Tag Archive | handknit socks

WIP Wednesday

What did I do after finishing that pair of worsted weight socks? Immediately cast on another, of course! This one’s for the boy to wear with his Doc Martens. I didn’t have enough of the Mountain Meadow Tweed left, so I pulled some Cascade Eco Cloud from deep stash. It’s not superwash so they’ll definitely need to be handwashed but it’s fine, I’ll just throw them in when I wash my handknit socks. I am using the Mountain Meadow leftovers for accents though.

The toes will also be the darker brown. He says they’re “vibey”, which is apparently a good thing. However, now I am tired of brown so I need to switch back to something lighter and brighter! Also my new puzzles came today so I have something besides knitting to keep me occupied.

d853989f-3f37-4a9c-821c-4177ae1c3e35 Hope you’re all coping well today. I’m currently in the “this is never gonna end” state of mind, which hopefully will pass quickly. If not, there’s wine. Well, honestly, there’s wine either way.

Two on Tuesday

Apr7

You can take this “two” in two different ways: I’ve got TWO socks to show you, and I have TWO different things to show you. Here are my finished worsted socks!

fe71bc31-6ea1-4a8b-83fc-37152d2553e6 I used the Rye pattern for stitch counts but just did a basic sock with a ribbed leg and stockinette foot. They’re so thick and squishy and I already have yarn picked out to make another pair. This yarn is Mountain Meadow Wool Tweet Worsted and it feels sturdy enough to withstand some hiking!

The other thing I wanted to share is more new yarn. Yesterday I got one last skein, the last of my stress purchases. This is Two Sisters self-striping sock yarn and it’s so FUN. (Hey, TWO sisters! It fits the theme!)

Now I don’t know what I’ll look forward to, with no more yarn en route. I got too accustomed to happy mail days!

My weekend was full of baking (lemon bread, yum!) and making. I made some masks for a nurse friend of mine who does some work in a telemedicine office. I knitted masks and added 2-layer cotton linings. (Note: I know these are not medical-quality masks. I don’t intend them as such and neither does she. We’re both operating under the concept of “better than nothing” and “what the hell, we have nothing to lose”.)

afbc4270-6d5a-4946-8df1-5891876fc259

Oops. I broke the two theme. Oh well, anyway, I pulled out the girl’s sewing machine so I could cut up an old cotton button-up shirt and sew up the linings. And, confession time: I kind of liked it! I might need to play some more with simple sewing. What if I could make my own project bags?? Unfortunately, hunching over the masks triggered a muscle spasm on Sunday morning so Sunday wasn’t too productive. I’m hoping next weekend will be a little better!

FO Friday: Socks

Apr3

These socks actually got done two days ago, but I forgot to post until today. These are plain vanilla socks, with yarn from Old Rusted Chair in the color Devil’s Details. Love the yarn, loved knitting such simple socks. I finished them one night while watching a movie and immediately put them on because my feet were cold. I might have worn them for the next 36 hours.

They are good socks. The other photo is what happens when I sit down to try to take a picture of my feet: I get “helpers”!

I have one more WIP on the verge of becoming a FO, and I’ve got the second worsted sock in progress too. I’m hoping to get lots of knitting done this weekend; how about you?

Wonderful Worsted

Apr2

Have you ever made socks with worsted weight yarn? I hadn’t, but I cast one on last night after work and by bedtime I was past the gusset! And not only is it super fast, it’s thick and squishy too. The yarn is Mountain Meadow Wool Tweed Worsted, and I’m using Agate for the body and Pumice for the cuff and toe. It might not be the softest yarn against my face, but I think it will make fantastic boot socks.

I might even make some for the boy to wear with his Doc Martens, if I can manage making socks for man-sized feet. They do take a long time, but then again, as fast as worsted weight socks go, maybe it would be fine!

More yarn showed up in my mailbox the other day. I swear, having good reasons to buy yarn is definitely a silver lining to this whole mess. These beauties came from Yarn Cafe Creations and helped pay to repair their water well. I felt good helping and I got yarn!

The two on the left will be a future shawl of some sort, and the one on the left will become socks, probably as soon as I finish my worsted socks!

I’m so glad I’ve got my knitting mojo back and will enjoy it as long as it decides to stay. I’ve also been rewatching the Twilight movies and just having something so familiar that I love so much has been really comforting. I’m thinking I’ll move on to the Harry Potter series when I’m done with Twilight. What are you finding brings you the most comfort these days?

Sock It To Me Monday

Mar23

Thank goodness for knitting, am I right? I mean. Heck. I have no idea what I’d do with myself if I didn’t have knitting. Okay, sure, I’d read, and I did read a whole book yesterday which was great. And I’d work on puzzles — I’ve got a Twilight puzzle going but it’s all shades of black and gray and it’s currently driving me bonkers. So yes, thank goodness for knitting. I’ve been using my sock knitting for work days, for those short breaks during the day, so I don’t have a ton of progress to show. This is the Vestigial sock (which sounds weird. Look up “vestigial“. This is my vestigial sock, haha! Why is this pattern even called Vestigial? I don’t know!).

