Yesterday I bought some yarn and two sets of DPNs. Today I bought two more sets of DPNs. Tonight I plan to start knitting a pair of socks. It has occurred to me that Spearfish is not a beginner’s sock. I am not going to let that stop me. Remind me of that if I start whining in a few days time.

Many thanks to everyone who gave me advice on sock yarn, I do think I will be ordering some actual sock yarn at some point soon but I just couldn’t bear to wait another week (or more) to get back to my knitting, so superwash merino will have to do for now, which is hardly torture - this yarn is sooo soft.

So clearly I need to confess that I gave Jesse a card for a yarn store with the details of the yarn I might like (including colour number) on the back. It was enough for me that he went and got it! I still think he’s clever, but no, he probably wouldn’t know what to choose if confronted with an entire yarn store and no instructions.

I have spent much of the last 24 hours obsessing over socks and sock yarn. I am thinking about Retro Rib, Go With the Flow, Spearfish and some sort of leaf lace. I have been looking at Kroy socks, the only colour I can be fairly confident I would like is the Regatta Blue used for the Retro Rib shown in IK. Also Sisu I am thinking olive green (9544) and maybe pink (4503). I have been looking at Opal Uni Solids in pink (#11) and green (#40), the pink could be nice but it could be awful, it’s such a fine line with pink and so hard to tell online. There is also Jaeger Matchmaker 4 ply, it’s not sock yarn but can you believe how gorgeous that “strawberry” colour is and “crush” could be the pink I am looking for (if I can believe my screen). Finally there is Lang Jawoll Superwash, but the postage from the only place that seem to have the colours I want is about 3 times the price of the yarn - yikes! Of course I have a hankering to order some Koigu or Lorna’s Laces but I am finding their colours harder to come to terms with online. Oh and I have been looking at Nature’s Palette, which I would love in New Leaf, but they seem to be out of that colour and their shopping cart won’t work on my Mac.

So I am think I will order enough yarn for four pairs of socks (since I have four patterns on my list) I want something blue, something pink, something green and something red. Most likely the blue will be the Kroy in Regatta Blue and the red will be the Jaeger in Strawberry. Any advice on the green or the pink?

I made more stitch makers. These ones are mine, and there are two more sets the same, one for the stitch marker swap and one for posterity.

I also added these to my own collection. I don’t know what I think I am going to do with all these markers, but they are just so pretty. Perhaps this is my way of making up for not wearing jewelry any more?

It’s my birthday today and along with some lovely candles and CDs Jesse gave me 4 balls of delicious Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton in my favourite shade of pink (isn’t he clever?). I can’t tell you how badly I want to use this to cast on a pair of socks RIGHT NOW, it is so soft and so pink, it’s calling me. However, according to Julia this yarn knits up like cotton, not like wool. I just don’t think I want to knit my first pair of socks from cotton or something like it, due both to the knitting and the wearing. Common sense is telling me to stash this for later use as gorgeous baby gift.

In the mean time I have nothing to knit. Yesterday I express posted all of my JS Aran Tweed swatches to Jo Sharp’s studio, they seemed to feel that having a swatch that was on gauge would help their argument with the mill that something has changed. I feel Rogue slipping through my fingers. At best it is going to be a week before I can start Rogue, it may be a lot more, and I was hoping to be finished in a week or two. It will be well and truly spring by the time I am done if I knit it this year and as I am trying to believe that the IVF will work I am sincerely hoping to be pregnant next winter. It just feels a bit pointless knitting a sweater that I won’ t get to wear for 2 years (and that is making the very large assumption that I will be roughly the same size in two years time). I have baby gifts to make, but can’t quite stomach that right now, I have Christmas gifts to make but heck it’s barely august. I just want to knit Rogue or socks and I don’ t have yarn for either.

I have read all of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in the last few days.