Having finished the hat this weekend, I have two projects on the needles: the sweater (I’m nearly done with the back) and a pair of baby socks I cast on for today at lunch. I love baby socks because they just move along so quickly. Plus, my cousin is pregnant and I’d like to send her a little something in lieu of actually going to her baby shower in Connecticut. Actually, I so despise baby showers that I’m delighted I have a ready-made excuse not to attend.

(I’m just not a cute kind of person and have little interest in oohing over your diaper genie or in playing a game that involves guessing how huge your midriff has become. Why is this game fun? No one invites guests over to their Christmas party and asks them to guess how many pounds the host has gained in holiday weight….)

A project I need to start soon is the socks for my Bloomin’ Feet pal. The premise, sponsored by intrepid Yarn Aboard host Amanda, behind this particular swap is that no one knits for the knitter. So each of us in the swap has a secret pal for whom we are knitting a pair tailored to the person’s foot size and fiber and color preferences. My pal is very easy-going, so I’m remarkably lucky in that regard. I am, however, a little nervous because I’ve never knit socks for feet that weren’t within reach.

I hunted around the web for weeks before finally ordering two Woolarina yarns (because I can’t get enough of the Woolarina) to choose between. I have, I believe, settled on the one on the right. It seems bright and springy and is a half merino-half tencel blend that I’m eager to experience. The one in the middle was my other option; it’s lovely but turned out to be darker in person than it appeared on the website. I have some ideas about what I’d like to knit with that, but there’s no rush on it. (The one on the left is not sock yarn and was an impulse purchase. I don’t know what I’m going to do with it, but it was purple and pink and on sale and it hopped in my shopping cart and asked to go through the checkout with me. Who am I to argue with a charming skein of soft yarn?)

Now that I have my Bloomin’ Feet yarn, I’m hunting the elusive perfect pattern. I have my eye on a couple and just want to stare at the yarn and the patterns simultaneously to see if one rises above the rest.

The most recent yarn to wander into my life is this birthday gift from Gramma:

One thousand yards of a mauvey variegated sport-weight alpaca yarn, from the farm of one of the owners of my mom’s local yarn shop and weaving studio.

Now I just have to figure out the perfect project for this squishy yarn. Does anyone have any suggestions?