Back in the Saddle

(The title is a hopeful reference to my horrid blogging habits, but since there wasn't really a saddle to begin with, the metaphor may not be apropos. Any suggestions?)

We're just going to ignore the fact that I've been gone for two months. The cool things in that time?

• there was over $800NZ raised for Red Cross NZ Earthquake Relief through the sales of the Christchurch Shawl. Knitters are awesome.
• I have knocked out all but two WIPs on my list--the socks for my Sock of the Month Club that I started in August (oops), and the socks that were one of my brother's Christmas presents (double oops). But! Since the last blog post, I've finished: 2 vests, 1 camisole, 1 shrug, 1 tee, 1 sweater, 1 cowl, 2 warps (1 scarf and 1 couple of rugs) and 1 pair of socks. Fear my productivity!
• Unfortunately, most of that knitting is secret. Well, internet secret. So I can show you pictures of. . . the socks! And that's about it.

These socks have been on the backburner forever, which is a shame, since they're awesome and I've rarely taken them off since I finished. My basic sock pattern, knit on size 2s in 4-row stripes (as per usual). I spun the yarn prior to my second Tour de Fleece a couple years ago, and it's amazing what those twenty days of concentrated spinning did to my yarn quality. While this is soft, squishy, and lots of fun, it was pretty underplied and uneven. However, the socks are holding up like steel, so who knows? The fiber was hand-dyed from Fat Cat Knits, in the colorways Brutus and Raja. Ravell'd here. (Incidentally, eagle-eyed readers of the blog will recognize this combination from the first pair of socks finished in New Zealand. I am glad I get to keep these!)

There's lots else going on, but we'll see if I can spread it out and actually have some consistent blog content. Plus, the laptop battery's dying. Priorities!