WIP: Vanilla Commuter Socks

Well, that was an unexpected break. I looked down for a few minutes and it turned into a month; where does the time go? Honestly, there has been a ton of knitting happening but I can't share some of it until...next year-ish. That's not at all fun for you all so I do have a project I can share with you - more stripey socks! 

I cast on my usual 64-stitch vanilla socks on a US #1 (2.25 mm) hiya hiya needle and knit about an inch of 2x2 ribbing. I'm using waste yarn to mark my afterthought heel placement and I'm using my Zombie Hello Kitty socks as my guide since I'm using the same yarn. 

The yarn is Canon Hand Dyes Charles Self-Striping Sock in "I am all astonishment", a  Pride & Prejudice colorway that Jessica picked up for me at Madrona this spring. I love this yarn base and Amy's colors are totally great. Early in the summer I decided to knit up the self-striping yarns from my stash by the end of the year and this is the second of those pairs. I'm fairly certain I have three (maybe four) more skeins of self-striping yarn so I'm not sure I'll get them all done by the end of the year but I'm going to try!

FO: Commuter Vanilla Socks

I finished my vanilla socks! I knit these socks pretty much solely during my commutes to and from work and they took just under a month to knit. I'll be honest, I don't always knit on my way home because sometimes I'm just too tired (or the bus is incredibly full).

The yarn blocked just beautifully and I'm sure I'll be purchasing more Desert Vista Dyeworks in the future. 

Pattern: 64 Stitch Vanilla Socks with the OMG heel by Megan Williams

Yarn: Desert Vista Dyeworks in Zombody It's Cold Outside 

Needles: US #1 (2.25 mm) Hiya Hiya Fixed Circulars

I have a loose goal of knitting all of my self-striping sock yarns by the end of this year; this is a great start.

WIP: Vanilla Socks

Every morning I commute downtown to my office job and then back home again in the late afternoon. What does that mean? It means I have about an hour of knitting time while other people stare at their smart phones or talk (too loudly) to each other on the bus. It also means that I always have a simple knitting project for on-the-go time.

I currently have a pair of vanilla socks on the needles. This is a self-striping yarn by Desert Vista Dyeworks in the Zombody It's Cold Outside color. It's hard to see the light gray stripe up close but it's more visible from far away.

I'm using a US #1 (2.25 mm) Hiya Hiya Sharp 32" circular needle and the OMG Heel by Megan Williams. I haven't really found an afterthought heel that fits me like I want but it's hard to fiddle with heel flap and gusset socks with self-striping yarn; I end up breaking the yarn and joining it to keep the stripe sequence. How about you? Is there a heel you like to use with self-striping yarns that fits well and doesn't throw the stripes out of whack?

FO: Fika

Things are a little slow on the knitting front, lately. I feel like I'm slogging along on the same projects without any progress, but in reality my projects are technically simple which makes them a little boring. But check out how pretty they turn out!

Twisted rib and stockinette never looked so good!

Simple and straightforward design. With a cheeky little twist at the toe.

Pattern: Fika by Maribeth White, from the Spring 2015 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly

Yarn: SweetGeorgia BFL Sock in Ginger (CC at toe is Stricken Smitten Smitten BFL Nylon Twist in Little Storm Cloud)

Needles: US #1 (2.25 mm) Hiya Hiya Sharp Fixed Circulars

Mods: I knit the toe to 24 stitches (twelve on each needle) before grafting them together rather than the 32 stitches called for in the pattern. These make an excellent commute and social knitting project. These socks are a gift for a friend and I hope she likes them as much as I do!

WIP: Oh, theeese socks

Years ago, I purchased two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Chocolate and Devon to knit a pair of socks with contrasting cuffs, heels, and toes. I took the yarn home, wound it into balls, and it sat in my project box waiting to be cast on.

During my annual New Year's Day stash overhaul, I found the two little cakes in the bottom of my cedar chest and decided that this was the year that these socks would materialize. They're the perfect project for social knitting - a plain vanilla sock with a little bit of interest  - and I'm very happy with how they're turning out. The last few weeks they've been on the back burner as I complete a couple of test knits but I'm eager to get back to them and finally have these socks on my feet rather in than in my stash.

FO: Thousand Kisses Socks

Way back in November, Little A asked me for a pair of socks and we looked at patterns on Ravelry discussing the merits of each pattern that she liked and then went stash diving. She has lots of ideas about color and how it works together so I was surprised and pleased when she chose a blue and grapefruit combination - my girl has panache!

