Finished Socks And New Socks, Again

I finished my plain, stockinette socks.  These were knit in Malabrigo Sock in Parade.  There's really nothing much to say about them.  I kept the pattern as simple as possible to let the yarn really shine in these.

I think I made the right decision.  This colorway is so pretty and interesting and weird all at once!  This is my third finished pair of socks this month, so while I'm well on my way to six pairs of socks for the ESK Second Quarter CAL, I may have to knit seven pairs to earn the maximum yardage and stars.  These used less than 300 yards.  The Old Sweatshirt socks I finished before these used about 100 yards more.  At least I've got plenty of time!

Once I finished my Parade socks, I started a new pair.  This is the Hermione's Favorite Sock pattern using Blue Moon Fiber Arts Super Sparkle in Chasing Flamingos.  You can see the sparkle the best in the dark blue sections.  I love the swirling pattern of the color pooling!  I've knit this pattern at least twice before, maybe three times?  It's great for just a little bit of texture while being almost as simple (and auto-pilot-friendly) as stockinette stitch.

Have a great week!  It's a busy week around here, so I won't be back until next week.

Sock It To Me!

I've finished my Old Sweatshirt socks!  These are a pretty simple sock (lots of ribbing) but I don't recommend them as a first pair of socks because the directions aren't always clear.  If you've knit a few pairs of socks and understand how they work, you'll be fine, but if heel turns still seem like witchcraft to you, keep knitting before you take these on.  I knit them with Madelinetosh Twist Light in Dopamine.  I knit the 66 stitch size for the leg but decreased back to 64 stitches before the heel because that's the size that fits my foot.  This is another pattern with multiple sizes which you could either use for different size feet, or different weights of yarn.

Of course I started another pair of socks the same day I finished my Old Sweatshirt socks.  These were supposed to be a pair of Vanilla is the New Black socks (I love that heel and I'm curious how it fits my feet), but when I finished knitting the leg (stockinette), I kind of stayed in autopilot and started my usual heel flap.  I didn't notice what I had done until I had finished the heel turn and while I thought about frogging back, I decided not to since I wasn't actually at home when I realized what had happened, and anyone who's tried to fish double pointed needles out from under the seat in a car will tell you not to get creative when you're knitting in the car.  So, to make a long story even longer, I decided that these will just be plain vanilla socks and I'll knit another pair to try out the Vanilla is the New Black pattern.  These are knit with Malabrigo Sock in Parade.  The color kind of reminds me of TV snow or static if it was blue.

Spinning (And A Sock)

I finished spinning my first bobbin of my combination spin.  I am going to spin the second bobbin exactly the same (I've already started it), but I will do a different prep for bobbins 3 and 4 and something else for bobbins 5 and 6.  That way, when I ply the odd numbered bobbins together and the even numbered bobbins together, I should have a consistent yarn across all my finished skeins.  I decided as I was spinning this first bobbin that I should have stripped my top to a narrower size because the chunks of color I'm getting are pretty long.  I'm really enjoying this spinning project, but I'm kind of learning as I go.

Also, I finished my first Old Sweatshirt Sock.  I weighed it when it was all done and it weighs exactly 50 grams.  I have 67 grams of yarn left so I'll be fine, but this pattern seriously eats some yarn! (For reference, the Homely Socks used about 320-330 yards of yarn.)

I hope you have a great weekend! 

Finished Socks, New Socks, Everywhere There's Socks, Socks

I warned you at the start of the month.  There will be socks!

I finished my first pair of socks (first pair for the ESK Second Quarter CAL, third pair for the year) and got them blocked.  These are the Homely Socks knit in Teal Torch Knits Evelyn in Afternoon Tea on US 0's (2.0 mm).  I love the way the lightly speckled yarn worked with this pattern so much.  They were made to go together!

As soon as I got the first pair of socks off the needles and onto the sock blockers, I cast on for the next.  These are Old Sweatshirt Socks (free pattern) knit in Madelinetosh Twist Light in Dopamine on US 1's (2.25mm).  I'm knitting the 66 stitch size for these.  They are a simpler design than the Homely Socks so I don't have to think as much while I knit them, but I do have to commit to the ribbing for the legs.  I know some people don't like ribbing, but I don't mind it once I get into the rhythm of it.  Not only are the entire legs of these socks ribbed, there are more stitches in them than usual to get the slouchy, loose look the designer was going for.  Things will be decreased back to normal sock numbers by the foot, which is knit in stockinette.  For now, we rib!

Sock On!

I've finished the first of my Home for Tea socks (the pattern is Homely Socks*, the colorway is Afternoon Tea), and I'm ready to start the heel flap of the second sock.  This pattern has three sizes in it for 56, 64, and 72 stitch socks, which makes it adaptable not only to more feet sizes, but also more yarn weights.  Usually I work a 64 stitch sock in fingering weight yarn on US 1's (2.25 mm), but this yarn (Teal Torch Knits, Evelyn) is a light fingering weight.  I decided to knit them using the largest (72 stitch) size, using US 0's (2 mm).  This means more stitches, but I'll have a sock that will wear better since I'm getting 10 stitches to the inch in this finer yarn.  It's nice that the pattern has these variations, because then it's also easy to use a heavier fingering weight or even sport weight yarn as well.

I hope to finish this first pair this weekend, but I should probably make some decisions about what socks I want to knit next (and get the yarn wound)!  Have a great weekend!

* I looked up homely and one of the definitions according to the Wordbook app is "having a feeling of home; cozy and comfortable."  The designer is Ukrainian so she may have chosen the pattern name based on that part of the definition instead of the meaning usually attached by native English speakers of plain or unattractive.

Socks, and More Socks

I finished my Anemone socks last Thursday and I love them!  The pattern is pretty and the yarn is a vibrant and happy color.  The stitch pattern was a little bit fiddley, but that part only happened on every fourth round, and did I mention that I love the way the pattern looks?

Here's a close up of the stitch pattern for you.  I knit these in Dream in Color Smooshy in the Wineberry colorway.

The day after I finished my Anemone socks, I cast on another pair of socks.  The second quarter CAL ( the "c" is for craft along, not crochet here) for ESK is for fingering weight socks.  So I guess what I'm saying is you should probably strap yourselves in for some socks around here.  I've been preparing stashing for this one for years!  I'm starting with a pair of Homely Socks knit in Teal Torch Knits Evelyn in the Afternoon Tea colorway.  I hope to finish the first sock later tonight!

In other news, Logan is continuing to heal and we are hoping to give him full run of the house again later this week, even if we have to continue with the Cone Of Shame for a bit longer.  It will be nice not to have an obstacle course to get into the kitchen and master bath!  In other news, Newton is about to be disappointed by the loss of his obstacle course in the kitchen and master bath.