Finished: 2018 Advent Socks

The 2018 Advent Socks are done and dusted!

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

Yarn: The Cozy Knitter 2018 Advent Stripe skein and The Cozy Knitter Bliss Sock white mini skein

Needles: US 1s

I used about 15 grams of the white contrast for the toes and heels. While I used exactly half of the advent skein. The Cozy Knitter sends hers with two full repeats of the 24 color design. So I can get two pairs of socks out of these skeins for my US 9 womens shoe size. I did mess up one sock slightly as the heel and toe are just slightly off alignment. But that doesn’t affect their wearability so I’m rocking it.

I do have the remainder of the skein to do something with. I think I will move on to the 2019 skein and save all the second halves. And then I will take all the seconds and send off to be cranked into sock snakes. Then I can batch create the second pair of each color.

Seems simple right? Happy Knitting!!

Grafting The Heels

The 2018 Advent Socks are extremely close to being done.

I cut the heels in last week and got the live stitches on the needles. I have just been avoiding knitting the actual heels. I do a modified afterthought heel where I add extra plain rows when I start the heel and methodically work down to the alternating decrease row/plain row pattern. This creates a deeper heel that fits my specific foot better. The fabric doesn’t slip down into the foot portion nearly as badly.

Both of these are ready for Kitchener and I’m feeling the task avoidance….

Happy Knitting!!

Cutting In 2018 Heels

The tubes are done for the 2018 Advent Vanilla Socks!

I measured and cut in for where my heels need to go. It’s so hot here in Kansas that I plan to skip the wool and do some reading in the basement where the air doesn’t hurt my face. But I think another evening of swim lessons or indoor gymnastics and I will have finished heels. And therefore finished socks!

I will have half a skein of the self striping left. I am formulating an idea where I save the second halves of all my advent skeins and send them off to be machine knit into snakes….stay tuned….

Happy Knitting!!

How The Heck Did That Happen

I pulled my 2018 Cozy Knitter Advent socks from my work bag the other evening for a night meeting and the project bag was SOAKED.

Honestly it was both wet and stained a pink/orange color. I have NO idea what could have happened. It didn’t smell bad and I don’t remember putting any liquids inside my work back pack. It was bizarre

Luckily, the bag seems to have held the damage. I couldn’t inspect the socks in the moment and I kept knitting because they felt dry to the touch. But I pulled them out at home and I don’t sees any discoloration. I have since put them in a new bag and I am putting the project bag through the wash. And now I will always wonder how to solve this mystery….

Happy Knitting!

Easy Saturday Mornings

This past Saturday Jellybean had an 8 am baseball game. While I was grateful for the cooler temps it was less than ideal to get up early on my day off. The things I do for being a mom. So I grabbed some energy and my 2018 Advent Socks and watched our team win and my son be MVP of the game.

I recently upgraded to a rocking camp chair and it makes all the difference in the world. I feel more comfortable for knitting ergonomics and I can rock out the anxiety of the close plays and my kid’s at bats.

I think I added at least two stripes per sock during this game. I need to count to determine how far I am into the 24 stripes I am for these socks. Socks make such an easy thing to travel with and drop quickly when a foul ball comes at me or PB.

Happy Baseball Knitting!!

Cast On: 2024 Advent Socks Take Two

I have been watching The Cozy Knitter make her advent socks and she does this cool feature of adding blips of the contrast yarn as she changes stripes. I have always meant to try it but then the holidays hit and I can only manage stockinette. After finishing a vanilla version, I am committing to trying this out!

I had to dig through my scraps to find some toe yarn. It’s a light grey from Red Door Fibers and should blend well with this mix of colors. I then used the scraps of the white contrast yarn from The Cozy Knitter to start my blips every 4th st.

This is my normal recipe for a 68 stitch toe up vanilla sock. I will do afterthought heels and this time inside a stripe to not mess up my colorwork. I am trying to work hard to make my floats stretchy and not pull them tight. It would be nice if these socks fits at the end!

So far I am happy with the look of these and I am learning a lot about managing the white yarn to avoid 1,000 ends on the inside. Should be interesting!!

Happy Knitting!!

Bifrost On The Wild

The temperatures around here are slowly coming down. Enough for this momma to agree to a morning park adventure before it really gets crowded. COVID is flaring badly around here so I am balancing fun activities with safe activities. But this isn’t a COVID blog so I digress.

I packed my Bifrost along for the trip. I managed maybe two or three rows in between chasing kids across the massive park and pushing swings. But for a few minutes I was in the warm sun with soft yarn running between my fingers.

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!!

Cast On: 2020 Advent Socks #2

I may have already ordered not one but two yarny advent calendars…..sue me. But it really made motivated to keep working through my agirlandherwool advent calendar from Christmas 2020. I really liked how the first advent/scrappy socks turned out so I am casting on another pair.

I decided not to use the full skein/main color in this pair. I’m just diving right into the minis since they are 20 grams and go really far towards making a sock. I split the mini into two 10 gram balls and I will work each sock concurrently to make sure I keep the colors the same.

Depending on how many minis I use, I might even squeak out a third pair? My main goal is to get all the minis knit up before the other calendars show up in November, wish me luck!

Happy Knitting!

Heels For Advent Socks

I am into the fifth color on my 2020 Advent Socks and I am SUPER happy that I am doing these in tandem. It’s going to feel so good to cast off the cuffs and have a finished pair of socks!

I have the first heel finished all the way and I’m into the decreases on the second sock. I think I should be able to fit about three more minis into these socks before the cuff. Who knows….maybe I will go crazy and make tall socks. Who am I kidding, it likely depend on how tired I am by the time I finish the legs.

Happy Knitting!!