Pretty pretty princess.

Somewhere deep inside me lurks an 8-year-old girl.

My pretty pretty princess socks are done! They are girly and perfect.

Two skeins Koigu KPPPM P806 (the girliest Koigu EVER, from Gwen!) on US 1 Hiya DPNs. I used a ruffle cuff and knitted them top-down (!) with a heel flap and gusset. I did a star toe because I hate kitchener stitch.

These took way longer than they should have, mostly because I hate knitting top-down socks. Why would I knit top-down when there's so many amazing toe-up socks out there? However, before someone points out that I could have knitted these toe-up, let me say that when I considered the ruffle cuff, I decided I'd rather cast on 256 sts instead of bind off 256 sts. The lesser of two evils, in my book.

The KS knits crew had their second annual picnic today in Lawrence. We had very tasty brownies. And some other stuff that was probably healthy, but I only remember the brownies. After lunch and some knitting time (it was a little warm, but we had shade a nice breeze, so it wasn't bad) we made a pilgrimage to that yarn mecca of eastern Kansas — The Yarn Barn.

I made it out with only mild stash enhancement.

Blue Sky Alpacas Suri Merino, color 417. I have one word for this: YUM. The clerk told me this was brand-new stock — they've only had this yarn since Thursday. 60% baby suri alpaca (SO SOFT) and 40% merino. LOVE. I am going to make something deliciously decadent to wrap around my neck in the winter. Did I mention that I love this yarn?

Also, strange story. Two years ago, when I was a poor college student (as opposed to a poor cube monkey) I went to Yarn Barn and bought three skeins of Koigu to make a pretty fingering-weight Clapotis. I've been second-guessing that decision ever since (only three skeins? What if I run out?), so imagine my surprise when I was pawing through the Koigu today and found a skein of the same colorway. I figured at the very least, I could alternate dyelots or something. I about fell over when I got home and realized it was THE SAME DYELOT. ::swooon::