Groovy! Atlantic Waves

No, I'm not vacationing on the beach. I'm working on a new pair of socks, which I've named Atlantic Waves, which also happens to be the colorway of this gorgeous handdyed yarn. Seafoam green, aqua, turqouise, sky blue, and teal make up this totally wonderful, bright, wavy pattern (Groovy Socks, by Carolyn Dlugy-Hegwer. Even the pattern name is awesome!) And it's coming along REALLY quickly. Actually, I had hoped that these socks would take awhile to make - hopefully to pass the time between now and when college starts, or when I get to go visit the campus. But I think these are going to be done very soon. I just can't seem to put them down. They're addictive. I did half of the cuff last night, and this morning I've finished the cuff and turned the short-row heel.

Did I mention that I have a newfound love for short row heels? Yup. They're incredible! No counting rows for the heel flap or picking up stitches for the gusset... just a few clever wrapped stitches, and voila! There's a heel, faster, easier to execute and less bulky than I ever though possible. Whoever dreamed this up was ingenius. Better than sliced bread, I tell you. And much more enjoyable. Okay, maybe not more enjoyable than really fresh homemade garlic bread, with butter and dill and... I digress. My point is, I don't know if I'll ever do the old-fashioned kind of heel ever again.

Happy July!

I was up at 11:59 last night, typing on my laptop, ready to welcome in the new month. Making resolutions. Thinking philosophical thoughts. In only one month and... well, one month and about three weeks, I'll be going to my first ever college class. At Bob Jones. In Greenville. A place with many things I am currently without - trees. Flowers. Hills. Bodies of water. Mountains. A local yarn shop.

A few weeks ago, I was browsing Ravelry, specifically, lists of local yarn shops. That's when the wheels began rolling. Of course, there's no LYS - not even a Wal-Mart - in the dinky desert town where I live. We're lucky to have a supermarket. But, Greenville - Greenville harbors new options. Endless possibilities. So, I think: Let's Google "Greenville Yarn Shops"! It is a spark of genius. I run hastily to the nearest search engine, where I type in (with superhuman speed) the desired destination. And there it pops up. The Needle Tree. An actual yarn shop, with actual yarn. Nice yarn. Angora. Alpaca. Merino. Silk. Now, I have more than just landscaping and design classes to look forward to. I have fiber.