first pair of socks! (in progress...)

Well, have gotten started on my first ever pair of socks - after all these years! To be honest, I have never really seen the point as how many people see socks, anyway? Howeever, I have been persuaded by the latest socks craze and the gorgeous sock yarns available to give it a stab.




This is after about an hour's progress... (re. not counting the first aborted attempt where I managed to twist the stitches when joining them, leading to what perhaps I should market as a pattern for "moebius socks". Grr.).

Yarn= Fleece Artist Basic Merino
Needles = 2.5 mm addi turbos. Also have Brittany dpns (wood)
Pattern = on the ballband ("Nova Sox". Fleece Artist yarn is produced in Nova Scotia. "Nova Sox"... get it? heh heh heh).

In true type A fashion, I had initially decided to knit a very convoluted kneesock pattern found in this seasons "Interweave Knits": entrelac argyle pattern. I then came to my senses and decided that this was *probably* not a beginner sock project - and moreover that attempting this pattern right now would likely lead to me flinging $40.00 worth of yarn and said addi turbos off the balcony into the ravine in complete disgust, never to be found again.

My thoughts so far:
- pattern is blissfully straightforward (so far, anyway, and minus the twist effect!)
- it is quicker work than I thought it would be
- however, not convinced that I like working with the small size of needles required (then again, this *is* blanket and bag queen here. For about 3 months I wasn't using any needle size smaller than 8 mm).

And a note about spending on projects: DH last night asked what I was making. I told him and showed him the ballband, on which I had (rather foolishly) left the price tag. The following conversation ensued (after a short debate on whether one of the colours in the variegation was brown or purple - I won (brown):

- "Australian merino? that's interesting"
- "Actually, it's from Nova Scotia"
- "Where?" (DH having a past Nova Scotia connection)
- "I can't remember - someplace that ends with a -ville. Sackville?"
- "No, I don't think so...' [adjourn for another debate on small Canadian towns ending in -ville", which was aborted when DH saw the price tag...
- "$21.00?!?!?!?!?! The yarn MUST be fron Australia... [pause] now, why would you pay $21.00 to knit a pair of socks?"
- "Because the yarn is nice."
- "But at the white sale at the Bay I get socks for 50 cents each [ASIDE: isn't it funny that people always lie about what they spend on something - either way too much money, or way too cheap. So the inevitable debate ensued on whether socks at the Bay are ever 50 cents on sale... which segues into when was the last time one could buy socks for 50 cents anywhere, aside perhaps from what I like to call "truckload" sales at the flea markets. The debate was resolved when I came up with the irrefutable "socks don't even cost 50 cents at the dollar store!"... until DH said:
- "But just think about how many pairs of socks you could buy for $21.00! [pause] Oh well, it's your money and yours to do with."
- "Well, think about it this way - it's only 2 packs of smokes".

This ended the conversation. Lucky I didn't open my big mouth and yack about how much the addis cost!