As Promised: Knitting and stuff

First, look at this fun nameplate:



You can monsterize your name here. Note: For me, saving the file didn't work. I could, however, copy it (right-click and "copy image") then paste it to a photo-editing app, finally saving it as a JPG. I know not everyone has Photoshop, but it would go into Paint just as easily.

Knitting Content!
I thought I was doing well for Christmas knitting. I really got into the mood several months ago and got pretty much everything done. The only thing remaining was a pair of socks for John, which I wasn't sure would be a Christmas gift or not, so I relaxed a little. Recently at least 2 more projects have come up, so I figured I'd better get started on John's socks!

I cast on Wednesday evening, during Pushing Daisies, using this gorgeous - yet manly - sock yarn from Nestucca Bay Yarns and US2½s (a size I ordered accidentally, but no longer regret, since 3s are a little too big and I didn't want to drop all the way to 2s).

I made really excellent progress - for me - and by Friday evening when John and I went out for dinner (more on that in a minute), I had finished the cuff and was working on the heel flap. (That little bit of "chain" is an emergency row counter made of a bunch of jump rings and a few buttons.)

About Friday... I wanted to hit the Cost Plus World Market to get some of those little salt & pepper shakers (bottom of this post), so we headed over there first. The store was closed! (Later, I checked online and found that there are only a couple of them left in the state. Sob.) We went to a nearby Big Boy for dinner. The waitress was a cheerful and chatty type, and - other than the company - was the only bright spot of the evening. The bun for John's burger had mold (!) on it, and my omelet was a mess (edible, but ugly). We were assured that the manager was horrified and would be by to talk to us, but no such luck. (The burger was replaced just before I finished my dinner.) I asked to speak with her and she pretended not to know what I was talking about, but I just kind of stared her down until she took the burger off the bill.

What you're looking at here is the sock as of this morning: the heel was turned (in teal, mostly because I'm not sure I'm going to have enough of the charcoal (will be doing the toe this way as well) and the gusset is done. Now I'm into the endless rounds of stockinette. Still - I'm really happy with how it's turning out. I'm really crossing my fingers on the size, and am planning a fitting this evening. According to the measurements, I should be knitting a size larger (would have to do some math for that), but according to the measurements, my feet should not be swimming in the socks I'm wearing right now.

I got quite a lot accomplished yesterday while we were out driving. First, we met up with Jdub for a little shopping. Then we headed out to the only World Market within driving distance (Ann Arbor!), so I could get a couple of those little salt & pepper shakers. Should have called ahead. They sold out a couple of weeks ago. Great. It wasn't a wasted trip, however; we'd planned on picking up a gift for a last-minute housewarming party we were heading to next. A couple of hours later, we were on our way home and I just collapsed. I feel my semi-annual bronchitis coming on. Hoping that I caught it in time -- I smell like Robitussin now, but if I can keep this nastiness from settling in my chest, I might be able to avoid the big coughs and wheezing that inevitably follow.

Peekaboo!