Sox on Sunday

At the start of the day.  I am loving the feel of this yarn.  It is Lynai and the color way is Across the Universe.  

At the end of the day.

Okay, so not a lot of success, but there was a bit of research going on with socks today.  My last pair that I knit I did the afterthought heel.  I really like it, but I know that I have heard somewhere that there were some tips and tricks about how to make them a bit easier to execute.  I was pretty sure it was on the Twinset Design Podcast and maybe even on the Knitmore Girls podcast, but could just not come up with it.  I was all over the place doing searches for hints on afterthought heels.

I thought maybe a book that I bought sometime back might help me out, so I did a bit of reading today just to see what is in the book.  There are tons of heels and toes and some tips and tricks, but nothing that really gave me any more insight on my afterthought heel.

I finally went to my go to spot for finding things.   Ravelry, the google for knitters.  I posted  on the Twinset Designs Podcast Ravelry group in hopes that someone would respond and help me to make this type of sock that I really loving look a bit better.   Both Jan and Ellen responded link here. 

I think I may good to go on my new pair.

Shopping From My Chair

I love a post on Facebook from some online company, it went something like "Black Friday Shopping - Pajamas optional".  That about says it for me today.  The Friday after Thanksgiving is my day!  The yarn shops aren't open, family is gone, and it is my day.  Nothing is expected of me.

A constant cup of coffee is going to be my companion, along with my remote.

I'll probably buy a couple of Craftsy Classes, cause hey they are on sale today for $19.99.

I may take a few of the Thanksgiving decorations down in anticipation of starting to decorate for Christmas after December 1st.

I'll order some Christmas presents from Amazon (love Amazon Prime), but mostly I am going to be knitting and probably casting on somethings.

I'm working a bit on my first prayer shawl, but mostly going to save it for knitting at the shop tomorrow, since I love knitting on a mindless project out there.  The edge has a lace pattern to it and I am hoping by the end of the weekend, I may be ready to set it up.

I need to rip back my Metro and try a different skein of yarn.  I was going to leave it as is, but the skein I am currently using has way too much white in it.  And I REALLY do not want to do the whole two rows of one skein, two rows of the next skein altering thingy.  If I have to I will, but I just don't want to!

Who knows what other little things I'll venture into today.  It's my day.  Hope you are enjoying yours whatever you are doing, but hopefully, you are not working.  I am doing my best to help you out.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday Website

Twist Collective

Sox Sunday Kind of Sort of Success

Where I started today.

Where I finished today.

This was my first try at the afterthought heel.  I like the way the heel feels on the foot, it just fits so nice,  but I am so used to being done when the toe is done, I was really impatient to have these done and move onto the next ones.

While knitting these sox, I learned something else, do not use a black needle on black yarn.  Duh.

One of the reasons that I wanted to try the afterthought heel is to see how it would work on a yarn where you wanted to keep the integrity of the stripes on the front of the sox and the heels.  Individually that worked out pretty well.

But, with the second sock, there seems to have something gone a bit wonky.  I got this strange one row of green/blue where there should have been 3 rows.  Hmmm.

Yes, I am going to try this again and maybe do a bit of research on alternate ways to do the afterthought sock, I think it has potential.

Prayer Shawls for Hospice

Never let it be said that I do things in a small way.  I don't just go in, I go IN!

Since I finished my Multnomah and the Fundraiser knitting last week, I've been planning some shawls for one of our local Hospice Homes.  Almost every year in the past about right now, I would be knee deep in Holiday knitting and stressing about getting it all finished.  Many a holiday season, Norma and I would talk about why we felt the need to knit for everybody at the holidays and why we didn't start a little sooner.

So this year, I really didn't plan on any knitted gifts for anyone.  Not even Mona Lisa.  When I heard that there was a need for prayer shawls, I knew that this was something I wanted to be knitting on.  I see it as three fold.  I get to knit, stress free, on shawls (maybe some I get to try are new patterns) and those who receive the gift I think really can use them and appreciate them.

The first one I started on was Rustic Beauty.  It is out of Berroco Vintage DK from my stash.  The yarn was originally slated for the Victorian Coat for Mona Lisa, but it became more and more evident that Mona Lisa is not a Victorian Coat kind of toddler, so the first one is coming out of stash yarn.  Rustic Beauty is a crescent shawl and not terribly hard to keep track of the knitting, but I wanted something that I really didn't have to pay any attention to for knit nights and other times when you just don't want to keep track of anything while you are knitting.

