A link among the days, to knit
The generations each with each

From a tablet at William and Mary

Jack-o'-lanterns

Mine, from a pattern:My husband's, from his own hand!

Short-row heels

Lolly, head of Socktoberfest, has linked to two short-row heel tutorials, both of which use wraps. I've never done it that way. I've used YO's a la the "Better than Booties Baby Socks" pattern (PDF). I tried to post a comment to her post with this link but it didn't take, so I'm posting it here, where no one will see it. Here are my first short-row heels. Yes, there's a hole in the right sock, but it was my first time, and I sometimes get holes on my flap heels, too. They don't bother me too much.

I got my camera's batteries back. I think I may have to block the above sock but am not sure how well my homemade blocker will work for reasons I can't articulate.
View from below my too-thick wisteria

Yum

The batteries for my camera are out in my husband's bike light, so I cannot take any new photos. Enjoy last night's cake.

Just thought you'd like to know

I have 31 sock patterns saved on my computer. And who knows how many bookmarked in my browser.

This just isn't as pretty as the original. I'm going to complete the pair, though.

Goodies in the mail

So I got my birthday present in the mail yesterday from Melissa. I shook the box and wondered what the metal clinking sound was. I decided to open the box and if the present was wrapped, I wasn't going to open it until my birthday. But it wasn't wrapped. Oh well! :) I got very pretty Lorna's Laces sock yarn in the color Bucks Bar. Very yummy. I also got a sheet of Muppet stamps because I had used all of mine and my post office does not sell fun stamps (Muppets, quilts, children's book animals). Also in the box were Scrabble stitch markers and Gryffindor self-striping sock yarn, which Melissa said I could decide which one of us it was for after knitting it into socks. Um.... No, I really will consider giving it back, I swear. The clinking sound was from needles that came free with the Gryffindor sock yarn.

Extreme knitting is right!

I am guilty of sometimes reading only the patterns at Knitty, but in this most recent issue I read about knitting two socks at once. And I've decided that I could do it if I wanted to (I did knit a reversible double-knit hat for my mother), but I don't think I'll ever want to. It is crazy. I don't usually have a problem making a second sock, and I either don't care if they match exactly or manage to match them up pretty well separately. The progress when you're double knitting is slow, and I like to see as fast as possible how a new yarn or pattern is knitting up. When I knit the hat I used two different colors, but socks would use the same color, and that would make it very easy to confuse the two strands, which would just lead to unnecessary frustration. The article also mentions that guage loosens a bit when double knitting, and going down a needle size might be necessary. I already knit a lot of socks on size 1's and I don't own any 0's, and I don't think I want to. So it's been interesting to see what people can come up with, but I think I'll stick to one sock at a time for now.

Someone else's socks

These socks are beautiful. At the moment I have no plans to make a pair myself because they seem a little too complicated for me, but I'll probably give in to their beauty someday.

Socktoberfest questions

Lolly has posted some questions for Socktoberfest participants to answer, and because I have no knitting progress to share, I'll answer them.

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
I knit my first pair of socks in the summer of 2004, and I can't believe it's only been a little over two years. It seems like I've been knitting socks forever. I taught myself. I made some practice socks with a miniature stocking pattern in this book (with help from Terri's Socks 101) and then felt ready to tackle an actual sock. Here are my practice socks: What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?
I used Marks and Kattens Clown sock yarn and a combination of Chic Knits Sock Love and Terri's sock formula. They're doing fine.
What would you have done differently?
Nothing.
What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
I like several, but a couple you may not have heard of are Lang Jawoll Solids and Steinbach Wolle Strapaz, a DK-weight sock yarn. I prefer the tweedy colors of the Strapaz, as seen here, here (the blue sock on the right), and here (in the form of a mini-Weasley).
Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
I cannot crochet more than a single chain. I have knit socks only on DPNs. I would like to try the 2-circulars and 1-circular methods but do not want to invest in needles I'll never use if I end up preferring DPNs. I plan on trying out the 2-circs method with larger needles I already own to see if I like it.
Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
I can do both, but I prefer the flap for most socks. Short rows are better for stretchy cotton socks, I think.
How many pairs have you made?
I have not kept count and I'm not sure I want to know. A lot, including many for friends and family.