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.
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.
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.
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.
I finished turning the heel on my Zoom meeting project. My first Toxic Oreo sock now has a heel!
I’m really happy with how evenly the speckles spread out as I increased the number of stitches in the heel. And I’m now I’m set up to just keep working up the leg. This is now PERFECT meeting knitting. And the Lemonade Shop yarn is just the perfect bright pick-me-up to the winter grey and gloom.
Happy Wednesday to all! I took some time this week to turn the heel on my second Antagonist Vanilla Sock. Why is so satisfying to finish a heel and then just sit an admire the magic that is a hand knit sock heel?
I really was feeling the vibes of this sock. You see that progress keeper? That is where I was last Tuesday. I completed the fit and finished the heel! All that is left is the small leg and then the cuff.
I haven’t officially finished this sock, but I’m already dreaming of my next sock cast on…..probably something self-striping…..
Welcome to Friday everyone! May it be as happy and peaceful as possible during this time period as possible. I am excited this Friday because I have a HO (half finished object)!! I finished the first Antagonist Sock.
I am really pleased with this project so far. I didn’t have a super concrete plan in mind so I just kind of worked the leg until I was bored and then I started the ribbing. Turns out I made a “just a little bit higher than shorties” sock. It is not low rise at all but fits nicely at the base of my ankle. The fabric feels good on my foot and the whole sock fits nicely. I am definitely moving on to getting sock number two on my needles. The little speckles and pops of color are really making my soul happy.
In these photos you might notice a new tool. I was completely surprised by the husband with a present for no reason surprise. He found some metal sock blockers on the interwebs and got them for me. They are PERFECT my large lady sized feet. He definitely earned some husband points on this one. I really like a great knitting tool!
I worked the toe up gusset heel ala Wendy D Johnson and I’m started up the leg. I haven’t decided what kind length of socks these want to grow up to be. I really do need more shorties in my drawer but this is really nice auto pilot knitting. I may not be ready to start the toe of the second sock….
I think I will sleep on it for a couple of days. Happy Knitting!!
My purse knitting has been fruitful! My Helping Hippos Vanilla socks both have heels now! These have seen many a waiting room and lots of windshield time.
Pssst….don’t worry the sock feet are the same number of rows. I just managed to snap a picture from some weird angle that makes one look bigger than the other. I guess perspective is a b*tch, lol.
Now I just need to cruise up the legs and finish the cuffs. I gotta love me some auto pilot stockinette in the round. It is my happy place lately.
I need to catch you up on my Helping Hippos Vanilla sock progress! Thanks to some conference calls at work (PB is now full time daycare so I’m not juggling her at work anymore) and some road hours to visit the grandparents my socks have seen some decent progress!
The first sock I started now has a completed toe up gusset heel and is ready to zoom up the leg. The second sock has gained 3 inches of foot. You can seen my progress keeper and corresponding progress.
This three inches is the equivalent of both my children napping in the car for two hours on the way to the grandparents. So you know…basically finding a unicorn or the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!
I’m very pleased with the first sock as the speckles really distributed themselves nicely both through the foot and throughout the gusset heel. With speckled yarn you really can never tell how it’s going to end up. But this batch appears to make a fairly uniform fabric and I’m pleased.
My Tangled Yarn Knitting Adventures 