Fell off the sock wagon

Okay, I admit it, I'm bad. I fell off the sock wagon. After I was so good knitting only on the baby blanket last week, I cracked. The Rocker Girl yarn was too much. It's "Knit Me Right This Instance" vibes were way too much for me to handle. The yarn practically put itself on my needles and I couldn't help but knit it once it was already on the needles now could I? So that's what happens, a small lapse in attention and three days later you have this:

I must admire at how quickly it knit up. And it fits much better than the last attempt at Jaywalkers that went horribly wrong. This yarn has much more give and stretch to it. While there's a bit of resistance getting it on at the heel, it is not a full on struggle and I am happy. Actually, these are probably the best fit socks I have ever made for myself. Ofcourse this now mean s I'll never get back to the baby blanket until I make the second sock. The yarn is too pretty, too demanding of my time. It needs to be appeased. This will absolutely be my favourite pair of socks I've ever made.
There's also been some stash enhancing going on around here. While I won't admit to all of it I do absolutely have to show you my Yartini that I finally scored from the Loopy Ewe after months and months of trying to get some. And the colours are absolutely everything I have always wanted and expected. Pardon me while I drool a bit:

Cosmopolitan Colourway (above)
Sangria Colourway (below)

And just because I am in the mood to oggle all the pretty sock yarn there is out there I also have a new find: The Knittery, Petals colourway. This yarn is so luscious. The colour has oh so subtle variation in such a gorgeous sheen. The softest yarn I've ever had. Prepare yourself for the photo, though nothing compares to seeing it up close. I only dream of when I find the perfect pattern to knit this yarn with because it won't be used for anything other than the absolute best:

Mmmm...
I also thought that I'd mention a great relatively new podcast out there called Knitters Uncensored that I've just listened to all 6 episodes of. Sometimes podcasts start out pretty shaky but I love this one from the first episode. It's hosted by three ex-pats living in Germany, only one of whom speaks German. They talk about yarn, knitterly ideas, German knitting terminology and about getting used to live in the new country. The episodes are on the long side now but I don't mind because they are so well done. I definitely recommend anyone who listens to podcasts check it out.
And before I get sucked back into the next Jaywalker I have two quick shout outs. I can finally announce who my wonderful downstream Sockapalooza4 Pal is: Susan! I got word today (well, you can check it out in last entry's comments) that she has received and opened my package and loves the socks. *Phew* I tried very hard and I'm glad those socks found a great and loving home. I also have word that her various other house mates love their giftees too. I found one really cute book for her son. It's a Canadian alphabet book. Z is for Zamboni :) I loved it.
Also a quick hi to my Secret Pal if you happen to be lurking around the blog *waves*.
That's about it. Blogging might be limited last week as I'm staying out at the beach. Have a good week of knitting all!