New Year, New Finished Object

I started these socks right before Christmas. Well, you know how that goes - add hosting Christmas, while still unpacking from moving and well these socks took a month and 2 days to finish.

 Pattern: Plain Vanilla with Fish Kiss Heels
Yarn: Kollage Yarn Luscious
Yardage: 1 skein (used 2 and have abut 1/2 of each left)
Needles: US 1.5mm
Ravelry Page

I really liked this yarn. Since this is my first project using it, I'm curious as to how they will feel on my feet.

This was also my first project using both my Sock Rulers. You can find them here. I've been using one for months now, but for Christmas received another so now no more counting. I knit to the inch mark that works for me and VOILA!

Being that it is the start of a new year I want to think about the new technique I want to learn this year. I was thinking steeking, but not ready for THAT! It might be color work on a pair of socks. I would like to knit a pair that has different color toes, heels and tops. 

Progress and moving boxes?

I can't believe my last post was 3 weeks ago. I'd say time flies when you are having fun, but I don't call the last 3 weeks fun.

We were going to start an addition to our house this month, having completed all the requirements, then decided not to. Instead we made a bigger decision to sell our home and move.

For those of you that really know me, it was a rough (aka emotional) few days as we finalized this decision. However, now I'm in it whole hog!

In light of all this change I've turned to knitting, or shall I say purchasing with a side of knitting?

These are Poste Yarns from Simply Sock Yarn Company. I want to use the top two to learn another new technique this year, with turquoise toes, heels and cuffs. The middle is black - even though it shows navy. The bottom is navy and orange, my two favorite colors!

The Heartbreak Hotel socks are coming along. It takes a while on a 1.5 mm needle and 72 stitches around...oh yeah and packing up a house we've been in for nearly 20 years!

Turned Heel

Goal complete!

Thank you Daytona 500 for allowing me to sit and knit these heels, without feel guilty that I should be doing something else! (for the record it was laundry day and we did that during the commercials.)

The Fish Lips Kiss Heel may have just become my go to heel.

Knitting along with these stripes

It was a heavy travel week for me at work, so by the time I got home I was lucky to spend 15 minutes knitting then off for some shut eye.

I'm still making good progress though. I CO twelve increased to 72 and knitting on US 1.5mm.

This is what they looked like at the beginning of the week:

and tonight:

The goal for tomorrow is the Fish Lips Kiss Heel (or as I keep calling it the Fish Kiss Heel!).

Valentine Striped Socks

Well, you should have figured that if I finished one pair of socks I'd immediately start another pair.

Since Valentine's Day is at the end of this week let's bring on the appropriate colors:

Bright pink, purple with black. These are not my normal colors, but when Alison from Simply Sock Yarn Company show this on her blog, I had to nab one in the next limited update.

Pattern: Basic Toe Up and I will add FSK heels
Yarn: Poste Yarn Stripes
Colorway: Heartbreak Hotel
Yardage: 393 yards, 100 grams
Needles: US 1.5mm
Ravelry Page

Finished my striped socks

Hot off the needles!

Pattern: Toe up Socks by Sarah Peasley with Short Row Heels
Yarn: Desert Vista Dyeworks Viso
Colorway: Tiki Bar
Needles: US 2mm
Ravelry Page

Love them!

Home stretch with the stripes

Well, it took a bit longer than I expected, and gave, for my thumb to heal up. I was being so careful in just knitting a few minutes each day, for a bit of unwinding from my crazy days, but the pain came back. So, I stopped for another few days before I was back at it.

Here is what they look like currently:

The problem for me is how long it is taking for these socks to be completed. I started them on January 3rd, they should have been done at least 2 weeks ago. Grrr.

I am hoping to finish these during this upcoming weekend as we have a snowstorm on its was that is starting on Saturday and ending Tuesday. This is after already having over 4 feet of snow already. I think many of us in New England are ready for Spring!

Heel Stripes!

I rested my thumb for longer than I really wanted, but I figured if I didn't it would just lead to more painful knitting.

So, I gave it nearly 10 days of no knitting, then started on Wednesday just knitting a few minutes at a time, resting, another few minutes then rest.

It paid off with completing the heels 3 days later (yesterday).

