Springtime Bandit and Sock Distraction

I get distracted by many things but especially pretty yarn.  I even missed posting last week because I was so distracted (or a bit lazy, whatever).  When it comes to festivals and yarn crawls I am lucky that I am a sock knitter.  Most booths have sock weight yarn and since you only need 1 or 2 skeins depending on the skein size for a pair of socks it's an easy, no planning involved purchase.  After my trip to RI Sheep and Wool, I couldn't wait to cast on with my super pretty sock yarn.  I started by casting on at Perfectly Twisted and finished up one sock in Plymouth Stiletto in a week.  I used the basic Figure 8 cast on and a short row heel.  I've found that 68 stitches around on size 0's is a good fit for my ankle.

Instead of starting the next sock right away, I moved on to my Play at Life Maki yarn.  Why make two of the same sparkly sock when you can make gradient socks? I can't wait to see how this knits up and how long of a leg I can get.  I started with the same Figure 8 cast on but for this one I went through my Socks a la Carte, Toe Up! book for something different.  I decided on a gusset with a semi short row heel.  The heel is nice and smooth on this one and I like doing a heel flap so much better toe up then toe down.  The only problem with this (and just about every normal heel method) is the gradient gets messed up when you start knitting the leg.  I tried to take a clear picture of the top of the instep where you start in the round again after the heel.  It's not a big jump but you can definitely tell it isn't a smooth color change anymore.  I  think if I were to do another pair of maki socks I would try to use the heel shaping method from the Concentric Socks to make a smooth heel.  I'm not sure if I could reconfigure it with a non-diagonal leg or not, and I'm a little too lazy/excited to finish these socks to go back and try with this pair.

I didn't have any plans Memorial Day weekend, so I went stash diving Friday night to find something new to cast on.  I decided on some brightly colored aran weight merino to play with, then went searching on Rav for something to make with it.  Springtime Bandit from Kelborne Woolens caught my eye and it's free, so I downloaded that and I went on my way.  Since I had the whole weekend to relax, marathon the new season of Arrested Development and sort of clean.... I got it done Monday night! But someone stood in my way so that I couldn't get it blocked.

I probably could have moved her, but you could see it in her face that she was saying "MINE."  And I was tired.  But after blocking, drying and weaving in ends, I have a great shawl/scarf for when it gets colder.  I think the triangle shape will be great to tuck into my pea coat and keep my chest warm.