Socks Again!

 Back in May, we were going for a drive to check out the property of a well known artist . I needed some road trip knitting, so I quickly grabbed some sock yarn I've had a long time. I tried to keep the ball band intact, but can't find it now. Maybe JaWoll. 

I started off with Judy's magic cast on  and worked the foot in stockinette stitch. For the heel, I did the Fleegle heel  in ribbing and as I was incorporating the top of the foot, I gradually started adding more stitches to the rib, so it wraps around the leg.  

Then once I had encorporated all the stitches into the rib, I kept going for the leg until it felt long enough.

Very basic socks, which I really didn't need LOL. I don't wear wool socks much anymore as I work so much now and they don't fit in my sneakers and my clogs...I do still wear them but they feel so insecure compared to sneakers and I don't want another sprained ankle! I meant to take them on my vacation last week but forgot. I didn't really need them though. I'm sure I'll enjoy them this weekend. And, it's 66gr out of my bin (from a 100 gr ball so now what do I do with the extra 34 grams?). And it really doesn't matter since my wonderful daughter stopped by a yard sale by Topsy Farms

when she dropped down to Kingston for a weekend to check on her house. She picked up 3 skeins of aran yarn. Her boyfriend is hoping for some mittens. This is 150gr of yarn (450gr), though I don't have to add the cost. I also picked up a 340gr ball of Handicrafter cotton for our vacation, to make dishcloths. I bought it from Wal-Mart and I don't remember the price....about $12 plus tax....so $13.56.

Yarn In: 150gr + 790gr = 940gr

Yarn Out:  66gr + 620gr = 686gr

Difference:  254gr more IN than out

Costs: $13.56 +$15.22 = $28.78/270 days = $0.11/day

Where Did These Come From?

What a crazy first half of the year. Starting work as a substitute teacher (supply teacher, or occasional teacher are the terms in Ontario) right before Christmas really changed my life! And then I got sick in mid-February and had to take a pause. I spent a lot of time sitting on the couch, knitting. After the first few days, it was mainly an energy thing, as well as the brutal laryngitis. Finally got my energy back in mid-March and then got sick again on April 1 (Easter Weekend). That was a doozy. High fever, chills, couldn't sleep, then the sore throat, and then the cough. I couldn't even knit. It was so bad. Luckily, this time, my energy came back much quicker (but the cough stayed around for a few more weeks).

Somehow, in all that was going on, I managed to finish two pairs of socks. Just plain and simple.  The first pair I started mid-January and finished in early April. I think the yarn is Austermann Step Duett.
I did another "tomato wedge" heel. One seems to have an extra couple rows above the heel, or in the top wedge. They're very soft. The foot feels a smidge long, but it's okay. My notes say I used 75gr, but what am I going to do with the left over 25gr? Save it for mending. Fine, I'll count these as 75gr.

The second pair, I needed a new sock project quickly. I grabbed this yarn from my bin. I bought it from "The Heritage Shop" in Bancroft, a few years ago. There was a receipt in the bag, it was 2 balls Confetti sock yarn, $4.79 each. Total, $11.02. There are two taxes listed, so this person bought it before the HST. There was a printed pattern for kids and adult socks. No details on the pattern as to the creator. I thought there was a store price sticker on the label, but I can't find it at this moment. There was already one sock almost completely knit, but of course, not my size. These ones knit up really quickly. These ones are not as soft, though better after being washed. I went back to the Fleegle heel and they fit really well.

I certainly don't need green, blue and red socks. But I don't have much enthusiasm to knit.  What is there left for me to knit? I've barely worn the Campfire Cardigan. I have several other sweaters and cardigans I made that I don't wear. I even seem to have lost the teal crochet cardigan I made last summer. I have lots of mittens and scarves, and a few hats. Lots of shawls I use more as scarves in the winter. There's no babies in the family. None expected. My "In Stock" bin is overflowing. I sewed some slippers at New Years, so I'm not ready for my usual felted slippers. I just don't have the motivation :( I have started a little baby jacket, it was to be a simple knit, but of course, I had to go and change it up. I see new patterns, but think--none of my yarns are suitable, I don't want to buy more, will I really use the item, etc. I have A LOT of yarn. I had bought a lot when I started making newborn props. But that has fizzled. I can just "knit it up" but I can't seem to sell anything I knit unless it's a custom order, and usually then, I don't have the right yarn. Yeah, it's a vicious cycle!

As usual, I got bored as I went up the leg. So I switched to a P1, K7 pattern. Then, after a bit, it became P1, K3,P1,K3. Then when I knew I was getting close to the finish line, I went for the traditional P1, K1 ribbing.  Oh, upon closer examination, that's not what I did. That's what I should have done.  A nice gradual way to give some shape and stretchiness to the top of the sock. Again, not sure of how much I used, but lets go with another 75gr. Okay, fine. I'll go weigh them. Lovely. Only 73gr. 

