Operation Quiet Comfort is an organization whose purpose is to honor and comfort US military personnel who become sick or injured while serving in harm’s way, as well as to support the folks who are caring for them. Anyone who is willing to help is invited to do so, regardless of religious, political, or ideological views.

I finally finished up this Four Freedoms Gratitude Quilt for them. I won’t be doing another one, simply because it takes me too long to finish one; I’ll leave the quilting to people who can do it faster and better than I can!

These are called Four Freedoms quilts because they’re based on President Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms speech, and each of the white blocks in the center has an accompanying quote. The hearts and stars are reverse-appliqued, and the rest of the blocks are all blocks that say “thank you” to our service members.

In other sewing news, I’m currently trying to do my first trousers with a zipper set in. I’ve decided that a zipper foot must be a lovely thing to own; it’s going on my list. For now, I’ve decided to hand-sew the second bit of the zipper in to save my failing sanity. Photos someday, when this blasted set of trousers is off of my sewing table and on my kidlet!

Hey, everyone. I have not fallen off the surface of the earth, and I have been making things. Whenever life gets a little too crazy, I forget to do some of the things I like to do, like talking with you all. I did, however, remember to pay the bills, so I guess my priorities are in order somewhat.

So, to distract you all, here are some pretty socks!

These are Pointelle, from Cookie A’s latest book, Knit. Sock. Love. I keep on meaning to design some socks, but there are so many lovely patterns out there that I end up knitting someone else’s design instead. This pair is a birthday set for my lovely mother, who has patiently waited for some hand-knit socks for years. Now that I’ve completed this pair, I’m going to have to knit another set for myself – I love the look of this sock, and the pattern is easy once you get the hang of it. You just have to pay a bit of attention, like with many of Cookie A’s patterns.

One hint I found on Ravelry that I used for this set is Cat Bordhi’s “Hungry Stitch” method for the ssk lines. Don’t try this on the ssks in the lace section (ask me how I know), but the hungry stitch works a treat for the lines going across the sock in the plain section.

The yarn is Cascade Yarns Heritage Solids in Lilac. I purchased it mostly because it was solid, and I wanted to show off the pattern, and because it was in my mom’s signature color. The yarn was a little less springy than I’m used to working with, and I’m chalking it up to the nylon content (75% merino, 25% nylon.) Still, it was pretty yarn, and worked up well.

Details:

Started:	8 Feb 2011
Finished:	11 Mar 2011
Pattern:	Pointelle by Cookie A.
Yarn:	Cascade Yarns Heritage Solids, color 5614 (lilac)
Needles:	Metal dpns from Knit Picks
Notes:	Hungry Stitch ssk from Cat Bordhi helps the leg look great on these socks. Size is women’s US 6.