Sunday, September 13, 2009

Traveling Sock

On our journey to the Land of a Thousand Lakes, I started a pair of socks for mindless downtime knitting, in the grand tradition of the Yarn Harlot's traveling sock.
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Brett and I left New York Wednesday afternoon bright eyed and bushy tailed with two (matching) suitcases, snacks, and two skeins of Koigu KPPPM and a set of US2 DPNs.

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About a hundred miles down the road I was still working on the finishing repeats in Chels's garter, so I didn't get to work on the socks until we were almost to Pennsylvania. I cast on 8 stitches with a Magic Cast On and finished the toe increases in a hotel room in Mentor just outside Cleveland.

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The next day we visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Though the sock went, I couldn't get any pictures inside the hall as cameras are forbidden. Boo to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. IMG_1492
I did pick up a souvenier button though, which I think becomes the sock very well.

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Cleveland is a very pretty city, really, right on the water with all those fancy pants sky scrapers.

The heel turn came conveniently when we stopped for the night in Clarendon Hills at Mom and Dad's.

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We stopped at a rest stop in Wisconsin that seredipitously turned out to be in Aldo Leopold Territory, which was very appropriate considering I was meeting up with college friends who all read the Sand County Almanac with me in Freshman Studies.


When we stopped at the Minnesota border, the first of the pair was nearly done.
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In Minnesota Kate put some stitches into the sock and Chels put some stitches into it too. I bound off the first of the pair at the bachelorette while playing Bridal 20 Questions.

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On Saturday, the sock went to visit TCF Bank Stadium where the jumbo screen was showing Minnesota playing Syracuse and we got to watch the Gophers win (while we were) at their beautiful new stadium.

I intended to have pictures of the second sock at the reception and forgot to put it in my purse when we left. Major bummer.

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I knit it back through Wisconsin and stopped at the Illinois welcome center for a photo op of the sock on my native soil.
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Again, turned the heel at Mom and Dad's where Grandma and Aunt Karen put some stitches into the sock too and then I knit knit knit all the way home. Cast off a day or two after we got back to NY.

So very productive, though now I'm being politely reminded that there are still a pair of KC socks languishing on my needles...

2 comments:

Nona said...

Great socks. I wonder if it is a bit like making quilts. Nice to make them because we want to but if we had to keep a family of five warm all winter, it would be a big job. Imagine making all the socks for a family. Oh, my! The pictures are cute with the sock and your trip.

Nicole said...

I like your traveling sock story, it is cute. Have you ever been to Aldo Leopold's shack? I've been there years ago, it is really neat. If you haven't, I suggest going, if and when you get a chance. It looks like your knitting makes up for my lack there of, especially with my purple socks that are going on 2 years, but finding time to knit now-a-days is hard.

Enjoy.