Blackrose Socks

My mother's birthday was back in May. I knit her a shawl, but never got around to sending it. Either we didn't have the money to send it off (Geez, shipping can be expensive!), or we just couldn't get up to the post office for one reason or another. Well, anyway. Her shawl used about 1 and a quarter skeins of yarn, and I really did not like the colorway she chose. She loved it, but it's not my type. Too dark, dreary and depressing for me. So, in the time that we haven't gotten to shipping the shawl, I made her other goodies to go with it. I'd never, ever use this yarn, so I may as well use the rest of it on stuff she'd enjoy, right?

I knit her a pair of socks right before I left California, and she had told me that she loved them, and wore them all the time because her roommate never turned on the heater in the winter. So, I decided to knit her a pair of socks. I asked her to go through and pick out a pattern she liked, and I'd knit it for her. She picked the Blackrose Socks. I, myself, was eyeing this pattern as well. It's sophisticated, so I was happy she picked this one out. This way, I can see how the socks looked in person, to see if I wanted to knit a pair for myself.



In the end, I decided I didn't like them. She will most likely love them. But, for me, I didn't like how they turned out. The gussets are weird, the toe turned out weird too. I'm sure it's my fault, but I was using double pointed needles on this project that called for another method. So, I didn't understand what I was supposed to do and just made my own way up as I went along. They are still wearable though, and still look like socks.



The whole time while making those socks, I was afraid of running out of yarn. If I run out, what would I make then? As I knitted, I kept watching the ball of yarn get smaller and smaller. And when I finished grafting the toe of the second sock, I was stunned that I still had a little tiny ball left. I honestly did not believe that I was going to be able to finish these.



With the remainder of the yarn, I made her a little lip balm holder for her keychain. I put it on my keyring for the picture, but it's being sent off to her. This turned out kind of cute. I may make myself one out of some scrap yarn ball I have wandering around the apartment. Having my lip balm on my keyring would be very helpful, so I'm not digging around the bottom of the bag looking for it when I need it.