So Many Socks

I'll admit it. I have a sock addiction. Socks are one of my favorite things to knit. They're portable and fairly easy. There's a huge variety of patterns, designs, and styles to make. They only use one or two balls of yarn, so they are quite economical. I can use bright and obnoxious yarns that I wouldn't otherwise use, because socks are often a hidden garment. And always useful, because just about everyone needs socks. I'm even sharing my sock craze with the Husband, either through crazy patterned bought socks, or through several pairs of his own knitted socks.

Immediately after finishing the Husband's most recent pair of Zigzagular Socks, I started another, more simple patterned pair for him. Since three of his last four pairs were in shades of blues and greens, this bright red Regia Pairfect yarn is a fun change to the Dude Sock Knitting. The Pairfect yarn is great for pattern perfectionists. It has a bright yellow starter line to help make sure that each sock starts in the exact same part of the color repeat, then a narrow coordinating color stripe signifies where to start the heel. I've gotten through most of the gusset stitch decreases now, so it is time to power through the long size 11 foot part of the sock.

The Matt-Zagular guy socks. These are so far his favorites.

I love self-striping yarn, and I really like that this yarn is striped in such a way to signal the starts of each section. Matching each sock is so easy with this yarn!

The rest of the socks I'm working on are for me. Did I mention I really like fun socks? I really like the Zigzagular Socks pattern. So far I have three completed pairs, and I'm also working on a fourth set. I got a ball of Berroco Sox self-patterning yarn in Colorado Springs when I was out visiting my brother a couple months ago. I accidentally found the Ewe and Me Yarn Shop on open knit night while I was killing a couple hours during my brother's evening class. What was going to just be a coffee shop run turned into coffee, shopping, and chatting. I've been working on these on and off for a couple months, and so far have one sock done and the second partway down the leg.

Crazy stripes and patterns. And the Berroco Sox wears quite well. I have two pairs made from it that are holding up to frequent wear with no holes or weak spots so far.

I just started yet another a new pair tonight, despite the fact that I have eleven other projects on the needles. I saw the Patons Kroy Purple Haze yarn at Michaels and couldn't resist. Considering half the stuff in my wardrobe is purple, these will coordinate perfectly. I'm using the basic Yarn Harlot Sock Recipe, but adding in a basic cable that I've added to a bunch of socks now. So far, so good! And it also gives me a chance to use the little cable needle ring that I made a while ago. It leaves the cable needle tucked away but easily accessible.

Sock problem Exhibit A: Despite having multiple pairs of socks in progress, I'm starting another pair. 

My favorite socks right now though are the Slippery Slope Socks. I saw the pattern in the Spring 2016 Interweave Knits magazine and instantly knew they needed to be on my feet. The pattern has one row stripes alternating in two different colors, and then slipped stitch cables in each color that weave their way down and around the socks. The longest part of the process was deciding on yarns, and I finally settled on Knit Picks Hawthorne in the Happy Valley color, and Sweetgeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in Slate. The yarns are a tad bit splitty, but I'm making it work and love how the colors are turning out. These socks have also been great practice for cabling without a cable needle, at which I am now a pro. With one sock done and the second one nearing the heel, I'm surprised at just how quickly these complicated socks are coming along, especially considering the many other projects that are also on my needles.

The way these colors are coming out reminds me of stained glass. These socks are too cool!

Of course I love making socks, but I have lots of other projects in the works right now, too. Check back soon to see some great progress on my Take It All Shawl and see the awesome kiddo Coyote Cardigan that are on my needles. Here's a couple of sneak peeks.

What a fun way to use up some mini skeins. I might run out of yarn towards the end. Luckily my LYS is just a mile walk away...

A kid's sweater so complicated, it will get its very own post. Merging the fox cardigan on top with the great written pattern of the bottom one, and using coyote colors, to make possibly the best kid sweater ever for my niece.

And somehow I've been making progress on projects despite a surprise kitty crisis. Linus ate something he shouldn't have. I suspect it was a small scrap of yarn, but really who knows because this cat eats anything he can find on the floor... Usually his non-food eating issues clear up on their own, but this time he was barfing for a full day straight, so he got an all day trip to the vet, x-rays, anti-nausea medicine, and blood work to verify nothing he ate was toxic. The vets said he was very cute but very pitiful all day. The little troublemaker is back to normal now and picking battles with Apollo. His incident meant two days full of high maintenance kitty issues.

The problem cat Linus feels much better after his vet adventure.

This is Apollo's new spot. He's here every night.

