makeshift darning needle

diy
 It was a glorious day in my Cabana.  The sun was high in the cloudless blue sky.  The sea was calm as I listened to the waves crashing gently against the shore.  The breeze was warm against my skin. I was spending the day alone, on the beach in Cancun, as my husband was in meetings all day. My first sock was almost finished and I was already dreaming about casting on for the second sock.   If I cast on today, I thought, I can probably finish by the end of the week.  This day could not be anymore perfect, I thought.  One last row, and I am ready to close the toe with the kitchener stitch.  I reach into my travel notion bag and hunt around for my darning needle.  Panic sets in.  What?  Where in the world is my darning needle?  I quickly dump everything out only to fully realize... there is no darning needle.  My dreams of finishing this pair of socks is shattered.
Wait, I think.  Come on, Leslie.  You can think of something to thread through these stitches to use as a darning needle.  Hmmmm.  No bobbie pin like I have used in the past.  No paperclips either.   I have my stitch markers but they are too wide.  I wonder if my Cabana neighbors have anything.  Would that be inappropriate (or weird) to bother the couples around me.  Hmmmmm.  
Well.  I do have washi tape.  And my double point needles.  If I tape the yarn to the needle, then I will be able to thread it through like a darning needle.
Voila!  Makeshift darning needle.
The day is once again perfect.
(Note to self ::  always carry washi tape.)

five o'clock somewhere

featured
Well, hello there! And hello October.   I realllly love October. Everything pumpkin, everything orange.
As soon as the calendar turned to October, I wanted to ditch these socks.  I started them at the end of July when the sun was high and the day was long.  These Five O'Clock Somewhere socks were my summer socks or my 3rd quarter socks.  I was trying to knit a pair of socks each season.  Did I mention that?  That I divided up my year into quarters or seasons?!  (Ya.  More on that later.) Anyhow, I needed to finish these so that I could start my 4th quarter socks.

This yarn and pattern were part of a Knitcrate that I received over the summer.  You know what a fan I am of this yarn subscription.  And, this crate made me cast on for these socks almost immediately.  It was a fun repeat pattern that kept things interesting.  It did require me to keep track of every row so I usually had to be focused to work on them.  I'm super excited to tuck them into Libby's halloween care package.  :)

Yarn:  Knitcrate
Pattern:  Five O'clock Somewhere socks.