the first new moon

Today is the first new moon of 2011 - an auspicious time to start new projects, make plans, take the initiative, do anything that has a starting point. Or so the astrologers say.

To coincide with the new moon, it's time for my first TUSAL update. My little jar looks half full already but lots more yarn clippings will fit when I tamp these threads down. The lead up to Christmas was quite productive on the yarn clipping front; each finished sock had at least two ends to be woven in and clipped before wrapping.

Seems like today I'll be putting aside the socks I started yesterday and starting a new pair. I can't blame the new moon for that; instead, it's wishful thinking overruling common sense. After deciding to devote the first weeks of January to making socks for the Warm Hands Network, I picked out a Most Basic Kids Sock pattern by Evelyn Skae. With so many self-patterning sock yarns in my stash, a very plain stockinette sock struck me as the best choice. And the pattern says that only 50 grams are required - that's just one ball! Awesome, I thought ... but too bad that's just wishful thinking. The first sock I knit yesterday - knit exactly as written - took 36 grams of yarn, leaving me with 14 grams for the second sock. Hmmmm.