Tag Archives: toe up

Overshot The Heel

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The socks for my dad have kind of been on the back burner lately. I was working on them awhile back and I was talking and knitting at a BBQ and I overshot the heel placement. I was hoping to put in waste yarn for a Susan B Anderson style afterthought heel. But alas it was not to be. I’m going to have to cut in a KirbyWirby style afterthought heel by cutting live stitches. I’ve totally done both before. I was just hoping for the version that is less likely for me to drop stitches.

So with that little oopsie…this project has kind of fallen to the bottom of my WIP pile. It’s not the end of the world but it has kind of killed my mojo a little bit. Has that ever happened to you?

More Work Knitting

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I had some MAJOR organizing and note taking to catch up on after making it through audit season. I love my job but this year has been really challenging due to the fact we had a change of management DURING audit season. Not to mention we have three open positions and a lot people are working double duties.

I try to look at the bright side….my Gonna Need Vanilla Socks are making decent progress on my lunch breaks. Sock number one is already done. And I’m past halfway through the foot on sock number two.

And I love when I can mash up my love of organization and love of knitting. Not to mention knitting has taken the edge off some really stressful days lately!

Happy Knitting!!

HO Friday: Gonna Need Sunglasses Socks

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The good news is that audit season is over. The bad new is that my web-ex meetings have increased again. I decided to make my Gonna Need Sunglasses Socks my conference call knitting this week to see what I could accomplish. Turns out I could finish the leg of sock number one!

I very clearly saw that as I was working up the leg that I was closing in on finishing my second repeat of the color sequence. So I made the arbitrary decision to finish the ribbing in the second neon yellow section. Then my sock would be exactly two full color repeats.

I worked a 68 stitch sock and for my leg I add 8 stitches evenly up the leg to account for my volleyball player calves. This is still A LOT of negative ease and I might could so with 10 or 12 stitches and still have a comfortable socks. But when it comes to to this type of knitting stuff I subscribe to the horseshoes and hand grenades method…..close enough.

Now the one thing I’m questioning is the heel. Normally the heel turn decreases land at the bottom of my heel. But I knit the foot just a hair too long while on Easter travels so this time they land at the back of the ball of my foot. It doesn’t bother me so much to fix it. I am sure I will knit the second sock to match and just watch and see how well this heel wears versus my other ones. I mean, this is regia, so it normally wears like iron so this all could be for not. Time will tell!!

Happy Knitting!

A Day-Glow Heel

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My Easter weekend travails was a really good kick in the pants to keep my Gonna Need Sunglasses Vanilla Socks going. Weeks ago I had cast on the toe and left this sock languish in my bedside table.  And this no-thinking knitting was perfect for a busy and egg filled holiday weekend.

The heel turn is complete and I now have an inch (or more-ish) of leg completed. I have a bugger of time photographing this knit because it’s SO bright. I’m hoping that this sock will turn into movie knitting and the hubby will take me to Avengers Endgame. But time and babysitter availability will tell.

Jellybean LOVES that this project is living in my BB-8 project bag. He can’t understand why I don’t name these “BB-8 Socks”. He is a nerd and comes by it naturally through his dad. But Jellybean does approve of the colors and asked if he could have the leftovers to play with. I’ll convert this child to fiber arts yet!

Happy Knitting!!

Knitting Instead of Sleeping

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Today is the final episode in my Easter knitting saga. After knitting in the car and then knitting on the deck I managed to squeeze a few more minutes here and there in between hunting eggs and I wanted to show you my final weekend progress. I am working the heel turn! Though this progress might have been at the expense of some sleep on my part. I definitely didn’t stay up past my bedtime trying to squeeze in a few more stitches.

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Everyone who spied my sock over the weekend remarked “my that’s bright” and I responded “yes, I know and I love it!”. At this point I have worked through the all the colors in the colors in the progression and have started over. Now I just need to zoom up the leg and viola! I’ll have a sock!

Happy Knitting!!

 

Knitting Al Fresco

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So today’s knitting photo is also courtesy of Easter weekend. My parents have a gorgeous deck on the front of their house. It overlooks a football field (named after my father) and thicket of trees that are just waking up for spring!

I managed to knit a good three inches of foot during our car trip to my parents. And the brisk Kansas breeze and some fresh air really did my soul good while the grandparents chased the babies. The only bummer is that I found a tick crawling on me as they are THICK this year. Ah….country living!

Happy Knitting!!

Knit While They Sleep

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Easter time usually means travel time for us. We packed up the human babies and the fur babies and headed for the grandparents. My dad was making prime rib so I was highly motivated!

It was almost perfect kismet that that PB fell asleep and Jellybean was content his movie and I got to knit! I pulled out my Gonna Need Sunglasses Vanilla socks and started going merrily round and round.

You have to knit while they sleep!!

Dude Socks Are No Joke

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I had a moment of doubt while working my Dad’s 2019 Christmas Socks. They just felt and looked HUGE. Significantly enough that I quit knitting and put them aside just in case I had messed up somewhere.

I mean they are as wide as my hand! See??

I took them and held them up against a pair of socks I previously knit for my husband. Both he and my dad have size 13 feet and can wear the same shoes. And guess what? They were just right.  I guess after knitting women’s socks for so long I forgot what dude socks are like. And size 13 is no joke!

I’m through an entire repeat of the colors. I think I’ve managed 7 inches? My struggle is now to decide on a heel. I’ve always put toe up gusset heels in my dad and husband’s socks because they accommodate a wide foot really well. But this is self striping and I like the look of the bulls-eye looking afterthought heel. I’m just not sure how that will fit? Much debate is going on in my brain because I can’t just easily put in an afterthought heel and change my mind. I would have to re-knit the leg! Sigh…

Happy Knitting!

And Then Stripes Appeared

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I kinda feel silly. I was knitting in a waiting room yesterday (I had my dad’s sock in my bag for purse knitting). As I happily went round and round I thought to myself “oh these are going to be striped!”

This really shouldn’t haven been a surprise to me. The yarn skein CLEARLY shows itself to be self striping. Chalk one up for mommy brain!

They are nice thick stripes on 72 stitches. I can’t even imagine how much bigger these would have been if they had been socks on a stitch count for me! I do like the blend of blues, purples and grey. It’s pleasing yet still “dude” appropriate. But I’m pretty sure if I knit my dad bright pink socks he would proudly wear them, he’s that awesome.

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Dad’s 2019 Christmas Socks

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I was feeling a sock sized hole in my life after finishing my Helping Hippos Socks. My dad is the most grateful and totally knit worthy person in my life. So I decided to get a jump on some 2019 Christmas socks. I found some machine washable sport weight sock yarn in my stash I got from a yarn store closing in 2017. It’s not one I have worked with before but it feels sturdy and will stand up well to my dad’s work boots. I managed to pull together a full kit and get started after my tiny humans went to bed.

The best part of these? While they are 72 stitches total, they are sport weight on US 3 needles so they really feel like they fly!

I am having to keep a lotion bar in my project bag. This yarn just sucks the moisture out of hand. Look at all those lovely guard hairs! These babies are going to warm!!

Happy Knitting!!