Poor Harley

My little Harley was dropped off at the vet this morning to be neutered and de-clawed and micro-chipped. You never saw such a woebegone face as Harley's as Hockeyman and I left him in the arms of the vet. We were just contacted and told that he's out of surgery and doing well. He's managed to charm the whole staff, so I hope they can bring themselves to return him to us tomorrow, as scheduled.

I had a whirlwind weekend with Dancing Diva at a dance convention. I used the waiting around time to make some significant progress on a pair of socks for my Hubby's upcoming birthday.

I've finally reached the gusset shaping. I don't know why knitting socks for the men in my life seem to take so much longer but it seemed like it took forever to get this far. It's not like his foot is that much longer than my own (about an inch or so). It's not that having some mindless knitting is a bad thing but there were times when it seemed like I was knitting backwards - or at least in place for long stretches of time. One added inch = a rupture in the space/time continuum, I guess.

These are another variation on the twist stitch I used on Hockey Socks '07, done in Dream in Color Smooshy. I'm totally lovin' the subtle color changes of this yarn, which is far more suitable for the conservative tastes of my beloved mate than some of the more outrageous colors of which I've been known to make socks. With some diligence on my part, perhaps these can be done before his birthday in two weeks AND before we leave for the last hockey tournament of the year.

In keeping with my sock resolution this year, I signed up for Woolgirl's Sock Club. Both Rani and Guinifer have done this club in the past and it intrigued me. I'm also continuing to work on the Sleepwalker socks from time to time.

I'm working a plain, black stockinette sock to use as a prop for Beauty and the Beast. In keeping with the period of the show, I'm actually using (don't faint!) dpn's and knitting one sock at a time. Given how much I dislike dpn's, this has been predictably frustrating. Not only do I find using dpns awkward, knitting on flat, black yarn is just blindingly horrid. I did opt to stick with my toe-up method, which will make the sock itself more readily recognizable on stage and since I've made it around the heel, I've given myself permission to set it aside until I need it for rehearsals.

I have a feeling my socks are going to get a lot of attention tonight, since Harley won't be around to snag my needles, play with the yarn balls and generally wreak havoc in the knitting bag. Besides, I need something to soothe my worried kitty mom nerves while I anxiously await the appointed pick-up time tomorrow.

Poor Harley!