Here in my room

I am hiding up here in my room, away from my dear husband, who unfortunately, is ill. But he isn't ill enough to be napping and therefore quiet. When he is ill, he tends to be everywhere I need or want to be.

Anyway, I find it is time for a confession.

Are you ready?

I have large ankles. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise to me because they have been with me all these long 45 years. I have always had large ankles, even when I was thinner. Mom calls it the "Sleva curse" – large ankles and what she calls "piano legs" – no shape, just large and straight up. Okay, so being a knitter this shouldn't be a big thing, because the point of knitting for yourself is to be able to make things that fit, right?

But I find it hard to upsize socks – not technically hard, but emotionally. It would be nice if (at least) one part of me was "normal" sized. But no more wishing, I have finally bit the bullet and cast on another pair of socks, this time with a whopping 80 stitches.

In case you were thinking I just made the one of the last set and decided I didn't like them – no way! Here they are:

These fit okay, especially in the feet, but I think my meaty ankles stretch the tops too much. They don't bind, but I just would like them a bit larger. That was a no-go because the pattern repeat was 12 stitches.

The set I just started is from Mim Knits/Miriam L. Felton's Razor Shell Socks. This time the stitch pattern is only 8 stitches, so all I have to do is upsize the socks one repeat.

Here is what I have so far:

I am using Knit Picks Sock Garden in the Morning Glory colorway. I also cast on using a US size 2 needle, then switching to the 1.5 (2.5 mm) for the knitting. They are a little turned in on the top but I am loving them so far. I may decide to decrease the 8 stitches once the top is done. We shall see.

I am seeing a lot of great photos and reading funny stories about the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival. Does anybody remember when it first started? Was it a smallish one, or was it always huge?

I am wondering if there will ever be the day when I am the envy of other knitters and spinners because I live so near the Shepherds Harvest Sheep & Wool Festival.

The sheep to shawl event is still on, even though our team is the only one competing so I can say "We Won!", even though we are now considered a demo, and there isn't the rush to finish. It also means we can have other spinners helping, so if you are interested…

Peace!