Socks At The Capital

I have been trying to get away from desk and the temperatures are finally dipping below 85.90 degrees therefore I have brought back lunchtime knitting walks. I have mapped out a 1 mile, 1.5 mile and 2 mile circuit. Most of the involve walking around the Kansas State Capital building, which is a gorgeous.

My Advent Socks #3 have progressed nicely. I am starting the toe up gusset heel on my first sock. I do occasionally have to stop walking to check my stiches or look to see if I’m ready for a increase.

I may only grab 30 or 34 minutes to myself but it really has made a difference on how fast these socks are growing. I can add several row even on a short walk! I am feeling all the mojo to get the heels done on this project.

Happy Knitting!!

Knitting On The Plaza

My work life has been bonkers lately and shows no sign of easing up. I was having a particularly bad day so I got up from my desk and took myself downtown to the community plaza with my Advent Socks #3.

The sun was shining and the Adirondack chair was comfy. I did have a little sweat bee friend try to make friends with my brightly colored project bag, lol. I took 30 minutes to myself, listened to a podcasts and just knit in peace.

Definitely need to do that more often! Happy Knitting!!

Two Tiny Sock Toes

Slowly but surely I have two tiny toes complete. I decided to work my Advent Socks #3 in tandem, but on two different needles. The first color is complete and I’m just starting the second color.

The first color is reads very fall to me. It is a blend of pinks, browns and greens that makes me smell crisp red fall apples. The next color up is a variegated green that I think transitions nicely. It gets crazy after that as I see some purple poking through. These will be patchwork socks for sure.

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: 2020 Advent Socks #3

Now that the Down Cellar Studio’s Pigskin Party KAL is here and going full force I am casting on ALL THE THINGS to earn all the points I can. First up is a pair of socks to live in my purse!

This the LAST of my 2020 BFL advent minis from agirlandherwool. I had already made socks here and here with the rest. These will be my “recipe” of 68 stitch toe up vanilla socks with gusset heels. I obviously haven’t made it that far but that will come in time. I will earn yardage points AND sponsor points for this dyer. I am really trying to use my stash to my advantage and wrack up the points this year.

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Purple Rain Vanilla Socks

Happy Friday! Let me dazzle you with my latest FO. My Purple Rain Vanilla Socks are done, blocked and photographed on my very very very dry grass.

Pattern: My own toe up vanilla sock recipe with 68 stitches and a gusset heel

Yarn: KFI Luxury Sock in Purple Rain gradient

Needles: US 1s

There are some SUPER tall socks. They still fit okay, especially after blocking. I have a little room in the toes but nothing untoward. And the they come up very high on my round calves. They smell wonderful like lavender wool wash so I need to tuck them into sock drawer for the coming fall.

Next up for my sock focus…..my third pair of scrappy advent mini skein socks. Just need to work up the mojo!

Happy Knitting!!

Setting Myself Up For Success

I decided to set myself up for success for my third and last pair of 2020 Advent Socks by splitting the minis in half and then winding them in order into little sock balls.

After some travails on my second sock where I didn’t get the mini skeins split into half in a super even manner….I decided to be really serious about these last ones. I opened each mini and found each end. I then paired them and wound them across the room until I got to the middle of the yarn. I would then break the yarn and start winding to small balls. I repeat for the next color and spit sliced the ends together.

Oh, and I made sure to start with last mini and wind to where I wanted to start. Feeling proud that I remembered how hand wound yarn works, lol.

Now I just need the mojo to really get these cast on! Happy Knitting!!

So Freaking Close

Huzzah for paper clips as they work in a pinch when you don’t have stitch markers! I am now ready for the second cuff on my Purple Rain Vanilla Socks. 🙂

I *think* was able to match up the increases fairly well with the first sock. It really did help to have the increases marked visibly on my first sock. I could follow along and know when to add in an increase on the second. It actually made the knitting faster and easier.

I have one tiny little cuff left and I can move this project to the finished column. Literally CANNOT WAIT! 🙂

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: 2020 Advent Socks #2

Another pair of socks is in the books! The second pair of my 2020 Advent Socks are finished and blocked.

Pattern: My own toe up vanilla sock “recipe” with 68 stitches and a gusset heel

Yarn: A Girl and Her Wool BFL Sock in the 2020 Advent mini skeins

Needles: US 1s

The fit is better on this pair than my first attempt here. And as I had hoped, I think I have just enough minis for a third pair of socks. Which would be nice for both my sock drawer and to completely use up the minis from this advent calendar.

Now….I just need to get the next set of socks cast on! Happy Knitting!!

Second Sock Slog

I’m really feeling the slog of sock number two on my Purple Rain Vanilla Socks. It is great purse knitting/knit while walking knitting. But my knitting brain wants to be doing other things so I don’t find myself excitedly picking this project up.

Despite my ennui, I have finished the second foot and turned the heel. I do need to take a moment to count and measure all the leg increases I put in on the first sock. I am not going to go so far as to count rows to make mirror images. But I would like them to be close0-ish.

Happy Knitting!!

Ready For Advent Cuffs

I have plodded my way through the legs of my 2020 Advent Socks, pair number two. The sock on the left is using my new Flexi Flips and the pair on the right is on a normal 9 inch circular.

I cannot tell an appreciable difference between the two needles. Both are making consistent socks. I am not seeing any laddering with the flexi flips either. So far, pretty pleased with both. I could see myself using either comfortably depending on my mood.

All I have left on these socks are two cuffs. Feels very nice to be so close to a FO. I always get a little mood boost when I can pet a finished piece.

Happy Knitting!!