Thursday, October 11, 2007

Looking for my Benefactor

I arrived home to find not one, not two, but FIVE packages on the porch for me. Amazing! Two were Pampered Chef supplies, so we'll gloss right over those. Take a look at what the rest of them had inside! All of that, for me. Well... maybe not, but we'll say it is.




The mass on the left is Carodan's own wool. Evidently, on the last Saturday in September, I already knew I wasn't going to make it to the Fall Festival and I purchased a little extra when I ordered by October Tofutsies Sock of the Month Club. (That's on the right, with the pattern peeking out at the top.) The replacement Harmony needles from KnitPicks are the blur in the lower center, and that awesome book on the bottom is the big mystery.



Are you my benefactor? I'm positive I've never ordered from Powell's in Oregon. Heck, the only thing I've ever gotten from Powell's of Virginia is a hope chest, and I didn't buy it. Besides, I was still using my maiden name then. Also, the ship to/bill to are to my name you all know me by, and there is a super-secret (shut up Anne) first name, by which all of my online shopping happens. The order was filled/placed on October 3rd, which was the day I left home thinking both dogs were healthy and all was right in my world, so there's no good reason for me not to remember making such a special order. Whoever you are, THANK YOU from the bottom of my Amazon left me high and dry on this one heart. I am taking this book with me tonight to my training class, carefully tucked into my portfolio, so that while I'm supposed to be learning how to use all the neato features on the new website, I can really be learning how to knit the perfect sock. (I mean, if I can blog and knit, can't I figure out how to do whatever on a website?!)





Here's a close-up of *MY* Tofutsies. October is my favorite month, green, a favorite color, so... MINE! A great apple green with dashes of black, white, and maybe some grey too. Have I mentioned lately how much I love this yarn?!





I would also be remiss if I didn't blow kisses to Caroline or whomever re-addressed my package and still got it to me in a timely fashion, all while either preparing for or being at Stitches East. They didn't even charge me an idiot fee or the additional shipping I'm sure they had to pay. Now THAT is customer service. Thanks, Carodan!





Now, knitting has been happening, but you know we can't talk about what you can't see, because then Anne begins going gangsta' on our friends, trying to get them to tell her about her surprise. Like she really wants to ruin it. Silly girl...


So, I decided I wanted to finish my first pair of Tofutsies. I cast on (love that magic cast on!) while playing fetch with Mugsy. No need to do more than glance at the pattern and go, much less look at my notes or the first socks, right? Erm, uh...

As you can see, it *DOES* make a difference whether one casts on 14 stitches on EACH needle or TOTAL stitches. Not only is the sock on the left wider at the toe, it's toe portion is actually SHORTER before the pattern begins, because, well, it's faster to get to 36 stitches on a needle when you have seven more stitches to begin with. Sadly, it seems that the second sock is the version intended by the pattern's designer (am I right, Deby?), but since #1 is done and I liked the fit... I'm leaning towards frogging and repeating sock #1, but I'm also wondering how I ended up with 36 stitches when I started with an odd number and increase on each end of each needle. The socks are for me, and will always be work with closed-toe shoes, so... ?? Thoughts? Opinions?

6 comments:

Lapdog Creations said...

What is the Tofutsies club? Do you just order each month? Love the green!!!

NH Knitting Mama said...

No advice on the sock, but I love Love LOVE the Tofutsies yarn! Gorgeous!

Sue J. said...

Isn't it fun to come home to all those packages? I live for UPS, Fedex and USPS. I couldn't stand to see photos of your Tofutsies any more, so I ordered some. Can't wait until it gets here. It looks so beautiful.

Holly said...

You know I am no help at all when it comes to socks, yet. However, I am just super glad my friend got her GREEN tofutsies yarn. Can't wait to see what they become.

Bubblesknits said...

How thin is the Tofutsies? I've never knit with it before.

As for the socks, knit them however they fit best. :-)

Sue H said...

What wonderful goodies for you to come home to. I'm expecting a coupld of packages to be waiting for me too when I get home in just under 2 weeks. Going home will be sad as it means leaving my daughter and grandkids, but will be exciting as those goodies will be waiting for me, and so will my gorgeous dog (and my hubby too, hehe).