Tag Archive | sock knitting

Sock It To Me Monday

With much of my weekend spent lounging on a mattress with Duncan, I have a finished sock to share today! This is my Yarn Geek sock, with accents from leftovers.

The next one will have the accents reversed, just for fun! And to spice things up, I switched the rib pattern to 7×1. Wild, right?? This yarn isn’t silky soft, but it feels thick and durable, and I’m guessing they’ll wear really well. I cast on the second sock last night and I’m looking forward to having a new pair of socks…partly because all my handknit socks are dirty and I haven’t had a chance to wash them! I might have to make an exception and put them in the washer this time.

Yesterday I got a break from dog-sitting and took the boy to Half Price Books, where I found Amy Herzog’s Ultimate Sweater Book. It says it’s a guide for “adventurous knitters”, and I don’t think I’m there yet but I aspire to be! And after that, the husband was still happy to chill with Duncan, so I got time to wash and block my lastest FOs.

The break was lovely because now I’m back on the mattress. The husband and the girl are at work and the boy is hoping to go visit the girlfriend, so it’s all me today. Don’t worry, I’ll make the boy give me a break before he leaves! And I did manage to get Duncan in the crate this morning while I had breakfast, just to get him used to it. He looked sad and pathetic but was very calm and resigned. He didn’t whine or paw at the door or bark. So I’m cautiously optimistic, and my next step will be to put him in there and then go upstairs for a while and see how he does without a person around. Overall, managing his recovery has gone more smoothly than I was expecting. Here’s hoping it stays that way even after I have to go back to work!

Knitting with a Dog

Jan5

Today is Duncan’s second full day at home after his knee surgery, and he’s doing really well. He’s touching the leg to the ground at times, even putting some weight on it, which is better than I expected. The hardest part is going to be keeping him calm while everything heals. I think the first couple of weeks will be the most critical, and after that we can start slowly building in a little more activity. Actually, the hardest part are the nights. He hates the cone, not surprisingly, so we’ve been sitting with him 24/7 and keeping him on a leash to restrict movement and prevent him from licking the incision. The husband and I took turns sleeping downstairs with him the last two nights, and it’s not very restful, but at least Duncan gets some sleep that way. We can manage this for a couple of weeks, right?

ee16171f-a91d-467f-9e8d-cbab1b57c5ee Also not surprisingly, I’ve had some knitting time while sitting with Duncan, and I’ve finished two projects! The first is the Botta Stole, which I don’t think I’ve mentioned before. It’s basically a scarf, and I chose it for a special skein of Aspen, a blend of merino/silk/cashmere from Baah Yarns. Unfortunately, I didn’t pay attention to yardage and I didn’t have as much as the pattern called for, so mine will be a bit short. I’m hoping it will block out long enough to wear with a shawl pin or ring.

db945b6d-a29d-49dc-a58c-b2d2a6e55def That is a terrible photo and I do apologize, but my opportunities to take photos in good light are a bit limited right now. I promise I’ll get a better one after it’s done blocking! My other finished item is a sock, so I’ll save that for tomorrow’s post. And two finished items means I get to cast on two new items, so that’s what I’ll be doing while Duncan and I watch the Golden Globes tonight!

Sock It To Me Monday

Dec30

As I’m sure you are aware, Christmas is over. And this year at least, I’m one of those “okay it’s done let’s put away all the Christmas stuff!” people. That doesn’t bode well for Christmas socks that are still on the needles! I used what little self-discipline I had to at least finish the one in progress yesterday while binge-watching ER.

img_6453-1 Now I can put them in hibernation until late next year with a clean conscience, and I’ve freed up a set of sock needles, because you never know when you’ll need to cast on a new pair of socks!

Duncan is doing relatively well with his new restrictions. We have had to block off the couches and the stairs because he’s stubborn and thinks he’s fine, but he’s got a couple of comfy dog beds and has learned to lay down when we tell him to…sometimes. He still gets bored and restless every so often and decides it’s a fun time to wrestle with the other dogs or zoom around the dining room, so I’m hoping he’s easier to keep calm once he’s doped up after the surgery. Now we just need to get him used to pooping somewhere other than the backyard — it’s like potty-training a toddler again.

Happy Monday, friends!

Back to real life

Dec26

Almost. I don’t have to go back to work until Monday but all the holiday stuff is over and now it’s time to just relax for a few days. Which is good because I got A LOT of yarn that I want to play with! The husband had a good time picking out yarn and he chose VERY well. But I restrained myself to winding just two skeins and casting on two new projects, a shawl and a new pair of socks. The sock yarn is Yarn Geek and the shawl is Blissful Knits, both sellers on Etsy.

There is a teeny tiny part of me that is a bit overwhelmed by my yarn stash at the moment, feeling like I have reached SABLE (stash acquired beyond life expectancy) and it makes me want to cast on all the things, so I might cast on a new hat today too.

In other gifting news, I gifted two pairs of socks and one hat, and all three were well-received! And I think they might even all fit, how about that? Hope your handmade items were equally loved!

Sock It To Me Monday

Dec16

Yesterday I showed you my new sock yarn, now I’ll show you my new sock WIP! I actually started this one on Saturday when I had a bit of time in the car going from one shindig to another. It was so much fun that I kept knitting that night while I watched Gone With the Wind, a movie that changes for me each time I watch it. There are things about it that make me cringe now, but there are also parts that make me laugh and parts that break my heart. Anyway! Where was I? Oh yes, sock.

fullsizeoutput_2506 I have given up hope of having them done by Christmas but that’s okay. I’ll probably set them aside and then I can have a brand new pair of socks next year!