Yarn In:     100gr
Yarn Out:      75gr + 73gr +318gr= 466gr
Balance:     366gr OUT
Costs:     $2.53/185days= $0.014/day

Coral Socks

This is another project that didn't get blogged about when it should have. I think because it took soooo long to finish and I showed them on Instagram, I just never got around to posting here.
I started these socks probably August 2015. What? Really?

They were my purse knitting for a long time. Feb 12, 2017, I was still working on them. I had decided to knit them long and not waste any of the yarn. By Feb 21 2017, apparently I was done.

I can't find the photo anywhere on my phone or computer so I had to screenshot it from Instagram. And I'm too lazy to crop it. You get what you pay for, here.

I was able to find the ball band. It's Regia "Snowflake Color" in 07712. This line, is of course, discontinued. I can also tell you that I bought it from Soper Creek Yarn, and that the original price was $15.95 and the clearance price was $12.00. I can even tell you I bought it December 12 2013. What great fun the blog is, when things work! LOL. I will also tell you, since you can't see it, that I did a Fleegle Heel . I've used it quite a few times (well, it seems like a lot of times, but it could just be because I'm a slow sock knitter), and find it fits my thick feet quite well.  I started the ribbing right after the ankles and as I worked upwards, I gradually increased the needle size. I did not intend for the socks to match. They don't actually match precisely, one toe has more orange, but they're very close.

I included this yarn total in my totals for 2017. I have not bought much sock yarn--if any--since then, and I'm not very excited about the sock yarns left in my bin. Not enough of some, some are colours I really wouldn't wear but were "a good deal", etc. I really like the two other hanks of yarn I bought at the same time, but they're only 175m each, so not enough for socks. I'm currently knitting a pair of socks and the colours really make me yawn. Yeah, sure, sometimes we need more subtle socks, but they still don't do it for me. Sock yarn is one thing I see myself buying this year.

Do Over Socks

Please don't ask me how long it takes to knit a pair of socks.  This pair is a great example of how it's never a simple answer.  I believe I started them early in the summer of 2014, when we were going to a Movie in the Park and wanted something simple to work on (in the dark).  Isn't that how it always starts?  "Something simple".  "Brainless".  Yeah, right.  Actually, these started before that...back in early 2010 I started to learn to use my ribber.   I made some socks, and tried this yarn--because I knew it needed to be knit rather plainly.  I think I made one sock, and it came out too big.  Rob said it fit him, but I knew he'd never wear them.  I always thought I'd get back to them but decided to HK this instead.

 Every part of these socks, except the leg, got a "do over" at least once.  Starting with the toes, two at a time on one circular, I wasn't happy with the increasing.  I don't remember now exactly what was the issue, but I think I got creative and did some increases in the middle of the toes...and it created a pucker I didn't like.  And maybe the stitch gauge wasn't good.  I don't know.

 I also quickly got bored with the "simple knitting".  I played around a bit, and decided to purl the stitches that landed on top of red stitches in the row below.  This instantly made them inappropriate for in the dark knitting, of course.

 I opted to do the increases over the top of the foot--since that's where my foot increases.  But I wasn't following any mathematical logic, or a pattern...and I ended up not liking what I did, so I ripped back and did it over.

 I wanted the Fleegle heel, but I didn't have the pattern with me at the time so I winged it.  I winged it wrongly, at least twice, before I got back to having the pattern.  Then I tried adding some short rows at the top of the heel, at the back since I have deep heels and normally do this.  It created a weird bubble, so I ripped back and did it over.

 I was concerned they were a little tight around the ankle, so I did some ribbing at the back.  I have shapely calves, so I added some increasing at either side of the ribbing, incorporating it into the ribbing.  This actually seemed to work out, and there was no do over and the legs just flew!

I would have liked to have had no yarn left over, but they were getting tall, so I ended with some simple ribbing around the top.  No fancy cast off, just did it "in pattern".
I haven't worn them yet, but they seemed to be functional.  A little odd looking,, both colour wise and pattern wise...but I don't care!  There is a time and place for odd socks.

I ended with a 2.5mm needle, though I don't know what I started with.  Not sure of the yarn!

Yarn In:  2876gr
Yarn Out:  75gr + 4522gr = 4447gr
Balance:  1571gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $139.55/229 days = $0.61/day

Of course, I did buy a bit more yarn for the custom Christmas stockings I'm doing, and I got started on them.  And another pair of simple socks...so far, I've only redone the toes once! :)

Resurrected

Remember these Cookie A. socks I had worked so hard on?

