Tag Archive | handknits

Sock It To Me Monday

Sep21

For my knitting date yesterday, I packed three projects, because of course I would need that many for maybe six-ish hours of knitting, right? I had a sock in progress, sock yarn to cast on, and a garter stitch shawl WIP. I bet you knitters out there can guess how many I worked on. Yep, the socks in progress and that’s it. And it wasn’t even six-ish hours of knitting because a couple of those hours were spent hiking! Still, Sonny & Tubbs are looking pretty good.

And the stripes are even matching up, how about that?? I don’t get that very often, and I don’t really care, but when it does happen without much effort on my part, I find it rather magical. I also find new yarn magical, especially new birthday yarn that is purple and pink and named after a fantastic 80s song!

This is Tainted Love from Rock and String Creations and it might have to be my next pair of socks, as soon as I’m done with Tubbs up there. I’m pretty lucky to have good friends in my life!

Sock It To Me Monday

Sep7

This could have been a Friday post just as easily, because today I’m sharing a finished pair of socks. I started these quite a few weeks ago, as soon as the yarn arrived, to be honest. But then they were lace socks and I got distracted by other yarns, so it wasn’t until last week that I really focused on them. Once I did, they knit up pretty quickly.

Here’s what I know now: lace socks are stretchy! I normally cast on 64 stitches for my socks. This pattern offered 60 or 72 stitches, and looking at other projects, it sounded like 60 would be too small, but I knew 72 would be too big. So I thought I’d be clever and just add one lace repeat, and cast on 66. It worked fine for the lace, but the heel flap gave me issues. The first time I did my usual 32, but that messed up the lace pattern plus things got weird at the toe when it was time to decrease and kitchener. So the second time I did 30, with made the lace behave nicely, and would have worked fine at the end if I’d moved the right stitches from one needle to the other.

I was trying to have equal amounts on the top and the bottom, you see, but my brain misbehaved and I ended up decreasing the first three times in the wrong place. I fixed it then and it’s not really noticeable when I wear them. But what is noticeable is that they’re loose — I should have done 60 stitches after all. So now you know: if you want to knit all lace socks, be sure to make the appropriate adjustments for size!

Or just do what I’ll do next time and keep the lace on the leg only! Pattern is Mercury Socks and the Ravelry link is here. The yarn is Show Me Yarn Bootheel in Stained Glass Menagerie, a special edition that came with a matching project bag. It’s no longer available but they have other pretty yarns on their Etsy site.

Oh and today is Duncan’s Gotcha Day! We’ve had him for three years now.

Today is a holiday in the States so I’ll be spending the rest of the day knitting and puttering around. Hope the rest of my US friends have a good holiday as well!

Oops a new shawl

Sep3

Okay, first things first: this is my first time trying the new WordPress editor and it’s weird. I mean, it’s fine, but it’s different and I’m a little slow trying to figure it all out. Hopefully we’ll get it all done right in the end.

Right, then, shawl? Yes, shawl. Yesterday afternoon my SIL texted me a photo of a shawl pattern she’d found that she was thinking of using with some of her amazing thrift-store yarn. And honestly, my first thought was that it would be perfect for the yarn I just got yesterday!

This is from Lyrical Knits and It’s done with slipped stitches, which I can totally manage, and it’s even free if you sign up for her newsletter. Since I’m trying to find new places to get patterns, I was more than happy to sign up for the newsletter. Follow this link to find links to the pattern on Rav or Payhip or instructions on getting the pattern for free.

Just what I needed, another project to add to my large pile of WIPs!

Sock It To Me Monday: Special Edition

Aug31

Today’s sock post is special because I’m sharing my feedback on the Saucon Sock yarn from Kraemer Yarns. I was given the chance to review it a couple of months ago, and given my love for sock knitting, I was eager to test a new kind of sock yarn.

Saucon Sock is a cotton/acrylic/nylon blend that is washable and lightweight. There are so many possibilities with this: socks for spring and early summer, easy-care socks for kids or non-knitters (or even knitters, honestly), and socks for people with wool sensitivities. I got to select two colors, so I chose Loganberry for me and Forrest for the boy. He’s a teenager with no time to be fussy or careful with socks, so I knew he’d let me see how the yarn holds up to … rougher handling, shall we say?

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He requested a mid-calf length sock, and I did a simple pattern with some ribbing. For myself, I did a basic Rose City Roller to see how they’d fare in a midwestern summer. When the skeins came, the yarn felt a little stiff at first, and I was unsure if I’d like it, but as I knit with it, it softened up and made the nicest fabric. It’s not soft like wool but it’s smooth, and even feels cool to the touch. There’s no squeakiness that you can sometimes feel with acrylic yarns; the cotton was definitely the dominant feel. It reminded me of knitting with linen, even down to a slight splittiness at times, but I really enjoyed knitting with it. I could knit outside in 80-degree heat and it didn’t bother me a bit.