This is what they currently look like, literally 7 minutes ago. Completed short row heels (new technique learned already this year) and nearly 2 inches up the cuff.

I'm not really liking the short row heels, as I really wish I had taken the time to do the Fish Kiss Heel, but there is always learning that in the next pair. Also, I could have probably done the heel flap as I'm getting really good yardage out of this skein as I still have half of it left, so these will be some tall socks.

The stripes are really pushing me to keep knitting to the next color, however since I've spent most of the day watching the snow come down and knitting, it is time to give the thumb a rest.

ETA: I know that Fish Kiss Heels are short row, however it is a different method than what I used.

Stripes

I am enjoying watching these stripes appear.

As you may have noticed in the last post, I'm knitting from each end of the cake, so they will not match. This may surprise those of you who know me and my OCD really well!

I've decided that I want to learn other toe up sock methods this year, as my learn something new this year. Different ways to CO, BO, turn the heel, so with this pair I'm going to work on a short row heel, instead of the heel flap.

We will see how far I get this week, as it is going to be a busy one work wise...at least for the next 5 weeks. Yikes, look at the time I need to get to the office. 

Stay tuned!

2015 and a new pair of socks

I found this yarn from following Susan B. Anderson's blog. The dyer is Desert Vista Dyeworks and you can find her shop here.

It is nice, bright and very cheerful! I fell in love with the colors, and even though it was wool I decided to purchase it anyway. I have grown up thinking I was allergic to wool, so I figured if it turned out I couldn't work with it, I would give it away.

When it arrived, I took it out of the packaging and held it for a while, put it back into the plastic bag and into the larger stash bag it went.

Fast forward 3 months, to this past Wednesday, I just decided to take a chance and just start knitting with it. I had come home from a long day, in which it was in the double negative digits from the wind chill, and went stash diving. I found this near the top of the stash bag and felt it was just so cheery and colorful during this dismal weather day.

I ended up putting it on my swift and making it into the cake. I took the time to run it through my fingers and I remember saying well, if I have a reaction it would be quite the ending to this day!

The next night I knit what you see here. No big reaction. Hmm.

Now, I'm not going to say I'm not not allergic/sensitive to wool, as I'm being cautiously optimistic. I know in the knitting community there are many opinions on the word allergic as well as fibers or the dyes, or the wool wash, this isn't the forum I'm going to go into all that. I'm only going to write about my experience.

Time will tell. In the meantime I'm really enjoying these stripes!

Details:
Yarn: Desert Vista Dyeworks Visio
Colorway: Tiki Bar, 6 Stripe
Yardage: 462 Yards
Needles: US 2MM (of which I wish I had gone down another size)
Ravelry Page

I thought I was finished back on November 3rd but...

I decided to make these socks longer.

I mean I had the yarn so why not. Right?

So, New Years first project begins with a frogging of an existing project? I think that is what is bothering me so much.

However it didn't take long to add a few more inches and Viola!

I really like this new length for these. The yarn is a bit thicker fingering weight, so it makes for a warmer sock perfect for this time of year.

Now I need to get going on the first 'real' knit of 2015!

8PM on Christmas Eve and how is the sock you ask?

Soaking!

Literally.

Moments before the Soak they looked beautiful fresh off the needles!  If you live close by you probably heard the joyful noises of the bind off and final weave in of the ends! I had made it just in time to wear these on Christmas.

Pattern: Toe Up Socks by Sarah Peasley
Yarn: Panda Cotton by Crystal Palace Yarns
Colorway: Blueberries-Grapes
Yardage: TBD (but I'm thinking about 1.25 skeins per socks)
Needles: US 1.5
Ravelry Page

Merry Christmas!

Blueberry Socks

I'm still going around and around on these socks.

I started here on Friday night...

Saturday night brought this:

So close...so I made them even and started the ribbed cuff. Sunday morning brought this, and shall we say a clear head:

I made a decision to frog the ribbing, make the socks a bit longer. Yarn yardage isn't gong to be an issue (I still have nearly a full skein left), so why not make them longer?

The only stress here is the hole I'm creating in my finger going to give out prior to the socks being completed! 2 more knitting days.

Back to the needles.

Cranking on Socks...and laundry

Reentry after a vacation is just the pits. There is unpacking, laundry overflowing, shopping for groceries, adjusting your sleeping schedule, getting back to normal portions of food and let us not forget back to work!