The socks fell by the wayside as the holidays approached but I finally finished them up and gave them a nice steam. They're ready for little girl feet!

Pattern: Thousand Kisses Socks by Josie Mercier (free)

Yarns: Invictus Yarns Unafraid in Juicy (grapefruit); Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Oceana (blue)

Needles US #1 1/2 (2.5 mm) & US #1 (2.25mm) Addi Turbo

Mods: There is a discrepancy in the pattern between the Ravelry listing and the actual pattern on Petite Purls - Rav lists a 2.25mm needle and Petite Purls lists a 2.5mm needle. I was a bit worried that the colorwork band would be tough to get around Little A's heel so I split the difference and used a 2.5mm needle for the cuff and colorwork and then switched to a 2.25mm needle for the rest of the sock. I still have a ton of the Juicy color so we might end up with mother-daughter semi-matching socks at some point. And yes, you might notice a bit of sparkle in the grapefruit bits because there's stellina in the yarn! I've never knit with anything containing stellina so I was pleasantly surprised at the subtle sparkle.

FO: Teal Glacier Socks

 A couple of weeks ago I was quite ill and stayed home from work for several days. As part of my lay on the sofa and watch trashy television shows until I'm better cure I needed a really simple knitting project. None of my current projects quite fit the bill so I dug through my stash and came up with a skein of Mountain Colors Bearfoot.

 I let the color do all the work on this pair of socks. They're for Mr. B for Christmas and they're more flamboyant than he would usually wear but I think they'll be fine for non-work days.

Pattern: Improvised 64 stitch vanilla sock

Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Teal Glacier

Needles: US #2 (2.75 mm) Hiya Hiya Sharps

Mods: I knit these two at a time on a long circular needle. Bearfoot is a heavier weight sock yarn and my tag said to use a US #3 or #4 needle so I figured a #2 would give me a nice sturdy sock fabric. The mohair, wool, nylon composition of the yarn washes up beautifully and will make for fantastic feet-warming socks this Winter.

FO: Twisted Flower Socks

 Back in April I cast on a pair of complicated socks. I worked my way through the leg of the first sock pretty quickly and then something happened, I don't really know what, but Something. I put the socks down half-way through the heel flap and there they languished for several months. Last month I decided I was tired of looking at them and picked them up again to decide to finish or frog. I guess you can tell that I finished the dang things! They're beautiful. They're also the most complicated pair of socks I've knit to date.

Pattern: Twisted Flower by Cookie A (from knit.sock.love)

Yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in Heartthrob

Needles: US #1 (2.25 mm) Hiya Hiya Sharp Fixed Circulars

Mods: None.

FO: Simple Skyp Socks

 I finally have a photographed finished object to share! I finished knitting these socks waaay back on September 10th and it took me almost a month just to wash them and snap a picture. That timeframe might tell you how busy we've been with the Mr. starting a new job and Little A starting kindergarten. Very!

Pattern: Simple Skyp Socks by Adrienne Ku

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in December Ribbon Candy gifted to me by my friend, Jeanne

Needles: US #1 (2.25mm) Hiya Hiya Sharps

Mods: None! Actually, the pattern calls for sport weight yarn but I just subbed in sock yarn and chose a stitch count (64) that I knew would fit. The leg is five inches long instead of my usual six inches. This pattern makes for great commute knitting since the pattern is easy to memorize and there's very little counting involved in the stitch pattern.

FO: Zombie Hello Kitty Socks

Pattern: Basic Vanilla Sock on 64sts (outta my noggin')

Yarn: Canon Hand Dyes Charles Self Striping Sock in Zombie Hello Kitty

Needles: US #1 (2.25 mm) Hiya Hiya Sharp Circulars

Mods: I made the leg slightly shorter than my normal six inches. I love the pink flecks in the minty green color!

WIP: Zombie Hello Kitty Socks

Last week was rough, wasn't it? I never got the feeling that things were going as they should and it was all I could do to get through the day and collapse into some knitting. To celebrate the end of the work week I cast on these vanilla socks in Canon Hand Dyes Charles Self Striping Sock in Zombie Hello Kitty. The little red stitch toward the bottom of the picture is my scrap yarn for an afterthought heel. I'm thinking about trying an alternate afterthought heel - maybe the Fish Lips Kiss Heel? 

