How a sock saved my mind

I just got back from the weekend with the kinfolk. And again I come to the conclusion they're all nuts. At least I had my sock. Everytime my family did or said something mildly horrifying I had the sock to distract me.

Family: My cousin coaching her 3 year old daughter to tell me "You like that face yo mamma gave you? Cause I's is fixin to mess it up!"
Me: You know, I really like the short row toe, it makes it much easier to join in the round.

Family: So Abbe, when are you going to get married?
Me: Oh bother, I've dropped a stitch, where is my crochet needle?

Family: You see the trick is to get your job to pay you under the table so you don't have to pay taxes on it and you can still collect disability.
Me: What a lovely colorway! I just love the green, orange and purple!

Family: So Abbe, when are you going to have babies?
Me: Is it time to turn the heel yet?

Family: My Great Aunt cooks vegetables; that's one part bacon grease, one part butter, and one part veggie. Eat up y'all!
Me: I don't think I'm wrapping these stitches the right way, should I start doing it right or just be consistent?

Family: Really, why Ain't you married with babies yet?
Me: Ack, I'm going to have a weird stripe, but it's not worth breaking the yarn.

You get the gist of it. I'm just glad to be home. Here's what the sock looked like by the end of the weekend.

Deep East Piney Woods

Well looks like I'll be off in East Texas this weekend visiting my kinfolk. I haven't seen my grandma in way too long, I've missed her brand of crazy. And here's a total shot in the dark...does anyone know if there's a yarn shop in Nacogdoches or maybe Lufkin? Probably not, but I figure it's worth asking.
48 hours of quality family time should mean lots of knitting. I'll have to find something a little more portable to work on than the big sweater and the bathmat. Maybe I'll take a crack at that knit picks sock yarn, but that means I need teeny dpns. Any suggestions for what brand of size 1 or 2 dpns I should start with?
Oh, and the sweater back is done, I'll post the progress picture when I get it blocked, it's just too darn curly right now. And if anybody has a preferred blocking method for 100% wool, that'd be handy too.

Well I'm just all questions today. Thanks y'all.

Knitting stall out

Well I kept thinking I would post here when I finally F-ed an F-ing O, but who knows when that's going to happen. The all consuming sweater is coming along, I'm almost done with the back, and that'll be the biggest piece. It's getting kind of heavy and it's slowing me down but I've got to push on thru the next few inches, then I can take a breather before I start on the fronts.

There are tons of other things I want to start, I bought a bunch of cotton for a log cabin bathmat. Should be nice, and my bathroom needs all the help it can get since the soapdish fell off the wall. It about gave me a heart attach when I put my foot on it to shave (does anyone actually keep soap in theirs?) and it came crashing down. As far a the builder is concerned it fell spontaneously and it should be under warranty.

Also on the list are pillows for the couch. I saw someone making mitered square pillows on the Mason Dixon KAL, and I'm totally stealing their idea. I love the mitered squares, but I can't handle a whole blanket right now.

There is also a stash organization project underway. The sad truth is it has to get worse before it can get better, right?

Anyway, here's a few things making me happy this week:
1. I got a raise at work. Hot damn!
2. Jannelle got HOH again. I'm a dork!
3. My friends in Missouri are moving back to Austin. Yee haw and welcome home y'all!