The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed…. The Everglades are shaped by water and fire, experiencing frequent flooding in the wet season and drought in the dry season. Writer Marjory Stoneman Douglas popularized the term “River of Grass” to describe the sawgrass marshes…

At the end of 2010, I went through and figured out which socks I wanted to make this year as part of my push to do 12 socks in 12 months. This one wasn’t a definite - it was a question mark purely because I was so undecided about which yarn to use for it. Then Sarah let me try on the too-small socks that fluffybaka had made for her in this pattern and I fell in love. They were too tight to get on properly, but my GOD was the pattern design GORGEOUS. I went on a reorganizing spree just before New Years, coming up with all these brilliant new ways to store my yarn. As it turned out, my original way was just fine and my attempt to reorganize just made it so that I’d have to re-reorganize everything to get it back in order. In so doing, I had to go through all of my sock yarn skein by skein again and when I picked up this skein of Eidos, I knew that it would be perfect for the Rivergrass pattern. I tucked it into the green yarn bin and put it away, only to pull it out again the very next day to wind it on the (new!) ballwinder Larry’s cats had given to me for Christmas.

So this is it, 1 of 12. I’m starting it on the 13th, and I have a bunch of other things I’d like to work on, so we’ll see if I can actually get it done by the end of January. I’m willing to give myself a month for each pair of socks so if it’s not done till next month, that’s fine in my mind. When I was looking up the term “rivergrass” to try to come up with a nifty name for my project, The Everglades were the first thing to crop up. I used to spend every winter in the Everglads National Park when we would visit my Uncle Eddie and his family. This year, with working 2 jobs, I just don’t feel like I have the time, so these socks will have to be my stand-in for a trip.

Dear Bugga,
I have a new love and its name is Eidos. I actually can’t believe that I’m using this gorgeous, gorgeous yarn for a pair of socks that will be tucked into shoes and walked on and not seen and become dirty and holey, but there you are. This yarn is so gorgeous and the weight and bounce and spin of it is perfect. Just winding it up last night, I don’t mind telling you, I got a little turned on. Bugga darling, you know that I do care for you and wear my Little Birds sweater multiple times a week because it’s so lovely and warm and truly, you’ll always have a place in my heart…but I think that Eidos might have a bigger place.

Later: I worked on these tonight while watching a movie with Keith. After the first chart repeat, it started to look like the sock was going to be a mite bit too big, so I’ve ripped back and decided to go with a small size instead.

1/19 - I really flew along on this over the weekend, knitting through Linda’s sale and during my visit with Sarah. But then I hit the heel and had some problems. I’ve never done a heel like this and I really just didn’t see how it was going to work at all. I waited a few days for my Toe-Up Sock book by Miss Johnson, hoping it would help me figure it out, but it still didn’t make it clear. I went to her website and found this description of her heel - it might not make it totally clear to everyone, but I suddenly understood what kind of effect I should be getting. This link helped me find out how to lift the wraps, yet another technique I haven’t done before. I’m not sure I understand what all of this is doing, just yet, but I feel like I’m getting closer.

2/1 - I finished them last night, and I really really do love them. HOWEVER - Sarah had someone make a pair of these socks for her a few months back and they were very difficult to get on because the leg was so tight. She and I practically had to break our ankles to get them on. These socks aren’t that tight, but they definitely are snug and hard to put on. If i had to do them over again, I would probably bump up from a 1.5mm to a 2.0mm for the leg. I think that pattern is just gorgeous and I love love LOVE this yarn. And thus, I am 1 for 12 in my sock knitting challenge of the year!