Category Archives: WIPs

Onward Second Socks

Posted on by
5

The chaos of a 9 month old Jellybean who is teething combined with changing jobs has left me with very little knitting bandwidth. Hence my crazy vanilla sock mojo. I’ve managed to cast off the first sock of a couple pair of WIP socks!

Vanilla Maple socks
   

Checkerboard Socks 

   

I kind of tired of both of them and cast off before using up all the yarn as I usually do. They have 5-6 inch legs instead of 7-8 that I can usually get out of my skeins. But they still fit and are perfectly functional socks.

I made sure to cast on both second socks so as not to fall victim to SSS (second sock syndrome). I’m already done with the toe of the checkerboard socks but still working on the increases on the vanilla maples. I’m ready for these to be done and move on to other smooshy yarn!

Happy Knitting

 

Clapo-Ktus: An Experiment

Posted on by
13

I’ve never been a shawl knitter. I don’t enjoy charts as they don’t make sense in my brain. And honestly I’m a bit sporty in my attire and shawls just didn’t fit my esthetic. But I’ve recently changed employment. It was a good career move and got me out of an unhealthy emotional environment. But I’ll leave that part at that. My new building is an ice box with A/C and I hear the heat is wimpy on the flip side. I’m going to need some business casual options for keeping warm (and possibly a space heater)!

I have a pretty skein of Cascade Heritage Silk in a lovely blue. It’s a merino silk blend and just gorgeous. Here is a terribly lit picture of my skein after Jellybean went to bed.

 
I’ve decided to to knit a Clapo-Ktus by Loredana Gianferri. It’s a cross between a clapotis and a baktus. It’s a free download and designed to use every bit of your skein. The pattern is written and it should be easy to memorize.

I’ve printed and read the pattern 15 times. It took me a bit to wrap my head around how it worked but I think I have it now. And I’ve hand wound my yarn and pulled needles. This is worked on size 6s. I’m not going to swatch per se, I’m just going to go with the flow as “fit” isn’t a huge thing with a scarf/shawl. Those could be famous last words….

Wish me luck!

What’s On My Needles #10

Posted on by
5

One vanilla rainbow is in the books!

  
The colors have grown on me. And the sock fits like a dream. The yarn made a  nice dense fabric that should be warm this winter. I just wish more of the rainbow had popped. It does peek out here and there.

 The heel…  
The toe…. 

I’ll give more stats on this sock once I finish this second. I’m just too tired from chasing jellybean these days. Excuses, excuses I know. I can tell I’m already going to have lots of leftovers, lol. Here is the start of the second sock.

  
Happy knitting!

More Heels Please!

Posted on by
8

More afterthought heels please!

 
I’ve put the afterthought heel into my first Vanilla Maple. I was chuffed to get the heel inserted exactly between two stripes. The colors didn’t fall in order but doesn’t bother me one bit. It’s beautiful and I adore the tiny orange bit (I think it looks like a smile peeking out)!

  
These socks are just so pretty and deliciously addicting!

Happy Knitting!!

Muddy Rainbow

Posted on by
9

My sock mojo continues with my Vanilla Rainbows.

 I was really excited about this yarn in the skein. It’s Knit Picks Stroll hand-painted in county fair. It’s a yarn with very short color repeats of rainbow colors. So short in fact that in my standard 70 stitch sock the colors get a bit muddy in my opinion. I don’t hate it but it’s not as “pretty” as the skein. They will still make lovely warm socks.
These are going crazy fast as I’m doing straight vanilla stockinette. The afterthought heel is in and I’m cruising. This sock lives in the car right now for the daily commute with the hubby.

What’s your favorite car knitting?

Vanilla Maple For The Win

Posted on by
4

After a lot of thinking and possibly flipping a coin the winner is…….vanilla maple socks!

  
I’ve knit and inserted scrap yarn for my afterthought heel. I also decided to do a 2×2 rib for the leg. This sock is on US 0s with 74 stitches total (I normally work 68/70 stitches on US 1s). I was trying to get my normal sock gauge with this Felici that feels a bit finer than other color ways I’ve worked with. So I hedged my bets and went with a ribbed leg that would be more forgiving and hug my leg without falling down.

I’m totally loving these stripes! They are kind of addicting….

Happy knitting!

Checkerboard Update

Posted on by
6

I’ve made some tiny progress on my Checkerboard Socks.

  
I’m a HUGE fan of working the afterthought heel as soon as I have enough leg. I work with yarn from my second ball or the other end of the skein. I make sure to weigh the yarn to keep track of how much I used. This way I know how much to leave for the second one. But this is just my quirk about using all of the yarn of my toe up socks. My sock leftovers tend to be TINY or just enough to darn/repair later.

Now I just need to decide how long to make the leg before starting the cuff ribbing. Then of course start the second sock, lol!

Happy knitting

Rainbow Vanilla Socks

Posted on by
13

Shocker of shockers….I’m knitting more socks!

These are vanilla toe up socks in Knit Picks stroll handpaints in a rainbow mix. (I’ll have to check the official name later.)
This yarn is thicker to me than the felici so I’m looking forward to a nice dense sock over 70 stitches on a U.S. 1 needle. I’m already through the toe increases! These are going to be my bedside project. So little by little they should grow.

What’s your bedtime knitting?

Maple Vanilla or Vanilla Maple

Posted on by
10

I can’t decide…

   
After my Geeky FO last week I’ve decided to cast on some straight vanilla socks. I pulled the maple leaves Felici out of the stash (that you all so graciously voted for) and got to work. I can’t however decide what to call them. They are just full of mapley goodness.

I am wanting a denser sock so I’ve gone down to US 0s and a total of 76 stitches. My gauge should put this in the right fit. Time will tell! Worst case scenario…I rip back and try again.

  
Chloe is helping with this one 😀! Now what to call them…..vanilla maples or maple vanillas???

Happy Knitting!

Checkerboard Update

Posted on by
5

I’ve managed to make some progress on my Checkerboard Socks!

 
I’ve knit the foot and a tiny bit up the leg. And then added the afterthought heel. I like to add my afterthought heels before I finish the leg. I knit the heel from the outside of the ball so all remaining yarn after the heel is done can go in the leg. It might be weird but it works for me and maximizes my yarn.

 

I’m totally digging the variegation in color. And the tiny bit of sparkle is delicious…

  
Now I just need more car knitting to be done! Happy Knitting!!