Everybody Loves the Red-Eye

I'm in Boston, but it feels like I just barely made it. I nearly missed my flight last night because I thought that the departure was 20 minutes later than it was, and I underestimated the size of the late night security line. Fortunately, I just made it (and the gate agents were really nice about it, which made me feel a little less like an idiot). I hate being late for things, and I normally arrive really early if there's any doubt about the timing, and this was a good reminder of why that's still a good policy for me--I'd much rather be a little bored at the gate than running through an airport, stressed out.

Anyway, I'm relaxing comfortably in Somerville now, and look what was waiting for me when I arrived:

Gorgeous socks! That I didn't have to knit myself! E____ knit them for my birthday (this is the first time I've been back here since then), and they came in very handy during my traditional post-redeye nap. The pattern is from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks, and the yarn is some that she bought when we went to Portland awhile back. They fit really well, and the yarn is beautiful!!!! I love them, with the simple rib and the star toe!!!!!

Speaking of socks, I had a dilemma when packing for this trip. The foot of the second Cabana Boy sock is almost done, but I didn't want to end up finishing the toe and grafting it on the plane, and then only have the other two projects I brought (both of which require a lot of attention) to fall back on. So in my quest to avoid one toe, I started another one:

Whew, that's bright! It's the second installment of the yarntini semi-solid club, Strawberry Fields. It's sport weight, and I'm knitting the Van Dyke pattern (Rav Link) by Wendy Johnson. The brightness of the yarn came in really handy on the plane--I wanted to start the toe & work on it a bit, but my row-mates were trying to sleep so I didn't want to put on the overhead light. I was able to work this using the light that was coming from the row behind & in front. I'm a little concerned that my gauge is too tight, but since the pattern is given in multiple sizes I may just go up a size and see how that goes--my efforts to buy alternate needles earlier today were wholly thwarted. The first store I went to had no Addis below a size 10-ish, and the second store is closed for vacation, and a third store that I called is not open on Thursday. The other stores involve more driving than I want to do this afternoon--I'm on vacation, I want to just read and knit!