Magic Socks: The Beginning

I consider myself the type of person who likes a challenge, which, overall, isn't a bad thing. It helps me learn and grow, I think I'm aware of my abilities and limitations more than most people, and others tend to appreciate someone who doesn't back away from something just because it's scary. 

However, there are times when this aspect of my personality becomes frustrating. Let me share my current example.

Logan, my husband (which still feels really weird to say but I love it), has a pair of socks that I knit him a while back. If you've been around for a while, you may remember them.

They turned out to be a bigger hit than I expected, since he wears them all the time. This makes me super happy because I love making Logan things, but it's hard to get him to wear knitted stuff.

After noticing that Logan enjoys wearing his socks to Magic the Gathering tournaments because they're special--which everyone knows improves your luck--I decided that I wanted to make him a pair of Magic socks. And I wanted to design them myself, not modify a pattern.

Easy enough, right? Socks aren't that hard to knit, and Logan doesn't like super fancy designs anyway, so they'd air on the basic side. What a great way to start designing! I had this idea for a super cool pair of socks featuring the symbol of his favorite element in Magic, water.

Image from wiki.mtgsalvation.com

After some research, I discovered that the best way to make that happen was to use intarsia knitting -- a technique that allows the knitter to create pictures. Below is an example.

Image from purlbee.com

Well, it turns out that intarsia knitting is a bit of a pain in the rear to handle and attempting to learn it on a sock is pure folly. Did that stop me? Nope! I got a small portion of the water droplet done this evening.

You may be thinking, "Autumn, that looks pretty good! Why do you say it's a pain in the rear and you're crazy for trying?" Because, dear Reader, the sock actually looks like this.

And that means I'm doing it right.

But you better believe that I'm going to finish it, because it's going to be awesome. I just have to keep an extra careful eye on the cats!

Honeymoon Pics

Logan and I just got back from our honeymoon at Universal Studios and I'd like to take a little time to share some of the best bits with you.

First was a plane ride to Orlando.

Then some time at the Harry Potter park followed by some Moose Juice and Goose Juice from the land of the great Dr. Seuss.

The next day we spent some time in a pineapple under the sea.

We saw some cows and robots.

Logan got to visit his favorite time machine.

And that night we caught a great view of the parks from CityWalk, framed by a stage being set up for a New Year's Eve show.

After a long night of sleep in the coolest hotel room ever (that I forgot to take pictures of), we rode in the front row of the Hulk.

And celebrated our survival with some ice cream!

But some of my favorite parts of the trip were small things Logan and I noticed that didn't really have much to do with the thrills of the park. Like this duck who was enjoying a day in our hotel's pool.

 And some super cool beakers at the Monster Cafe.

But best of all was all the time I got to spend with Logan without any pressures to be grown-ups and take care of things around the house. We just got to goof off and be nerds in love, and it was AMAZING!

Final Wedding Plans and a Wedding Band

Yesterday was a blur of driving and wedding plans. I went back home to get all the final details for the ceremony and reception down, which was simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying.

I'm getting married in a week!

I'm getting married in a week!?










The excited side is waaaaaay stronger than the scared side though. And Nola Ann at The Prizing House was super nice and made me feel assured that yes, everything was indeed taken care of, and no, I didn't forget anything huge and important.

Afterwards, Logan and I went to get his wedding band and to eat! That's a monkey off our back, because we weren't sure the ring was going to get here in time. But all is well, and we celebrated by going to The Pub.

It seems that we've been eating out a lot lately, but the end of November through now has been full of celebrations, and food is certainly how we celebrate.

Logan

Today, I want to talk to you about true love.

This is Logan, my fiance.

This picture is at a weird angle because I'm sick and confined to laying on the couch. Logan and I started dating in February a couple years ago, and the day after we were official, I got sick like this. My nose was stuffy, my throat hurt, and I was pretty much just a nasty mess. But he took care of me by getting me medicine and making sure that I drank plenty of water and didn't forget to eat.

Now we've been dating for a while, we're engaged, and Logan still takes good care of me. Even though I'm sick and nasty and kind of cranky and mean, Logan doesn't hold it against me. He still makes sure I take care of myself so I'll get better.

Logan is always there when I need him with patience and grace in spades, and I just wanted to give him a public shout out and thank you.