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First, a big happy Mom's day to all you moms! I hope your Sunday is wonderful and full of love.

I had the big day with my mom today, as our annual family reunion is always Mother's day weekend, and it was so nice to see most of my immediate family and get to chat while having a nice big lunch with them. I wish that we got together more often, but there are about a hundred of us and it would be hard to organize all those folks more than once a year. My grandmother organizes our yearly shindig, since she has this I'm-in-charge,-let's-get-this-thing-done-and-also-somebody-say-the-blessing-and-let's-eat-already!! sort of way about her. So much so that everyone calls her the Little General (she's about 4'10). I might have maybe inherited some of those get-it-done-or-get-out-of-my-way genes. Ahem.

Anyway, back to the point of my story. I've noticed that in the last few years I've been knitting, any time I give my mom something that I've knit, even if it's completely awful, she always looks at it with love (like a good mother should, right?) and I can sort of tell that she's working out in her head how it's done. When I visit her I always take my knitting and she'll come sit next to me while we talk, and I can occasionally catch her sneaking a peak at my technique.

Well I decided not to let another year go by without teaching my mom to knit. So this year, I came to the family reunion armed with wool, size 11 needles, and Stitch N Bitch. I kicked myself when I got out of the car and realized that I had forgotten my camera. Gah. And also that I had bought WOOL. It's 85 degrees in south Georgia in May. Clearly I got swept up in the awesome idea to teach my mom to knit and forgot how freaking hot it is. Wool, people. Jeez.

But mom was thrilled and managed the hot handed-ness of the wool like a brave little knitter. She learned to cast on and by the third row of knitting she was on a roll! Granted, we had to walk away from wool when the the steam started rising off her fingers, but she kept going back to it! I couldn't be more proud.

Other than that, I've finished my RPM socks:



Mostly all you can see is the way the STR yarn is striping, but I still love these and they might be my new favorite socks.

This is the first skein I've ordered from STR and I'm discovering that I prefer it over my usual Lorna's Laces. Lorna's is thin and kind of splitty in comparison to even the lightweight STR, and these socks just feel thicker, firmer and more substantial than any others I've knit with LL. Not that I won't keep using LL for the time being, but I find myself ripping it more often than knitting it these days. I'm trying some toe-up socks in a simple rib pattern with my LL in Chino, and so far so good. Though I've ripped this particular yarn four or five times for various other reasons, I'm determined to use it. It's just too practical a color to be thrown into the stash abyss.

I also started a sock with my own yarn today, which was totally fun. I love watching how the colors knit up! As soon as my camera stops being a jerk I'll post a picture for you. It decided to hate me just as I was taking the picture. Grr. I really want a Canon Rebel, and have been eyeing it since my sister-in-law got one a few years ago. But alas, I must pay off my car and get somewhat out of debt first. Maybe after I graduate.

Sigh.