Pain, Yarn and Socks

Pulling….  pushing…. raising… relaxing…. stitching…. and slightly b*tching too. This is how my day has looked. The first day of my physical therapy went very well. Thought I’ve been there before, this was the first post-op appointment, so it was almost like starting over. She took measurements of my knees and their degrees of extension and flexion. We discussed what I’ve been doing post surgery and asked about any complications I’d had. My therapist is amazed and happy that I’m already at full extension, that my prone hangs are going well, and are without pain. I just couldn’t do a straight leg raise because of my quad being unused for these last few days (so one of the other therapists had to help me raise my leg.) It felt so good to get my leg moving around, and know what I am allowed to do and not do. I was struggling with many movements, so I didn’t get pictures/videos to share (maybe after I get stronger I can). But my therapist did mention that I’m getting stronger as everyday passes and will probably be back to having full quad control in a week, so that is exciting! My knee is definitely hurting now from the workout, and I’m icing it with it elevated (though I still have to take another pain pill and ibuprofen).

Okay so onto other things (not knee related) I’ve finally been able to start knitting again, working on a pair of socks that I started over 2 weeks ago. I am using KnitPicks Stroll Tonal sock yarn in Thunderhead. I’ve decided to call them “April Showers” because we’ve had some stormy weather (rain or snow) and it seemed like the perfect name.

Product picture from KnitPicks.com, of the Thunderhead Tonal color way. Although their picture shows a much brighter/lighter skein than what I was sent.

Progress of my socks as of bedtime last night (sorry for the darkness)

I plan on finishing these before starting more (though I have a few other pairs of socks waiting to be finished as well) but I have these beautiful new balls of sock yarn, part cotton and part acrylic (my daughter is allergic to wool) called Comfy Fingering from KnitPicks. These are the colors I ordered plus the description given from the website:

Marlin is a medium turquoise blue with green undertones. A beautiful blue that reminds us of the rolling waters of the ocean, Marlin is a fresh addition to your spring and summer projects.

Berry purple, with red undertones. Lilac is a rich and striking jewel tone, the color of an amethyst. Pair Lilac with Marlin for a dreamy color scheme, or combine with Peapod for a bright pop of color.

Blackberry is a dark, jewel toned purple with blue undertones. This lavish color is fresh for picking and combining with other jewel tones for a luxurious project. Pair with other purple tones to play up the purple values or with blues to enhance the blue tones of this beautiful color.

Lilac Mist is sophisticated pastel shade of lavender. This color has a slight blue-gray undertone, which makes it elegant enough for an adult to wear. Or pair it with other pastels like Semolina, Flamingo, Sea Foam, and Honeydew for a cheerful rainbow colorwork project.

Hollyberry is a rich berry red color. A close resemblance to burgundy, Hollyberry is a jewel tone that looks fabulous when combined with dark colors or with lighter shades.

Bison is a medium brown shade. It is the color of milk chocolate. This versatile neutral is especially fun to combine with extra bright colors, like Sweet Potato, Lilac, or Peapod.

Ivory is a light beige color with yellow undertones. This neutral, blends beautifully with any color palette and can be used as a creamy off white.

Black is a true black and looks great with anything. Use it as an accent color in your favorite pattern or by itself.

Sea Foam is a soft blue green color that takes us away to the beautiful tones of the ocean waters. Combine with other pastels for a more delicately colored project or pair it with darker blue greens for a fun and playful combination.

Now let me tell you that the colors online are not true to life: Seafoam is a bit more of a greenish in real life; Marlin is a less vibrant blue than shown; Lilac is much less magenta in real life; Lilac Mist is spot on; Hollyberry is much deeper and darker of a red in real life; Bison is a tad darker in real life; Ivory in real life is a tad darker/saturated; Black is spot on. I don’t mind since I bought the ones that were on sale and marked down the furthest.

The socks I plan on making with these cotton yarns might be these:

Vellamo by Taina. Here is her blog

Dark Isle by Julia. Here is her Facebook page 

Fireweeds by Rose. Here is her design shop on Ravelry

Eden by Lacie. Here is her design shop on Ravelry.

I’m also so in love with two other patterns, best left for a slightly variegating yarn I think. I’ve loved them since I first saw them (before I could knit a sock) which are:

Nunkin by Beth (aka BettyLovesYarn) and here is her website/blog.

Finally, this pair:

Unicurves by Jeannie. Her blog is here.

Obviously I have some high ambitions for knitting socks, seeing as I have a few other pairs started already! I’ll update later this week with pictures of the “April Showers” sock I’m currently working on.

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

Oh, and I have two questions for you: What do you think about these patterns? Which one would you make?