Monthly Archives: December 2022

FO Friday: 2022 Advent Socks

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My 2022 Advent Socks are in the books!

Pattern: My own toe up vanilla sock recipe with 68 stitches

Yarn: Cozy Knitter Bliss Sock in the 2022 Advent color

Needles: US 1s

Mods: none

The toes and heels are made from Leading Man Fiber Arts Showstopper gradient in the ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’. I decided not to use it for the cuff as I wouldn’t have had enough for both socks.

For the main self-striping, I only used one repeat of the 24 stripe sequence. So I have enough to make a whole other pair of socks! I think all combined these socks have 267 yards of yarn. They are just taller than ankle socks.

The one stripe per day was very addicting. I think I only had two or three days in the month where I was unable to make time to knit them. And in what felt like no time flat, I had a whole pair of socks fall off the needles! Ten out of ten, I will do this kind of advent again!

Happy Knitting and Happy New Year!!

What 45 Minutes Makes

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We are back to the normal life grind after the holidays. I thought I would share what 45 minutes of gymnastics gets me. I am still working through my 2021 advent calendar minis from Hannah of Chromatic Yarns.

I had the neck of the sweater started when I sat down in the waiting room.

By the time we got home, I had the yolk done and sleeves on waste yarn. I just couldn’t quite the whole body done before I needed to pack up.

I need like three more rows of body, two rows of ribbing and then cast off. The body of the sweater will be complete. Also, you can see the havoc that dry air, hand washing and tiny sharp needles are wreaking on my finger tips. I’m trying to heal up with some intensive repair creams and it’s working okay-ish so far.

Happy Knitting!!

Short Days and Warm Fires

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We are past the winter solstice and the days can only get longer now. The holiday season brought some SUPER frigid temperatures and I pulled my wheel close to the fire. This is the Finn I started before Christmas.

I have the second ounce on the wheel and the first ounce resting on its bobbin. This fiber is carded very well and spins wonderfully. I started and stopped several times, but I got there eventually.

I’m still thinking I will put each ounce on its own bobbing and 3-ply the lot. I haven’t done 3-ply a ton so I’m intrigued on how it will turn out. I still have dreams of a stripped bulky handspun sweater in my handspun…..

Happy Spinning!!

Buttermilk Is Better

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I got a hankering for some biscuits and gravy after all the rich holiday foods last week. I make my gravy from a mix but the biscuits needed to be from scratch.

I use the basic Betty Crocker recipe that has been kicking around my family for years. I use a food processor to finely cut my butter into the flour. The dough came together nicely and I folded a few more layers than the recipe called for and you can totally see them.

I didn’t get my dough rolled to a super consistent height and therefore they puffed up to varying heights. But they were super tasty! I got all thumbs up from the family, lol.

Happy Baking!!

Christmas Heels

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My 2022 advent socks now have heels!

I am still using the Leading Man Fiber Arts mini called “Baby it’s cold outside” color. I put in waste yarn between stripes where I wanted the heels so I only had to slide needles in and pick out the waste yarn. I think with the many different colors that the blue color works nicely!

We had some inclement weather with a work from home day, so I was able to install both heels last week during Teams calls. The socks did get finished on Christmas eve and I snapped some fire side photos to share later this week. I hope everyone has had a safe and happy weekend.

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Pink Merino Sparkly 2-ply

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My tiny 85 gram batt of shedding merino and sparkle is finally complete and done leaving a trail of fluff in my house! I have a finished Pink Merino Sparkle 2-ply to show for it!

I ended up with an 84 gram skein that made 88 yards. So I lost very little of the original batt despite the fluffy shedding. This skeins is a little inconsistant. Some parts were worsted at 9 wraps per inch and other sections were closer to 11 wraps per inch which is more DK weight.

Still, I’m happy with the skein. I don’t know what I will make with it as it sheds. But for now it will join the precious handspun stash. Now its time to make Christmas cookies!!! Bring on Christmas break 🙂

Happy Spinning!!

Spinning Finn

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I finished the incredibly sparkly and very messy Pink Merino Sparkle 2-ply. I’ll have FO pics to share tomorrow! So I decided to keep my wheel cozy and warm but starting the Finn roving I got at Fiber Flurry.

I have three little one ounce nests. I plan to spin each on its own bobbin and then make a 2-ply if the fibers spins thick or a 3-ply if they spin thin. This is my first time working with Finn so I am interested to see how it turns out with my technique level.

This color would fit nice with some of my first handspun in natural colors. I am still dreaming of a big thick cozy handspun sweater. But we shall see!! Christmas is almost here so I have many many things to do!

Happy Spinning!!

Ghosts of Advents Past (Part 2)

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When I found my wee advent socks, I also found the mini sweaters I was making. I hated them…they were short sleeved and very tiny. So I ripped them out and figured out a long sleeve and larger version I liked.

They turned our great! I am still using Wee Sweater by Sarah Schira pattern, just with some mods. A wee sweater takes me a full evening of TV knitting. So I only have two of these complete but they are fun and get a little faster each time.

For these, I found some gold ribbon that I plan to “hang” the sweaters from for a sweater garland. This garland will be separate from the tiny sock one. One is good so two must be better!

Happy Knitting!!

Cozy Knitter Sock Advent Progress

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I am catching up with the 2022 Cozy Knitter self striping 24 day advent skein!

This is roughly day 10 or so? I may not get a stripe every day but they are only 4/5 rows total so it’s easy to catch up. I am giving myself the grace to complete this as quickly or slowly as I need. After all, I have all of Christmas weekend to do whatever catch-up I need!

Happy Knitting!!

Ghosts Of Advents Past (Part 1)

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With all the festivities this year, I decided to pull out my 2021 Chromatic Yarns advent calendar. I had this big plan last holiday to knit 24 tiny little socks. Yeah…..that never materialized, lol.

I’m feeling a little more grounded this year so I re-evaluated and decided that the socks should be pairs. I have managed to finish two pairs and almost done with a third. These are the first three advent days in order.

When they get done, I am thinking of stitching them to a ribbon decorative twine to make a garland. But let’s get over the hurdle of 48 total tiny socks. It takes me half an evening of knitting to make a sock if I can stay off my phone. So maybe a Q1 2023 goal?

Happy Knitting!!