Spiral Tube Socks

I did a very bad thing.  It's well-known in the knit/crochet community that you should buy the necessary amount of yarn at one time and place to insure it's all from the same dye lot.  Well, I got sucked in by pretty yarn with a cute name and bought only one skein...and now I need another one.  Crap!  I realized this shortly after I bought the yarn, and often you can find another skein from the same dye lot in the store's bin if you're quick about it.  However, there was only one skein of Grape Gum Ball and I bought it.

The dreaded dpns.

I wanted something pretty with which to try my hand at double pointed needles.  Until now, I've accomplished my knitting in the round with circular needles and the magic loop method.  Some people don't like dpns because it's too many needles or they end up with ladders at the joins.  Mostly, I just wanted to see if I could do it.

I really did fear that I might accidentally stab myself in the eye, but after several inches of knitting, I got the hang of it.  And only twice did I get confused by all of the needles and tug on the wrong one, pulling it right off the stitches.  That involved quickly sliding the needle back through the row of loops and utilizing a crochet hook.  Phew!

I followed Patons' "Spiral Tube Socks" pattern (available for free after registration).  Granted, a tube sock isn't as difficult as a traditional sock because it has no heel, but still, I'm pretty proud of myself.  Now, I just have to find another skein of this yarn and knit another sock that will most likely look different as a result of different dye lots.  Whatever, the socks are only for me. :)

My puppy's the cutest!