Tag Archives: speckles

Speedy Speckles

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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.

Happy Knitting!!

WIP Wednesday: Helping Hippos Vanilla Socks

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Thanks to some recent car travel time and my children not being COMPLETELY insane. I managed to work a fair bit on my Helping Hippo Vanilla socks!

The sock on the right is the first one and it’s ready for the gusset heel. I didn’t have my heel notes handy and I didn’t have a stitch marker either but I still had quite a ways to go on our drive. So I put those aside and started the sock on the left. I mean…I can’t not knit while in the car right?

I’m really pleased with the speckles and finding it hard to put them down!

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Helping Hippos Vanilla Socks

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My sock needles have been telling me that they feel very cold lately. Other than the backup pair of socks in my desk that haven’t seen the light of day in ages….I don’t have any socks on the go. This is very abnormal for me.

So I decided to pull some special yarn from my stash. It’s a Lolodidit hippo colorway….Helping Hippos (that she made for hurricane relief). It’s a ton of many many colored speckles and the perfect antidote to the grey of winter coming. I split the hank into two equal 50 gram skeins to make a pair of socks.

These are my own sock recipe of a toe-up 68 stitch vanilla sock with a gusset heel. I am knitting these on US 1.5 nine inch circular needles. I managed to get the first toe started!

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Thotful Spot Hat

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I have a new hat for winter! The Thotful Spot Hat is officially finished, washed, blocked and photographed!! Truth be told…all but the photographs have been done for quite a awhile. I honestly forgot about this finish until I excavated my office and found the FO still in it’s project bag. And it’s worth noting, Jellybean insisted I use his purple patio chair as the backdrop because “duh mom”. And those were his exact words….smh….

Pattern: Thotful Spot Hat by Sarah Schira (Imagined Landscapes)

Yarn: Potion Yarns (Temptress base) in the Walk on the Left Side color

Needles: US 4s and 5s

I used roughly 79 grams or 183 yards of yarn for the medium size in the pattern.

This pattern is extremely well written and super simple yet chic for my sleep deprived brain. I especially liked the unique ribbing that Sarah included. The neutral white base with the pops of color should blend well with my wardrobe and winter coats. And the DK weight yarn has a nice heft to the fabric so it should be nice and toasty.

I didn’t follow the decreases *exactly* to pattern due to my lack of careful reading. But I think they turned out quite nicely and no one will ever notice. And now that I think about it…I am pretty sure I forgot to switch my needles from the 4s to the 5s after the ribbing….whoops. Oh well! This was my second ever DK weight hat….I think I need to knit more of these, it works up so easily and fast!

Happy Knitting!!

WIP Wednesday: Thotful Spot Hat

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The knitting and napping method worked so swell the other day that I tried it again on my Thotful Spot hat!

I’m past the brim and well into the stockinette section. I just need to hit the magic number of 7 inches of work and I can start decreasing for the crown! This project has moved into the “bedside table” slot now that it’s stockinette in the round (in addition to nap-time knitting). But will have to be demoted after I get to the decreases. Double pointed needles plus counting stitches for decreases do not mix with almost complete darkness.

Happy Knitting!!

Push Present….So To Speak

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I may or may not have splurged on a little push present for myself. PB came so early that I didn’t have time to get my prenatal massage that my husband arranged. So I did a little yarn shopping to aid my surgical recovery.

I picked up some GnomeAcres mini skeins for my memory blanket and a OOAK skein from Yarn Ink. These are both dyers I have not worked with before and have been coveting for a long time.

I’m not sure what the Yarn Ink will become. I’m thinking some sort of ribbed or vanilla sock to really show off the speckles. Only time will tell! I need more yarn like I need a hole in my head but sometimes I just can’t help myself…

Happy Knitting!!

Nesting….Knitting Style

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So PB’s arrival marches ever closer. And while we are not ready because why would we need the bassinet assembled, the car seat installed, or meals in the freezer? But I do have my hospital bag is packed and you guys…..I may have included a (wishful thinking) project in there.

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I have been lusting after the Thotful Spot Hat by Sarah Schira for awhile. And the speckled DK skein from Potion Yarns has been calling my name since Knitting in the Heartland. In a fit of nesting I pulled out some needles, the yarn, printed pattern and a brand spanking new project bag…..and I cast on and established the brim pattern. And then promptly tucked the whole shebang into my suitcase.

I realistically may never touch it during my hospital stay. (I will have a guaranteed three night stay thanks to a c-section so it is a possibility.) But part of me feels reassured that if need be I will have pretty yarn and an easy project if I get the knitting itch. Maybe that is it’s point? To be a source of comfort and mental focal point during a time of joyous yet monumental change….just waiting in case it’s needed from inside a cheerful project bag. Only time will tell!

Happy Knitting!!!

A Speckled Finish

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You guys….I finished ANOTHER THING! My Vacation Vanilla socks are done done done!

Pattern: 72 stitch toe-up vanilla sock with a gusset heel

Yarn: Andromeda Sock yarn in the “My Nerves” colorway. I used 80 grams or 370 yards of yarn

Needle: US 0 nine inch circular

Gauge: 9 stitches and 13 rows per 1 inch

My feet and ankles are not there normal size at the moment so pardon the sock blocker only photos. And to be honest I’m not sure how they fit, lol. I will have to stash them safely in my sock drawer until I’m no longer retaining water like the Hoover Dam! But I really adore the speckles. I did notice that one sock appears to have darker tint than the other. Not that it really bothers me and I am well aware this happens with hand dyed indie skeins quite a bit.  Just found it a bit odd when I laid them side by side, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Into Hibernation: Part Two

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Today I bring you the second WIP going into hibernation due to the Pigskin Party KAL. These are my Vacation Vanilla socks. I finally made myself make a decision about where to place the cuff and finished the first sock.

I have to admit this project was created sort of on the fly. I was on vacation this summer and needed another project on the needles after finishing the one that I had packed. So I had the yarn shop wind this right up and I cast on a vanilla sock with the needles I had on hand. They are size 0s which are not what I usually make socks on. But this yarn seemed on the lighter side of fingering and I went up to 72 stitches to compensate. But as I was knitting those niggling thoughts kept creeping in that this sock looked very skinny for my big girl feet.

Well turns out I skated through by the skin of my teeth. The foot fits beautifully as does the heel. But the leg is a wee bit snug. These will not fall down for sure. I did increase three stitches every inch or so as I went up the leg. You can sort of see my increases in the photo above. I’m so glad I did and honestly it could have stood a couple more. The fabric is really stretched at the top of the leg and cuff.

But if anyone is that close to my foot so as to notice that detail of the fabric they are going to get a foot to the face, lol. As with my Drunken Watermelon socks I did go ahead and cast on the toe of the second sock and get started in the round. These will be my “emergency movie theatre or spontaneous car trip knitting” if I happen to need an easy vanilla project.

Happy Knitting!!

Up The Leg

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My Vacation Vanilla Socks saw a little more progress thanks to a trip to IKEA. Jellybean got a big boy twin bed that doubles as a tent/secret hideout. God bless the swedes….here’s hoping we can sleep sometime soon!


I’ve turned the heel and started up the leg. I can’t get enough of these speckles! I had been working from one large cake of yarn. I broke out the scale to weigh the ball and split the yarn into two equal amounts. This way I can maximize the yarn in these socks. Now I’m just going to knit leg and cuff until I run out of yarn.


Don’t you just love the happy triangle that a gusset heel makes!?

Happy Knitting!