Tag Archives: socks

November 12, 2016 · 2:24 PM

A Tale of Two Socks

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Over the last couple of months, I have finished knitting two socks. As you can see from the photo above, they are not from the same pair. Some knitters like to knit their socks two at a time to avoid this exact scenario. I prefer knitting them one at a time because it makes the project more portable.

The sock on the left is Strie, Top Down, from the book Sock Architecture. This is my first sock with a flap and gusset heel and the fit is perfect!

The sock on the right is Cableship by Michelle Hunter. It was her October mystery knit-a-long, which is why I started it before finishing the Strie pair. I can’t resist a Michelle Hunter knit-a-long!

I can’t decide which pair of socks to finish first.

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On one hand, the Strie sock fits perfectly, and I love the colors, so I can’t wait to start wearing the finished pair. But the sock is kind of boring to knit.

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On the other hand, Cableship is more interesting to knit. Also, it has a couple of fit issues, and I am anxious to try a few things on the second sock to see if I can improve the fit.

I guess will just have to wait and see which one I am inspired to pick up and knit!

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Filed under Home Improvement

Tagged as Cableship, knitting, socks, Strie

April 20, 2016 · 4:56 AM

Finding Time

Like any hobby or extracurricular activity, finding time for my knitting can be a challenge.

I often enjoy knitting in the evening after my daughter has gone to bed. I can visit with my husband and watch TV. But ever since my daughter started middle school we have to get up really early, which means I have to go to bed early, which means I have less time to knit. And sometimes I’m just too tired to knit at all!

One of my favorite times to knit is in the waiting room while my daughter has her therapy and social group appointments. A nice chunk of time all to myself! Sometimes I wonder if the other parents think I am obsessed with my knitting (I’m not) since I’m always doing it. They might not realize it’s one of the few times I have to knit without The Other Things I Should Be Doing hanging over me.

Regardless of where, I manage to find enough time in bits and pieces to actually make progress on some projects.

When do you find time for your hobbies?

Here are the projects I am working on right now:

Ambiguous Cowl:

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This is the January 2016 Progressive Needles knit-a-long. I’m way behind because I focused my energy in January and February on my Downton Abbey Shawl.

The project is a long cowl. It’s a two-color project using the Fair Isle technique. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love Michelle Hunter’s knit-a-longs because I always learn so much!

This one is going to take me a LONG time to finish. It takes a lot of concentration and is not a good project to take with me to my daughter’s appointments. I manage to get just a few rounds done each week. At this rate, I will be lucky if I have this done in time to wear next winter.

Edith’s Secret:

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I have been working on this shawl for over a year now, but I’m on the home stretch. It is the Downton Abbey KAL project from LAST year. I really love the way it’s turning out, and am focusing most of my knitting time getting this one finished. Hopefully I will be sharing the finished project soon!

Strie Socks:

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As you can see from the photo, I am not very far along on this pair of socks! This project is kind of on the back burner right now. I started it as a nice, easy project to work on during my recent trip to Seattle. Also, I like having a started project waiting in the wings. I am sure these socks will see more action once my Edith’s Secret is finished.

Closure

It’s been a long time since I shared any knitting projects with you. I have several finished items that I’ve been meaning to show you for months. I need closure!

Since there are quite a few projects, I will just give a quick comment and a photo for each one. I will link to my Ravelry projects if you would like additional information about the yarn I used or how to get the pattern. Often I will have additional photos and details there as well.

Oh, and before you get all impressed about the number of projects I have completed, this represents about a year’s worth of knitting. Some people knit this much in a month or two. Still, I am pleased with my output.

Yellow Hat

My daughter does not generally like wearing hats, but she does love the color yellow, so I thought, “Why not a yellow hat?”. She will wear this hat when it’s cold out (success!), but it tends to fall down into her eyes a bit. That means it has growing room!

Ravelry Project: Yellow Hat

Namesake Cowl

This was a fun mystery knit-a-long hosted by Michelle Hunter (Knit Purl Hunter). I like the way the cowl drapes and I wore it quite a bit this past winter. I had hoped to get a picture of me wearing it, but it hasn’t happened yet, so here you go:

Ravelry Project: Namesake Cowl

Fingerless Mitts

I had a small amount of yarn leftover from my Corkscrew Hat, so I made some matching fingerless mitts. I had to modify the pattern a bit so I wouldn’t run out of yarn. I am happy with the finished product, and like wearing these when it’s chilly, but not cold.

Ravelry Project: Roku Mitts

Endgame Scarf

Yet another mystery knit-a-long project put on by Knit Purl Hunter. I do love her KALs! This one went to my sister for her birthday! I had fun making the cables, and I loved working with the yarn. I might need to make one of these for myself.

Ravelry Project: Endgame Scarf

Kaika Socks

My very first pair of socks! And another Knit Purl Hunter KAL. I just finished these a week or so ago so I haven’t had a chance to wear them yet, but I am very pleased with the fit for a first pair of socks.

