When it rains...

I'm proud to post some progress at last! First, late last week I finished the 2nd try of the back of Josephine. Both the front and back are now blocked and resting in the guest room, and I'm getting my second wind on this sweater. I can't wait to finish. And in Houston there are, like, 8 more weeks of summer so I'll even get a chance to wear it:










We went to visit my folks near Ft Worth this weekend, and I finished my first, but not last, pair of Monkey's on the drive up there:

Specifics:

• Yarn: Crystal Palace Panda Cotton in color "Roses" (purchased on-line from the Loopy Ewe.)
• Pattern: Monkey from Cookie A
• Needles: Umm, mostly US 1 5" Brittany Birch DPN's, but only after failed attempts with Crystal Palace circs (the join wasn't smooth enough for this yarn) and 7" Brittany Birch DPN's
• Modifications: I made the second sock with 5, rather than the specified 6, pattern repeats in the leg. Yeah, that was on purpose. And I did my "typical toe decrease", which included a few rounds of decreasing every round before grafting the last few -- the pattern calls for a more square-ish toe that just seems unnatural to me.
• Other comments: Yes, the yarn is kind of splitty. It took me a few inches of knitting to become consistently split-free. Now that I'm familiar with the yarn, it works up very well. The yarn is also very slippery -- combine that with splitty, and you've got real trouble if you need to back up and correct a mistake. The upside of slippery is that the socks feel like heaven on your feet. I'll definitely work with this yarn again, I just won't choose complicated patterns. And I'll definitely make Monkey's again. The pattern is completely addictive and practically flies off the needles.

I worked on another pair of Panda Cotton socks on the way home, but that will be another post.