Category Archives: WIPs

Knitting In The Wild

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Jellybean was due for his semi annual dental cleaning and he CRUSHED it. I was so proud of him because he did the x-rays, cleaning and exam like a big ole brave kid. I managed to sit quietly in the corner and knit on my sock. The dentist was duly impressed with both Jellybean’s performance and my sock knitting.

I finished the last two rows of the cuff and cranked out ten or twelve rows of the first heels on my Dark Side Vanilla socks. Current me was very grateful that past me inserted those needles and cut the work apart so it was ready to go!

Thank goodness for purse knitting!!

First Fire

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Kansas has seemed to skip fall and go straight into winter. We had snow on Halloween for Pete’s sake! I batted my eyelashes at my husband and last night he built a fire for me. My house is chaotic and messy but the kids are asleep and I have knitting and a mesmerizing fire.

I worked on the cuffs to the Dark Side vanilla socks that I separated the other day. Nothing too exciting, just good solid progress on a very meditative project. I even inserted the needles for the first heel so it would be ready and waiting after the second cuff.

Happy Knitting!!

Ready For The Hem

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Hallelujah…I think I’m about done with my Autumn League Pullover! I slipped on the “try it on” tubing and slipped into the sweater. I am pleased with my waist increases and the overall length.

For sure I am going to work the hem or ribbing portion using a split hem method. I will simply divide the sweater into front and back sections and work the hem in two pieces by knitting back and forth. I think that will give me the hip ease I need while also be visually pleasing as it lays against my pants.

The one place I’m not SUPER happy about is the under arms. I can see in these photos that there is a ton of extra fabric in my upper arms. As a volleyball player my arms are in decent shape where as my chest and belly show the effects of birthing two children. I am just a mixed body type and probably should have modified the sleeves.

But at this point I’m going to finish the sweater and see how it looks blocked and finished. Maybe the baggy sleeves will just add to the “sweatshirt-ness” off the project. Or maybe I will hate them and I will rip them back and work in decreases and arm shaping. I’m the boss of my knitting and I get to decide!

Happy Knitting!!

Don’t Drink And Seperate

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So earlier this week I managed to measure and start to insert needles so I could cut in afterthought cuffs on my Dark Side Vanilla socks. Well yesterday was my birthday and I had a glass or two of some very fine Rose with my dinner. And somehow it seemed like a great idea to then cut my knitting.

I might have made a small miscalculation when deciding the exact middle of my socks. One sock is noticeably shorter than the other. Like by four or five rows. I think my plan is to just add the extra needed rows in cuff portion so that the overall sock length is the same between the two.

One idiosyncrasy I noticed is that the black stripes mostly line up but the color stripes are not even close. Probably because of the way I knit toes from the opposite ends of the stripe sequence. I am the boss of my knitting and I have decided I like all of the above because its quirky like me!

Happy Knitting!!

Finding The Middle

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I decided to go ahead and add in the cuffs to my Dark Side Vanilla Socks even if I’m not sure when I will add the heels for my friend. From toe to toe I have 22 inches of sock tube. The plan is to find and pick up rows of stitches on either side of 11 inches and then cut the tube apart. The fund part is that the 11 inch mark falls in one of the black stripes….yay.

I managed to get the first side picked up. And then I had to take a break for my eyes sake. It was kind of terrible and made my eyes strain quite a bit. As I trudge closer to 35, tomorrow is my birthday, I find that I need better and better light to see the darker yarns.

But these socks are so worth it! Happy Knitting!!

Dark Side Toes

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I finished toe twinsies on my Dark Side Vanilla Socks. This sock snake aka sock tube is one of the 50 gram skeins of Knit Picks Felici in their Dark Side color way. I just unpicked the waste yarn on either end and knit two toes. For the toes i’m using some stash Cascade Heritage sock yarn in grey.

My plan now is to measure and find the middle and then knit two grey ribbed cuffs. This should maximize the use of the yarn. Theoretically after that I can measure and cut in afterthought heels.

I’m traveling soon to see an old dear friend. We are having a girls weekend with wine and yoga pants. Oh, and doggie snuggles as she has two senior dogs who are excellent couch companions. But I digress, I’m thinking of bringing the two socks (heel-less) and presenting them to her as a gift. I can then measure her feet and place the heels while I am there for a custom fit.

Does that sound like a genius idea or a recipe for stressful deadline disaster?

Almost Finished Shorties

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My Cheery Vanilla socks are literally one evening away from being done. I pulled these out to work on after they went to Moms and Martinis with me. They had a slight lemon scent from the lemon drop martini I had, whoops!

I had finished the stockinette portion of the leg for the second sock at the bar. I pulled it out last night and didn’t find any dropped stitches so I’m call that a win. I then started but didn’t quite finish the ribbing of the second sock. I think I need another round and then bind off.

Of course after this comes the cut in (true) afterthought heel. If the tiny human and husband human grant me a little grace tonight I might be able to finish these!

Happy Knitting!!

Moms And Martinis

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Everyone needs a tribe (or three). One of the tribes I have really gotten a lot of support and companionship from here lately is a group of moms I have met in and around my community. We are all working moms and try to get together for lunch once a month on a Friday. There are lawyers, bankers, advertising execs, sales managers and accountants so we aren’t always successful but at least two people manage to show up every month.

I decided that wasn’t enough, so quarterly we also meet up at a local restaurant for “Moms and Martinis” after we all put our kids to bed (or leave them with their respective fathers and smile all the way down the driveway).

I pulled out my Cheery Vanilla socks and knit a few rounds as I sipped my beer and the subsequent Lemon Drop Martini. None of the other Moms are especially fibery but they like me and don’t bat an eye at my knitting. I got to laugh, knit and drink with some fantastic ladies. I cannot wait for January to roll around for the next one!!

Do you have a tribe?

Trying and Thinking

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I have been giving my Autumn League Pullover a little more love lately. It really is so close to done that it seems ridiculous to let it languish. I plowed through several more inches of stockinette body and decided to slip it on my try it on tubing.

I have a tank on underneath but it is fitting well across the bust. But it is getting a bit tight over the tummy area. it may not look like it in the photo with the cord and stockinette rolling up. I am considering adding some waist increases to account for my belly and hips. I want this sweater to be a comfy and lounge piece. I feel like being tight across my waist is just going to make me not want to wear it.

I don’t think I need a ton of extra stitches, maybe just three or four sets of two stitch increases on each side? I need to math the gauge a little bit. The other part that I am considering is to work the hem as a split hem instead of a band. The split will help the fit as well me thinks…

Happy Knitting!!

Almost There

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By the grace of a three hour car trip with the hubby driving and a minivan with a DVD player….I have a finished hat! (It really did take me all of 2.5 hours to do crown decreases because the tiny humans kept demanding snacks, toys and other nonsense.) This is my Modified Barley I started for conference knitting last week. I took the tiny humans to see the grandparents and to attend my hometown Fall Fest. It worked out well for my knitting.

This blurry awkward car selfie is the best I have right now. I finished the decreases and it promptly got sorted to the bottom of my knitting bag. I’ll see if I can dig out some better FO photos this week.

I did snag a pretty awesome sunset knitting photo. I was working the last few decrease rounds as we rode off into the sunset. It’s fall harvest in Kansas so the air is full of dust and dirt. Makes it REAL hard on the allergies but the most gorgeous yellow and orange displays of mother nature.

Happy Knitting!!