A sampling of what’s been going on…

Nick and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary on October 6th.  It’s hard to believe it’s been a year already.  We celebrated with a quiet evening and a fantastic dinner.  Because I’m a big geek, I uploaded a new design for our family blog to celebrate.

My best friend Melanie came to visit this past weekend.  It was SO good getting to spend some time with her.  We did some of the Nashville touristy stuff and I taught her to knit.  (She’s going to kill me for this picture because she has her face all twisted in concentration, but I think it’s fun.  Heh.)

She had tried knitting in the past, but I guess it never quite “clicked” with her.  I dragged her to the knit shop and coaxed her into giving it another shot.  Lucky for me, she was willing to try.

She sent me this picture from her cell phone yesterday at her lay-over during her flight home.  I think she’s making great progress!

That’s an in-progress Dumpling Bag that she’s working on.  ‘Cause who the heck ever insisted that your first project had to be a garter-stitch scarf anyway?!  Pfft.  Looks like she’s doing great to me!  And talk about learning a ton of skills in one shot — knits, purls, i-cord, increases, decreases, and knitting in the round.  Whew!  Now I just have to get her onto Ravelry… heh.

AND…

I published a new pattern!  I’m calling them my Zig-to-the-Zag Socks.  You can find it on my patterns page or on Ravelry.  It’s a free PDF download.

The pattern is a really simple one.  It’s basic cuff-down with a heel flap and a very simple zig-zag lace pattern.  I wanted something very simple to use with self-striping yarns (such as this Knit One, Crochet Too Ty-Dy Sock shown in the picture).  Typically I knit self-striping sock yarn into plain socks, and that got boring — so this was my middle ground.  Just enough pattern to keep things interesting, and not get lost in the stripes or take away from them.

Anyway, if you happen to try this pattern, be sure to send me pictures and any feedback!