Tag Archive | Show Me Yarn

Stupid socks

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!

FO Friday: Socks

Sep18

My recent shawl-knitting obsession fell by the wayside the last week or so. I couldn’t resist casting on a new sock with some of my birthday yarn, and this sock practically flew off my needles! I mean, this is obviously a progress shot, but it’s done now. The yarn is Bootheel sock from Show Me Yarn in the color Sonny & Tubbs.

Once I finished the first one, I decided I needed to be good and finish a lingering pair of gift socks. I was partway through the leg of the second sock so I knew it wouldn’t take too long. But here’s the problem with making gift socks: they’re not as addictive if they’re not for me! Especially if I’m doing colors that don’t speak to me. So it’s possible that sock-knitting is primarily a selfish thing for me. Anyway, I finished the second sock and now have a pair ready to mail.

The eagle-eyed among you might notice the socks don’t match exactly. The main yarn is from a 50g skein of Happy Feet. I had two skeins but weighed the first after making the first sock and thought I’d have enough for the second. Well, not quite. I ran out with about 3/4″ left of the foot to knit. That wasn’t enough to make me want to add in the second skein and two more ends to weave in, so I just started the green early. The recipient won’t care a bit, I don’t think. It’s funny how I’m so much a perfectionist in every other area of my life, but in my knitting, it’s all just “Eh, that works!” Maybe that’s just one more benefit that knitting brings to my life!

Happy Friday, friends.

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!

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_a So 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_a It’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?

Happy Mail

Jun26

Here’s the thing: when you only knit on one project, and it’s a bigger project, that means you don’t have interesting progress to report on your blog all the time. So it is with me and my Olive Pink shawl. I am on the last section, with just the border after that, and I know I will finish this weekend. But rather than share another photo of that, instead I’ll share my happy mail from yesterday.

This beautiful set, called Stained Glass Menagerie, is from Show Me Yarn, a Missouri dyer whose yarn I love. They’ve done these collaborations with Willow Island before, with matching yarn and bag, and I just couldn’t resist this one. I needed those bright colors in my life.

It can be done

Apr5

Two pairs of socks CAN be made from one skein of sock yarn! Sure, it depends on the skein and yardage and gauge and all that jazz, so let me amend to: I can make two pairs of socks from one skein of Show Me Yarn Bootheel sock yarn, and they’re both for me! I finished my Baby Girl Power Socks last night with a tiny bit of yarn left over.

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I kind of forgot that I did a longer gray toe on the first sock, trying to conserve yarn, so the second sock has the normal amount of gray, starting with the decreases. I would have had enough rainbow yarn on the first sock but oh well, these are for me and I don’t mind a bit that they don’t match exactly.

The yarns for the blanket and the review haven’t arrived yet, so I’m at three WIPs and it feels comfortable. I’m not at work today, taking the mother to an appointment instead, so I’ll have time to make some progress on my test knit socks. Until then, I have time to cuddle with my pups.

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Grace is happy.

Baby Girl Power Sock

Mar14

Now that I’ve typed that out it looks weird because it’s not really for a baby. It’s just a shortie sock. But I like the sound of it! I finished the socks I’d been working on (I need to get good photos before I share them) so of course I had to cast on a new sock immediately, right? I visited my stash and grabbed the pretty half skein of Show Me Yarn in Girl Power. I didn’t want it to go to waste, so my goal is to get two complete shortie socks from it. I probably ~~should~~ could have weighed the yarn first and then again after the first sock but…well, I’m living on the edge with this project. And really, since I got two full socks out of the first half, I feel pretty confident.

I’m adding gray cuffs and toes to hedge my bets, and I love how the stripes worked up after the heel on the first one! It’s a perfect continuation of the stripe pattern. Now I just hope I can get something equally delightful in the second sock. How many of you try to get a second pair of socks out of one skein of sock yarn?

Two socks done

Jan10

I had a few hours of waiting time today, and the best thing to do during waiting time is knit. And since I had two socks almost done, finishing them seemed perfect. So I have a complete 80s sock:

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This yarn is Show Me Yarn Bootheel in the color Hit Me With Your Best Shot.

And I have a complete Guildhall Yard sock:

+ldyup7rrvwqnbnj4hjpva Isn’t that lace panel stunning? I swear, I’m so in awe of knitting designers who can create such pretty things! This one is from Jem and Under the Olive Tree Knits, and it was a test knit so I’ll have to let you know when it’s live.

Now, do I cast on second socks, or work on one of my other WIPs?? Hm….

And then there were three

Jan6

People, that is. The girl left yesterday to go back to college. With her here for a whole month, we’d gotten used to her being around again, so it was like pulling off a bandaid. But not as bad as the first time around, and it helps that she was happy to be going back. I’m glad she loves college; I just wish paying for it was simpler/easier/less stressful.

Anyway, we kept ourselves busy after she left by taking down the Christmas tree and having a movie night, and I of course had some knitting therapy, and now there are three…socks on my needles! I’ve still got the second Gossip sock to make, and I’ve been cruising along on my Show Me Yarn 80s sock. Just a foot left on that one!

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Plus I cast on a third sock, this one a test knit for Under the Olive Tree Knits. It’s called Guildhall Yard and features a beautiful lace pattern down the front of the leg, but I’ve only gotten the cuff done so far. I’m hoping to reach the lace today.

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Her sample was done in a solid color, and when I went to my sock yarn stash to choose my yarn, I discovered that apparently I don’t really like solid color socks; my stash is full of striped and variegated yarns. But I had two balls of this KnitPicks Stroll in Razzleberry. I’d ordered it to have on hand for accent colors in heels and toes, but it will be lovely in this lace pattern. I need to have the first sock done by the end of the month, so it will take priority over the other socks for now.

We’re having unseasonably warm weather right now, so the pups and I might spend some time outside again today!

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Happy Sunday, friends!

Knitting in the new year

Jan3

When I sat down to think about my knitting for the new year, I had two options. 1: I could focus on my five current WIPs, which include one review project with a deadline. Or 2: I could cast on new project(s)! I really thought I was going to focus on the current ones, that adding more to the mix would just be overwhelming. But then I was sitting in my craft room and I started playing with my pretty yarn and before I knew it, I was winding four skeins of yarn. By the end of the day on January 1st, I had three new projects on my needles. (The fourth is a paid pattern so I’m waiting until payday to start that one.)

First up is a basic ribbed beanie which will get a beautiful furry purple pompom. But I’ve got nine inches of ribbing to knit, so this will be a good carry-around project. Yarn is Jasper from Primrose Yarn Co. in the color Mischief Managed, and the pattern is Standing Rock Hat.

Then I had to cast on a sock with my amazing 80s yarn from Show Me Yarn, called Hit Me With Your Best Shot. OMG I love this so much, and I love that the stripes are different widths and that they change so often. This is crazy addictive. I kind of made up a pattern, with a 1×1 ribbed cuff and a 3×1 ribbed leg.

Finally, this is my favorite of the three, even as much as I love the new sock. This yarn is Manos del Uruguay Alegria (I told you I love their yarn) and the color is Locura Fluo. It is STUNNING. I chose a lacy shawl pattern called Wave and it’s also very addictive. It alternates between lace and garter stripes so it hasn’t gotten boring yet.

Now, it will be interesting to see if/when I can make myself go back to my old WIPs! Who else has cast on new projects already?