The Last Trek of Summer (and Tales of Woe and Redemption)

This was going to be a glorious, photo-filled tale of the last treks, but, well, let's start at the beginning.

I finished the first of the Gentlemen's Fancy Socks and had a sneaking suspicion that something was amiss. I weighed the first sock and discovered that it came in at 55g. Unfortunately, this left only 45g for the second sock. We all know that no amount of knitting skill will overcome that gap. The LYS that sold me the first skein had no more in stock. A search on line found a retailer that listed two skeins of Trekking #69 in stock. An order was placed. An email was received. They were, in fact, out of stock, but they quickly cancelled my order.

Knitting continued and another search was made. Lo and behold, WEBS had the yarn and, again, it was listed as in stock. A second order was placed, but hopes for completion by Labor Day were slipping. The second sock had a pleasant trek through Legoland on Wednesday with Young Man. The weather was warm, but the crowds were thin. Young Man and I (and the sock) had a lovely time. Just as the yarn was almost gone, we retrieved the Friday mail and WEBS exceeded all expectations and the new skein arrived (note that I have no affiliation with the store; I'm just a very happy first-time customer)! More knitting continued while Young Man played with Legos (you don't suppose that we made it out of Legoland without Legos, do you?).

On Saturday, the sock made its last trek (pre-finishing). This time, it traveled through the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Rays were petted and the sock was surprised to learn that his colorations were quite similar to Young Man's favorite fish, the Porcupine Fish (a.k.a. Pufferfish). And, yes, we do wear tie-dye in public.

The sock was completed after a brief stop in Little Saigon for yummy sandwiches and iced coffee. So, now you may be wondering why I didn't include pictures of the sock on its adventures. I took them, really, I did. Somehow, the pictures were lost in the ether in the transition from camera to computer.

Ah, but the socks are here and ready for more adventures. So, I completed two pairs of Trekking socks during the Trek Along. Very fun and I discovered a yarn that I really like. I now have enough for three more pairs for me. One may be for Young Man as he has expressed an interest in a pair to match Mr. Engineer's.

Pattern: Gentleman's Fancy Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: Trekking XXL in #69
Needles: US1 dpns
Notes: I modified the pattern by eliminating the decreases and going up a size in needles. This accomodated Mr. Engineer's size 11 feet which are slightly larger than the pattern size. Wonderful pattern (again, Nancy rocks), wonderful yarn. Great knit!