I love this yarn so much. It’s almost self-striping but with such gentle color transitions, and the colors are all springy and happy. I finished the heel while on a Skype Saturday Night knit night with Sarah at Mildly Granola and I made at least one mistake but it looks like a perfectly good heel so who the hell cares? Not me.

Here are the non-knitting things I’m grateful for night now: Dogs that want all the cuddles and snuggles I can give them. A husband who has the time and inclination to cook dinner almost every night, and who is brave enough to do the grocery shopping because the germ thing freaks me out a little. Working for a company that is supportive of working from home, and having a job that is easy to shift to working from home. A son who has stayed in good spirits and is fun to talk to, and who is old enough to entertain himself so that I don’t have to do it while also trying to work.

Those are the big ones. I hope you all are doing all right. I go back and forth with some stretches that are more anxious than others, but overall, I know I can manage being at home for another few weeks. Oh yeah, one more thing: I’m grateful we can still go outside!

Happy Monday, friends.

Sock It To Me Monday

Mar16

Sock knitting is my comfort knitting, so it’s not too much of a surprise that I had to cast on another sock over the weekend. Yes, I still have one on the needles, but it’s a second sock and I’m past the gusset, so I needed one in reserves. Plus this yarn is pretty colors. It’s from Leading Men Fiber Arts yarn in a color called Complete Imagination.

98B2C932-B3A7-46B9-A7E2-208BCEC9F7DE The weekend was good for more than knitting too! I got all my handknit socks washed and hung to dry, and made some yummy pumpkin muffins.

Unfortunately, I started feeling some vertigo and nausea on Saturday afternoon, so I wasn’t 100% for the girl’s visit. We managed a few games of Scrabble and Bananas, but otherwise I spent a lot of time on the couch not moving around so my stomach wouldn’t get upset. I got brave and went to the MinuteClinic this morning because I was afraid it was an ear infection that would get worse if I ignored it, but found out it’s fluid in my inner ear probably caused by allergies. With any luck, the nose spray and motion sickness meds I got will help quickly. And yes, I washed my hands a lot and used hand sanitizer and avoided touching things as much as possible! So for now, the couch is my friend. The dogs are pretty happy with that.

30E4D272-484E-498F-BAF9-2989418C7400 Happy Monday, friends.

Socks: A Quiz

Mar1

I know I promised stories of yarn stores, but I thought yesterday’s quiz from NothingButKnit seemed fun. Feel free to play along, either in the comments or on your own blog.

Do you knit/crochet socks?
If yes, how long have you been making them? If no, why not?
What is your preferred method? Top down, toe up? Which needles? Do you have a preferred heel type?
Have you gifted socks? Were they worn, loved and appreciated?
Could you make nothing but socks for the rest of your life and be happy?
One of the most addictive things about sock knitting is the amazing selection of fingering weight yarn that is available. What is your favorite yarn for socks? Do you prefer solid or multicolor yarn? Do you have a fiber preference?

My answers:

Do you knit/crochet socks?
- Yes, I knit socks!! All the time! I always have a sock on the needles.
If yes, how long have you been making them? If no, why not?
- I’ve been making socks for 3 years, ever since we did a KAL in our knitting group at work. Before that, I resisted because I thought they were hard or fiddly, and I didn’t think I’d want to put pretty yarn on my feet. (OH how wrong I was!)
What is your preferred method? Top down, toe up? Which needles? Do you have a preferred heel type?
- Top down, size 1 DPNs, with a heel flap & gusset construction. I typically go between a vanilla latte ribbed sock and a plain stockinette sock. Maybe someday I’ll try toe up!
Have you gifted socks? Were they worn, loved and appreciated?
- I have gifted socks to many people! Mostly to the girl, because her feet are the same size as mine and she always got excited about them. I know she’s worn and appreciated them. I’ve gifted socks to the husband, the boy, nieces and a nephew, and a few sisters. I believe they’ve all worn them at least once and appreciated them. But it doesn’t happen too often because of the time involved, plus the guesswork on size.
Could you make nothing but socks for the rest of your life and be happy?
- No, I definitely need the variety of different yarn weights and fiber types.
One of the most addictive things about sock knitting is the amazing selection of fingering weight yarn that is available. What is your favorite yarn for socks? Do you prefer solid or multicolor yarn? Do you have a fiber preference?
- My favorite yarn is self-striping; I think it’s magic. After that, I like speckles and variegated yarns. I love bright colors the most and neutrals bore me. I don’t enjoy knitting solid color socks as much because I get bored, since I mostly knit very simple patterns. For my own feet, I love a high-quality superwash merino with a bit of nylon. I can’t do rustic wool, alpaca or mohair because then my feet itch. But I like crisp yarn, not super soft or limp because it seems like those are the socks that sag and felt more.