Okay, searching for that picture and post....July 2011!  These sat in time-out for a long time!! 

I decided after I finished my last pair of socks that I would finally get these done.  I worked two at a time on one circular, and finally finished sometime this summer.  It wasn't a warm summer and I got to wear them right away.  Soooo soft!  Excuse the fact that these pictures are of worn, un-cleaned socks LOL.  If I waited any longer they might not get their pictures taken!

 For these ones, I did a few increases on the top of the foot, and the main increases on the bottom.  I don't follow any formula or pattern.  My foot is quite wide with a high arch.  I just keep trying it on and make sure it fits. 

 Then I do the "Fleegle" heel, which is just short rowing across the back of the heel, like doing a top down heel, and the short row turning at the bottom.  But in this case, you do the short rowing up as far as needed to get rid of all the extra stitches.

 Or, until it's back to the width you need.  However, I find for me, that doesn't make the heel section come up high enough.  So, I do a few more short rows at the top of the heel.  You can see in the picture above that I missed knitting one of the wraps.  The short row section at the top really doesn't bulge out like that--that one light section, combined with wind and shadows makes an optical illusion!

For the cuff, I did a picot cast off.  After trying a few other options.  I wanted something that would look good folded down too.  The simple picot cast off won.

These are so soft.  Not at all tight--even socks that don't feel snug tend to leave marks on my legs, but these ones are good.  The heel fits really well.  I'm so glad I got them finished and into my sock rotation!!

Yarn In:    7320gr
Yarn Out: 80gr + 3055gr = 3135gr
Balance: 4185gr more brought IN than out
Cost:  $385.45/274 days = $1.41/day

Finally!

I have been working on two pairs of socks for a looong time.  This pair, I don't know when I started, but according to this blog, the last pair of socks I finished was April 2012, so it was probably after that.  Last summer/fall I lost the second ball of yarn, and with my TracyKM Designs doing well, I just left the socks to simmer. It was located in mid-January, and I got going on the socks again, as my portable project.  I finally got them finished yesterday.  Though I wonder if they're too short.  I'm just done.  I've had this yarn forever (probably 12 years), and it's time they were done.

 They were started toe up, two at a time on one circular, and I had trouble getting the size right so I increased a few stitches on the last row.  Then I remembered I wanted some ribbing, but I had already done the toe.  I opted to start ribbing in the middle and gradually build it outwards.  However, between the extra stitches, and the switch to rib, the toe looked rather odd.  Bulbous.  I knew the ribbing would stretch out fine, but the toe seemed bulky.  But I kept  going.  Did a Fleegle heel, carrying an inch width's of ribbing up the back from the bottom of the heel.  As I went up the leg I increased at the back and incorporated the stitches into ribbing.

I decided when they were done to re-do the toe.  Snipped a thread, and ripped out a row, then back a couple rows to get to the wonky bit at the start of the rib.  It was annoying, since I had to thread the yarn through the stitches that had been increased.  Then I realized...I had to make sure to centre the ribbing again.  I thought I had it, but I guess this one was a little off.  It took me a couple tries to get the toes just right (they kept ending up too short), but they fit much better now.  And, no surprise, I have yarn left over from the toes--in fact, one whole toe's worth!  I actually have 29gr left from the pair, and since the balls were 45gr, the pair is only 61gr (I was hoping for closer to 100gr).  Which means, I could possibly make a pair of anklets?  I'll have to see how this yarn feels once it's washed.  It's a little stringy now.  The yarn is Lang "JaWoll Color" superwash.  It comes with a 5gr tube of matching reinforcement thread, which I didn't use.

Yarn In: 4903gr
Yarn Out: 61gr + 1751gr = 1812gr
Balance:  3091 gr more brought IN than out
Cost:  $284.07/168 days = $1.69/day

Hello?

I know I get about 10-15 views for my "average" pages, and quite a few more for pages that I have patterns (especially linked to Ravelry).  But I have 59 "followers".  Why do people follow a blog if they don't read it?  One-sixth of my "followers" read my blog regularly.  I haven't had a comment since Oct 29.  My most "commeted" month was January, and my post with the most comments?  NO knitting/crocheting content at all :(  All total, last year, I had 24 comments (including at least 4 that had nothing to do with knitting).

I write because I like to share knowledge and writing is an easy way to do that.  It's a great record of what I've created, and hopefully inspires others.

But when you have very little confirmation that others find what you have to say to be of any value...it's really hard to keep going.  At least, with my facebook page, I can get thumbs up (although pictures don't often show up in newsfeeds, and again, the number of real fans is quite low compared to how many likes you have).  Maybe I need one of those little bars under the posts, where readers can click "like/funny/agree/learned something" etc.  How do I do that?

