SOS {summer of stash}

Gosh it’s been awhile! How has your May been? I can’t believe that the end of school is coming up soon. In just a few more weeks the kid will be graduating from junior high. Right now we are busy with field trips & other end of school celebrations, plus transition meetings for high school. High school!!! I am so not ready!!! Can’t wait until summer vacation starts & we can sleep in a little. I love the slower pace of summertime here on the island.

I have already started making some fun knitting plans for the summer. This year has seen a major focus on using up the stash. I’ve been knitting up a storm on the garment front but will wait to share that with you on the next post. Today I want to talk about my newest obsession: shortie socks! They are such great projects for leftover partial skeins of fingering weight yarn. All of the following were knit on 2.25mm needles & 64 stitches:

Design line by Arne & Carlos :: summer night

The above pair was my first attempt. I wasn’t sure how long to knit the cuff/leg so I went with 10 rounds of 2x2 ribbing followed by 10 rounds of stockinette before knitting the fish lips kiss heel. Not bad for the first go round.

West Yorkshire Spinners :: peacock

I decided to increase the cuff length on the next pair: 15 rounds of 2x2 ribbing followed by 10 rounds of stockinette. Better fit but still not perfect.

Knitpicks Felici :: jamboree

Third time’s the charm! 15 rounds of 2x2 ribbing followed by 15 rounds of stockinette. The fit is just the way I like it. Now that I’ve hit on my perfect shortie formula, there’s a bunch of colorful felici sock yarn in the stash just waiting to be cast on!

Before I sign off today, I want to thank you for visiting! I really appreciate the fact that you take time out of your busy lives to read my oftentimes jumbled ramblings. Have a wonderful start to your summer!

march finishes

Hooray I actually finished a sweater!!! So incredibly excited to cast off my Edith Cardigan while it is still chilly enough to wear. Good thing that it is extremely cozy because every year when the calendar turns to March, the hubby dials down the heat to sub-zero temps. But this year I will not engage in thermostat battles :)  I love how warm & woolly this cardigan is. It was my first time knitting a dropped shoulder construction and I was a little concerned with how the finished sweater would look since I usually wear raglan sweaters. Really pleased with the relaxed fit. It was a very well written pattern and would make a great first sweater project. I am debating on whether or not to add in the big patch pockets. Maybe at some point down the line but for now, I want to finish up my Weekender and cast on for some Easter socks. Here’s the pair I made for St. Patrick’s Day:

These were fun fun fun to knit! The yarn is from Desert Vista Dyeworks in the Zombody go bragh colorway. Those green stripes have me looking forward to some fun Spring knitting. What’s currently on your knitting needles? Anything on the radar for Spring?

winter woolens

conversation hearts :: king cole zig zag :: pinks

winter’s day charade :: coopknits socks yeah! :: danburite 

spring stripes vanilla latte :: must stash yarns :: theory 

Well guys, I’m officially hitting the reset button on this year since it feels like hibernation season is almost over. It’s been a rather tough winter healthwise but we are all finally on the mend. Even my laptop got sick. But today the sun is shining brightly and I finally figured out how to blog from my phone using a new to me app for blogger so now I can share all of the winter woolens completed so far.

Of course there are plenty of socks! January’s pair was inspired by the cold winter walks that were taken when we couldn’t stand to be inside all day long. After knitting with greys and blues, the next pair was a wish for Spring. Nothing makes me happier than fun colorful stripes combined with speckles. February’s was Valentines Day themed.

It’s funny how seasonal my sock knitting is. I love choosing yarns and patterns that celebrate the different holidays that are sprinkled throughout the year. So with that in mind, I decided to start a holiday sox box. The goal is to have fun knitting socks for all of my favorite holidays throughout the year with the bonus of having finished socks to wear next year when those holidays roll around again. Feel free to join in :)

I hope that you are all staying healthy and having fun with your knitting & crafting!

here’s looking at you 2018

So here we are, the last day of 2018. New Year’s Eve is always bittersweet isn’t it? We are having a quiet night at home, munching on appetizers and chilling out. I was in the mood for the classic rock music of my childhood so there’s Boston, Rush, Queen, David Bowie & Journey playing in the background as I knit on my cozy memories blanket and reflect on this past year. It’s been a fun one knitting-wise. My box o’ sox for 2018 is filled with twenty pairs of colorful socks. Plus I surprised myself by finishing three sweaters! I am hoping to knit more sweaters in the new year because there are quite a few beautiful patterns in my queue that were set aside amidst the sock knitting frenzy that occurred during the latter half of the year.