So the second cast on is my standby Wool Peddler's Shawl out of Pacific.  It had to be my fave color and I am sure there will be a recipient of it that will love the color as much as I do.  And Pacific fits the bill of being easily washable and uber soft to touch.

Waiting in the wings is this yarn, that will be a wrap, but it absolutely cannot be cast on until the Wool Peddler's shawl is done.

What a wonderful time of the year is coming up and how better to spend some of my knitting time creating something that I hope will bring comfort and peace to those who need it.  And that brings me some comfort and peace as well.

Me! Me! Me!

It's my blog and I'll post if I want to!  Last Week - 

Tonight -

Last July!

Wednesday Website

This is so cute.  Thanks to Denise of Lost City Knits for calling my attention to it.

http://donnasmithdesigns.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/christmas-baa-ble.html

Sunday Sox Update on Monday

At the start of the day.

At the end.  Ready to start the toe shaping.

Not much progress since I spent a bit of my Sunday planning a new project (s) that I am super excited about.  More later this week.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday

On Friday, we celebrated my birthday with Steak and Fries, and my crew from the back.  Yum!  They know me so well, they knew where I would pick and what I wanted.  Didn't even have to tell them.

On Saturday, we had a full house at Knit 4 Together!  What fun on a Saturday morning, sitting around knitting, a cuppa and tasty treats from Great Harvest.

And this morning, this is what we woke up to.  It is almost gone now, but it is way to early for this crap.

And even though, it is Sox Sunday, I finished binding off the Multnomah Shawl.  I started last night casting off, but just could not keep my eyes open long enough to finish. It is waiting patiently to be blocked later this week.  Multnomah is a free pattern, you can find it here .  Mine is knitted from a local dyer, Dynamic Duo.  The fingering weight yarn is called Panda and the color way is Papa's Cabin.  Isn't that a cool name?!

I got a bit of a bug this morning (after several cuppas  in my pretty coffee cup) to clean up a couple of messes that have been hangin around for awhile.

 Right after we moved into the house last Summer, I decided to weed out some projects that have been on needles that I just knew would never see any knitting time.  When I did, I tossed the needles into my bucket and figured some day I would figure out what sizes they were and put them in there proper space. Today was a good day to that.  Conclusion, I have a lot of needles.  And someday, when someone that I know takes knitting seriously, I'll make them a set of some really nice circulars.

And while I was at it, I decided it was time to clean some yarn ball bands up.   In the olden days, when I would buy yarn and wind it or use a skein up, I would throw the ball band in here. Then, when I was finished with the project, I would go to the bucket and count up how many it took for a particular project and note that in my project notebook and on the project page in Ravelry.

Lately, when I go to wind a yarn, I throw the ball band in the bucket.  When I go to start a project, I write at the bottom of the page in my notebook, how many skeins I actually bought, then count the labels when I was finished or how many skeins I had left, and note how many it took on my project page on Ravelry and in my project notebook.

Now, my WIP's ball bands are nicely paper clipped together so when I finish a project, I can count the ball bands, make a note of how many it took for the project and throw them away, except for the one I keep for my notebook.

Not bad for a Sox Sunday.

Wednesday Website on Saturday

Swirl Super Swatch Cowl

A taste of what a Swirl encompasses.  Which reminds me, I have a Swirl in progress somewhere!

Knithog's Day

Rather than Groundhog Day (as in the movie), I have declared today Knithogs' Day here on the blog.

You might recall a couple of months ago, I had this grand ambition to lose 5 pounds and complete 5 projects before starting anything new.  Then, probably, a month after that, it became pretty obvious that neither of those were happening.  And for about a week now, since I stepped on the scale and saw it creeping the other way, I have been in denial that I have a problem.  Until now!  I have put my foot down and declared that starting tomorrow morning when I wake up two things have to happen!

One - I am going back on Weight Watchers!  I am not waiting until Sunday (which I usually do) as the start of my week is then, I am starting tomorrow.  I've got to lose this weight!  I am not happy in my body as it is  and I am sure that it is reflecting in my attitude.

