Knitting my life away!

I've got a couple of FO! Woo HOO! And, I've got a few in progress as well. And, I've been letterboxing a bit as well since my last post. So, what's in the mix:

The finished objects:

Tabi Socks.

I am really pleased at how these turned out. I first posted about these here. And, it took me a couple of months to finish them up. Now, they're ready to be washed and blocked. It's a basic toe up pattern, with a lot of liberty taken from a tabi style pattern from Knitty. (Yes, I know the picture shows one cuff turned up and one down, but that was more just to show the socks.) I'm totally excited to wear these during the school year, to which I don't generally wear closed shoes anyway, but it's sometimes too cold for even ME to wear flip flops. And, let's be honest here. That's the REAL reason I knitted the things. So that when the want or need arose, I could do this:

Another Finished object: my take on the Summertime Tunic in the Summer 2007 issue of Interweave Knits.

There were several things about the original pattern that I wanted to change, so I did some playing around while I knitted and came up with a bit different top. My yarn was a heavier as well, since I used Blue Sky Cotton in Thistle as well as an accent yarn that I can't remember at the moment. I pulled the ribbing up, shortened the body, changed the body shape to a more fitted one, and came up with my version. And, despite actually taking the time to do a gauge swatch (which I rarely do), the top is still too big. I may go back and do some sewing decreases, but for now, it will stay as is.

A current WIP is some Big Black Socks (BBS) for Socks for Soldiers. They are a really helpful and fun group of people from all over the world who are knitting objects for military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. So, here's my BBS, in progress. These take more time than you might think, given that it's a basic pattern with a 4x2 rib, as the black yarn is so difficult to see at times. As a result, they are my current pick up/put down project at the moment.

As for letterboxing, I haven't been missing out on that either. MUC and I have picked up the stray box here and there, as well as a couple of gatherings. The first was in Madison at the end of April. Small and cozy, but nicely done by the Smith Family Trekkers. Then was the big south east event at Stone Mountain. Somehow, I neglected to take my camera to both of these events, so I had to pilfer StarSAELS copy of the group photo from SM. Next on the list? More knitting (of course), more boxing (of course) and a lot of beaching! Hopefully, I'll remember to take the camera!