Stick a Fork In It

I finished this on Friday but have had a crummy last couple of days and didn't get around to writing about it till now. Here is my completed Diamond Shawl....ta-da!

I really do like it-it's really soft and snuggly, mostly what I was going for with this. It is a good Fall/Winter shawl. I'm not proud, but I did use this yarn which is a nightmare to knit, but I like the way it looks when it is knit up a lot of times. I looked for a good wool substitute but wanted the cushiness and the fall colors of this one even though I really don't like to knit with it. It is not that I have total snobbery against synthetics if they look and feel good, but I really hate this particular one because it is snaggy and tricky and makes me say tinsy cussish words while I'm knitting it. But as I mentioned, if it looks good, I'll go with it-maybe that's why I dated some losers back in the day.....

Anyhoo, I have not gotten much knitting time in in the last few days but I am nearing completion on the first, one-of-a-kind Hokie Bird sock designed specifically for my husband, per his request. Actually, he asked me to make him a sweater. So I got all the yarn and started it for the Knitting Olympics. Then, right in the middle of the Olympics, I got the flu and needless to say wasn't able to finish it. Then the pattern bored me and it has been stuck in a bag ever since. I have made a LOT of things since then, including 2 sweaters, neither of which were for him and I was starting to get little "reminders" like, "oh, another sweater-for someone else" and "oh, you're making something for someone-who I'm sure is not me" and "it's OK, I have given up and know you will not ever make me anything" from my husband. So, this winter, I told him I'd make his sweater. I got out the pattern, and the yarn, and I looked at it....and that's why he's getting socks, got it? They were going to be simple socks, but then he said "hey, could you make the toe and heel contrasting colors?" So, since I was still getting out of knitting a huge sweater, I said "sure!" and then he said, "it would be really cool if you could knit the Hokie Bird on them but I guess you can't, huh." That man knows how to work me!!! From the moment "you can't" was uttered, the design of the socks WITH a Hokie Bird began-I'm pretty snippy when told I "can't" anything. So, needless to say, the socks are underway with number one hopefully being done in the next couple days and my husband is happy. All is well in the world.