Ravelry Project: Kaika Socks

There you go! I have a few projects in the works that I hope to share with you soon. One of them is probably another Knit Purl Hunter KAL (I just can’t resist them! And doing a KAL helps me actually finish projects. And the mystery part is so fun!)

Have a great week!

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Filed under Knitting

Tagged as cowl, fo, hat, knitting, scarf, socks

January 28, 2015 · 7:00 AM

WIP Wednesday: Shades of Gray

It’s been a while since I have shared my knitting projects with you, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been knitting! I have an unprecedented (for me, anyway) three projects going right now. Each of the projects is very different, except for one similarity: they all use yarn in some shade of gray.

Project 1 – Socks

First up is a project I actually started over a year ago. It’s my first pair of socks, Focus Pocus by Michelle Hunter. As I said, I started this one a year ago, but I didn’t like how tight the cast-on edge was. It was hard to get over my heel, and it felt a little tight on my calf. So I ripped it out. I put off starting over for several months. The cast-on and knitting of the first few rows is quite fiddly and stressful and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

I finally braced myself and cast on in November. To address the too-tight edge I used a larger needle for the cast on, then switched back to the smaller needle when I began knitting. This not only helped with the tight edge, but it seemed to make the whole process go a little easier. Now that I am well into the knitting, I am enjoying this project!

I am about halfway through the cuffs of these socks. This project is temporarily on hold while I work on some other projects, but I am looking forward to getting back to it.

Project 2 – A Mystery!

I can’t really tell you much about this next project, because it is super secret! I can show you a picture of the yarn I am using:

And here is a little detail photo:

I will tell you more about this project when I finish it in a few weeks!

Project 3 – Downton Abbey

Lastly, I couldn’t resist participating in the Downton Abbey Mystery Knit-a-long hosted by Jimmy Beans Wool again this year. I have had so much fun with it the last two years, and so far this year is no exception. As always, Jimmy Beans created a specially-dyed yarn just for this project. While I liked the pink and brown colors of the special yarn, I couldn’t see myself getting much use out of a shawl in those colors, so I went rogue and chose these pretty colors:

The yarn is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock. The color on the left is called “Fifty Skeins of Gray – Anastasia” and the color on the right is “Kerfuffle”. I love these two colors together!

I am running a few weeks behind the knit-a-long (the group is on clue #4 and I am on clue #2). Here is a picture of my shawl at the end of the first clue:

I can’t wait to see how this one turns out!

What projects are you working on?

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Filed under Knitting

Tagged as Downton Abbey KAL, KAL, knitting, shawl, socks, WIP Wednesday

May 7, 2014 · 5:16 PM

Work-in-Progress Wednesday: First Edition

Welcome to Work-in-Progress (WIP) Wednesday! I hope to be updating you every (well, most) Wednesday on various projects I am working on.

Knitting

I have been knitting pretty continuously the last few months. I recently finished a project that I will be sharing with you soon. I just need to take some pictures (hopefully on Sunday as I will be wearing the finished item for Mother’s Day). I pretty much immediately started a new project that I am quite excited about.

Meet Larch:

It’s a little shawlette or scarflet that I have been wanting to make for over a year. I had just been waiting for the right yarn to find me. The yarn and I finally crossed paths recently and I love it!

Back in January I started my first pair of socks as part of a mystery knit-a-long. This is how far I got:

The project stalled for a couple of reasons:

1) I started a Downton Abbey KAL at the same time I started these socks. I discovered that I am a one-project-at-a-time girl, and this is the one that didn’t get worked on.

2) After trying on my socks, I found that the cast-on edge is quite tight around my ankle, which discouraged me. I think I will start over soon with a looser cast-on. I want the finished socks to be comfortable to wear!

Home Improvement

In other news, I finally started a home improvement project I have been talking about for years! I am turning our spare bedroom into a freshly painted and revamped bedroom for my daughter.

I have ripped out molding, removed doors, pulled down shelving, and sanded down flaws. By the end of this project, I will have learned how to paint a room (can you believe this is my first time?), install baseboards and molding around a door, install a closet organizer, and all sorts of mundane home improvement tasks.

Now I would like to get some opinions about the closet. I have already removed the original, boring shelf and bar and will replace them with some sort of closet organizing system (I haven’t designed it yet). I am trying to decide what to do about the doors.

These are the original sliding doors that were installed when the house was built. They are in good condition and function well. I have some fun ideas about how I can spruce them up and make them more interesting. But, I am also considering replacing them with bi-fold type doors. Any opinions? Pros and cons for the different types of doors? I would love to hear what you think!

Whew! I have a lot going on! What projects are you working on?

6 Comments

Filed under Home Improvement, Knitting

Tagged as DIY, knitting, Larch, shawl, socks, WIP Wednesday