Tag Archive | self striping yarn

Nothing finished here!

Dec18

The only thing that’s finished on this Friday is the work week. My shopping’s not done, my wrapping’s not done, and definitely none of my current knitting projects are done. But I’ve had fun working on them this week!

I’m telling you, I can’t stop working on that scrap blanket. These squares are all of my tiny 2-gram balls and now I’ll move on to the 3-gram. The squares are just so quick, and it’s satisfying to see the “blanket” grow. The sock is my Christmas Silly String yarn from BaH Yarns and it’s just about ready for a heel, whenever I can pull myself away from my blanket squares. I also took a quick trip to my LYS because they had these new pins and I was in the area, thanks to weekly testing at work. What else could I do but pop in and get a Santa and a Tree?? Okay and yes, I also got a skein of yarn (not pictured) because the boy said he’d take another hat.

Two of my long-lost packages have arrived, though the one from Etsy was slightly damaged because she didn’t pack it well enough. She wasn’t pleased with the review I left, but hey, I wasn’t pleased with the service so it all balances out. I’m still missing two Christmas gifts but I’m crossing my fingers that they get here in time.

Maybe I’ll have a finished sock to show you in time for Sock it To Me Monday!

Sock It To Me Monday

Dec14

Let’s start the week off on a happy note, shall we? I got the most delightful gift box from my boss yesterday, since we can’t do a team holiday party. It had homemade cookies and two little deluxe chocolates and tea bags and a baby succulent and even little bottles of booze! I can make a pomegranate martini now! And it was in the best box with a cloth-covered lid and gold-tone handles. I’m not sure what will go in that box yet, but you know it will get used for something fun.

I also did some fun knitting yesterday, and started my new Christmas sock yarn. Originally I was going to do red cuffs/heels/toes, but I had no red sock yarn. (Sent it all to Sarah, oops!) Had no black. Had no white. Digging through my bin of sock yarn scraps gave me a fun idea though: multiple colors!

It kind of reminds me of multi-colored Christmas lights. I found six balls of solid includes, including one tiny ball of red, enough to use for one accent, so each accent section will be a different color. I’m pretty sure these will knit up fast!

Happy Monday, friends.

FO Friday: Christmas Socks

Dec4

There has not been a lot of knitting in my world the last week or so. I’m overdue for an eye exam and eye strain hit me fast and hard. Looking at screens and reading for work gives me a headache and makes my eyeballs tired, so by the end of the day, I just want to chill with my eyes closed. Still, I have managed to finish my second Christmas sock.

These are the Uneek sock kit, with two “matching” cakes of yarn. I’d call them mostly matching; the second one started at a slightly different spot but I managed to make them match pretty well. The yarn is a little bit splitty, but not annoyingly so, and the socks are soft and thick and squishy. Now I’ve moved on to the gray socks for the boy. My Oxbow will probably wait until I have my new glasses. I go this afternoon so hopefully within a week or so I’ll be good to go.

Happy Friday, friends.

Catching Up

Nov8

It’s been quite a week, friends. For all of us, I think. My brain was full enough that I haven’t had the energy or motivation to blog, but I’m hoping things will start to change now — in a lot of ways! I’m sure my views are no secret, but I’ll just say that I felt an enormous sense of relief yesterday, and I felt my body relax in a way it hadn’t in about four years, I think.

Yep, I wore ALL the things to vote. It was quick and simple at my location, and everyone was polite and friendly. I finished my Christmas socks while watching A LOT of election coverage, and started a new pair. Jack sat on my knitting bag at one point, bending my needle, but thankfully the husband was able to bend it back without damage.

The sock is my Tainted Love birthday yarn from Sarah and gosh, isn’t it a great mix of colors?? I love it! And yesterday afternoon I felt so good that I decided to work on something besides a plain sock, and pulled out a lace cowl.

Though I want to finish some WIPs, I have to admit that my brain is wandering a bit and making me want to cast on some new things. I should just remind myself that now is the time to finish strong for the year, and meet my goal of using at least as many skeins from my stash as I added to it. Surprisingly, even with all the stress-shopping of this year, I’m on track to at least break even. It would be good to get a win out of 2020 … I mean, another win!

Sock It To Me Monday

Nov2

I’ll tell you what, election anxiety is socking it to me today! I made the mistake of scrolling through Facebook and it’s just not worth it right now. Unfortunately my job involves social media so I can’t unplug completely, but I’m doing my best to limit exposure. And the best way to do that is by knitting!

We’ve been bingeing Designated Survivor the last week or so, so my sock got plenty of love. We also recently watched The Queen’s Gambit and it was fantastic. Highly recommend! The black is the hat the boy asked me to make for him; he even thanked me when we decided on yarn and pattern, bless his heart! It will probably be my voting knitting, since it’s just 1×1 rib for several inches, and it will go in my new bag, which just arrived this morning.

Happy Monday, friends. Wishing you peace today!

