Back In The Saddle Again

As far as knitting goes anyway :o) My finger is still numb, so I've had to set my socks aside for a while, but I find I'm able to work just fine with larger needles... YAY!!! I've been itching to make this pretty number since I first laid eyes on it. I had some free time after work yesterday and was going to stop by my regular LYS, but didn't feel like dealing with the parking and traffic, so I decided I'd go explore another LYS
and am I ever glad I did!! Everyone in the shop was soo nice and very helpful. I was specifically looking for the Noro sock yarn, they didn't have that, so I was directed to the sock yarn they had in stock, there I found absolutely drool worthy Indira Gandhi colorway from Schaefer Yarns.
It was a wee bit pricey (by my standards) but so
beautiful, I just kept going back to it, so after tinkering about the store a bit longer, she came home with me! It looks so different wound, but I love, love, love it so much. I decided I'd use it for Branching Out from knitty.com. Later last night, I cast on and am just pleased as punch. This is my first time using a "real pattern" aside from my poor little sock, but this pattern involves more than just knitting and purling :o) So I officially feel like a real knitter now. I have a day of knitting, reading and movie watching planned! A perfect day as far as I'm concerned! Here's my progress so far, and a peek at my poor little sock.