Bring On The Scrappy Cuffs

I sat down the other day and realized how close my 2020 Advent Socks were to being done. I had finished both heels and scooted right up the leg.

So I have connected the eighth and final mini skein from my 2020 Christmas Advent calendar. I will finish off these socks with some 2×2 ribbing until I run out of this mini. Overall, I’m digging the mix of colors in these calendar. They do look very scrappy but intentional.

Now if you do the math….I have used 8 mini skeins out of 24 so there are 16 left to do something with. If I follow the same “recipe” I could make two more pairs of scrappy socks. Which I may very well do, but not right away. Or maybe I let these percolate for a bit?

My sock drawer is starting to get very fully. I may need to start knitting socks for other people again!

Happy Knitting!!

Ready For Crown Decreases…Again!

My hat mojo is staying strong this week. I have plowed through several inches of hat this week and I’m now ready for the crown decreases on my Learning to Flick Hat.

I think there might be something to this flicking thing making me a faster knitting with the knit stitch. I think I knocked out about five inches of hat in two evenings worth of bedtime knitting.

I’m using the super scientific eyeball method to determine when to start the decreases. This is paired with looking my ball of yarn and trying to decide if I have enough to get to the end, lol. But mostly when I fold up the brim it looks like I have really decent warm hat that will fit the average adult.

Maybe if I get some decent knitting time tonight I can have a FO tomorrow?

Teaching Myself To Flick

I finished a worsted weight hat last week. It was supposed to be for my dad but ended up going to my daycare provider who is losing her hair to chemo. Well, my needles were cold so I pulled out the second skein of Lilliput Yarn Woof Worsted and cast on another hat over the weekend.

This is the chasing cars colorway and is a nice mix of blues, greens and yellows. I want to learn to flick instead of throw my yarn. I think it will cut down stress on my wrist and possibly make me a faster knitter because I won’t let go of the right hand needle.

Flicking in ribbing was really slow and my index finger got tired so I used a mix of flicking and throwing on the brim. But for the stockinette portion I am flicking all the way and I’m FLYING through this hat. I do have some tension issues but they will work out with practice and aren’t that big of a deal in hat. Honestly, my brain feels kind of good learning a new skill.

Happy Knitting!!

Heels For Advent Socks

I am into the fifth color on my 2020 Advent Socks and I am SUPER happy that I am doing these in tandem. It’s going to feel so good to cast off the cuffs and have a finished pair of socks!

I have the first heel finished all the way and I’m into the decreases on the second sock. I think I should be able to fit about three more minis into these socks before the cuff. Who knows….maybe I will go crazy and make tall socks. Who am I kidding, it likely depend on how tired I am by the time I finish the legs.

Happy Knitting!!

Closer To A Hat

Dad’s hat is swimming right along. This has been great knit night knitting and zoom meeting knitting.

I am not following any kind of pattern. I have 88 stitches and I’m just knitting what feels good. No clue how many inches of ribbing, no clue how long I’ll make the hat portion and no pre-plan for the crown decreases. I’ve been knitting long enough that I’m comfortable with just winging it.

The only thing I do want to try to do is use as much yarn as possible. But I feel like that is a chuckle waiting to happen since I’m winging it. I firmly believe I will either be wildly over or under and either run out or have a ton left. Time will tell, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

2020 Memories

My sock yarn memory blanket has seen some recent daylight. It if officially “squared off” again as I just completed a full row.

I counted and I officially have 165 squares! It fits comfortably across my lap with lots of fabric to spare on either side. I still think I will make it wider but for now I’m going to focus on length.

Some of my more recent square additions include yarn from my Into the Light and Retro Rainbow Vanilla socks. I am still sort of planning my squares. I don’t put self striping next to self striping or solid next to solid. But it’s getting harder and hard to do that the bigger this thing gets. The good news is that it really doesn’t matter as their is enough color in this blanket that it all kind of blends.

Happy Knitting!!

A Toxic Oreo Heel

I finished turning the heel on my Zoom meeting project. My first Toxic Oreo sock now has a heel!

I’m really happy with how evenly the speckles spread out as I increased the number of stitches in the heel. And I’m now I’m set up to just keep working up the leg. This is now PERFECT meeting knitting. And the Lemonade Shop yarn is just the perfect bright pick-me-up to the winter grey and gloom.

What is your favorite meeting knitting?

Cast On: A Hat For Dad

I needed some easy peasy no concentration knitting after I finished my Into The Light shawl. I decided to cast on a generic worsted weight beanie for my dad.

I cast on 88 stitches in the round on a US 8 needle and started 2×2 ribbed brim. I will work the brim until it looks good enough and then switch to stockinette. I think I want a decent amount of ribbing so the brim can be folded double for extra warmth.

The yarn is some recently obtained Lilliput Yarn in her Woof Worsted. This blue color is her Man’s Best Friend colorway. I’m really pleased with the variagation and subtle tones that are playing out as this knits up. We will see if I get any pooling or flashing as I keep going.

Happy Knitting!!

Picking Up Mycroft

Time for a confession, my Mycroft has been sitting in time out for a couple months now. I had started the short rows to build the neck. It is my first time doing German short rows and I needed complete concentration…..and in this house that is hard to find.

But I put on my big kid pants and dug this out one morning the kids were gone and powered through the rest of the short rows. It really only took me about an hour or so to get to a place where I’m working in the round.

I did fall victim to the things that can happen when you set down a project for a long period of time. My broken rib got messed up on the back neck portion.

I’ve decided to leave it because A) no one will see it on the back of my neck B) I don’t want to rip out and redo all the fiddly short rows and C) I’m the boss of my knitting. I’m now to a point where I’m working broken rib in the round with 1×1 ribbed raglans.

My brain is more engaged with this project now that I know its past the fiddly bits. I’m hoping to work this in to my rotation and get cruising on this sweater more. It’s a shame that an hours worth of work held me back for so long but I’m moving forward now. In my knitting world my heart has to be in a project or else its going to languish, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Fireside Socks

My 2020 Advent Socks are getting me the dark cold evenings around here. Thank goodness for my working fireplace and free firewood from my parents. I can stay nice and toasty with my yarn.

I’m still just in mini number three as these have been on the back burner in favor of my Into the Light Shawl. I am addicted to that thing!

Happy Knitting!!