On a positive note, my husband found a missing ball of sock yarn!  I thought it might be in a suitcase pocket, but I guess I checked the wrong suitcase.  I was so down about losing it since I had already started the socks, toe up, and was at the heels when I ran out.

Slow Knitting

Have you heard about "slow sewing" and "slow cooking"....taking your time to enjoy the entire process, not rushing through just to get the end result.  I think knitting lends itself to this idea because it is difficult to take short cuts, when each stitch forms a crucial part of the fabric.  Yes, there are some shortcuts--in the round, vs. seamed, 3 needle bind off vs grafting, etc.  But you generally don't knit for instant gratification.

Even when your intent is to knit some mindless socks, there's still quite a bit of process to go through.

Add in my inability to do mindless because I find it boring...LOL.

I really wanted to use Noro Sock yarn, back when it first came out and it was the greatest thing since sliced bread (I'm reading "Wheat Belly" right now...OMG...never eating wheat again!). 

When I went to the Kitchener-Waterloo Knitter's Fair in September 2008, one of my goals was to get some.  The cheapest place I found it had poor colour selection.  Oh well, I opted for the bright "Clown Vomit" colourway.  It sat in my stash for three years.  I thought maybe I'd knit up simple socks on the machine, since the yarn didn't feel very soft to touch, and obviously, any pattern details would be lost.  Then, the two colour Noro scarves were so popular, and one of my friends was knitting sock versions, using a solid colour and a Noro.  I thought I might do that--almost mindless, but not quite.  However, Noro has a unique texture and I didn't like pairing it with plain sock yarn.  I thought about something using short rows.  I saw some patterns for socks where they are knit in a sort of spiral, joining as you go.  Cool, but I wondered how that would feel on the foot, and then you have the small ridges going around your foot where you join as you go around.  I found an interesting pattern and adapted it as I already had the toes started, before deciding on a pattern.

I started with using just one end of the yarn, but found  the colour changes were too long so the diamond pattern wasn't showing.  Switched to using both ends of the yarn, and that created some issues (maybe not if I was actually following the real pattern).  In short, I wasn't very careful with being accurate between changing each diamond, until I got around the heel.  Also, there comes a point when you don't like the two colours you've been given, or one colour seems to be taking forever to change to another colour.  And then, since you can't knit both at the same time on one circular, to start the second one meant breaking the yarn and the colour progression.  Next time, weigh out and wind two balls, and use two circulars.

See how you can't see the diamond on the top foot, near the toe?

I dont' like short row heels, but that would obviously be the best design for this sock.  To get more length in the back of the heel, I add some extra short rows.  The first sock turned out fine, but I had a nagging feeling something was off with the second one.  By the time I got around to trying it on (I was working on it at swimming lessons, didn't want to scare anyone), I was long past the heel, which was not in the right place, and had a weird double chin effect.

 Progress on these socks was slow.  I started in early October, not sure when, but I do know I was working on them on October 11 when Hugh was hit by a car.  They went on the cruise.  They got tossed aside so I could finish Sheldon, and Duck Feet, and the shawl, etc.  Finally, I just got to it and got them done.

 I thought I'd finish up all the yarn, but they were getting high and I was down to small butterflies of yarn from where I had given up on certain colour combinations (hate the orange and turquoise, so when it came up again at the end of the second sock I just chopped it out).

 Yeah, I know.  Using the self timer helped the self-sock portraits only slightly.

Even though I had figured out the pattern by the time I did the heels, I made a mistake on nearly every diamond of the legs.  You have to carry one of the yarns up while working on the other diamond, but you don't have to carry that yarn up for the other diamonds.  You do have to work around to the other side of the sock before starting the next diamond.  I would either forget to carry the yarn up, meaning I'd have to cut and weave ends in, or, almost every time, forget to work around to the other side and started the next diamond where I'd finished the last.  I blame this on the dim lighting in places! 

They were very lumpy, scratchy, quite ugly before they were washed.  Sock blockers would have helped even more, but just a wash and a pat made a big difference.  One of the toes is too square, but I'm okay with it.  They are a great addition to my "happy day" sock pile, and great in my skates.  I doubt I'll use this yarn again, unless I find a colour I really like.  I do like the pattern though.  I would recommend it for a yarn with short colour changes, and not the fake fair isle yarn either.  If the changes are short enough,  you could just use one end.  If you're dyeing yarn, I'd knit up a swatch, figure out the length of each diamond, and dye it accordingly.  Fun!