Two - the heck with what is in progress!  The Knitmore Girls podcast that I have been listening to today, gave me permission to knit what I want.  After all, knitting is supposed to be fun.  If you haven't listened to the current episode, I encourage you to do so.  You can find it here under November 12 !

And now, lets have some fun!

Done!

The Fundraiser knitting is done (mittens, scarf and hat), wrapped up and in the hands of the organizers.  Now, back to regular scheduled knitting.

What shall I knit first?!

Pro-cras-ti-nation Is Making We Wait

We spent most of the morning at the old house getting it ready for an Open House tomorrow.  (Send good vibes that someone will want to buy it so the Tall Guy can stop having to do two yards every weekend).  I gave up my Saturday morning ritual of knitting at the shop to go over and give the inside a once over.  I'm glad I did.

Then, we came home and I felt like I really needed to help the Tall Guy with the leaves here.  I'm tired so I know how he must feel doing the brunt of the work.

I really should be knitting on my piece of the Fundraiser for next weekend.  I've got the hat and mittens done.

And I am behind on my scarf that I have a deadline of a black and orange section a day (I'm on yesterday's orange section.

What I really want to do is see if Rylie will work for this shawl.  One of my local yarn shops is having a sale next week and it would be a good time to pick it up if it works.  I am just dyeing to cast on this shawl…

And then there is the latest new Susan B Anderson shawl pattern that I could not resist buying, but I am not even going to go to the yarn room and see if there is any yarn for it, not yet.

Finally Finished Friday

I finally totally finished by Gibson Sweater by Norah Gaughan!  Blocked and threads hidden, sleeves ripped back about three inches and re-bound off.

It has been finished since last Spring when it turned too warm to wear it.  But, last Saturday, it was just what I needed to throw on for a Saturday that was a bit chilly.  The consensus was that it needs a belt, because I just did like the way it kept wanting to stay open.  (I like my sweaters to stay shut!)

It felt so good to wear that I thought it would be a perfect sweater to wear inside last weekend.  Think again.  I love the yarn, Berrocco Kodiak, but when I looked at my chair Saturday night, it had tons of the little red yarns all over it.  It just is not going to make the grade for wearing around the house.  I am just not into cleaning up little red fuzzes all over the place!

I do have enough yarn left to knit a belt so that will help when I want to wear it out and about.  I just have to remember NOT to wear anything light under it.

Sox Sunday Success

At the start of Sunday.

At the end of Sunday.

I think I like Sox Sundays!

Sox Sunday

As much as I know I should be working on my Fundraiser items, I have declared every Sunday until the end of the year Sox Sunday!  And not the baseball kind of sox, heaven forbid!

I found on Friday, that I really quite like wearing my hand knit sox when it is chilly.  My Regia Clown Colorway, I believe are my fave.  They fit just right all over!  And wash and dry to perfection.

So I pulled on another pair today.  My Lornas Laces is not the best fit, a little loose in places, but I blame that on the knitter.  And they too, wash and dry up well.

Then, I got to thinking, I have more sox on needles than in my sock drawer.  (There is more than one pair of sox in each of these bags)

Sad isn't this pithy amount of sox!  My very first sock I knit is at the top.  It was out of wool ease and is Cottage Creations Wisconsin Sock. It really is a boot sock, and before Baby Boy B grew to over 6 foot, he wore them when out in the snow for some trip.  Left to right is a pair of Regia sox that I knit for me t What a difference between my Clown and these.  They are more of a boot sock to fit me and I wear them in my winter boots when trekking to work.  They are a bit loosey goosey.  The middle sock was from leftover yarn from a tunic that I knit.  They are really more of a kick around the house sock, being knitted out of a DK weight yarn and don't have much of a cuff.  And the sock on the right are my Mexico socks.  They are a cotton/wool yarn and aptly named because every February, I would take them on my yearly trip to Mexico.  I would work on them a bit on the plane to Mexico, and maybe a bit while there, but they took about four years to finally finish.

Not nearly enough to get me through, so I've decided to knit just on my sox on Sundays until the end of the year.

And I have some really cool yarn, I can hardly wait to cast on -



I wonder how many I'll have finished by the end of the year?