Progress With A Paw

I must admit that this project has gotten a little lost in the hubbub that is my life. I started this Sparkly Handspun Hat to match mitts I previously made. The hat has grown by maybe 10 or 15 rows but is languishing at the bottom of my WIP bag. It won’t take long to finish so I am going to try to get this in the rotation more.

And Duke couldn’t miss being part of this update. I kept pushing him out of frame or putting him in sit but it never lasted. He is 1 now and firmly in the annoying teenage phase where he is stronger than me. He is a good sweet boy….just wonderfully bonded to me, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Spring Spa Knitting

I have started my job and trying to settle in and keep my brain from exploding. So I took some time to myself. I scheduled an outdoor soak and some peace and quiet.

Spent some time listening to the wind blow and knit on my Sport Ankle Socks. The hot tub was still set to winter temperature and spring has sprung here in Kansas so it was a little toasty. Was very glad for the water!

The trick to this relaxation is to keep your hands dry and your head clear. The heel is now turned and I have 18 rows of leg to knit before finishing with ribbing. At least with sock #2 I can count what I did with sock #1 and not rely on my memory!

Happy Knitting!!!

Gymnastics Heel

The second heel on my Sport Ankle Sock is well on its way. Thanks to PB’s weekly gymnastics lesson.

In typical Knitter Rachelle fashion I have bags inside of bags inside of bags. It’s only a 60 minute lesson and I took two projects, two beverages and my latest podcasts.

A few more decreases and I will be on to the leg portion. Which in this pair, is very short. I am still on the fence about the foot length on this project but that’s a problem for future Rachelle. For now, I’m just petting the cashmere softness of this yarn!

Happy Knitting!!

Coordinating Minis

I did some stash diving over the weekend to find coordinating mini skeins to work with my sock snakes for Jellybean.

For the Tofutsies skein, I chose a purple skein from Leading Men Fiber Arts. The sock snake is pinks, burgundy, oranges and maybe some yellow. The purple is a definitely a coordinating contast. For the green snake, I found a Knitted Wit Smartie skein in a forest green color. This one stays in the color family.

Now I just need to run these by Jellybean for his approval and then we can start knitting!

Almost Another Advent Pair

The 2023 Advent Leftover Socks are ALMOST done. Heel #1 is in and I’m starting on heel #2.

I just love how neat and tidy socks look on a sock blocker. The fit on the first sock is pretty good. I have been doing my own “recipe” for an afterthought heel for awhile where I add a number of extra plain rows in between my decreases to add depth to the heel. Works pretty well for my foot shape.

I also try to knit at a pretty tight gauge to improve longevity and wear on the fabric. Does take a toll on my hands after a bit. Happy Knitting!!!

Steel Heels

It took a hot minute but I finally I decided on and found a heel color for my 2023 Leftover Advent socks. During my 2019 trip to Oregon, I have a stash of Knitted Wit smarties and it was perfect.

This photo of the actual socks is older from my camera roll but the only one with the mini skein in it. I think the dark neutral will work nicely as the heel color. It’s not a color that exists anywhere in the skein.

The tubes are done and ready for the afterthought heels to be inserted. Should only be a couple more hours and I will have finished socks!

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!!

Cottony Progress

The Scrappy Cotton blanket is growing nicely. This is 1,000% faster than a fingering weight granny stripe blanket, lol.

I am not going to have to enough yarn for even a tiny baby blanket. So I am pivoting, this will be a fidget blanket for a coworker who likes to stick her fingers through the spaces to feel the fabric. All of this yarn is very soft cotton so it give a very nice sensation.

I’m down to the last skein of the green that I will add to balance out the “pattern” I made with the color blocking. When it’s done I will wash and block the crap out of it to see what the finished size is.

Happy Crochet!!