Category Archives: Knitting

All my knitting adventures

Coordinating Minis

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I did some stash diving over the weekend to find coordinating mini skeins to work with my sock snakes for Jellybean.

For the Tofutsies skein, I chose a purple skein from Leading Men Fiber Arts. The sock snake is pinks, burgundy, oranges and maybe some yellow. The purple is a definitely a coordinating contast. For the green snake, I found a Knitted Wit Smartie skein in a forest green color. This one stays in the color family.

Now I just need to run these by Jellybean for his approval and then we can start knitting!

FO Friday: 2023 Leftover Advent Socks

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Happy Friday!! I have some shiny new socks!

Pattern: My own 68 stitch “recipe” for toe up sock tubes and afterthought heel

Needles: US 1s

Yarn: The Cozy Knitter 2023 advent skein and Knitted Wit Smartie in Carbon

Working these toe up means I have used up every last inch of this beautiful self striping. And I got the full rainbow in before casting off. The ribbing could have been started soon but it’s close enough.

In total with the self striping and the contrast heel, the socks weigh 75 grams and used about 280 yards of yarn. The mini skein had a teeny tiny ball left but was almost completely used up.

It took me way to long to finish these but I’m happy to start beefing up my shortie sock stash in my drawer for next winter!

Happy Knitting!!

Just A Bit Big

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My first Sport Ankle sock is done. Which is great news, the bad news is that it is just a bit big. It fits but the foot is a little loose and a little long.

The heel does not position accurately because of the foot length. But the cuff is good. The even better news is that sock #2 is almost done as well. So these are not in a good spot to rip out and redo.

I’m going to ignore the voice in my head and finish the pair. They will then get a good wash and dry. At that point I will try them on and do sock surgery if I decided I can’t live with them. Such is the life of a knitter who doesn’t swatch or measure on the go!

Happy Knitting!!

Almost Another Advent Pair

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The 2023 Advent Leftover Socks are ALMOST done. Heel #1 is in and I’m starting on heel #2.

I just love how neat and tidy socks look on a sock blocker. The fit on the first sock is pretty good. I have been doing my own “recipe” for an afterthought heel for awhile where I add a number of extra plain rows in between my decreases to add depth to the heel. Works pretty well for my foot shape.

I also try to knit at a pretty tight gauge to improve longevity and wear on the fabric. Does take a toll on my hands after a bit. Happy Knitting!!!

Steel Heels

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It took a hot minute but I finally I decided on and found a heel color for my 2023 Leftover Advent socks. During my 2019 trip to Oregon, I have a stash of Knitted Wit smarties and it was perfect.

This photo of the actual socks is older from my camera roll but the only one with the mini skein in it. I think the dark neutral will work nicely as the heel color. It’s not a color that exists anywhere in the skein.

The tubes are done and ready for the afterthought heels to be inserted. Should only be a couple more hours and I will have finished socks!

Yarn On The Slopes

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We took the kiddos for a little fun and the first time skiing. I had to tuck some knitting into my ski bag. So my ankle socks got a little mountain time! This is the toe of the second sock as I finished the first one last week. The weather was warm enough to knit without gloves for the most part. But alas, keeping track of two kids on the family slope didn’t give me much free time.

And sometimes, I got lost in the views. It really was a nice trip and a break from work stress. Though, at almost 40….I am not as in shape as I need to be for downhill skiing, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Finished Tubes

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My 2023 Leftover sock tubes are complete!

These used every last bit of yarn I had left in my 2023 advent skein. That felt glorious! I have measured and the heel will fall between the medium and dark pink stripes. So that *should* leave enough tube for shorty socks.

I am still procrastinating on pulling contrasting yarn from my stash….maybe tomorrow.

Happy Knitting!!

A Finished Ankle Socks

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My ankle socks are progressing well. They have been my comfort knitting of late. I made an important life decision and I am changing jobs. This process and choice took SO MUCH of my energy and time that I lost all my craft mojo for a minute. This new job is in the same industry but new employer. I am hoping for some renewed joy and balance while understanding no job is perfect. Adulting is hard but I feel I am moving in the right direction.

I attended a leadership retreat with my new employer and I started off right away with knitting. Gotta get them indoctrinated right? I was just starting the heel turn at 8:30 am and by 4 pm I had turned the heel and completed the full sock!

I did decide to keep these short as that part of my sock is sadly missing. I also managed to cast on the toe of the next sock in that same meeting. So now I need to keep the mojo going!

P.S. my new coworkers loved my knitting. So they passed the vibe check!

Tubes On The Go

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My leftover socks got some windshield time during a recent spring break vacation. We took the kiddos skiing for the first time and they had fun and I discovered I am SUPER out of shape for skiing.

These will definitely be shorties. I have 4-5 stripes left before I run out of yarn. After some quick math, I will do one more round of plain stockinette and then finish the rest of the yarn in ribbing. I do like working these in tandem so that I avoid second sock syndrome!

I still haven’t done any stash diving to find heel yarn. The plan is to cut in afterthought heels with a contrast. The original advent socks used white but I will see what I have in stash that is comparable to this base.

Happy Knitting!!

Coffee And A Wee Toe

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It’s a Friday morning after a long week. I needed to recenter so I set out my Ankle socks and my favorite coffee.

I did end up deciding to go up to 64 stitches on these US 2 needles because 60 just looked too small of a circumference. As is my normal operating procedure, these will be toe up vanilla socks….just ankle length this time.

I have also started adding unflavored collagen powder to my coffee for a little protein and hair/nail boost to my morning. I realized that I don’t always get enough protein so I am going to work on some ways to beef up that part of my diet. Did you know that Sams Club makes the most BOMBTASTIC grilled chicken? I could eat that at any time of the day, hot or cold.

Happy Knitting!!