Category Archives: WIPs

WIP Wednesday: Happy Socks

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The heel is in place and I’m working up the leg. I do find this odd to look at with the stockinette foot looking so large and the ribbed leg so skinny. But it should hug my foot like a dream!

My only question is how far to work up the leg. I had intended to use up all my yarn. But I have knit a quite a bit and still have a healthy ball left. How long is too long? I have very manly athletic calves and don’t want the socks too tight even with the ribbing.

Looking at this I got all excited about being almost done when I realized I STILL HAVE TO KNIT SOCK #2! And I really want to be done so I can start my rainbow socks!

Must. Keep. Knitting!

What’s On My Needles #4

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My Happy Feet socks are well on their way!

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I’m doing a modified vanilla sock with afterthought heel. (These are a little farther on than the photo above.) I really want to maximize the yardage out of this yarn. I weighed ball #2 and knit the afterthought heel on sock #1. Then reweighed ball #2 after the heel was done to find it took 4 grams of yarn. Now I’m free to knit the leg of sock #1 until I have 4-5 grams of yarn left for heel #2. I feel pretty smart and really hopes this doesn’t bite me later…

I’m trusting on good fortune from the yarn gods!

Happy Knitting!!

Husband Socks: Update

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By golly man sized socks take forever! I started these babies way back here. And I’ve made some progress.

The first sock looks like this:

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That six inches of K3,P1 rib-y goodness. All across 80 freaking awesome stitches. The second sock only got this far:

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Most of the toe increases done (I think). This project lives in my breast pump bag and I knit a few stitches as I listen to music and make lunch for Jellybean. I’m not going to break a speed record but a few stitches here and there will eventually a pair of socks make!

Ps. I hate the my spell check keeps trying to correct sock to sick, grr!

Happy Knitting!

Bulky Projects Go Fast Right?

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During my bout with the flu I felt the urge for something warm and bulky. That urge led to this…

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The start of the yoke of a second Shalom Cardigan. I had some lovely softness aka Knit Picks Biggo yarn in my stash. At first I thought it wanted to be a blanket but the yarn whispered and I listened. So a sweater it was! I’m going to be close on yardage so it might be a little more cropped than my first. But since its worn over a tank or tee anyway, who cares!?

In the interest of full disclosure the sweater is not any further along than this photo. I worked on it in between feverish naps and haven’t picked it up after I got to feeling better. But it’s bulky yarn so it should just fly off my needles right?

What do you knit when you don’t feel good?

WIP Wednesday: Husband Socks

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I have a good start on one toe of my husband socks! Next up is to cast on the other toe so I don’t forget what I did, lol. (I like to work my socks “two at a time” even though are on separate needles. Keep my pairs and gauge matching better.)

I’m using Knit Picks Stroll in merlot heather. It’s different than the Felici self-striping I had been using. But in a good way. It’s very pleasing to the touch but yet very strong and no splitting so far. The one downside is the dark color, boy is this hard to knit at night when you are tired! Those tiny stitches escape my eyes.

Happy Knitting!

What’s On My Needles #3

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After casting off both my Rye and Very Berry socks last week I couldn’t leave my needles idle for long! I pulled from my deep sock stash……

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This is Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet in red/burgundy/purples. It’s a superwash merino and nylon blend. I plan on using a basic vanilla sock over 70 stitches this time. I’m not sure what kind of afterthought heel I’m going to use, possibly Fish Lips Kiss Heel?

So far this yarn appears to be heavier than my other fingering. It’s making a denser fabric. I don’t hate it as I know it will be warm. I think I’ll keep going and see how it goes!

A Very Berry Finish

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I have a new snuggly pair of socks!

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Very Berry Vanilla Socks

Pattern: DVD – Simple Toe Up Socks by Denise Bell

Yarn: Knit Picks Felici in Mixed Berries

Needles: 1 US

Mods: None, worked pattern over 68 stitches

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I fell in love with these colors and these socks became hard to put down. I can’t believe I started these at Christmas! The afterthought heel was much easier on the second sock. I’m not sure if I like the fit on my foot. But I need to give these a good trial before I decide.

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Now on to my next pair!

Happy Knitting!

Kitchener: Take Two

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I’ve finished the afterthought heel of the first sock of my Very Berry Vanilla Socks. I utterly failed at the Kitchener closure. I tried to do from memory…not a good idea! I ended up with this:

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I ripped back my heel (very tedious and frustrating) and inhaled deeply. Then I went to YouTube for a refresher course in Kitchener. I finally managed to get this:

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Not the best but not too shabby!

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I’ve got one complete sock and one to go! I’m not sure how I like the fit versus the gusset style heel I’ve knit before. I’ll want to take the pair out for a spin before I decide.

What’s your favorite sock fit?

What’s On My Needles #2

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My overly organized OCD brain has convinced me to number my entries with KnittingSarah’s #whatsonmyneedles posts. I just can’t help it. I kinda want to see how many I could do in a year?

Anyhoo….back to the point!

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My Plain Rye socks now have the gusset complete and I’m cruising into the foot section!

Yay for worsted weight yarn! I’m really hoping to finish these soon so I can start my husband’s socks I blogged about last Friday.

What’s on your needles today?

A Recipe For My Husband’s Socks

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Recently my hubby asked for hand knit socks. This is the FIRST time he’s ever requested or even indicated he’d wear a hand knit. So of course I’m happy to comply. Well he’s a size 12 US shoe so I might be less happy when I’m knitting forever!

I used my Very Berry Vanilla Socks as a gauge swatch and measured the aforementioned giant feet. That’s a lot of stockinette so I decided a simple ribbed sock was in order. Not to mention it would give the fabric a little leeway with the stretch. Here’s the “recipe” I came up with:

Husband Ribbed Socks

CO 24 stitches (I prefer the figure 8 method)
Knit one round
K1, incr 1, knit to last two stitches on needle, incr1, k1. Repeat for second needle
Repeat these two rows until I’ve got 80 stitches total.
Work in K3,P1 pattern for 9 inches (from cast on edge).
Insert lifeline for some sort of afterthought heel across 40 stitches.
Continue to work in K3,P1 pattern until 2 inches short of total sock.
Work in K1,P1 or K2,P2 for cuff for 2 inches.
Decide on and Insert heel.

Sounds good right? Fingers crossed it works! And I’ve got the yarn narrowed down to some kind of Opal or Knit Picks Stroll. Oh the choices!

(Ps. I’m blogging this “recipe” more as a helper/reminder to myself and not so much as a published pattern. Be warned this has not been tested so knitter beware if you attempt it!)