A previously undiagnosed case of second sock syndrome

I thought I was pretty good about finishing up sock projects within a reasonable amount of time. But today, when I decided to clean out my knitting baskets, I found this:

Oh my. What do we have here? Starting at the top you can see what will probably be Father's Day Sock #1. The yarn is Trekking Pro Natura (a wool/bamboo blend that wears very nicely). I tried something a bit different on this one, putting the gusset shaping at the bottom of the foot. I'm a little worried about the length of the leg. You can't see it in the picture, but the leg is really long. What can I say? I was knitting on it while watching the latest Harry Potter movie when it came out in the theater and got a bit distracted. Working our way down the middle, we've got a Lindsay out of Fleece Artist Merino Sock yarn and a Leyburn out of a Socks That Rock lightweight rare gems colorway. I know I made some mods to Leyburn after the heel, so I'll have to pay attention when I knit the second one. Rounding out the pack, we have two husband socks. On the left is the first of a pair of toe socks requested by the DH. Thankfully, he only wanted a single separate toe and not all five! On the right is a sport weight version of Nancy Bush's great pattern, Gentleman's Fancy Sock. Now I remember why I don't usually put sock projects into Ravelry: I don't like seeing them sitting there, reminding me that I should knit the second sock.

I also came across these, my most recently finished socks:

Another husband sock (this one with a basket weave pattern from one of the Barbara Walker stitch dictionaries and knit out of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine) and Marlene.

Unfortunately, I have no motivation to knit the mate to any of these socks right now. Here's hoping the DH doesn't read this blog post since three of the socks are for him.

Of course, he's not helping either since he got me two new skeins of sock yarn this weekend.

Some more Ultra Alpaca Fine for birthday socks for Z. I'm not quite sure what pattern to use but it will most likely be something from Nancy Bush's book Knitting Vintage Socks. That is my go-to book for mens' sock patterns.

Now this is what I've been waiting for. It's Shalimar Yarns Zoe Sock in colorway Sprout, newly available at my LYS, and now destined to become a pair of Kai-Mei socks for my grandmother.

Technically, I've been on a yarn diet (I've been calling it a moratorium on new purchasing) for the past month or two since I realized how much nice stuff I have in the stash that I kept putting off as I acquired new fiber goodies. I'm actually still on that diet, believe it or not. Between learning about a fantastic new work opportunity that I'll start in a few months and realizing that the stash was not sufficient for upcoming gifts, the DH thought I could use a little treat. Lovely husband, no? That makes these yarns (especially the Sprout) extra lovely since I thought I wouldn't get to play with them for a while longer.

Don't worry that all I did this weekend was add to the stash. I finished up the second bobbin of the pink merino/silk. I'll never be a pink person but this is growing on me.

My Lilac Leaf scarf continues to grow, too. Right now, it's just a lot of leaves but the pattern hasn't gotten old yet.