Let me know if you've tried any of the variations on an afterthought heel and how they vary from the usual afterthought heel. I've got the rest of this sock to knit and the second one before I have to decide!

FO: Vanilla Socks

Pattern: 64 stitch plain vanilla sock from my noggin

Yarn: Regia Hand-dye Effect in Fog

Needles: US #1 (2.25 mm) Hiya Hiya Sharps

Mods: This is my own standard sock pattern using a 64 stitch cast on. Nothin' fancy. I have to say, though, that I really dislike knitting with this yarn. It's basically a wool single plied with a nylon thread. And that wool single? Hairy and splitty and not pleasant at all to the hands. I was mostly annoyed with this yarn's tendency to split since I cast these on to knit while I watched the Lego movie and I have some not very pretty stitches toward the top of the first sock and intermittently throughout the pair of socks (bus knitting is bumpy!). The finished socks are rather pretty and if the yarn weren't such a pain to knit with I'd happily buy more since I like the "hand-dye effect".

FO: Ribbed Socks for Kids

Last week just flew by and I still feel like it's not quite over. Given the amount of knitting I've gotten done since last Sunday I shouldn't be surprised that tomorrow is Monday. But it's not any Monday, it's the Monday before Stitches West* which means I have a three day work week and then I'm winging my way down to the Bay Area with a couple of friends to meet up with my sister and do some serious yarn and knitting immersion with like-minded fiber enthusiasts. 

In the mean time, I finished a pair of socks for Little A. 

 She chose the colors out of my sock scrap bag. 

Pattern: Ribbed Socks for Kids by Susan B. Anderson (free)

Yarn: Hill Country Yarn something or other that I've had for ages (approx. 120 yards) and some Anzula Cloud for the cuffs, heels, and toes. 

Needles: US #2 (2.75 mm) Hiya Hiya Sharps

Mods: I decided to knit contrasting cuffs, heels, and toes since the yardage of the yellow-orange yarn was very limited. I used every last bit of the yellow-orange yarn and hardly any of the turquoise. They've already been worn multiple times the report back is that they're "warm and toasty".

*If you're going to Stitches West, I'll be at the podcaster meet-up on Saturday between 1 and 4 in the hotel lobby bar with several other podcasters and, hopefully, lots of listeners. If you see me around make sure to say hello!

Let the Games Begin!

Are you participating in the Ravellenic Games*? I hemmed and hawed and finally decided that if I was going to participate I was going to knit a sweater. Not really surprising given one of my knitting resolutions this year was to knit more sweaters, especially from my sweater yarn stash. Once I decided to participate in the Ravellenics the decision of what to knit came quite easily. I swatched for another Acer Cardigan by Amy Christoffers in Green Mountain Spinnery Cotton Comfort and got perfect gauge on my #6 Hiya Hiya needles. 

Friday at work all I could think about was going home and casting on my sweater but once I actually got home I decided to work on my other sweater, Dimbala, and am just to the point where I can split the front and back. 

I made some modifications in order to add in a bit of waist shaping in the form of vertical darts and I apparently forgot to knit a few rows of garter between the ribbing and the texture stitch for the body. There are also fewer rows of twisted rib at the bottom edge since deep ribbing isn't super flattering on me.

And then I decided that I should finish off these socks for Little A out of some sock yarn scraps since it has been in the 20s this week (modeled picture coming soon). 

And then I decided that I should finish these socks since the tubes for the foot have been siting around for at least three weeks and all I have left are the heels. I finished them up this morning while having my morning cuppa because this happened: 

Snow! After tromping around outside for the better part of an hour with Little A we came home rosy-cheeked and cold and I actually cast on my Acer Cardigan. Ribbing accomplished!

*The Ravellenic Games take place during the Olympics and knitters and crafters compete by choosing challenging projects to be completed within the time frame of the Olympics in various events. The sweater event is called Sweaterboard Cross and if you're interested in knitting along you can check out more info on Ravelry.

FO: Simple Skyp Socks

Now that it's almost the New Year I feel like things are a little more calm and I have time to post again without feeling like there are deadlines to meet or parties to attend.

Finished socks!  

These are for my new brother in-law so they're too big on me but I think they'll be perfect on him - I also want a pair for myself now that I've made these. 

