My little "self care" package from Jimmy Bean's Wool came yesterday. A ball of sockyarn in ombre purple, and Norah Gaughan's book 5 from Berroco.

I love a lot of the patterns in this book. I am so happy I bought it now. Norah Gaughan is one of my favorite knitwear designers, and this book doesn't disappoint.

My favorite of all the patterns, the one I am most likely to knit, is Potter. It is a simple, peacoat type sweater, but that little bit of ribbing makes it special. (And even better: it's from the "Bright Women" series, and I presume it's named after Beatrix Potter, who is one of my personal heroines. So again, that old sympathetic magic: wearing a coat named after a personal heroine. It will protect me from bad feelings. It will make me happy. Now I just have to figure out what color I want to make it - whether to use the deep-blue Highland wool I have in stash without a designated project, or maybe look for "just the right thing" in two weeks on my Grand Day Out?)

I also like Faber a lot, as well. (Not sure who the "Faber" is that it might be named for. Possibly the astronomer?)

And Goodall (Dang, look at those cables!) Named for Jane Goodall, I assume.

The other "Story" (named for birds) doesn't grab me as much, lots of asymmetry there and I'm not a fan of asymmetry, but I do think Willet is very cute and very sweet.

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I've finished the 2" of twisted rib on the Thermal pullover. I'm still loving working on this and feeling somewhat impatient for the finished item: I think it will be perfect for this climate seeing how fine gauge it is. I'm hoping the waffle stitch (2 rows of k2 p2, one row knit, one row purl) is low-attention-requiring enough that I can work on it while reading some journal articles this afternoon. If not, I have a new pair of "simple socks" going.

I've decided it's going to be Socktober! around here; I'm just going to go ahead and cast on for socks as I feel moved to. I've got the ongoing Cookie A socks (working up slowly as they require attention) and a pair of simple socks knit of Online "Circle Color" in a grey and acid-green colorway, which I'm secretly thinking of as my "roller derby" socks. (I know next to nothing about roller derby, but somehow these socks - the colors and wide stripes - look to me like something a Derby girl would wear. And actually, if they make me feel stronger and tougher while wearing them, what's the harm of thinking of them that way. At least, as long as I don't try to body-check any of my colleagues while going down the hall).

I'm also looking at a couple balls of Mini Mochi I have had in the stash since it first came out; I like the idea of those wide, Kureyon-esque stripes, without the horrible scratchiness of actual Kureyon. So I might cast on for those, too, sometime.