Category Archives: Socks

Socks In The Wild

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I spent some time stomping around my hometown with Jellybean visiting Papa and Grandma last weekend. It was a crisp 40 degrees Fahrenheit but that didn’t stop Jellybean from convincing Papa to play at the park. I played chauffeur.

I wisely chose to sit in the mini van with podcasts (and heat) while Papa chased Jellybean. I had my Vacation Vanilla Socks tucked into my backpack and when I examined them I realized I was ready to start the heel! I improvised some fancy stitch markers from scraps of yarn scavenged from the bottom of my knitting bag and off I went with a standard toe up gusset heel.

This is the second sock and i’m secretly hoping to finish them before PB’s arrival. We shall see…

Happy Knitting

FO Friday: Accidental Travel Socks

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Tah Dah……the Accidental Travel Socks are in the FO column and I’m in love!!!

Thanks to Daylight Savings time (the only time I will EVER type that, lol) I got some decent photos of my finished socks. You guys…this yarn is so fantastic that it practically glows in the sunlight. I would have taken photos on my feet but my ankles are starting to grow in all their pregnancy glory, lol.

Pattern: 68 stitch cuff down vanilla sock with contrasting afterthought heels and toes

Yarn: Kirby Wirby Hand Dyed Self Striping Sparkle Fingering yarn in Poly Pigtails colorway

Needles: US 1 nine inch circs

I used 69 grams or 300 yards of the self-striping and 10 grams or 44 yards of the solid contrasting color. So just around 80 grams of yarn or 344 yards. The foot is my standard 9 inch length and the leg is right at 7 inches. They have a lot of negative ease….whether that is due to the actual sock or my hormonally enhanced ankles is to be determined. For now these pretties are going to be tucked safely into my sock drawer for a cold and blustery winters day.

Happy Knitting!!

P.S. Stay tuned for Saturday morning where I will post the 1,000 Giveaway winner! 🙂

 

Matching Heels

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The toes are installed on my Accidental Travel socks…squee!!!

I literally cannot put these down. Jellybean hasn’t been very consistent about sleeping and PB is growing like a weed making it not easy to find a comfortable pregnancy position. These socks have been like salve to my soul. Who needs sleep when you can knit pretty yarn?

Today I’m going to cut in the true afterthought heel and try to get them knit up. I do a little bit of my own flavor of afterthought heel that adds the depth I need for my foot/heel. I’ll try to remember to put notes on my Ravelry page on what I do. If I work a heel like a “standard” toe its NO WHERE NEAR deep enough of a pocket to fit my foot.

Happy Knitting

A Tale of Two Socks

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My (accidental) travel socks have been giving me the call of the siren lately. They have been living in my work backpack and I have been pulling them out during my lunch breaks and car riding blocks of time. My work load at my job is totally whack-a-doodle and I have found the need for knitting comfort a lot lately. (Whack-a-doodle being an official accounting term, lol)

I have firmly decided to add contrasting toes and heels in some solid grey that matches nicely. And I am working both socks at the same time. I work a little on one and then some on the other as I feel to keep them roughly the same size. The yarn balls are the same amount by the way, one is center pull and the other pulling from the outside so the stripes match up. Therefore the yarn balls are more/less compact giving the illusion of two different amounts. I’m just going to knit peaceful stockinette until they are long enough or I run out of yarn, whichever comes first.

They only caveat to this plan would be to use the ball (left) that has an un-used center pull portion to add a square to my mitered square blanket before I use up all the yarn. I have been feeling the call of that project as well and I think this cheery skein would be a great addition.

Happy Knitting!!

WIP Wednesday: Travel Vanilla Socks

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My Travel Vanilla Socks were very handy at my work conference. (Side note….I saw a fellow attendee doing two handed stranded colorwork with a chart….I was in awe. She was still totally listening and participating. Legitimately awesome.)

I found myself picking them up very often at my conference. So in the span of three days I made the above progress. I’m pretty happy with a good chunk of two socks cranked out.

