We are getting ready for the Fiber Expo in Ann Arbor, Michigan this coming weekend. Unfortunately it's the same weekend as the University of Michigan football game at home. Nary a room to be had in Ann Arbor or within 25 miles of it. So we are going to have to reserve a motel room a little bit further away. I've been busy sewing in ends and making one more pair of socks.

Our "local" LYS had a 50% off sale on their in-house hand-dyed sock yarn, so, of course, I had to get some. In order to keep prices reasonable one cannot knit a pair of socks with yarn that costs $20+ for 100 grams of sock yarn. That's why I am always looking for a bargain. I found the pattern on www.knitty.com ; it's called Ripple Socks. The yarn is a multi-colored yarn, dyed so that for a “normal” sized sock, the colors change after each round of knitting. I think the yarn and pattern complement each other quite nicely.

These socks are going to be for me and me alone. The yarn was hand-spun and hand-dyed by my daughter specifically for me. (In other words, she was tired of my asking “what are you going to do with that yarn” and “ooh, that’s nice.”) The yarn had been sitting on my coffee table (what no coffee on the coffee table?) just waiting for the right pattern. I am finally starting to understand her way of dyeing. Each skein she spins and dyes is actually a work of art. Others paint on canvas, sculpt, or build. Angela expresses her artistic talent in dyeing roving and spinning it. Putting an order in for such and such a dye job just doesn’t do it. She needs to create her own colors and combinations. If someone likes it, that person will buy the yarn. Well, I had bought two new sock books, More Sensational Knitted Socks and Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave. The pattern came out of the 25 Timeless Designs and is called "Undulating Rib." The fun thing in knitting this sock was that the stripes in the yarn almost fit perfectly with the pattern repeats. How lucky can you get?

I am almost finished with the second part of the Secret of Chrysopolis shawl and am still working on the honeycomb scarf. Now to make one more sock of each and I’ll be ready for the show this weekend; although I am not ready for a bunch of rabid University of Michigan football fans.

Knit on!