Some Good, Some Bad

It's been one of those weeks.  I'm working on wool longies on the Singer 155.  Nothing is going smoothly.

I love the Kroy Stretch socks that I've made.  Unfortunately, one got a hole!  It's not like a worn out spot, but a real hole.  I'm sure I can mend it, but because they're mostly not wool, it might be tricky to make sure it stays.  Don't let it stop you from trying this yarn if you haven't yet.

Remember a few weeks ago I mentioned a machine knitting workshop in next May?  The date has been changed to the week before since that weekend was Mother's Day.  Mmmm....seemed like a nice way to spend Mother's Day to me!  However, this works even better for me since my concert band is doing a concert on the May 12/13 weekend.  They also want to move it up a week, but I hope that doesn't happen.  I already had to miss a concert in October, I'd feel really, really bad missing another one, LOL.

I washed two shawls this week, and blocked them out.  The first one, the Moonlight Sonata shawl seemed a little bigger, and "crisper" (not as in, feeling crunchy, but just more defined).  I see that the first time, I couldn't stretch the sides enough to get the bottom edge stretched out.  I didn't remember that as I blocked it this time, and I seemed to have no trouble with the bottom edge.  I'm loving it even more now.  The other shawl was the Sweet Lily Shawl.  I don't know how I did it, but I got it stretched out more this time, and now the points reach my elbows!  It's still not a wrap it around shawl, but I'm much happier now.  Although, it doesn't seem as warm, LOL.  I don't think of dark brown as a summer colour, but I think the lightness of this shawl would make it ideal in the summer for those air conditioned places, and also for blocking the sun on bare shoulders.

The magic of wool.

Warm Feet

I suffer from chronic cold feet.  Even in the summer, my feet get cold easily. 
Although I've been showing a lot of sewing lately (and have more to show!), I did do some knitting over the summer.  Like always, I needed a small project for sitting at the park, and a bigger project for on the couch at night.  I have been working on "Omelet" (a large shawl)

from Knitty.com for a while now, but my "purse project" went much quicker.  I showed the pictures of the socks from the day we went to the beach and it was cold.  It wasn't too long after that that they were finished.  However, the weather turned warm and I didn't feel like putting them on to take pictures.  Finally, on Oct 12, I was tired of seeing them on my end table, and I had the camera out taking pictures of my son's sprained ankle, so I snapped a few of the socks.  Always a challenge!

 Kroy Stripes, Mulberry.  I didn't want yarn left over, so these ended up tall, which is a nice change!

 Toe up, two at a time on one circular needle.  The eyelets going outwards on the top of the foot are the heel increases.  The eyelets going up the middle are paired with decreases.

 Once I got to the heel turning, I had to pair the outer eyelets with decreases too, so that they moved inwards and met at the middle.  In this picture above, you can see the little short row wedge (speckled grey)  at the top of the dark pink heel.  This just gave me a little extra heel depth to get over my high instep.
Part way up the leg, I realized I forgot to do the heel in a slip stitched pattern.  And that I wanted ribbing at some point.  I looked at my stitch dictionaries and found a diamond pattern to mimic the foot, and repeated it around the calf.  In the top half of the diamonds, I gradually shifted to ribbing.  It's a little hard to see in the striped yarn, but this would be a good way to add ribbing if you don't want a sudden start.

Not much else to say about them.  I did a little extra calf shaping at the top since they were getting tall, however, I did it a little late and a little sharply, so the top edge is actually a little loose.  They still stay up though.  I think they might become my new skating socks.

You Know It's Cold....

This summer I did a lot of small trips with the kids.  We found new splash pads in town, and went out of town a few times too.  One trip was to the awesome Cobourg Beach.  Due to trying to fit in so many activities before the girls went to daycamp, we were down to two possible days to go to this beach.  I choose the earlier of the two days as I really thought we'd be doing something else on the other day, which was also a Friday so I wasn't keen to head out on the highway on a Friday.

The morning of the beach trip started out nice, but by the time we headed out, big grey clouds had formed, and we actually had a few drops of rain on the way.  The beach was not crowded at all, but man! was the water ever cold, despite being a shallow and usually warm, beach.

After I forced the kids out of the water, I had to warm up a little.  Wool socks in progress was my only option!

 Two at a time, toe up, magic loop on KnitPicks nickel circulars.  Yarn is Patons Kroy Stripes in Mulberry, that I had picked up on clearance from Michaels'.  Instead of the Fleegle heel, or a short row heel, I did a similar idea to the last pair, except that I made the increases as yarn overs.  Then, I also included vertical rows of yarn over/dec in the center.  I did a heel flap (sort of like the Fleegle heel) and brought the yarn overs (now paired with a dec) back towards the middle.  Then, when they met at the middle, I went down a needle size and did a band of lace diamonds.  I went down the needle size because the number of sts needed, based on the stitch repeat, was exactly what I had, and eyelet patterns tend to be larger gauge.  When I got to the mid-point of the diamonds, I started ribbing between each diamond.  I'll show more pictures later when I'm done.  I thought I might do some diamonds with travelling stitches, but I can't be bothered now, LOL.