Happy Halloween

Oct31

Though I am not a big Halloween fan, I know many of you are, so I wish you all a fun and safe celebration tonight. We’ll be home with the porch light off, acting like it’s any other Saturday night. We never get trick-or-treaters even in good years, so it’s not like we’re depriving anyone anyway. And after this maybe I can start slowly bringing out the Christmas decorations. I don’t know why I want them out already; I never do this early. But it is my favorite holiday, so maybe I’m seeking the joy it’s brought me in years past, since this year is such a dumpster fire. I’m avoiding social media as much as possible and just kind of holding my breath to get past the election. Though I know it won’t be OVER that night, it still seems like a big hurdle I’m ready to get past.

In the vein of wanting Christmas spirit, and also feeling unambitious, this has been my knitting this week.

It’s good, a happy sock. I’m not excited about any of my WIPs right now, but I can’t tell if that’s their fault, or my own lack of mojo. I’m feeling the itch to do a bulky cowl, and the boy asked for a simple ribbed beanie, so those might be started soon.

Oh, and Jack is still in the cone when he’s unsupervised. The hot spot was a bad one and is very slow to heal, so while it’s getting better, I’m being very cautious. Thankfully, he is a good and patient boy and when it’s time to put on the cone, he sits and tilts his head back so we can slide it on.

Happy Saturday — hope all is well (enough) in your world!

Saturday Socks

Oct24

I finished a pair of socks last night! But I’m not sharing those today; I’m saving that for Monday. But the best thing about finishing a pair of socks? Casting on a new pair!

I’m itching to get into the Christmas spirit so I’m casting on a new Christmas sock now. Maybe I can get two pairs done before December!

I also need to start socks for my son, but he wants a long leg, about mid-calf. I’ve never done any that long and am wondering if I need to do any shaping to make sure they fit will. Anybody have any tips?

Stupid socks

Sep29

I got too confident, that’s what happened. I was knitting socks with my fabulous Sonny & Tubbs yarn from Show Me Yarn and when I started the second sock, the stripes were lining up perfectly. I was so happy. But then I hit the heel and all hell broke loose, though I didn’t realize it at the time. Two days ago, I was working the foot and wanted to see how close to the toe I was. Well, that was a disappointment because I discovered I’d made the legs different lengths, but it wasn’t a big deal.

But wait, the heel turns were different colors too? Oh yep, I started the heel flap too soon on the second sock. Fine, I didn’t need matching stripes on my socks.

Last night I finished the socks. As I always do, I line them up against each other to see how closely they match. One foot was significantly bigger than the other. WHAT the heck. Friends, it’s a good thing I don’t need matching socks.

Yes, that’s right: on the second sock, I carried the ribbing down the foot, instead of doing a stockinette foot like the first sock. ARGH.

At least they fit. And besides, Sonny and Tubbs didn’t match either!

Sock It To Me Monday

Jul13

Another pair of Christmas in July socks got finished this weekend. It helped that I only needed to make one sock, the mate to the one knit last December, and it helped that it was all stockinette so I could just knit around and around. Saturday I knit while reading Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid on my iPad — it was super good and I finished it all in one day. Yesterday I knit while watching Alice in Wonderland (the Johnny Depp version). Allergies are kicking my butt at the moment, so familiar movies and easy knitting are my jam.

Look at these socks: they match! Like, the stripes match! And that was pure luck, because I never try to do that. I didn’t even look at the yarn when I was starting the second sock; I just picked up the end and cast on. I’m quite tickled with them. And now they’ll get put away for a few months and I’ll forget about them until around November and be tickled with them all over again.

This means I have zero socks on my needles. I’m working on my emPower People cowl for now, and when that’s done my goal is to finish my Stargazer Shawl, but I don’t know if I can be sock-free that long. We’ll see.

And here’s something happy for Monday: remember the fingerless gloves that I finished in a hurry for the nephew? He seemed delighted with them and I was told the next day that he said “I love my gloves so much and I’m so happy she knitted them for me.” And he wore them to church despite the hot and humid Midwestern summer weather. See what I mean? Totally knitworthy!

FO Friday: Socks

Jul10

I have two Finished Objects to share today — technically four, actually — because I finished two pairs of socks today!

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One the left are Vanilla Latte socks in Orange Jellyfish Dream yarn, color Intergalactic Planetary. And the right are obviously my Christmas in July socks, also in the Vanilla Latte pattern, with West Yorkshire Spinners’ Fairy Lights. Both pairs are slightly mis-matched in size but not enough to bother me, certainly not right now. But now I’m out of socks to knit and it’s also only July 10 so I cast on the second sock of a pair of Christmas socks I started last December. These are all stockinette so it should be a speedy project.

While knitting, I’ve recently binged Pick of the Litter, Little Voice, and Lenox Hill. And I’ve read and loved The Authenticity Project, Friends & Strangers, and The Two Lives of Lydia Bird. What are you streaming lately that you love?