Knitting, knitting and more knitting

I have found that of my many hobbies knitting is something I may be staying with for a while.  Why?  Because with a two and a four year old knitting is something that I can pick up and put down easily.  I have decided that I will probably always have two different pairs of socks going at once: one with an easy stitch so I can work on it when I'm with the kids (a lot of starting and stopping) and then a more challenging one for after they go to bed (so I can devote more intense concentration to it).

For Christmas my sister-in-law gave me a gift card to Knit Picks.  I bought a lot of great stuff but my favorite purchase was this large clear knitting bag:  

I love it!  I can see everything at once and don't need a flashlight to see down into it.
So today I decided to gather up all of my knitting books: 

And then I decided to separate out my sock knitting books:

And my favorite one for an absolute beginner like me is:

I have knit almost two pairs of socks now and this book has guided me through every step.  My first pair I finished about a month ago:

And hopefully I'll finish my second pair sometime this week:

And now that I have two pairs "under my belt" I feel like I can take on more challenging patterns.   So I started my third pair and when I got to the pattern on the leg (after the cuff) it seemed almost impossible on DPN's.  I needed it on a circular needle because there was going to be a lot of moving stitches onto different needles so I could SSK (slip slip knit).  I have now cast on for two new pairs of socks but am not sure what patterns I'll be knitting them in.  I think I'm going to try to move one of them to my circular needles and attempt a challenging pattern.  Note, in the first pair I am using another gift purchase from Knit Picks called Harmony Needles.  They are absolutely wonderful!  BUT I have noticed that knitting with a lighter color yarn is much more easier on these needles than a darker color yarn.  I found this out when I cast on a gorgeous purple yarn but couldn't see it!

So stay tuned to see what these two new pair of socks will end up looking like.