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How did they wear? Great! The boy reported no sagging or sliding down the leg, even after wearing them all day, so it held its elasticity all day long. I wore mine all day (inside) on an 80-degree day and the socks didn’t stifle my feet at all. They felt very breathable. Again, not soft like wool, but crisp against the skin.

The final test was washing. I had the boy throw his in his laundry, like he washes everything else, so they went through a cotton/normal cycle with warm water along with jeans and t-shirts, then through a cotton/normal warm dryer cycle. Mine were soaked in Eucalan and laid flat to dry. His socks came out softer and cleaner (we have three dogs, and hand-washing doesn’t remove all that dog hair) but they did have some minor pilling. Overall, though, they looked good!

Mine were crisper and had a nice shape, due to being patted into shape and drying flat. I had no pilling, but I still had plenty of dog hair, which is one of my ongoing annoyances with handknit socks. I did use a lint roller on my socks before taking photos.

As you can see, mine look almost fresh off the needles, but I think there’s a happy medium with this yarn. I think I could easily do with machine washing them on a gentler cycle with soft items, and then laying them flat to dry. I could maybe pop them in the dryer for a few minutes at the end to soften them up and pull out a bit more dog hair. Honestly, I’m delighted to have a good easy-care/summer-weight sock yarn available, and hope to add more to my stash.

It’s very affordable at $14.50 per 100 gram/430 yard skein, and it comes in 20 solid colors. It would be easy to mix and match, and in fact, I have enough left over to do a pink pair with green cuffs/heels/toes. And something else really cool: it’s made in the USA! If you’re in the Pennsylvania area, you can even visit their mill.

A special thank you to Stitchcraft Marketing and the folks at Kraemer Yarns who sent me two skeins of Saucon Sock (retail $29). I received no other compensation for this review. All opinions and photos are my own.

Best Laid Plans

Aug18

Does anyone else lie in bed at night, and think about how they’re going to do better tomorrow? I’m always going to eat better, start exercising again, work on my half-written novel, walk the dog. I’m full of good intent at 10 pm. I just haven’t figured out how to make it last until the morning. If you do, let me know please?

My second sock got done last night. We started watching The Crown on Netflix recently and have become obsessed, so every night I have 2-3 episodes’ worth of good knitting time. Sadly, we’re on the second half of season three so soon I’ll be lost, waiting for the next season. I absolutely loved the first two seasons; season three is good but not quite as enthralling. Anyway, socks are done and now I just need to wear them and wash them.

img_8456And the most fun part is: I can work on other projects now! The temptation to cast on something new is great, but I also have another sock on the needles plus my Ripple Bralette that was put on hold. Not to mention the shawl that’s been forgotten for a few weeks. Still … new project! What should it be??

My darling dogs managed to tree a raccoon this morning. The tree is just beyond our fence, so the dumb thing could easily have climbed down and run away, but it sat up there for at least half an hour while my dogs whined and barked and ran around like idiots. It brought back strong memories of Where the Red Fern Grows and made me want to re-read to remember more about raccoon behavior. But then I remembered the end of the book and decided against it. I would have felt sorry for the raccoon, which looked maybe half-grown, except that I have had raccoons nest inside my house and it is a terrible thing, so if my dogs can keep it away from our house, more the better!

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Happy Tuesday, friends.

Sock It To Me Monday

Aug17

Three days. Everyone (who doesn’t knit) asks me how long it takes to knit a sock, and now I know: three days. Oh sure, you knitters know there are too many variables to give an honest answer to that, but three days sounds as good as anything else I’ve used before. I’ve been working on my latest socks exclusively for the last couple of weeks, and I’m happy to report that the first pair is done! These are for the boy, who is very slender but has long feet, and his homework is to wear them for a day and then wash them just as he washes all his other clothes. We’ll see how that turns out!

img_8431As for the purple pair, I’m midway through the foot of the second shortie sock and aim to be done by the end of the week. The yarn is Saucon Sock by Kraemer Yarns and I’ll be writing a review once the boy and I have both had a chance to wear and wash our socks. No photo of the purple sock today; instead I’ll show you what arrived in my mail yesterday. Behold, it is gorgeous!

img_8447Yes, again my Instagram hobby meant a new project bag entered my life. This is a hobo bag from Joji and Co. and I adore it all, from the soft suede to the hot pink color to the tiny holes for enamel pins on the front pocket. If you’re familiar with her bags, you know that they do periodic updates that sell out super fast — like within 10-15 minutes at times. That strategy totally feeds into my competitive nature and removes all common sense and willpower. Honestly, I’m okay with it at the moment. I mean, look at it! But now that I have one, I can totally resist more. At least for now. Until next time, anyway.