I also started contemplating how I was going to finish these socks. I don’t normally work cuff down so I don’t have a “favorite” cuff down heel. I recently acquired some plain grey Heritage sock yarn in my stash and I’m considering contrast toes and afterthought heels. So I’m thinking about just cranking these tubes until I get to the length I want and finish toes in grey. I think I’ll just see how my tubes turn out!

Happy Knitting!!

Travel Knitting

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Recently I had the opportunity to travel for work. I was headed to the cold tundra that was Minnesota in February. I attended a three day software conference in a very nice part of St. Paul Minnesota in a fantastic hotel. The week that lead up the conference was incredibly busy and hectic including the last minute cancellation of baby sitting plans. I barely had to time to keep my head above water at work and pack something resembling a suitably filled suitcase. At the last second I grabbed by project bag that held my Down Pour socks I had planned on redoing and dashed to the airport. I knew they had wooden needles from Joanns that I wouldn’t mind losing to a zealous TSA agent. 

Once at the airport and safely through security where my knitting was not deemed a security threat, I pulled out my project and pattern only to find that I needed several stitch markers and they were not in my kit. I had needles, yarn and pattern ONLY. Sigh, so these socks had to become cuff down vanilla socks. Not my favorite…but it was better than than no knitting at all for four days.

I made up for my project D’oh by knitting in the posh hotel wrapped in a plush bathrobe with the remote control all to myself! I have to say is that was pretty much heaven to a pregnant knitter after sitting in ballroom conference chairs for 7 hours!

I’ll try to show my total trip progress if I can grab some updated photos this week. Happy Knitting!!

A Smidgeon of Sock

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I have been cheating on my Pigskin Party knitting.

This is a WIP that predates the KAL so it doesn’t count for points. But my Strands of Drunken Watermelon socks have been living in my desk and I’ve put some stitches on the second sock during long webinars and conference calls. I’ve made maybe an inch? Slowly but surely this will be sock someday!

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Vanilla Rainbow Socks

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Phew! I finished my (hopefully) last Christmas knit! My Vanilla Rainbow Socks!


These were a quick but slow knit for reasons I’ll explain later. But they match almost perfectly! And I turned them in for FOUR KALs for points/possible prizes. How can you not love that?

Pattern: 64 stitch toe up vanilla sock with gusset heel

Needles: US2 nine inch circs

Yarn: Cascade Heritage Prints in the Rainbow color

My mom really like these so they might end up being for her. And the Christmas pair I finished prior might go to my aunt Barb. I used 310 yards or 71 grams of the skein so they could have been bigger but I was soooo done with this project I just couldn’t do it!

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Mom’s Christmas Socks

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I finally finished my Mom’s Christmas Socks!! And they are pretty spiffy if I do say so myself.

Pattern: 66/64 stitch vanilla toe up sock

Yarn: Cascade Heritage Prints in the Holidays colorway

Needles: US 2s

I used 78 grams or 341 yards of the skein to make an almost perfectly matching set! I did a traditional toe up gusset heel and didn’t bother with yarn management. I just let the stripes do what they will. These socks do fit me since the fabric has plenty stretch. I think my mom will love them at Christmas 🙂

Happy Knitting!

P.s. I entered these in the Carolina Fiber Girls Socktober contest and the Pigskin Party 2017 KAL. Love the double dipping!

Cast On: Vanilla Rainbow Socks

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Spoiler alert…I’ll have a FO to show this Friday. And that FO freed up some needles for another Socktober project.

Using the Surburban Stitcher bag I just splurged on I cast on some new socks in a skein of Cascade Heritage Prints in the rainbow color I picked up this summer. These are destined for the gift pile, quite possibly for my Aunt Barb. They are a toe-up vanilla sock over 64 stitches on size 2 US needles. I only needed the foot to be 8 inches instead of my normal 9 inches. So it just zoomed compared to my normal 68 stitch socks on size 1 US needles.

Seriously though, this project literally flew. The above photo represents two days worth of knitting. And this photo is the first one I took because I couldn’t put the sock down long enough to snap a photo, lol. I’m hoping to keep the mojo going on this project and have another FO very soon!

Happy Knitting!!