A Day at the Circus

I've decided on a new way of managing some of my reading/knitting. I stopped by Knitty City this past rainy Sunday and poked through the cubbies full of Claudia's Hand Painted Yarns. I wasn't sure I'd find anything I really wanted, since what I really want to make is another Clapotis. However, I've decided that until I can pick the perfect yarn for the Clapotis, it will simply have to wait.

And then my hands found a colorway called "Circus Dancer." And then my brain remembered the book sitting in my bag, Water for Elephants, which is all about the circus.

And before you know it, I had casted on for a pair of Monkeys. And then a brilliant idea hit me. These socks are so perfectly in sync with the book (which I am loving without reservation) that I've decided only to knit socks that complement my reading material. The trick will be finding yarn and patterns that complete the theme du jour. Or du semaine. I'm tingling with nerdy excitement.

The yarn couldn't capture the circus more perfectly. There's some cotton candy in there, the big red-orange stripes of a big top, a sparkly blue-green costume or two, a red ringmaster's jacket, pale orange for lions' manes. And the pattern? I love monkey. I chose it because I was thinking of circus menageries to go along with the yarn. After finishing the picot cuff, I remembered (with astonishing speed) that I was born in the year of the monkey, so it's even more apropos.

The Melon shawl is nearing her completion, so I also casted on (casted? cast?) for Luigi, from Rowan 35. It's for my dad and I'm eliminating the different colored stripes on all the ribbing. My mom likes the pattern, but told me specifically not to put in the "weird" stripes. The yarn is Valley Yarns Northampton from Webs. It feels pretty much the same to me as Cascade 220. Only cheaper and with slightly more yardage.

Miles of stockinette to go before I sleep...