ANOTHER PAIR FINISHED

I started a pair of socks for my brother-in-law the first week of July and just finished them this past Sunday.  There were lots of other projects in between: dishcloths, 2 pair of mittens, one single mitten (have to knit the second of the pair yet), a scarf, and a pair of socks for the dear grandson who turned 16 in August.  All things that needed doing by a certain time.

Wayne's birthday was the last week of September, but I didn't want to mail them from Alberta to AZ, so I left them to finish in the car on the way here.  I think they turned out quite well:

It bothers me that the colours land in different places on these socks.  They don't seem like a matching pair to me when that happens.  For this pair I used the "Broadripple" pattern, a pattern from the internet--maybe four years ago--which appealed to me initially because it refers to an area in Indianapolis that I visited as a teen.  One of my Dad's brothers and his family lived there, and we were visiting them.  I remember going to a big indoor swimming pool by that name.  

Now I simply like the pattern for itself, as it is just two rounds, one with added stitches and stitches knit together, and the second round just plain knit each stitch.  The combination of those two rounds forms a chevron pattern, just a little more interesting than a plain sock.  It's quite adjustable because the amount of stitches between the chevrons and the amount of stitches in the chevrons themselves can be varied to adjust to the circumference desired.

I finished the second sock in the car on Sunday, and immediately cast on a new pair for Jim.  This time I'm doing a cable pattern that I adjusted to fit a 60 stitch circumference.  Toe up formula again, and I'm onto the gusset increases already.  But the cable pattern will definitely take more time to knit than the chevrons.  I like to make each of his pairs of socks slightly different so that they can be matched up with their mate after being washed.

This has been a very good first week here: went to the pool several afternoons, went to orchestra rehearsal Wednesday morning and to church choir this afternoon.  Only "downer" this week: yesterday the water heater failed.  A new one will be installed on Monday, but in the meantime we need to keep the water supply to the condo turned off, or there is leaking in the laundry room.  We turn it on for just a bit now and then to get some water for washing or flushing, and then try to remember to turn it off again.  One of the joys of owning your own place, I guess.  But I'm glad it happened while we are here and not during the time the renter is here in the spring months.