Playing Yarn Chicken

 I'm back to making socks. I took a little break while Finn was with us because it's awkward working with double points while there's a dog on my lap. He's gone home now, but comes over to visit when he feels like it. And when I go over to his house, he gives me such an enthusiastic greeting which makes me smile every time.  There's nothing quite like experiencing the greeting of a dog that's happy to see you. 😍He'll be back with us in about 5 weeks, but I'll be done with socks for a while by then. The current pair in progress requires a game of yarn chicken.

The larger ball of royal blue yarn isn't sock yarn, but it's a superwash wool of the same thickness. I had a large cone of this at one time and still have a decent amount left. It comes in handy to stretch the sock yarn because I can use it for the cuffs, switching to sock yarn when I start the heel flap and using that for the rest of the foot. The sock yarn has nylon for better wear which is important for the parts that will be inside shoes and be walked on. The skein on the left is meant to be enough for one sock, from cuff to toe. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get two socks out of it by using the royal blue for the cuff and the variegated sock yarn scrap (the small ball in the photo) for the toes. We'll see how it goes. I've just picked up the gusset stitches and will be starting the decreases shortly. If I don't have enough of the denim-ish blue sock yarn to complete the second sock up to the toe, I will find some scraps of other sock yarn and finish with that. Bill isn't bothered by scrappy socks and they'll be inside his boots anyway. 

The bracket was put on the shower a little over a week ago and it works well--no more wobbling. My friend began speaking to Plumber Guy about this job near the end of April so by the time it was completely done, it was over 3 months later. She still can't believe it's actually finished. She apparently sent numerous 'friendly reminders' to him while she was away.

We've continued to avoid the extreme heat that other places in Europe are getting. Today it's cool and rainy. 

Grass pollen levels are decreasing now--grateful for that. I'm starting to come out of my summer fog a bit. Still quite tired, but that's normal for the time of year. I'm quite enjoying the earlier onset of darkness. I usually drag myself through the days and perk up at night--also normal for me. 

My friend brought me back 6 balls of alpaca/silk yarn which she found at Boston Goodwill. It's so, so soft. I'm thinking about what to make with it and am leaning towards a cowl because it seems like a yarn that would be so cozy against the neck and face. That'll be something to work on after I'm done with the socks. 👣😃

I hope August is treating you well!

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