This is why...

I can't stop buying sock yarn. Honestly, how can anyone expect me to give up sock yarn after getting a package with all this in it? It's not my fault, really it isn't.

(Please note the extensive effort I put into styling this photo. Ordinarily, my desk is totally organized, not a bit of clutter in sight but I deliberately scattered debris across its pristine surface just to give a touch of atmosphere to the photo. Honest!)

In front are six skeins of Yarntini that I glommed in the last Loopy Ewe sneak up. I bought my first Yarntini yarn from Ms. Yarntini herself way back in the distant past - spring of 2006, if you must know - when she was selling on Etsy. She dyed some contrasting yarn for heels & toes to go with several of the skeins I bought and was a delight to deal with. Now, her yarns are coveted by knit bloggers across the land and I have to admit I always feel vaguely smug that I knew her when.

From left to right, the colors are: Loopy Blooms, Lime Twist, Zesty, Mimosa, Strawberry Daquiri and the mysteriously named 4-8-15-16-23-42.

In back, on the left are two skeins of Classic Elite's new Alpaca Sox. THE Wendy knit Lacy Ribs socks with it earlier this summer and, if memory serves, she said it was very soft. She wasn't kidding. It's squeezably soft and has a fuzzy look about it, reminiscent of an angora blend. I assume the fuzziness is courtesy of the alpaca content.

In back on the left is a skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Nantucket, a wonderful terra cotta color and a skein of Misty Mountain sock yarn in Ocean Wave - super cushy and the colors are more striking than the photo shows.

At the very top of the photo, just visible on the left is Wendy's Garden Path Sock pattern. This is one of my favorites of the socks she's designed this summer and I'm probably going to knit them in the same yarn she used - Dream in Color's Smooshy - though I think I'll use a soft peach color or maybe blue or there's a nice purple...

And tucked coyly in between the Alpaca Sox & the Cherry Tree Hill is my first square for my new sock yarn blanket. Isn't it cute? I am quite madly in love with this whole idea. Block #2 is nearly finished and almost as wonderful as the first one. I'll share more when I have a few blocks to put together so you can see the wonderful patterns they make.

The really sad thing about this photo? I've already got a bunch of socks on the needles and have sworn not to cast on any more until I whittle down the current project list just a bit. Guess I'll just have to knit faster.