It did clear up and warm up slightly....as we were near the end of our visit!

Look! I Knit!

Yes, I'm still knitting.  Not too much, but some.  Early in the spring I was working on a baby sweater...that needs to be measured, compared to "standard" baby sizes, and then the armholes worked/sleeves.  I'm still chugging along on "Omelet" from Knitty.com.  Those pink socks that ran out of yarn got put in time out.  But back on the Father's Day weekend in June, I started another pair of socks using Kroy Stretch.  We were headed to my parents for the weekend, so I wanted something "brainless".  I think I still had to re-start one of the socks, LOL.  I worked on these whenever we went anywhere that I could fit them in my purse.  I made them two at a time, toe up, on Magic Loop.  I wanted to make the increases similar to the "Spring Thaw" socks by Cat Bordhi that I made in 2009.  I had to search the house for the magazine (found it in the bathroom, LOL), and scanned the pattern (again) just as we were leaving for Indiana (see my other blog, LOL).  However, It was too much of a headache to try to fit it into my sock, without ribbing, etc.  I decided to work the increases on the top of the foot, like some of her other socks.  As I increased, I started the new stitches in ribbing. 

Add caption

While we were in Indiana, I needed to turn the heel.  I'm not sure why I didn't pay attention to the pattern...I think I misplaced it while there.  I worked most of both heels, tried them on and decided the foot wasn't quite long enough.  Re-did the heels and realized I had done the short rows in the wrong direction---I had done my standard, top down heel turn.  I had done this also on the first attempt, but didn't notice it when I tried them on.  Ripped again.  Third time worked out, although I had to add some short rows in the back of the heel flap, as usual for me.

Then I realized I hadn't done the heel flap in my usual slip stitch pattern.  However, I was not going to rip it again.  I figured since these are mostly cotton, they'll get worn mostly in the summer with sandals or slippers.  I continued to increase the ribbing stitches around the sock as I worked upwards, matched with a decrease on each side as I wasn't needing to increase the number of stitches now.  Previously, I had done this on other socks by working the edges like cables, but it didn't give the effect I had wanted.  This way was much better.

 I continued up the socks until I ran out of the first ball of yarn.  I had two balls, but I decided not to break into the second ball.  The socks are on the verge of too short, but for summer I can fold them down, and in winter they'll be okay.  I'd rather have another whole ball to make another pair (a gift?), than have 1/2 a ball of an odd yarn in my stash.  Like I have of the purpley-orange-green pair I made in this yarn.

Although I liked how I had done the transitions from ribbing to stockinette, I didn't like my increases.  I couldn't decide while knitting what type to use, and then hoped that the holeyness would look "intentional".  Uh, no, it didn't.  So I just simply sewed shut the holes formed by the increases.  Easy peasy.  I had these ones done in under two months (I think I finished them the first week in August--6 weeks), which is pretty sad considering there was a lot of road trips (12 hours to Indiana).  However, I was also working on the shawl and doing a lot of sewing.

I immediately cast on for another pair of socks  and incredibly, they are almost finished  (mmm...I wonder if I had cast on before I finished the green ones, or if there was a much longer delay between finishing the green ones and their photo shoot?)!  I don't know how.  Concerts in the Park, Movie in the Park, kids playing in the park....guess that all adds up even better than 2 hours on the couch, LOL.

Something Knitted

Apparently, on March 28, I started a pair of "Stricken" socks, by Cookie A.  I needed a small portable project for working on while the kids had their various extracurricular activities.  Parts of the pattern are easy, esp. once you get into the pattern, but then other portions are not so mindless.  There were numerous little issues with these, but mostly due to not paying attention.  I did find it annoying that the instructions for the different symbols were not on the same page as the chart/symbol key.  So I'd have to flip the pages, then find my place back in the chart...and several of the moves are very similar, but some have a twist and some don't, etc.  (I was doing two at a time on magic loop).

I was using a boo-boo bin yarn from Sweet Sheep that I got from the last time I went to the Kitchener-Waterloo Knitter's Fair (2008!).  The yardage on the tag said 360yd, I think.  But I was having some doubts as I got near the heels.  I don't know if it was the cables or what, but it became clear I wasn't getting full socks from this ball.  I thought some sandal socks would be fine, but indeed, they were still too short!

