Yarn On The Slopes

We took the kiddos for a little fun and the first time skiing. I had to tuck some knitting into my ski bag. So my ankle socks got a little mountain time! This is the toe of the second sock as I finished the first one last week. The weather was warm enough to knit without gloves for the most part. But alas, keeping track of two kids on the family slope didn’t give me much free time.

And sometimes, I got lost in the views. It really was a nice trip and a break from work stress. Though, at almost 40….I am not as in shape as I need to be for downhill skiing, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Tubes On The Go

My leftover socks got some windshield time during a recent spring break vacation. We took the kiddos skiing for the first time and they had fun and I discovered I am SUPER out of shape for skiing.

These will definitely be shorties. I have 4-5 stripes left before I run out of yarn. After some quick math, I will do one more round of plain stockinette and then finish the rest of the yarn in ribbing. I do like working these in tandem so that I avoid second sock syndrome!

I still haven’t done any stash diving to find heel yarn. The plan is to cut in afterthought heels with a contrast. The original advent socks used white but I will see what I have in stash that is comparable to this base.

Happy Knitting!!

Coffee And A Wee Toe

It’s a Friday morning after a long week. I needed to recenter so I set out my Ankle socks and my favorite coffee.

I did end up deciding to go up to 64 stitches on these US 2 needles because 60 just looked too small of a circumference. As is my normal operating procedure, these will be toe up vanilla socks….just ankle length this time.

I have also started adding unflavored collagen powder to my coffee for a little protein and hair/nail boost to my morning. I realized that I don’t always get enough protein so I am going to work on some ways to beef up that part of my diet. Did you know that Sams Club makes the most BOMBTASTIC grilled chicken? I could eat that at any time of the day, hot or cold.

Happy Knitting!!

A Good Morning

I’ve had this skein of KnitCircus Opulance in a prototype colorway that will make super cozy and soft socks thanks to the 10% cashmere content. It’s honestly been wound up into two equal balls for weeks but I didn’t have the gumption to start the socks.

But I had the opportunity to get this started on the perfect morning. Early morning appointment for one of the kiddos, no work and a hot coffee. I unpacked my purse on a clean table and had a glorious 30 minutes to myself.

I am casting on 60 stitches and following the same “recipe” as my Emotional Support Socks. I just don’t plan to make them as tall. Maybe ankle height? I need more of those in my rotation for ankle boot days.

Happy Knitting!!

Tubes For Jellybean

Jellybean really hit my heartstrings this winter by asking to wear my handknit socks. Like full commitment….to school and everything. Even to the point I had to pull them off his feet to wash them. Now, he’s a kid so I don’t trust him with just any pair but I found a few that he could keep as his own and he was delighted.

Admittedly, my socks aren’t perfect for him. But his feet are still growing so it’s hard to invest too hard in his current size. I settled on finding some already cranked sock snakes on Etsy. These are 64 stitch tubes in hardwearing sock yarn. They are Jellybean approved colors and I just need to find contrast yarn for heels/toes/cuffs. This way we get to finished socks for him without hours and hours of knitting by me. Win win.

They are really long tubes so I should be able to get a few pair out of each tube. I tried to get Jellybean to tell me if he liked long/tall socks and how he wanted the finished pair to feel. He didn’t 100% understand what I was asking, so I will try again another day, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Gotta Catch Up

My advent leftover socks got a little lopsided this past week. I got so caught up in the conversation I was having that the one on the right got much farther.

I think the red one is stripe 14 so that sock is halfway and the other is just shy. I still really enjoy this yarn and this knitting project lives in my work bag for meetings and doctor’s appointments.

I am making these over 68 stitches instead of 72 like my December advent socks. My other socks fit but have neutral ease instead of negative ease. I don’t feel time pressure with this project so I just let it ebb and flow.

Happy Knitting!!

Book Time Machine

Part of my 2024 plan for wellness is more reading. I joined a book club last year and picked up some new books at the library sale as well. I am trying to incorporate fun and professional reading as a part of my self care.

And I thought it prudent to clear some of the books off my night stand before starting new book. First up is #IMOMSOHARD. I think I started this book in 2022? And I only had a few chapters to go. So Duke and I turned off the TV and wrapped this one up this week.

And we found treasure. I found a printed knit hat pattern that I never made, a tooth fairy note about Jellybean and a crumply post it. Apparently I store things in books?

Happy Reading!

FO Friday: Mom’s In The Light

The wooden coaster turned tassel maker works just fine. I got my tassels finished and temporarily on my Mom’s In The Light. We even got to see that yellow ball in the sky that was the sun for some good photos.

Pattern: In The Light by Casey Day-Crosier (Rav Link)

Yarn: Laneras Barefoot (100% Polworth) held double with yellow and green

Needles: US 8s

Mods: Omitted the lace section to conserve yarn as I only had two skeins.

I tried to style this shawl on my necklace holder. This photo was before it’s wash and blocking so it’s a little scrunchy. But I think it still looks nice. My mom is coming this week so I can get her input on the tassels before I do final touches.

I used every bit of each 400 yard skein for a total of 800 yards used. So this was a nice bang for my buck getting yarn out of my stash. And it will be nice and toasty with the fingering held double.

Pin Update

It’s been a minutes since I got out my bag of stitch markers and assorted progress keepers. I tend to use a small subset of what I have and that is a shame! I also purged the top of my dresser and found 8-10 new enamel pins I needed to add to my collection

My mom made me this simple canvas pouch that is perfect for pin holding. And the tools inside are not at all bothered by the backs on the inside. I would never store yarn in something like this, that would be a nightmare of snagging.

I just need to keep working on filling out the back! PB tells me that she loves the tinkling sound it makes when I carry it and it shakes. She says it like an inside windchime!

Happy Knitting!!

Halfway (Ish)

My blanket mojo is making it hard to work on other projects but my Mom really wants this shawl so I am making sure it gets some love as well.

This is In The Light and I have made it three times before so I am very comfortable with this pattern. Normally this would call for fading but I skipped this to use the yarn my Mom bought. I may be playing yarn chicken…so I am keeping track of my balls of yarn and where I am in the pattern. The edging starts at like 180 stiches and I am at 90 something.

I probably won’t be able to knit the full pattern but I should be able to knit to a stitch count that fits the multiple needed and still add the edging. This will just mean it will be a tid bit smaller, which won’t affect its warmth at all. I just need to keep knitting!!

Happy Knitting!!