Having a Ball With Some Shawls

Before I started knitting, I never wore shawls or cowls, and rarely wore scarves. Now, I always have at least one on the needles at all times. I love the wide variety of patterns, shapes, designs, and yarn possibilities that shawls offer. Plus, I'm always cold, so it is so nice to have lots of bundling options.

Proper bundling technique.

The two shawls I am working on now are also a way for me to use up some stash yarn.  The first is one that I started quite a while back and have been working on intermittently. It is the Hitchhiker Shawl by Martina Behm. I was gifted some bright self striping sock yarn a while back, and while I loved the colors I wasn't quite sure what to make with it. The pattern calls for fingering weight yarn, but I'm holding two strands of fingering yarn held double, so mine will be a bit thicker and squishier. Since we're moving to the toasty state of Texas, I might be gifting this item once it is completed! My Flower Power Hitchhiker is making steady progress, and the simple pattern is turning out to be a great project for driving (as a passenger, I swear I don't knit and drive!), mindless TV knitting, or when I'm too tired to concentrate on my more complicated projects.

Simple scarf/shawl, with an easy to memorize pattern repeat. I love seeing these colors blend together!

My second shawl is something I'm very excited about. I had acquired a set of sport weight mini skeins from Mountain Colors Yarns as a souvenir in Muskegon, Michigan last September on an epic road trip with my brother. I've been trying to think of the perfect item to make with them, and I think I found it in the Take it All Shawl. I picked up a few more coordinating colors of sport weight Quince and Co. Chickadee yarn, and I just started the first segment of the many colorful shawl sections. I cast on with US5 needles, but I think on the next section I'll bump up to 6's. Other than that I am happy with the pattern, and very excited to see how it works up! My only minor complaint about my Colorful Shawl is that the yarns are proving a bit tricky to accurately photograph. I can't take pictures of it at night, and during the day I have to get just the right light from the windows to capture the colors correctly.

The early starts of a shawl. My favorite part is seeing how the strategically placed increases are creating the curved edges.

A close to real colors picture of all the shawl yarns.

An example of the completed shawl, from Ravelry user danekken.

I suppose there's one other minor complaint about those mini skeins... Linus was fascinated by them! He tried to walk off with one of the little hanks, and while I was winding them with the loops draped across my knees he kept marching across my lap and gum rubbing the yarn. He was very insistent that he needed to help. At least Apollo stayed out of the way. His new fave hangout is the back of the couch, and he's nearly always lounging behind me. Although he's also made himself a little cat nest on top of my yarn storage bins that gets a nice draft from the windows.

The beasts, doing what they do best. Being weird.

I'm having a blast working on these shawls, on top of the many other works in progress that I also have on needles in various stages of done-ness. Tune in next time to see more!

Have Yarn, Will Travel

It has been a busy few months! Since my last post, we have done two cross country moves due to my husband's new job bringing us all over the nation for the training period.  We spent 3 months in the Cleveland, Ohio area and are now in gorgeous Salt Lake City, Utah! We also recently learned our new and semi-permanent location. In June, we will be settling in to San Antonio, Texas.

Traveling all over has its benefits! Visited with family, did some touristing, and discovered the cats are great travelers.

With these multiple treks, most of our stuff has been left behind in storage until we have a more permanent place. Thankfully, the new job provides furnished housing for the short term moves.  I had to significantly trim down and prioritize what portion of my stash knitting stuff would make the journeys to new places.  Currently everything I've got in the same state as me fits on or under an end table next to the couch. And I've got more than enough WIP's to keep me busy, since I brought all of those.

Just a few of the works in progress. A Vertebrae Cardigan, a sock yarn scraps blanket, and a Hitchhiker Shawl.

Being in these new towns and places has been quite interesting. We've had family and friends come to visit, and we've done some exploring both in town and in the wide open spaces. My favorite discovery so far is the lovely Local Yarn Store just a mile from our SLC apartment, Blazing Needles.  I go to their regular Thursday evening knitting nights and have met a large crowd of great people to chat with.  It's a bit daunting to be in a new place, especially for an introvert like me. But having something like Knit Night helps me open up and get comfortable around new people.  They also have excellent yarn selection, and I have already fed my yarn habit with yarn for several projects in various stages of completion.

Here's some of the things I've been working on here in the shadows of the Wasatch Mountains!

Lots of finished socks! Some for me, and some for family and friends.

I made the top two toys for my niece, the Kindle case for me, and a Yarny character from the video game Unravel for the Husband.

Hats and shawls all around!

Socks in progress. Currently it's only four sets, but there's more pairs that I am dying to cast on.

First ever time trying to spin! So far I am loving using the drop spindle.

Hopefully in the near future I can update again with some extra details about my works in progress, and go a bit more in depth on everything.