I am having a REALLY hard time getting the pictures to move where I want them.  This "What you see is what you get" format is crap....and once it's posted, it never looks like it does in this window anyway...right down to a different font!

 I thought maybe gloves/fingerless mitts might be an option, and from the front, they looked great. However, even taking out the heel, the leg is still too wide around my wrist. I loved how the leg pattern was brought down into the heel flap (although I did NOT love the change from working in the round to working back and forth and doing those cross overs!!!!!!!!!!).

I have no idea how this post is going to look.  LOL.  Sort of how I feel about these socks.....rip?  All the way, or back to mid-calve and try to pick the pattern back up and work decreases to fit, and then try to figure  thumb gusset increases into the pattern?  I have pink tipless gloves already; although I really felt diva-ish with elbow length "gloves" on, and could see that they would be nice on those days I'm wearing a t-shirt in the house and need arm warmth when I go out but don't want to wear a full sweater under my coat. 

Ideas?

Yes, I Still Hand Knit

I was wondering today, have I showed you any handknitting lately?  There was the dropped stitch in the black socks, but that's not new knitting.  I showed new yarn and needles.  I showed that I finally sewed buttons on a baby sweater and made a little hat for it.  I showed that I finished off some other baby items that were just needing minor work.  But it's been two months since I showed the "Fumbling Fleegle Socks" (and I think I finished them in February actually).  Wow.  What have I been doing?!

Before finishing all the baby stuff in February, I was having post-Christmas letdown, I think.  I had finished all the 'interesting' stuff, and all that was left was some uninteresting stuff to finish--like the baby items.  There were MANY projects I wanted to knit, but trying to find the right yarn for the right pattern was feeling overwhelming.  I was keeping busy with the new knitting machine, and then a big project on the LK150, but I knew I had to have handknitting too!  I started a pair of Cookie A. socks (Stricken Socks) but quickly realized I need the chart with me for awhile until I got into the rhythm.  Then it became portable, but fairly soon an even more complicated section started, relegating it to the couch project again.

I also started a baby sweater or dress.  I have a LOT of vintage patterns that all seem to take fingering/baby yarn (a few take DK).  I always think that maybe I'll knit up some, perhaps using DK or worsted, so they're a little bigger.  The yarn I wanted to use this time is a light worsted (what I used for the machine knit baby  cocoon), and although I didn't want newborn size, it seemed every pattern I liked was already for a bigger size, which meant, when knit in worsted, would be quite large.  I finally picked one but after a few repeats of the pattern, I still was not getting into it, and I couldn't even tell if I had been knitting it right!  Ripped it back to the band, and picked an easy pattern from a stitch dictionary.  It's my "purse" project right now, although the ball of yarn and the size of the sweater does make it bulky, LOL.

And lastly, my other current project is Omelet, from the lasted knittty.com.  It was a total impulse cast on, although I had been wanting to knit a shawl for awhile.  I decided to use a cone of mossy green yarn, quite fine.  I had previously wound (is the past tense of "wind" ("why-nd", not "win-d") wound...the same as "woo-nd, or injury?  English is so weird sometimes!)  off a ball, so I didn't have to knit directly from the cone, although I was looking forward to having only 4 ends to weave in.  However....twice now (still using the small ball), I've found the yarn broken :(   It's not a soft, squishy yarn (although I think it will wash up a bit better than it is now).  I felt that this pattern, due to the small motif, needed a solid colour yarn, and my choices were fairly limited--some off white, some black, grey, and some other coned yarns.  However, I sort of wish I had chosen a thicker yarn as I think this is going to take forever!  Luckily, although it's not a fuzzy, squishy, warm, wool, the colour seems more autunmy than summery, LOL.  I still want another summer shawl, so I might do it on a machine, LOL.  The shawl started as a couch project, but now that it's grown, I can do the right side rows on the couch, and then take it with me and do the purl row while Meg has her swimming  lesson/skating lesson, etc.

I'd still like some brainless sock knitting, however, I always feel that brainless socks can be so easilly knit on the machine that there's no point doing them by hand, LOL.  I have more of the Kroy Stretch, and I'm not sure how the machine would handle it, so maybe I should cast on for another pair of socks with that.  I really like the first pair I did.  Any other ideas?

Catch Up

Okay.  I was having trouble with my other blog, and not being able to get blank lines between paragraphs.  I did what it said in the help section, but that didn't seem to work.  So I changed something, and now the whole editing is weird.  I know I've complained about being able to load only 5 pictures at a time, but what I normally did was get typing while the pictures were loading.  Can't do that now.  And you don't choose at that time the picture alignment, and now I'm not sure how to get them in the center but the text to go to both edges....it's really weird typing!  Anyone out there can help me?

