Last night I finished my 13th pair of socks. And no, the 13th pair were not unlucky for me. Not to brag, but these are probably my best socks to date. No gaps along the heel gusset like I normally struggle with, no ladders down the side. The yarn was fabulous to work with, Austermann's Bambou (Yes the same Austermann's that makes the Step sock yarn that everyone is talking about), 65% merino, 35% bamboo, think cashmere feeling for texture and great stitch defintion. It would have been killer to do some fancy cables with. And best of all, these socks are for me. The last two pairs were for my sister and my mom. Out of 13 pairs of socks, I've only kept three to date.

No sooner did I finish the socks and slip on my feet, I cast on Wooly Wonka Fiber's sock yarn in 60% superwash, 30% bamboo, and 10% nylon in the Nantucket colorway that I snagged at the Snake River Fiber Fair on Saturday. I was afraid that these socks would be dificult to deal with. I had bad vibes from when I went to roll this into a ball; I went to cut the ties on the skein and the skein literally exploded into a tangle right in my face. I spent the rest of Saturday night untangling this giant hairball into a orderly ball of yarn instead of fondling my new yarn. But all that time untangling the yarn had me dying to knit it. It's a gorgous colorway of teals, greens, blues, magenta, and lavender. It was beautiful on the skein and it's even more stunning knitting up. I think I have a new love.

Unfortunately now, between a trip up to Jackson Hole, a super-sale at my LYS and the fiber fair, I'm now on a yarn diet until at least the middle of June. I'm worried what I will do. I joined the Summer of Socks 2007, and I'm not sure if I have enough sock yarn to make it through. I don't want to be waiting on a yarn order. I have enough yarn for 19 pairs of socks in my stashette at the moment. The Summer of Socks doesn't start until June 21st. I might have to rob a bank.

In the mean time, to keep me from caving into sock yarn cravings, I'm discovering the world of podcasts. I just found the Lime N' Violet podcast and catching up on all the back episodes. These ladies are outragous and great. Yeah, a bit unprofessional but that's the charm and completely off-the-wall. I love it. All the benefits of a Stitch N' Bitch group in the comforts of my home. Unfortunately, with each podcast they discuss "yarn p*rn", websites of drop-dead stunning handpainted yarns, many with sock yarn. Staying on my yarn diet is going to be so hard. I need another full-time job just to pay for my yarn habit. In between episodes, I've been rooting around their message board, gabs of yarn reviews, lots of yarn p*rn, and good knitterly togetherness. Check it out. The link to them is on my links page on my homepage.

I'll have to find more podcasts to keep me occupied. An hour and half bus commute from work and back 4 days a week will have me caught up with Lime N' Violet by the end of the week. Anyone have any good suggestions?

Until next time, happy knitting karma.