An Answer for Jack

Aug11

The vet called yesterday and confirmed that yes, Jack has hypothyroidism. It’s been causing lethargy and weight gain mostly, but also some flaky/scaly ears and a few instances of unsteady walking. The gastrointestinal issues that prompted me to take him to the vet aren’t a typical symptom but the vet said she couldn’t rule out the possibility that they were related. He’ll be on a twice-daily pill for the rest of his life, but it’s small and relatively inexpensive. He’s already had two doses and is perking up quite a bit. It makes me feel bad, wondering how long he’s been dealing with this without us noticing. I just thought he was getting lazy as he got older. It’s a relief to have a clear answer, even if it does mean having two dogs with chronic conditions!

The other good news is that I finished a sock yesterday. I’d already finished one green sock from my new sock yarn, but before I started the second I needed to make a quick purple sock. And it really was quick!

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Now I’m back to the green. And when I have one solid green pair and one solid purple pair, I want to do purple with green contrast bits!

Sock It To Me Monday

Aug10

Yesterday was my wedding anniversary: the husband and I have been married 23 years now! But I have to say, I like celebrating things better when we’re not in the midst of the pandemic. It was too hot and muggy to do anything outside, so we decided to mask up and try visiting an antique mall, one that’s big enough for people to be socially distanced inside. It was … partially successful. There was space, but there were also more people than I expected, and I felt like I was being crowded or rushed whenever they were behind me. There was a sign that masks were required, but we saw a ton of people wearing them under their noses. We saw one woman just wearing a plastic face shield. It wasn’t a relaxing environment for me, and I felt bad being tense and anxious when we were trying to celebrate. I did find something cool, though!

img_8394It’s a yarn swift!! I have an Amish-style swift that the husband made me years ago, but I had to get this one too. As soon as I figure out how to attach it to the table without damaging the wood, I’ll be testing it out. And I’ll be testing it with my new LolaBean sock yarn! (Yes, I realize this is a tenuous connection to Sock It To Me Monday, but I’m rolling with it.)

img_8391My obsessive Instagram habit paid off and I snagged one of the Jimmy the Model sets from LolaBean Yarn Co.! I just love watching their videos, and of course I love the yarn too. I’m trying to resist the urge to cast on. It’s hard.

I don’t know about you, but my weekend went way too fast. Maybe Monday will go fast too?

How do I do this again?

Jul31

After a three-month furlough, I went back to work this week. Not on-site, still work from home, thank goodness. But, guys, I forgot how to be the job-doing kind of person, and I am tired. Part of it is just catching up from being gone so long and trying to get back in the loop, and part of it is just getting my brain back in shape to add work in with all my other thoughts and worries and anxieties. And of course part of it is because I’m not sleeping well (see first two parts). So, it’s bittersweet but overall I am trying to focus on being grateful I have a job to come back to. And all of that means that this has been the extent of my knitting this week.

img_8323It’s a new sock, because my other sock is lace, and I needed a good, mindless sock. This is for a friend who recently moved away, and it will be her first pair of handknit socks. Maybe I will make her a convert and I can just start mailing her socks, because I am getting overrun with socks in my own sock drawer(s).

Happy Friday, friends! Here’s hoping for a refreshing weekend for all of us!

Friday Progress

Jul24

Nope, no finished objects for me this week. My monogamous knitting lately has been my Sea Swell Shawl, but it’s annoying me right now. It’s made up of left and right wedges, all done with short rows, and is designed as a fade with either three or five colors. But when you fade in a color on a left wedge (as happens once in the pattern), the new color starts on the wrong side. The other option is to start the new color in the middle of the row, but then when you get back to that part, the working yarn is a few stitches down because of the short row. Argh! This probably makes very little sense, but let me assure you, it bugs me just a little. I got the new color joined and did a few rows and now I’m bored with garter stitch short rows.

805165C5-8FA5-4047-A551-C57EB4F7E3E4_1_201_aSo yesterday I said to heck with monogamy and picked up my newest sock project. This is my Show Me Yarn Bootheel yarn in the Stained Glass Menagerie color, and it was so light and airy that I needed a lace pattern to go with it. I ended up picking the Mercury Socks pattern, which is free on Ravelry.

AD0523AB-4389-4DB8-83BE-D499069710F6_1_201_aIt’s a simple five-row lace pattern, so while I have to keep the pattern handy, it’s not taxing my brain too much. These will be perfect spring socks!

It’s weird, though, because the last two or three weeks, I’ve been doing things other than knitting. I did puzzles for a while, but got burned out on those I think. I’ve been reading a lot, and recently I’ve loved 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand, Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, and Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan. My last read was a stinker so hopefully the next one will get me back on track. I’m thinking Odd One Out by Nic Stone. I’ve also gotten back into LEGOs, which I never would have expected. I loved building the boy’s old Harry Potter LEGO sets a couple of months ago. Something about creating order from all the pieces, and the concentration required, was soothing and satisfying. But the sets he has left are Lord of the Rings or Star Wars, and they don’t call to me. So I ordered the Friends LEGO set, and I did one bag a day, which gave me six days of fun. And it hasn’t abated: I’ve already ordered my next set, a lunar landing module. These are crazy times, friends! Have you taken up any unexpected hobbies lately?