Category Archives: Socks

Yarn Chicken?

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My Double Vanilla socks have been the dark horse in my knitting lately. I have been consistently picking them up during school car lines, video meetings and all the in-between times. And all of a sudden in less than a week, I have a second sock! (It really helps that it is DK weight yarn, lol!)

I have been counting my rows to try and match sock #1. But I might be playing a bit of yarn chicken with the second sock. I didn’t line up the photo very well but I still need 5 rows and a bind off on the second sock to match.

Is it really going to matter if I’m off by a row or two? No it is not. And the bonus is that I’m using really super close to 100% of this skein of yarn. No leftovers!!

Happy Knitting!!

HO Friday: Double Vanilla Socks

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Happy Friday all! Today I have a HO instead of FO, lol

This sock really flies along and I managed to complete the leg on my first Double Vanilla Sock. I had just maybe a yard or two left from the first half of the skein.

Now….this is the sock I ripped back and reknit with four extra stitches because it was very skinny. And the finished sock fits but it has no negative ease. What this means is that I could have probably done with only adding two stitches instead of four. It bothers me but not enough to rip back and redo again.

These socks will be just purposely be for tooling around the house like slippers. My next step needs to be is the get the toe of the second sock on the needles ASAP to avoid SSS (second sock syndrome).

Happy Knitting!!

One DK Weight Heel

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My Double Vanilla Sock is growing much faster in its current iteration than it did in the first. The foot literally took no time at all and the heel only one evening’s worth of knitting.

At this point I decided to be smart and weight my yarn ball. After that I weighed my sock. And then did some math and pulled enough yarn off the ball to have split the skein in half. This was done as a precaution and to prevent running out of yarn on sock two.

I think for this pair of socks that are likely to be worn as house slippers, I will knit the leg largely in rib. This will give a nice snug fit and perhaps keep the sock on my foot while its not going to be a in a shoe.

Happy knitting!!

Outdoor Sock

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Spring appears to be here in full swing, even though we had snow in April. I slipped outdoors while PB was napping and the boys were watching a marvel movie. To accompany I chose my Double Vanilla Socks.

I had lemonade, shade, knitting and a podcast in my ears. It was far too fleeting but enjoyable. I managed roughly three inches of sock foot redo after I had ripped all the way back to the toe. Its amazing how fast DK sock yarns works up compared to fingering weight, lol.

Happy Knitting!

Cast On: Purple Rain Socks

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My sock needles/project bag were getting lonely and cold so I decided to cast on a new pair of toe up vanilla socks after I had finished my Toxic Oreo Vanilla Socks.

I went downstairs to my sock yarn stash and rooted around. Being too lazy to get out my swift and ball winder….I selfishly pulled some already caked sock yarn to start my next project.

This is the KFI Collection Painted Sock I picked up on my accidental yarn crawl a few months back. And this yarn has the bonus of already being split for socks. My plan is to knit toe up vanilla socks with gusset heels and just let the gradient fall where it may.

I haven’t knit with this yarn before and I’m not sure how the guage will work out. These could be shorty socks rather than mid-calf socks. But the great benefit of toe up socks is that you can literally work until you run our of yarn!

Happy Knitting!!

Ripping Back

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My Double Vanilla Socks having been sitting in timeout for….awhile. The foot just kept looking super skinny compared to what my normal socks come out to. So I pulled a finished sock from my drawer and held them up together. And my instincts were correct….this sock is too skinny. So to the frog pond it went.

I didn’t go crazy, I only ripped back to the toe. I think I am going to only add 4 stitches to the total sock. That equates to two more increase rows before proceeding with the foot again. I think I will just be happier with a bigger sock.

My interest in this project has been rejuvenated since I made the decision to make them bigger. Sometimes my sub conscious is better at knitting than I am, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Toxic Oreo Vanilla Socks

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I held true to my arbitrary knitting rules and finished my Toxic Oreo Vanilla Socks!

Pattern: my own 68 stitch toe up vanilla sock “recipe”

Yarn: Lemonade Shop Sturdy Sock in Toxic Oreo

Needles: US 1

Mods: none really except for a few increases in the leg region to account my calves

The speckling turns out more pronounced in one sock versus the other. But this happens with indie hand dyed yarn and I’m happy with the individuality. The fit is pretty good with some negative ease without being too tight.

The toe up gusset heel from Wendy Johnson turns out to be a really good fit for my foot and instep. They stay well on my foot during wearing them without stretching out or slouching. I ended using 315 yards of yarn or 68 grams of the 100 gram skein of yarn. So there is a decent skein of yarn leftover for scrap projects.

Now I need to scheme/brainstorm for my next pair of vanilla socks! Happy Knitting!!

Almost Complete Toxic Oreos

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My Toxic Oreo Vanilla Socks have been living in my purse and see slow but steady process. I have reached the cuff of the final sock.

I think last I showed you guys, the second sock was at the heel where I have the project keeper clipped in. I did my best to match the leg increase of the first sock until I got to the total stitch count I needed for the cuff.

If I sit down I could probably knock these out in maybe an hour? And then I would have some new socks to add to my drawer. But knitting heart only wants to work on hats right now. I might have to implement an arbitrary knitting rule and say no more hat knitting until these are finished, lol.

Do you have any arbitrary knitting rules?

FO Friday: 2020 Advent Socks

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I have another pair of socks for my sock drawer! The 2020 Advent Socks are done and ready for my feet.

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

Needles: US 1s

Yarn: AGirlAndHerWool 2020 Christmas Advent Calendar (minis #1 through #8)

These socks are just so cheery and happy. It felt satisfying to actually use up the mini skeins from my advent calendar instead of hoarding them. I will admit the socks are a tad bit big or maybe have less ease that I would normally want. I could have probably done with 64 stitches instead of 68 for the foot and heel sections. But 68 feels good in the leg.

The socks ended up decently tall and the BFL content feels soft but hardy on my feet. I ended up using roughly 360 yards of yarn to finish these socks so that puts these on par with the amount I use from a normal skein.

Finishing these socks inspired me to clean my sock drawer. I pulled out six pairs of socks that I have knit that have shrank in washing (or my feet grew during pregnancy) and no longer fit super well. I gave all six pairs to my sister who wears a size 7 shoe compared to my size 9.5. She was super grateful and I’m hoping those socks get some wear instead of hanging out sadly in my drawer.

Happy Knitting!!

Bring On The Scrappy Cuffs

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I sat down the other day and realized how close my 2020 Advent Socks were to being done. I had finished both heels and scooted right up the leg.

So I have connected the eighth and final mini skein from my 2020 Christmas Advent calendar. I will finish off these socks with some 2×2 ribbing until I run out of this mini. Overall, I’m digging the mix of colors in these calendar. They do look very scrappy but intentional.

Now if you do the math….I have used 8 mini skeins out of 24 so there are 16 left to do something with. If I follow the same “recipe” I could make two more pairs of scrappy socks. Which I may very well do, but not right away. Or maybe I let these percolate for a bit?

My sock drawer is starting to get very fully. I may need to start knitting socks for other people again!

Happy Knitting!!