Sock it to Me

I've been on a bit of a sock kick.  I just finished one pair, cast on another, and have yet another pair in the queue.  And I have possible other sock ideas floating around, but I'm trying to ignore them for now, so that I don't end up with a To-Do list a mile long.  Between my love of sock yarn and my awesome aunt feeding my yarn addiction, I have quite a lot of sock options right now.

As I just mentioned, I finished my pair of Mixed-But-Matched Socks in the absolutely fabulous Knit Picks Stroll Glimmer sparkly yarn.  I used the colors Kestrel and Peacock.  So I suppose I could also call them my Bird Socks.  This yarn is quite affordable at only $5.89 for a 50 gram ball.  Two balls will give even the biggest of feet a pair of socks, and I've even got some left over.  I'm accumulating all my left-over bits to eventually turn into a completely mismatching pair of scraps socks.  Or some toddler socks for my niece.  Or likely both.  There's a lot of scraps.  I'm also super happy the cabling pattern turned out well.  I couldn't find a cables layout that I loved in any patterns, so I used Stephanie Pearl McPhee's basic Sock Recipe, pulled a 4-plait cable and an eyelet chain from some stitch dictionaries, and created the layout myself.  The cable had an 8-row repeat, and the eyelets a 4-row repeat, so it was quite easy to keep track with the help of my row counter clicker.  Seriously, those things are a lifesaver for me, since I instantly lose track of counting knitting rows.  Plus, they're sold at Joann Fabrics, so save up those 50% off coupons, pick up a few, and never lose track on your projects again. 

They're finally done!  I restarted them 3 different times before finally settling on a pattern.  Feels good to have them off the needles at last.  And apparently this yarn smells/tastes delicious to Linus.  He will not leave them alone!

The instant I finished up the Sparkle Socks, I had to get started on another pair.  I'm now working on a pair of ankle socks, aka instant gratification socks.  They feel like they are just flying by!  I'm roughly following the Super Simple Short Sock pattern, but also pulling from the Sock Recipe.  I just started them a couple days ago and already have the cuff, heel flap, and heel turn done with minimal knitting time.  I'll be picking up stitches for the gusset and starting the foot tonight.  It's so exciting to see them taking form so quick!  I'm using some of my precious Knit Picks Felici self striping yarn.  This line has been discontinued, so the varieties I have left are very special!  This is in the Sugared Violets colorway.  I only had one lone ball of this one, so I have enough yarn to make a full pair of ankle socks or a lone full size sock which would then have a mismatched pair.  I don't have any handmade ankle socks, so I figured I'd try something new.  I appreciate self striping yarn because it keeps projects interesting with little effort.  I don't have to do anything fancy and still get to see color changes every few rows. 

Just a couple days of minimal efforts, and I'm already on the gusset decreases.  I would have been further, but I had a train mishap.  Ended up driving into Chicago for a weekend adventure instead of train-ing, which meant I lost precious project time.  Grr.  Still knitting up quickly though!

I've got another Knit Picks Felici pair of socks in my Knitting Queue, as well.  The husband has been insisting for weeks that "I never make him anything and that he desperately needs fancy socks for work."  So as soon as the anklets are done, I'll be starting a Matt pair.  I have some Blue/Green/Brown Felici self striping yarn stashed to use.  It was used to make a pair of tot socks, but even after that there's still more than enough for a manly sized pair.  I'm still cruising around for the perfect pattern.  I want to add a cable or some other simple design element to make them more interesting to work on.

The tot socks for my niece.  They'll soon have a long distance matching pair here for Matt!

My Ginny's Owls Cardigan from the Harry Potter Knits Magazine is taking a brief hiatus.  I'm still slowly chugging through the 4 inches of ribbed waistband.  The sock fever kinda took over a bit, and I can only knit so many rows in one day.  I'm a quick knitter, but I don't have superhuman speed needle maneuvers... yet.  About all I've done with it is pull it out of the project bag to admire it and maybe do a row at a time, or grab the pile of super soft Swish DK yarn and pet it a bit while simultaneously guarding it from Linus since he likes to grab and steal full balls of yarn.  He doesn't play with them, just grabs, runs away with it jiggling between his front legs, and then hides it from me.

Delicious, soft, squishy basket of sweater-y goodness!

I have a project patiently waiting in my To-Do list that I've been eyeing.  I need to learn how to do the provisional cast-on before I can start it.  I've tried it before and struggled with it, so I need some practice before starting this item.  For any non-or-beginner knitters, this technique allows you to cast on without a distinct edge.  The stitches that are cast on will be live, meaning they can then be picked up and knit again, or grafted to another edge.  The project is a cowl / infinity scarf, called Precious.  I stumbled across it on Ravelry, and thought it would be a perfect way to use up some of the yarn my aunt gifted me to feed my stash addiction.  I'll be using the Berroco Sox Metallic yarn in the Appletini colorway.  It's self-striping, but the stripes are spread out enough it should work even on a wider item like a cowl.  I need the provisional cast on so I can start on one edge, work the item flat, and then graft the last edge and the starting edge together. 

I'm all about the sparkly stuff lately.  Sparkle socks, and soon a sparkling leafy cowl / infinity scarf!

That's about it for projects, so I'll move on to miscellaneous other knitting matters.  I just received my most recent order from Knit Picks.  I got a couple sets of Knit Picks Nickel Plated Interchangeables to test out a few weeks ago, and I am a huge fan of them.  They work worlds better than the Boye Interchangeables I've been using since I first started knitting.  They stay screwed together better, the needles feel better in my hands, the screwed end doesn't flare when tightened, and the cords are more flexible.  My only complaint is that Knit Picks doesn't offer shorter cords (the shortest they have is 24"), but the Knitter's Pride brand cords are compatible and currently 40% off on Amazon.  I picked up one of each in the three shortest lengths at only $3 a piece with free shipping!  I'll now own Knit Picks circs in all sizes US 4-11.  They do offer 13-17, which I will get eventually as well.  I'll also find a fancy carrying case at some point, but for now the $1 pink pencil case will work wonderfully.

Full set of new circular tips and cables, a lifetime supply of pins, connector screws, and end caps, and all contained in a beautiful $1 pencil case!  Keeps the packaging safe from a certain feline that like to lick and chew on plastic tape and packages.

Lastly, I wanted to quickly mention my favorite knitting listening material.  There's so many neat podcasts out there for all things knitting.  I have three current favorites.  I listen to the Knitmore Girls every week.  It's a mother daughter pair that spend around an hour each week discussing current knitting, spinning, and sewing projects, knitting events, book/yarn/equipment reviews, and more.  Their show is definitely my favorite podcast.  I look forward to it every week.  Never Not Knitting is another great one that comes out about once a month.  This show includes a knitting story at the end, usually provided by listeners or guest speakers.  The videocast I watch most often is The Fat Squirrel Speaks.  It comes out weekly, and Amy the host is hilarious.  Yes, she discusses knitting and yarn related things, but she also goes of on tangents about why 10 pounds of apples in her freezer are definitely necessary and may or may not have used a project bag as a hat in the last episode.  It's well worth a peek!