Tag Archive | sock knitting

Sock It To Me Monday

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.

Sock It To Me Monday

Nov23

Saturday morning, I told my husband I wasn’t doing any chores over the weekend, except for the usual ordering of groceries and one load of my own laundry. He agreed and even picked up the grocery order for me. I did end up bathing Jack, but otherwise it meant that I had a lot of good knitting time, and now I have two new socks on the needles.

The red and green is the Uneek sock kit. The picture on the box shows a knee-length sock but I’m not about that life, so I just made them a little taller than my usual, about mid-calf. I’m also kind of trying something new: since they’re going to hit a fuller part of my calf, I cast on a few extra stitches, and then decreased once I was past the cuff. I probably should have put it on waste yarn to try on before I started the heel but oh well, I’ll do that before I finish them at least.

The gray sock is for the boy, with some tweedy gray superwash from KnitPicks. He also wants tall socks so I did the same cast on for him, and I’ll make sure to have him try it on soon, because for him, the leg will be like 10 1/2 inches. EEK. This will be a slow knit, but thankfully he doesn’t mind.

AND! I *might* have figured out the cause of Jack’s itchy skin issues! Back when we were trying to figure out what was wrong with him and they did the bloodwork etc, I started mixing in a bit of canned dog food with the kibble to try to entice him to eat. He loved most of them, so that was great. Last week I cut out the canned food to see if we could just do kibble. He’d give me a sad look but usually ate it. Then Friday, I added the wet food to both meals, and Saturday morning there was a wet spot on by his tail, where a previous hot spot had been. AHA! So he got a Benadryl and a bath and now he is fluffy and clean and happy. And I am happy too.

Happy Monday, friends.

Sock It To Me, Monday!

Nov9

There’s an exclamation point there because this was a GOOD Monday! On a whim yesterday, Sarah and I decided to do another socially distant knitting date at our favorite rest stop in Iowa. So instead of working, I was hanging out with a cool friend and knitting and hiking!

I got my Tainted Love sock to the heel flap, and the black ribbed hat to the point of decreases, so I’m calling that a productive knitting session. And the project bag was a gift from Sarah because it has the state bird of Missouri on it, which is apparently a bluebird and which I’m sure I knew at some point but had forgotten. It just makes me like the bag even more than I did already!

This might have been our last knitting date for a while, because the cold weather hits tomorrow. Glad we got another one in this fall! Hope your Monday was as good as mine!

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!

Sock It To Me Monday

Oct26

I’m wearing new socks today, freshly finished socks! I love that first wearing of new socks, don’t you? These are my Jimmy the Model socks from LolaBean Yarn Co.

I totally meant to use the purple/pink on the heel too, but I forgot on the first sock and I wanted them to match. I’m hoping I can eke out a pair of shortie socks with purple toes.

I was able to get some medicine for Jack this morning, thank goodness. He’s still in the cone and not too happy, but at least he’s not fighting it. I’m grateful for my vet for not making me drag him in again! Tonight, I have to try to get him in the bathtub for a bath. Have I mentioned he’s 85 pounds? Should be interesting!

Also, we’re getting our first snow of the season and I’m strangely happy about it! Maybe it’s because I know I don’t have to drive to work in it, and maybe because I’m eager for the Christmas season.

Happy Monday, friends.

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?

Sock It To Me Monday

Oct12

Good tennis over the weekend meant I had good sock-knitting time, since I needed something low-maintenance. I’m maybe a third of the way through the foot of my first LolaBean Jimmy the Model sock.

I’m a little disappointed in myself, though, because I forgot to use the purple for the heel! I guess this pair will just have contrast cuffs and toes, and I won’t have to worry about running out of purple yarn.

I also blocked two finished projects this weekend, plus all three dogs got baths, which wore me out. Jack loves water and had a great time. Grace and Duncan hated it, so that was more of an adventure. But now they all smell nice and feel so soft and silky. This morning Grace found a frog in our back yard, but fortunately she thought it was weird enough that she didn’t eat it. I nudged it under the fence into the neighbor’s yard and rinsed out her mouth, since some frogs can be toxic to dogs, and she seems to be just fine. These dogs sure keep my on my toes!

Happy Monday, friends.