MenWhoKnit rocks!

I want to say a big thank you to the guys over at MenWhoKnit for their gracious welcome and kind words. And especially to Chris who badgered me into joining in the first place (I mean that in a nice way...). Not that I didn't want to join, mind you. I can just be a bit lazy at times and despite Chris mentioning that I should go check out the MWK site, I just hadn't gotten around to it yet. But now that I have, I'm glad I did and look forward to getting to know the guys there.

My KnitPicks Options needles should hopefully arrive this week! I'm very excited to give them a try. At first I debated as to whether I wanted to get them at all. Up until now I've been using bamboo needles almost exclusively. I've used bamboo DPNs for socks and a hat and bamboo circulars for the sweater sampler I made. I actually liked the fact that they have a little grab to them, especially in the beginning. As someone fairly new to knitting and who's paranoid about dropping a stitch, they were a perfect solution and I still really like working with them. So the thought of trying metal needles felt akin to cheating! However I have gotten to the point where I can see some advantage to the metal needles, mainly increased speed! (Sounds like I'm going through a midlife crisis, but instead of trading the mini-van in on a sports car, I'm going from the dependable bamboos to the sporty, speedy metals!)

As far as the interchangeable vs. classic circular issue, I have no opinion on that...yet, anyway. This will be my first experience with interchangeables. I am optimistic that I will like them. From all the reviews that I've read from people who already have them, people with much more knitting experience than myself, they seem to be a huge hit. Once mine arrive and I have a chance to try them out I'll post my own review for those interested.

Still working on sock #2. I haven't had the time to just sit and get much done, but I'm a little over two inches into the leg right now. On the left I've posted a pic of sock #1 completed. I ended up doing the ribbing just down the leg and the rest in stockinette. Tallguy had posted a comment that the alpaca may tend to stretch a bit so he was hoping I had continued the ribbing down the top of the foot as well. Argh, I didn't! However, the fit on them is comfortably snug, so even if they stretch out just a little, I'm hoping they'll still be fine.

LISTENING TO: COCTEAU TWINS - "Treasure." Between Robin Guthrie's ethereal guitar work and Liz Fraser's beautiful, angelic voice, Cocteau Twins were an amazing band. If you haven't heard anything by them and are interested in checking them out, I'd recommend "Four-Calendar Cafe" or "Heaven Or Las Vegas" as a good starting point.