However, in between all that it does produce some down time to knit.

Bring back my socks and lets crank out some heels. Oh yeah!

I have 7 more days to get these done (leaving one day for washing/blocking). This is my self imposed deadline, as I want them to be the socks I wear on Christmas. Granted, they are not very Christmas-y but considering that my sister said we have to wear a 'silly sweater' to Christmas I need normal socks to balance it out.

It's an OCD thing.

Socks with a side of vacation

I'm knitting away on my socks, however a very nice vacation put a little crimp in my knitting - ie: people/boat/bird/dolphin watching, then toss in shell seeking and beach walking.

We went to Captiva Island in Florida. It was very nice! The DH took some beautiful photos of the sunsets. We found 3 conch shells and managed to get them home, along with 47 other shells, without breaking.

Below was the view from our balcony. It was so nice to have the boats all decorated. It certainly got us more into the Christmas spirit!

Let us not forget my favorite meal and drink of choice....Caribbean jerk shrimp, grilled pineapple and a lovely margarita!

As for my socks, here is where they are at:

I ended up bringing a new project with me on vacation, more on that later. Reason being I needed something mindless, and well socks are not mindless for me yet when I'm working on the increases and heel.

All about the sock

Because you know I'm all about the sock. 'Bout the sock no trouble. I'm all about that sock.

Ok. I'll stop but I can't get that song out of my head.

I put my shawl away for a little bit. The dryness of my hands was making the yarn picky. I'll take it back out when the humidifier makes it way out.

So...off to CO another pair of socks. I just can't get enough.

Pattern: Toe up Socks by Sarah Peasley
Yarn: Crystal Palace Panda Cotton
Colorway: Blueberries/Grape
Needles: US 1.5 (the smallest I have ever knit with!)

Now that I have the next 4 days off I hope to make quite the progress on these socks, in between eating turkey, and shoveling what might turn out to be 10 inches of snow!

Let it snow, let it snow.....(any better than the base song?)

About these socks...

or rather FINISHED socks!

Ok, so I need to tie in the ends and block them. I'm still calling them finished. The yarn you see on the left is the only yarn left.

Pattern: Self improvised, trying on as I went
Yarn: Universal Yarn Bamboo Pop
Colorway; Happy Birdies
Yardage: 292 yards
Needles: US 2
Ravelry Page

These were my 4th pair of socks I've knit. The prior 3 were knit cuff down and I didn't enjoy them very well. I do not care for picking up stitches. However, thank you Sarah Peasley, I've learned how to knit socks toe up and have fallen in love with this method.

I think I'm going to CO a shawl, then another pair of socks. Why not?!

Toe Socks...and we go round and round

Work really does put a cramp in knitting as I'm still plugging away on my socks.

That was what they looked like on Friday...a mere 4 days ago.

I ignored the house chores this weekend, except laundry, and just kept knitting.

Here is what they looked like on Saturday night...

Then, I needed to take a break, we had some errands to run. BUT then I learned it was Socktober. Where you start and finish a pair of socks during the month of October.

Well now it is game on.....

I knit all day Sunday to the point where I thought my fingers were going to fall off....

It is going to be close if I can finish them by Midnight on Friday, October 31st. Dang work.

Toe up Socks

Well I'll be....toe up socks are SO much easier than cuff down. In my opinion.

This was Saturday morning during a class from Sarah Peasley on toe up construction (keep in mind this is worsted weight yarn and US 7 needles).

Then after a couple of hours of being home, I started on my real next pair of socks.

The following day, taking a ride to the apple orchard it was looking really good.

Even better after a marathon of TV...

It is cool how the color is starting to swirl on the sock.

However, work is definitely getting in the way this week of my sock knitting!!

An ending and a beginning

I just love the feeling of completion! I finished my Summer Ankle Socks:
Yarn: Cascade Fixation
Colorway: Calypso
Needles: Bamboo DPN's US 3
Purchased from: Simply Socks Company

I then cast on another project. These are the start of Monica Jines' Ribletts: Fingerless Mitts.
Yarn: Panda Cotton
Colorway: Periwinkle
Needles: Bamboo DPN's US 2
Purchased: The Loopy Ewe

...back to knitting...