Last Sunday, I went to a babies shower for a dear college friend who is having twins with her very nice hubby. I’m thrilled for them. The shower was a ton of fun and luckily, there was a monsoon which cooled things off and then passed so we could continue the party outside.

I completed the first of two blankets in time for the shower.


The day before, I had the joy of going to the beach with my family (sans mom because she had a foot/ankle issue). Galveston is sometimes a trashy beach, but since we’re in the middle of a crazy drought, I’m thrilled by any water. I even had a thought while we were there, that there was a lot of trash, but I still love the beach. And as a beachcomber, trash is sometimes good. Here is the crew before we left (lovely job taking the photo by my 13 year old nephew).

My little brother drove us to and from the beach, which I really appreciated because I got a lot done on the Mermaid Lagoon socks. We spent the first 45 minutes trying to put up the awning, but after we finally got it up, it fell on my SIL 20 mins. later while she was beach-napping. At that point, we agreed that my dad was getting an awning for Father’s Day…..Happy Father’s Day, Dad – You’re THE BEST! Thanks for teaching me to enjoy beachcombing and always having a great sense of humor! LOVE YOU!

She continues to be hilarious and really treat motivated. Best trick for getting her to pose like this for pics is making throw up noises……true story.

(aka Self-imposed sock club – May take 2)
The Twist of Denim pattern did not look nearly as lovely in person as it did in print, so I tried Mermaid’s Lagoon by Sadie Bellegarde instead. The mermaid tails are lovely. I wasn’t a fan of the twisted stitches, so I k (knit) in stead of ktbl (knit through the back loop). The change surely helped speed up the knitting because I was done in record time…..once I figured out which size needles to use.

I ended up using my standard sock size 2.25 needles after some help from fidgetyknitter on ravelry. Without her help, I might have picked a third pattern.

In future, I will use Lorna’s Laces for plain jane socks since I’m not sure sure the pattern and yarn were shown off to full advantage. But, I really do like the look of these aqua mermaid tail socks (especially with the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie fresh in my mind)…..

I should have known these socks were going to be a test of my patience after the pattern states, “A common theme in all mermaid mythology is that of a strong will and heart. Knitting this sock requires neither.”
Wore them to work Monday. They were just a little too big. I ripped out the toes to redo and now the first one I corrected is too small. Hopefully, the third time is the charm and they will be just right! A wise knitter would have measured before grafting the toes, but I was also watching Drop Dead Diva on hulu, so the mermaid’s toes will have to be redone. again. Here the two sizes are with a monkey in the middle.