Pattern: Simple Skyp Socks by Adrienne Ku

Yarn: Malabrigo Arroyo in Vaa

Needles: US #2 (2.75 mm) needles

Mods: None! There are over 2,000 projects for these socks on Ravelry so if you're interested in modifications I'm sure you can find them there. I knit these in sport weight yarn but a lot of people have knit them in fingering weight and they turn out fabulous regardless. They're also available in multiple sizes. 

FO: Maeby Socks

Pattern: Maeby by Liz Abinante

Yarn: Fly Designs Cashmara (80/10/10 merino/cashmere/nylon) in Blood Red

Needles: US #1 (2.25 mm) Hiya Hiya Sharps

Mods: None. I knit four repeats of the pattern for the leg and four for the foot with three rows of plain knitting before beginning the toe. Easy peasy.

 

 I won this yarn as a door prize at Madrona the last time I went - at least four years ago now - and it wasn't even entered in my Ravelry stash despite multiple cullings between then and now. How does that work? 

Pair #6 for my Holiday gift-knitting marathon. 

Updates and an FO

I've been a bit lackadaisical about posting here lately so I thought I'd bring y'all up to speed on what's been happening at chez ErinB.

• Mr. B got laid off at the end of October
• I got a new job that starts on Monday
• I had my grad school interview a week ago
• Thanksgiving
• Planning Little A's birthday party

That list is super concise and I think that belies the fact that all of those things happening at approximately the same time makes me feel really crazy and nervous about everything. I can manage one or two major events at a time without feeling overwhelmed but when no single aspect of my life is stable (rather, everything is in flux at once) I get a little....stabby. 

But what this also means is that I've been adhering to my gift knitting to-do list since it's structured and creates focus for my knitting while the rest of my life is off-kilter. Without further ado, proof of my knitting steadfastness.

Pattern: Hedera by Cookie A

Yarn: Tosh Sock in Port (this color is sadly discontinued)

Needles: US #1 (2.25 mm) Hiya Hiya Sharps

Mods: None. I knit these exactly as written for the 60 stitch size. I was worried that these would be too small for the recipient but they fit my slightly larger foot fine even if they're too short for my foot.

FO: Salida

Pattern: Salida by Janneke Maat (free)

Yarn: Araucania Ranco (376 yards per 100 grams; 75% wool/ 25% nylon)

Needles: US #1 (2.25 mm) Hiya Hiya Sharps

Mods: I knit the pattern as written using a Twisted German cast on for extra elasticity around the cuff. I'm not a fan of short row heels but I decided to go with the flow for these - they're snug enough with all of those twisted stitches that the heel fits okay. I ended up knitting the pattern repeat twice for the foot and then rows one through eight or ten again to finish up the twisted stitch motif before I started the toe. There are so many twisted stitches on every round that I highly recommend using a nice, pointy-tipped needle to make the knitting easier on yourself. This is the first time I've knit sooo many twisted stitches at once and I found it slightly difficult to get into a good rhythm for knitting them. The finished socks are well worth the effort of being married to a knitting chart for several weeks, though. 

This is pair #3 for my Holiday gift list. Pair #4 and pair #5 are already complete and I'll share those soon.

A Month of Favorites: Final Giveaway Winner!

Sorry for the delay in drawing a winner, I'm still experiencing some work and home upheaval that makes thinking about other things a little problematic. Let's get down to business, shall we?

Random number generator chose Sanja T (LoveofCuteness on Rav) who said, "Amazing giveaway! Thank you. Definitely a fantasy retreat would be a spa in the morning, and knitting on a blanket while enjoying warm weather for the rest of the day. Champagne and catered food wouldn't hurt either:)." That sounds fabulous! I'll be in touch to get  your mailing address and send out your package. 

I really enjoyed reading all of the fiber retreat ideas and I'd like to try all of them. The annual retreat I attend with my knitting group is very laid back and we all kind of do our own thing during the day and play games and have drinks in the evening and knit. Thank you for taking the time to share your ideas with me. 

And just a little update on my knitting progress, I finished these socks last weekend and just need to wash and block them before they go in the gift basket for Christmas. They're pair number three and I couldn't be happier with them.

WIP: Hi-Lite of my life socks

 When I volunteered at Knit Fit! last weekend I picked up a couple of presents for myself. My new favorite Indie Dyer, Intrepid Otter, had a small but lovely collection of self-striping yarns at her booth. I snatched up a ball of "Highlight of my Life" and cast on the next morning at the registration table.

I think they're perfect. I cast on 64 stitches on a US #1 (2.25 mm) and am knitting plain vanilla socks.