I’ve finally taken pictures of Cara’s first finished sock! It is currently unblocked, as I’ve only just started sock #2. I know they are going to need it eventually, but I’m not sure what to do. If we had the same size feet, I could justify buying sock blockers, but Cara has teeny size 5s, and I have whopping size 8s. Any small-footed knitters want to lend me some blockers some time in March?

I had fun taking photos, because I finally got around to making a little light tent out of a cardboard box and some tracing paper. Opening my Etsy store was the big nudge I needed. But now I can take fancy sock pictures! I do some adjusting in Photoshop, but I did nothing at all to the photo above.

That’s my hand, pretending to be a foot. It makes me think of a cobra or something.

Sock #2 for Cara has almost reached the end of the top ribbing, so I’m not too far along on that. Once again, I blame Etsy. I’m sure if my work really knew what I did most of the day, they’d blame Etsy too. But they don’t know, and they all say I’ll be missed when I leave this Friday (who are they kidding, I’m just one in a long line of temps).

I’m leaving on Friday because on the following Wednesday, I’m flying out to Vancouver for work! I’ll be out there until probably the first week in April. I’m taking the Etsy stock (it all fits into a shoe box), and more importantly, I taking my Knitting!

I’ll be staying with a friend of my mum’s for most of it, and I’ll have about a 45 minute commute each way between her house and work. And we all know what car-less commutes mean… knitting time! And reading time! The thing is, I need some advice.

I was a car-sick kid (never seasick though). This was not fun on the journey between our house at the time, and my grandparents in Vancouver (but there were two ferries between all the twisty driving, so at least my parents had a respite on the boat). I’m not that bad any more, but I can’t read in a moving vehicle, I start to feel gross, and like I’m going to barf. I’m extrapolating this to mean that knitting on the bus may do the same thing to me. Any tips to help me, so I don’t go mad on the rides? Any way to combat knitting-induced bus-sickness? I’ve never really had to bus anywhere regularly, so I haven’t had the time to build up an immunity.

I’m knitting my first pair of socks destined for someone else.

My friend Cara has had some pretty horrible health news recently (well, before Christmas, I’m just slow) and as soon as I heard about it, I knew she needs some fuzzy, cozy socks made just for her. I had some yarn in my stash that just screamed “CARA!” and the yarn gave me the idea for the perfect pattern.

The yarn is a lovely green, with touches of brown and purple, from All Things Heather. I got it for donating to a kids’ book drive she did on her blog a little while ago.

Because of the gorgeous greens in the yarn, I knew the pattern had to be leafy. And Cara is all about the outdoors, so I narrowed it down to either Elfine’s Socks, or Embossed Leaves from IK. I finally settled on Embossed Leaves, they seemed slightly less lacy, and she lives somewhere colder rather than warmer.

These socks are filling all sorts of purposes. I have a whole list of resolutions/goals that I will post about later (I’m doing this), but these socks get me on the way to lots. It is stash yarn, a stash pattern (in Favorite Socks), I’m knitting socks, and… I’m sure there was a 4th one. Either way, great.

This is also the first of my close friends to have any sort of huge health issue like this. Well, technically she’s been told she’s only at risk, but a very probable risk it seems, for some biggies. She’s only 24… just a year older than me, and I can’t imagine a doctor telling me the things hers has told her. But she’s strong and amazing (she is Cara, after all ) and deserves something fuzzy.

Giving them will be interesting, as I don’t think any of my high school friends know I knit. I’m not keeping it from them, we just don’t talk about stuff like that.