Seriously. I’m never this lucky. I don’t mean to gloat, and please don’t hate me…

Yes. Five skeins of Wollmeise sock yarn. Isn’t it beautiful?! The colorways from left to right are: Iris Sibirica, Blue Suzanne, Löwenzahn, Poison Nr. 5, and Campari Orange. A couple already have gift-recipients (not for the yarn itself, but for finished socks made from the yarn). Surprisingly I’m most in love with the Löwenzahn (the bright green in the middle) so I think the socks made from that will be my own special treat for myself.

On top of the lovely yarn, I also managed to get a spot in The Loopy Ewe sock club for ‘08. I can’t wait! I’ve never joined any of the many popular sock clubs (e.g. Socks that Rock, Yarn Pirate, etc.) out there before, so I’m really excited. I guess the first shipment will be mailed out the second week of March, so I have a while to wait. I think I have more than enough sock yarn to keep me busy in the mean time.

I think the only way my day could get better is if Lime & Violet post a new episode of their podcast tonight. Hehe. I’m having L&V withdrawals.

To (theoretically) speed up my sock knitting (or at least combat second sock syndrome), I’m finally learning to knit socks two at a time. I’m using the book Knitting Circles Around Socks: Knit Two at a Time on Circular Needles by Antje Gillingham which is excellent. The pictures and descriptions are extremely easy to follow. Even a beginner at sock knitting would be able to knit socks with this book, I think.

The pattern I’m using is actually one of my favorite stand-bys: the 8 Stitches Per Inch Sock from Getting Started Knitting Socks by Ann Budd. The yarn is Schaefer Heather in the “Coretta Scott King” colorway (navy blue and brown). The socks (assuming they turn out successfully) are for my husband who has actually been bugging me to knit him a pair!

Most of the time I knit socks on DPNs. I’ve done a couple pairs using the Magic Loop technique as well. I know some people knit single socks two at a time on two circulars. I’ve not tried that before, but I jumped right in knitting two at a time on two circs, and it’s surprisingly easy apart from keeping the 2 balls of yarn from getting wrapped around each other as you turn your work. I’m still not sure whether it will replace my beloved DPNs though…