Tag Archives: WIP

Knitting In The Heartland 2024

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Ya’ll….I made it! Back to Knitting in The Heartland after the heartbreaking cancelation in April of 2020. A lot of things went wrong leading up to the event, but we got there!

And the highlight? Getting to listen and learn from The Yarn Harlot herself, Stephanie Pearl McPhee. Her keynote was delightful and all about how knitting influenced knitters during the pandemic.

The hotel was so nice and I got two nights away from the family surrounded by yarn. I even took Stephanie’s Knit Smart class! It was a recharging weekend that was badly needed. And of course I hit the market so I will share that separately. 🙂

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Prism Socks

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Spring germs are REAL in this house and it’s knocked us all down for a minute. I had meant to get my next self striping socks on the needles after finishing my leftover advent socks, but that stalled.

I took my project to where I knew I would be a captive audience….literally. The hubs and I had tickets to see Brett Goldstein (of Ted Lasso fame) do standup. So I brought my yarn and needles and got to knitting during the pre-show and the ride home. Brett was amazingly funny, btw!

This yarn is the Inertia base from String Theory Colorworks and in the Prism color. So it will be a very vibrant rainbow with mini stripes of charcoal in-between. I am constructing my standard 68 stitch toe up tube with afterthought heel on US 1s. And I plan to work them in tandem so as to avoid second sock syndrome.

I wish I could find my metal US1s but the wooden ones will do for now. I can always switch later. I think these will be my backpack project or car console project since they fit nicely into a zipper pouch.

Progress With A Paw

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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!!