Enter the Monkeys of Happiness…

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I thought it was about time I jumped on the Monkey socks bandwagon. I had to do it in my own fashion of course, the standard two-at-at-time-toe-up-magic-loop-with-a-heel-flap madness that I can’t seem to rid myself of when it comes to socks. I just like having the option of using all of the yarn, even though I set about 21 grams aside for a square in my future Barn Raising Quilt.

So far I’m raising the barn all by myself… I’m have about four squares and I’m making them bigger than called for. A ball of sock yarn for me is yielding about two squares rather than three for that project. I started it last summer when I bought the Knitalong book, which I love. Such pie in the sky hopes can only fizzle when I try to make myself knit square after square with no reprieve. I even took the little baby squares to an amusement park which-I-shall-not-name for it’s associated country-bumpkinness and I was approached by several children and adults curious about knitting as I waited in line for the roller coasters. Knitting in public is usually a great way to start conversations. Most people said things like, “Whoa, you’ve got a long way to go for a blanket.” Maybe that’s what wore me down in the end. Or the distraction of a new project… Speaking of distraction! That was quite a tangent… now, for my Monkeys…

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The yarn I used for this pair was titled “Bluebird of Happiness” from Gaslight Dyeworks on Etsy. I fell in love with her yarn and bought three skeins for socks in a moment of excess a few months ago. I plan to work with another colorway from her called “Bikini” with the Copper Penny sock pattern, but I’ll probably call those something like “Great-grandma’s baby blanket socks.” Oh, you’ll see… I’ve already been asked if I’m with child while knitting these socks, I think because of the lace/color combo. Hopefully I can post some in-progress pics of those before I head to NY.

I’m pretty satisfied with the way my Monkeys turned out.

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The pattern is interesting enough to keep you engaged while intuitive enough that you don’t have to look at the chart for long. I feel I could have done more ribbing at the top, but I wanted to set aside enough yarn for the blanket square. I think I took out one of the pattern repeats. It’s nice and snug around the foot, but I suppose it could be looser around the leg. I don’t mind it, but it seems a bit stretched in the photos.

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As with the last post, the lovely photos were taken my my friend M Taylor Long. I adore his photos so much better than my own that I can’t go back now! I’ll have to make him a knitted reward one of these days.

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I like the squish of these socks and they seem like they’ll stay up well. I’m two pairs shy of having a week’s worth of socks for myself for wintertime, but one of the pairs was made with Lion Brand Sock Ease, which I still can’t wash all the itch out of, so onward march. It feels good to be back in a sock frame of mind.

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In other news: I leave for NY on Sunday. I’ll be there for 10 days, so probably no blogging. Although I’m not necessarily good at that while I’m here and doing nothing pressing… I will see PJ Harvey and John Parish on the 9th! I’m very excited. I don’t have much of an agenda while there aside from general fun, probably a trip to Purl, the Bronx zoo, Magnolia Bakery, and whatever else strikes our collective fancy. I’m meeting a new person there that I’ve only known in the realm of the internet, so it will be an adventure of all sorts.

Oh! And if you don’t know about TED talks, you should check this out. There are tons of amazing speakers on a wide range of topics. All the talks are roughly around 20 minutes. My two favorites so far are by Helen Fisher on love and cheating and the brain in love. What can I say? I’m a sucker for love. And I like to know all about the sociological/biological/psychological elements involved. These talks are just the tip of the iceberg lettuce. I started watching the other day and watched about 8 talks that day. Good fodder for knitting background, and as a bonus, you can download them to iTunes and listen to them at your convenience. Enjoy.

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