My Pennyroyal hat is done and blocked and even has the pompom sewn on, after a minor hiccup. This is one of those poms that has a snap, so you can switch out colors, and somehow I always sew the base on upside down. Spoiler: it doesn’t work that way. But it was easily remedied and I have a lovely hat for the boy’s girlfriend.

The other skein of yellow is on the needles to make a second hat, this one for the girl. She might end up with a matching yellow pompom, though, since I didn’t buy a fancy furry one for her!

Right on schedule

Dec14

Here it is, about a week after my last post! So apparently I have a schedule, it’s just not that frequent. But I have finished things to share today. First up are are my gift socks and they’re not exactly the same size but neither are feet, right? So we’re calling them a win. Yarn is Treasure Goddess Yarns Treasured Toes in Everglades Excursion and as nice as it was to knit with, I think the socks are going to feel awesome to wear. At least I hope so!

I also finally finished and blocked and photographed my Diamond Cowl. Once I committed to it, this was a fast and easy pattern, and I just love a diamond lace pattern. The yarn is Ella Rae Lace Merino Aran and it was quite scrumptious. It’s soft and smooth and has a lovely drape. I even had enough yarn to do an extra half-repeat of the lace pattern.

I have more FO’s, if you can believe it, but they’re still in the blocking/photography phases, and plus I don’t want to throw it all in at once. Maybe I’ll manage to get another post out sooner than a week!

I’m excited about knitting right now, which feels good. I’m even still excited about a couple of potential gifts I want to make, if I have time. We’re on track with gift shopping, though we haven’t started wrapping yet, and overall I’m feeling pretty good about Christmas being so close. But it’s also Saturday morning, when I’m happiest and most optimistic because the whole weekend is stretching before me, so we’ll see how I feel in a week or so. Happy weekend, friends!

That’s it, then

Dec1

When I came home from work Tuesday night, I thought having the next five days off sounded like such a long time. But now I’m in the last day and guess what, it was not that long! The dinners are done, the girl is gone, and I go back to work tomorrow, alas. But all is not lost because it is December, the Christmas decorations are up, the girl will be back for winter break in about two weeks, and I still have the rest of the day to knit! The temptation to start something new for me is strong, but I will probably be good and work on my gift socks. I’ve got two pairs in the works.

The left is Treasure Goddess sock yarn, and the right is Berroco Vintage worsted. It’s for a work gift exchange. They chose a sock theme and of course I had to make socks! But I don’t have time to make actual sock-weight socks, so I’m doing a nice cozy bed sock or house sock or whatever you want to call it. I finished the first one in about four days — I’d forgotten how quickly worsted weight socks knit up! The pattern for that one is Arinn and it’s a simple rib. I also finished a cowl but it’s a test knit so I’m going to save that one for when the pattern is live and I have some prettier photos.

Oh, but I also need to make another Santa hat! Guess I better get to knitting!

Keep the party going!

Nov18

You would think that I would get a lot done during a crafting weekend. I certainly thought I would. I packed six projects plus my journal plus my computer. Now, my portion of the “weekend” was only about 24 hours, and part of that was spent at the yarn store, so maybe I can justify why all I did was finish a sock and work a few inches on my purple Boxy. But the upside is that I had so much yarn energy built up that I came home and cast on three new projects!

You can probably tell that the top two are new socks. The bottom one will be a cactus, which I’m making for my work white elephant gift exchange. It will get a flower pot and everything.

I also snuggled with dogs a lot yesterday. Jack was offended that he was not invited to my getaway. I told him maybe next time.

Happy Monday, friends. Hope it’s a good one. At least as good as Monday can be.

Knitting for the holidays

Nov11

Are you doing a lot of gift knitting this year? I’ve done some in the past but this year I’ve got a whopping ONE knit gift planned, and I’m just fine with that. I needed someone new to make socks for — the girl and I both have a ton, I’m not convinced the husband wears them, and the boy only likes boring solid dark colors — and I have a nephew who loves handknit socks. Perfect! The only downside is that he’s growing up and his feet are discouragingly large, but when you do a simple pattern, it goes pretty quickly.

Pattern is my favorite Vanilla Latte socks. The yarn is some self-striping Patons I picked up at Joann, and while it’s not the softest, it should make warm and durable socks. Now let’s just hope they fit!

Finished Faery Socks

Sep8

After casting on so many new things last weekend, this weekend I was good and finished one of my older WIPs. I had a second sock that was mid-foot, so I pulled it out during the women’s tennis final last night and sped through to the toe, then finished the toe this morning. I’m delighted to have a pair of new socks for the fall weather that is sure to be coming soon!

fullsizeoutput_2348 You might notice that they don’t match exactly. I made extra-long green cuffs (a full 2″) and when I got to the heel of the second sock, I was afraid I wouldn’t have enough of the green left for both the heel and toe. I wanted a green toe more than I wanted a green heel, so that’s what I did and since Perfectionist Bonny and Knitter Bonny apparently live in two different worlds, I don’t care a bit. I ended up with 2.5 grams of the green left over; I wonder if that would have been enough after all?

I don’t usually wash my socks before wearing them, but I think I should for these. If you look closely at the needles, especially that bottom one, you’ll see a slight dark green tinge. I’m wondering if I’ll end up with green feet if I don’t get some of that excess dye out!

Pattern: Vanilla Latte Socks (modified slightly)

Yarn: Apothefaery Fabrications Middle of the Road Sock, color