Work in Progress Wednesday

Hello again, I had fallen into what I call my vacation "nesting." I get into a mood which might seem like depression to other people but I'm happy. I don't want to leave the house for any reason & don't answer the phone. In short, I avoid being around other people. I think I do it for my sanity. Things are so crazy during the school year. I'm pulled in 20 different directions at the same time. All I want to do during vacations is just enjoy being with my family and ignore the world around me. I have come out of my hiding hole & and ready to be a member of society again.

On Wednesdays, I will be updating my works in progress. Right now I have 3 different pairs of socks on the needles.

The first pair is a pair knit with Knit One, Crochet Two's Soxx Appeal. Some people have said that this yarn is a substitute for Cascade's Fixation. I like Soxx Appeal better. It is a cotton, nylon, elastic blend. I'm using a plain knit pattern to highlight the varigation. The toes, heels, & ribbing will be solid light olive. I work on this sock at home while watching TV because it is a mindless knit.


I've knit a pair of Monkeys before and really enjoyed the pattern but I knit them toe up using 2 circulars so my pattern was upside down. I've wanted to do another pair using DPNs but have had problems using the smaller needles. I love using wooden needles in the larger sizes but I bend the smaller ones. The metal Knit Picks were so slick, stitches kept falling off before I could get the 1st round joined. This time, I cast-on over 2 2.25 (US size 1) circular needles. I knit the first round onto the 2.50 (US size 1.5) needles then I joined the round. It worked wonderfully and now I am able to knit using the needles. This pair is with Cherry Tree Hill in the Martha Vineyard colorway. It has a lot of royal blue & purples but includes hightlights of a bright green, brown & grey. It is absolutely beautiful. I work on this sock when I am able to focus on the knitting, usually when listening to podcasts.


I cast-on another sock to knit while walking, riding in the car, or during next week's training & meetings. It is another mindless knit that I've named Halloween. It is out of Opal Rainforest in Schmetterling (Butterfly). It has shades of orange, black & white. It is being knit using magic loop (Knit Picks size 1.5, 32 inches long). I cast-on 11 stiches per needles using Judy's Magic Cast-on. Then increased to 36 stitches per needle following Queen Kahuna's method for toe-increases. Once the toe was 2 inches long, I started a 4x2 ribbing on the insole of the sock. I haven't decided with heel I'll use.

Stay tuned for Finished Object Friday.

A Knitting Update

I love having a summer vacation because I can knit and knit and knit 'til my hands are sore. I get to finish projects that have been waiting.

On Sunday I finished my Summertime Skinny Dippin' Socks. The yarn is really delightful. It has a nice sheen and is very squishy & soft when worn. It is All Things Heather in Superwash Merino/Bamboo sock yarn. The colorway is exclusive to the Loopy Sock Club but I plan to buy more of this yarn in other colorways. These are my first completed pair of socks for the Summer of Socks KAL. At first I wasn't very happy with the blue stripe where I made my gusset increases. But, now that the socks are done, I kinda like it so it is a "design feature."

Today I finished my Patriotic Socks in time for July 4th. I originally wanted to wear them for Flag Day but once that date passed I needed to change to a more realistic goal. I didn't worry about matching the stripes. I like that the stripes are different on each sock.






I've also made progress on Adara. Only 4 more repeats to go. I might add a couple more repeats to make it longer. This is the first time I'm knitting with yarn that doesn't have any give when knitting. Adara is a cotton/linen blend. It has taken some getting use to. I've learned to loosen my guage by knitting with this yarn. I don't know what else you could make with it.



I joined the Mystery Stole 3 KAL. The first clue came out last Friday but I just started on it last night. I've completed the first 45 rows. Only 55 more rows to go before this Friday's clue comes out. I'm using Zephyr in Charcoal, a clear bead with a coopery liner, and size 3 needles. The pattern hasn't had a memorizable (new word?) repeat so I can only work on it when I can focus 100% on it. It's been hard finding time having the 3 kids & my hubby around. I guess I'll need to work on it before anyone else gets up. I'm happy with how it is looking so far. The picture didn't come out very well. It is a solid black - there isn't any other color or shading.