So, I made these socks just over a year ago, and when I put them on them on the other day, I thought something at the toe looked odd.  I looked closer, and it appears I missed a stitch when I grafted the toe!

I turned 40 in January, and like every other year, my "grandma" sent me a cheque.  I usually get myself something knitting related, like a magazine subscription.  This year, since I was turning 40, I wanted something a little more indulgent, significant, noteworthy.  I had seen the Namaste circular needle holder at www.knitpicks.com and thought about that, but it won't hold ALL my needles.  Then I saw this little box.  It's actually "eggplant".  I had been using a chocolate bar tin, but the hinge broke so the lid often got jammed down and then it got stuck and Rob had to pry it open.  So that sealed it, LOL, and I had to order the Namaste notions box.

 I thought it looked longer in the catalogue, and now I need to find a shorter "emergency" crochet hook.  There is a divider inside, which is great, and the shell is magnetized inside...however, I'm finding that much of my stuff isn't sticking.

 It's a nice little box, not embarrassing to take out of my bag in public, LOL.  I started with a little tiny plastic box years ago, so it's nice to upgrade.  And since I was ordering, I had to make it worth my while, and treated myself to some new Chroma fingering yarn.  I wish there was a bit more yardage though.  It's marketed as a sock yarn (don't think I'll use it as such, because of the single ply nature), so 396yd is plenty for that use though.

 And my main present from Knitpicks.  New needles!  I've been frustrated with the large number of circular needles I have (over 60), but so many of them I don't like, or are too short, too stiff, etc.  A while ago when I started stocking up on 16" circulars, but got annoyed at still needing dpn when I'd get to the tip of the hat or mitt.  Then I learned about Magic Loop and suddenly I needed long, flexible needles.  I often bought needles at thrift shops, but I couldn't find smaller needles (under 4mm) in the local stores, without having to buy the real expensive needles.  I created a spreadsheet of all my needles, including their size, length, and attributes.  I asked in my online knitting group which of the Knitpicks Options tips they liked (I could afford the nickle or the acrylic only).  But then I wanted to start some socks, and I didn't have needles long enough to do two at once, magic loop.  Even doing one sock magic loop was tough, as the tips were way too long.  I decided to get the individual needles in the smallest sizes, with a 100cm cable.  I'll wait to get the Options set the next time it comes on sale (or if I'm somewhere, somewhat local, that is now carrying the needles).

 The six needle above pretty much replace all the needles below, about 16 pairs.  I had planned to give some away, although it's still hard to part with them.  I think I'll wait awhile and see if I do ever need any of these...I know it's good to have maybe two pairs of each size.  So far, I'm really like the KnitPicks.  The cables really are flexible, however, I have gotten some small kinks in one (not annoying like with the other needles).  I'm also finding the join on one of them to catch on the stitches.  I would also like if they had etched the sizes into the tips.  But I do like them!



Fumbling Fleegle Socks

Way back sometime in the spring (of 2010), I needed a no-brainer knitting project for during the movies (my brother works for AMC and gave me an "almost unlimited" free pass!). On my Ravelry page, I say I started them in May. That could be true. LOL. It's Patons Stretch Socks, and I had two balls. I knitted them toe up, at the same time, because I was sure I would run out--the balls look really small! Well, I finally stopped knitting at about mid-calf cause I was tired of brainless knitting, LOL. There was still quite a bit left it seemed. One ball is not enough, but two is too much.To add a bit of interest, I started a ribbed pattern, mid-foot, starting with the center stitches and gradually converting the stitches to ribbing. I'm not fond of a short row heel (even with my use of additional short rows at the top of the heel to get it deep enough), so I thought I'd try the "Fleegle Heel". At first, it seemed like it was going to be too much brain power involved. In fact, I think I did re-do the first one cause I had started it a bit too early. Oh, on Ravelry, I said I had to add a few short rows at the top of the heel as well! But in the end, it is a great, easy, heel-flap style heel! (I don't know how much the stretch yarn helped though). I'd use it again, for sure. I've tried a couple other toe up heel flap heels, and didn't much care for them, but this one works!
As I went up the leg, I did a nice decrease at the center back. Then, as it seemed my yarn wasn't going to ever run out, I increased those stitches back in at the top of my calf.

According to Ravelry, I finished these on Dec. 22, just in time for the cold weather (LOL, they're only 39% wool). And just in time for the two more balls I got for Christmas, LOL. I really like the yarn. Before washing, it felt a little stringy, but now, they are quite soft, springy, not too warm, not too cold, not too thick (Cascade Fixation is too thick for me). I hope they keep this yarn around, but bring out some solids, or near solids.