Happy sock-knitting, friends!

WIPs and FOs

Feb29

Okay, friends, yes, I did go to yarn stores while I was in Colorado. I even made it to Wyoming, and to a yarn store there. I have lots of photos to share but today I’ll focus on my knitting progress and then tomorrow will be all about yarn (stores). The most exciting bit of knitting is that I finished the front of my purple faded Boxy last night!

EC9165BC-BC72-49A3-A7D4-572504821758_1_201_a Don’t you love that stripe of pale purple? (That’s sarcasm, in case you missed it. Note to self: when doing fades, don’t use solids. Or use all solids. Either way, but don’t mix solids and speckles.) I don’t love it but I don’t hate it enough to frog back. Why I thought I’d love making an oversized sweater in fingering weight yarn, I’ll never understand, but I can’t back out now. The neckline currently looks like poo so I sure hope it looks better by the end, or else I’ll be forced to pick up some stitches to make a cleaner edge. There’s still plenty to knit on this, but I’m feeling a little more optimistic that it might someday get done.

What did get done is a sock and a new cowl, both from my travel knitting. The sock is the Devil’s Details from Old Rusted Chair and the cowl is Tropical Fish from See Jayne Knit. It’s her superwash merino DK yarn and I love how smooth and supple it is. The cowl needs to be blocked but I’ve already worn it and it feels marvelous.

Now I need to decide what to work on this weekend! I really *should* work on my Melodia shawl that’s been hibernating for several weeks, but I really *want* to cast on something new. What are your knitting plans for the weekend?

Sock It To Me Monday

Feb24

Yesterday was a travel day for me as I came out to Colorado to visit the girl for a few days. Not only did I have knitting time on the plane, but I also had down time while she worked yesterday, and I made good progress on my new sock.

This is one of my new yarns from Old Rusted Chair and I’m doing a plain vanilla sock. But I also cast on a new cowl in some stash yarn, a pattern with some lace for when I’m chilling in the hotel room.

The yarn is a DK from See Jayne Knit and the color is Tropical Fish. I love the little bits of purple playing with the blue and green! Sadly, I started feeling a weird sharp pain in my thumb by early afternoon, so I had to take a break and read my book instead. Here’s hoping a little bit of rest does the trick because I only brought one book and three knitting projects…and I finished the book last night!

Today we’re driving up to Cheyenne, Wyoming because it’s not that far and we’ve never been to Wyoming. Have you been there? What should we do?

Catching Up

Feb22

Okay, so the good news is things have picked up at work and I have lots to do and I like that. The bad news is that it’s pulled energy away from my knitting and blog, but hey, today I have some FOs to share!

The socks have been a WIP since mid-November, so I’m thrilled to finally get them off the needles. The pink is Knit Picks Hawthorne Fingering and I really like it. It feels nice and crisp, which I like in a sock yarn. The turquoise is Knit Picks Stroll, I believe, in Razzleberry. It’s a softer yarn so it might not hold up as well, especially on the toes and heels, but it sure is cute. The other FO is my crazy Oats cowl in Manos Alegria Grande Locura Fluo. It’s badly in need of blocking but I couldn’t wait to share because I love it so much. It was a treat to knit and a treat to wear.

I finally made it to the yarn store today and got the pompom I needed. I really wasn’t going to buy yarn but she was having a singles sale, with 40% off single skeins of yarn, and what knitter can resist that? Not this one. I think I did really well though, and restrained myself to only three skeins.

Old Rusted Chair is a new dyer to me and I’ll be casting on the pink and black tomorrow. I got lucky with the purple: there were actually two skeins left, so it might become a big shawl. I’ll ponder that. So yes, I broke my yarn fast, but I’m still ahead for the year: I’ve used up 13 skeins from stash so far and have purchased five. (The other two are the Bonny Lass yarn that called my name the other day. Literally called my name.) Not too bad, right? But here’s the problem: I’m leaving tomorrow to visit the girl in Colorado and I know I’ll be going to a yarn store while I’m there. That’s just a foregone conclusion. So I better restrain myself while I’m there or I’ll wreck my good progress! Of course if I’d just finish my darn Boxy, that would be five skeins from stash gone. Maybe that will be my priority when I get back.

B3030694-9569-4A41-A412-599EDB8FE1DB Duncan is now seven weeks post surgery and doing really well. He wouldn’t stop licking his leg so I ordered some PJs online and discovered that dogs in PJs are the cutest thing ever. I might have to order more. Maybe three matching sets for all three dogs? He’ll go for his x-rays in about a week and with any luck get a green light for more activity. We’re all ready for that!

Happy weekend, friends! Hope you’re getting some of the same blue sky that I am!