That's what I get for ignoring that little voice in the back of my head...

Remember that post where I was almost done with the second sock?  (You know what's coming, right?  Cue Ominous Music.  Yep.)
I'd been knitting the foot portion of the sock, trying to ignore that little niggling voice in my head that kept trying to tell me that Something is Wrong.  "No, no."  I kept saying to myself.  "It's really fine.  The fact that this sock seems shorter than the first one is clearly an optical illusion, since I've knit the same number of rows of the pattern stitch from the point of the gusset to the start of the toe.  I know this because I've counted them 14 times.  Not that I'm worried that there is a Mistake somewhere or anything.  I just like compulsively counting rows of knitting.  Especially with my hands over my ears: one, la la la, two, la la la, three, la la la..."
Eventually, though, even I can't maintain that level of denial.  The second sock is clearly shorter than the first, despite my best efforts to stretch it.
Once I stopped looking just at the knitting after the gusset, and looked at the gusset itself, I found the problem.
Here are the socks, lined up sole to sole:

The one on the right is First Sock.  The one on the left is Second Sock.  See the problem?  Count the rows in the gusset - which is easy to do, since they're conveniently knit in stripes.  A fact I ruthlessly ignored in my denial.

Honestly, I could just cry.

No Lambies Yet, and Other Mid-March Updates

(And how did it get to be the middle of March, anyway?  Did we skip a week or so somewhere?  Why wasn't I told?)
 I've been spinning a bit here and there.  My long-draw is slowly improving as I get more practice, but I still haven't put in enough time with it for it to seem easy.  Not proficient, by any means.  (Is there such a thing as antificient?  Still antificient...)

 And still unable to get a good pic of that fiber.

 Still knitting.  I only seem to get a row or two done a night, but patience is rewarded.  (Eventually...)  I'm this close to finishing the toe of sock #2:

  

And it's time to think gardening.  The damn snow will be gone soon - Spring is going to come.  (I keep telling myself that to keep my spirits up...)                                                                                                              

Tomato seedling are happy little things.  Notice the white marker in the lower left corner - I cut up the lid from a sour cream container to make plant markers.  Usually we use the cut-up container itself to make markers from, but this year I had more lids than containers, so I'm testing the lids.  (Write on them with pencil, rather than pen or marker.  Ink fades in the sun, pencil does not.  Just a little tip from your Auntie Mango.)

Last chance for entries in the great LambWatch of 2012.  I really am going to close entries this time!

Can't talk now, turning the heel on the second sock

And trying to remember to take pictures as I go.
I found my notes from Sock 1 were a little sketchy in places as I worked on Sock 2.  Like exactly how I turned the heel.  Whatever I did the first time, it worked perfectly. 

Sure wish I had written it down...

Here, Piggy, Piggy...

So I can now reveal the secret knit project, since it has been gifted to the happy recipient.
It's double-knitting again, since I seem to have been bitten hard by this particular technique. 

Behold, the Pig Hat:

A fully reversible earflap hat.  With pigs.

I designed it on the fly, since I had the wonderful idea for it way too late to actually finish it in time.  By starting with the earflaps, I was able to work out what my gauge was, and then do the calculations for the body of the hat from there.  The pigs are a re-work of some charts for a sock in the Socks, Socks, Socks book, altered from the 3 colors of the charts (meant for duplicate stitch) which I changed for 2 colors.  The stripes are just because I like stripes, and they make it easy to count rows.  I finished weaving in the last end after supper at the giftee's house, after making her hunt me up a yarn needle.  (Because I'd forgotten to bring one.  Preparedness is not my middle name...)

The recipient is my wonderful Wicked Good Stepmother - since she and my dad raise pigs, it seemed wildly appropriate.  I told her that with one side out, it shows Yorkshire pigs, and the other side is flashing Red Durocs. 

She was pretty pleased with the hat...