it does, but not on this sweater. I think this baby is due in February. I did make one bootie, but it looks like it might fit an 8 year old, so I, umm, might make two more.

And speaking of babies, a friend of mine at work is expecting a baby boy soon, and asked if I could knit a hat with Rasta colors to match his daddy's hats. I used Kelly's super-cool hat pattern as inspiration, and with some tips from the legend herself, came up with this tiny gem:

Look how teeny! Unstretched, the diameter is less than 10 inches. Stretched, though, it's around 17 inches, so it ought to fit the little tyke for a while. It still needs a little teeny brim to finish it off. I don't think I'm going to put an insert in the brim (I've been thinking seriously about this for at least... an hour or so), so that solves that. I used size 5 needles, Cotton Classic (mercerized cotton), and cast on 80 stitches. Knit 1, Purl 1 for four and a half inches, then decrease to 10 stitches, and pull the yarn through.

And speaking of solving things, this bowl solved my problem of not having a baby head to try the hat on. Maybe I'll get a picture after the baby is born. That would really make my day.

And speaking of making my day, thanks for the awards, Monica and Bogie! I'll pass it along soon.