I hope that you all have a Happy New Year. Let’s fill it to the brim with lots of fun knitting and creativity!

autumn fade

How can it be the end of November already!?! It seemed like autumn barely arrived yesterday. We had a very quiet and peaceful Thanksgiving last week. My MIL stopped by for a whirlwind visit on her way to Florida. So we ended up eating Thanksgiving dinner twice (the other dinner was at my brother’s). I also had quite a bit of time to knit since no one trusted me with Turkey duty. Two socks have been cast off since we last spoke. Both have been my constant knitting companions this fall and were joys to knit. The other project finished was a quick Sockhead Hat using a beautiful fall mini’s set from Hue Loco. I am calling it my autumn fade hat. Quite appropriate since we are now heading into the busy holiday season. Time to cast on some festive Christmas socks!

Did you cook for Thanksgiving? Any holiday knitting/crafting plans?

color therapy

Oh November why do you have to be so moody and changeable? Sunny blue cold grey dark rainy all in one day....it’s enough to drive a knitter to wanting to cast on all the shiny things. Lucky for me I have a stash full of colorful yarns to chase away the seasonal blues. There’s even a few bright and cheerful wips hanging around requiring just a little attention before they are finished and ready to comfort with their cozy warmth, like these socks that were cast on a few months ago:



I am calling these my Sunbeams Socks because the combination of yarn (SpunRightRound in the shock star colorway) and the fun stitch pattern (from Japanese Stitches Unraveled) creates a fabric with tiny little sunbeams dancing all across it. Pure yarny happiness.



I also pulled out some pretty autumnal mini’s from hueloco for a faded Sockhead Hat:



And of course, the ultimate in woolly color therapy, blankets:



I hope that you are finding comfort in your knitting and crafting as the busy holiday season approaches.

plain ol’ socks

paintbox yarns fair isle :: storybook colorway

regia 4-fadig :: color 07200

We are finished with the second full week of school and I am happy to report that things are going pretty well. One thing that has helped tremendously is giving ourselves plenty of time to get ready in the morning by waking up a little earlier. My husband is an early bird who wakes up at 5am every morning to meditate, do yoga exercises and go kayaking before he has to start work. Me? I’m definitely a night owl and find early mornings quite painful. But not having to rush before getting the kid to school is a good thing for both him and me so I’m willing to wake up with the early birds, at least on school days. An added perk is having some extra time to relax and knit before seeing the kid off. My project of choice for early mornings is plain ol’ socks since they can be knit even while half asleep. It has taken a couple of years but I have finally come up with a recipe that fits great and is fun & relaxing to knit.

For my plain ol’ socks, I cast on 56 stitches with 2.5mm needles using the German Twisted/Old Norwegian cast on or 64 stitches using 2.25mm....it depends on the yarn. I like a pretty tight gauge for my socks, about 9 stitches per inch. Then I knit 2x2 rib for 20 rows. I knit the cuff + leg for about 5.5 to 6 inches before starting the Fish Lips Kiss heel which is my absolute favorite heel as far as fit goes. Also love how quick & easy it is to knit. I knit the foot for about 7.5 inches before starting the toe. My favorite new toe is similar to the umbrella toe by Kay Jones which can be found in her Drippity Drop Socks pattern except that I forgo the Kitchener stitches at the very end and just fasten off the few remaining stitches. Much simpler and neater for me and the resulting fit is perfect for my toes. And that’s all there is to it! Here’s an action shot:



Are you an early bird or night owl? What is your favorite easy knitting project?

sock school 2018

pattern {mercury socks} yarn {hue loco glitz} color {eskimo}

We are trying to get outside as much as possible in order to enjoy these last few weeks of summer. Honestly, if it was up to me, I would rather be inside with the AC on full blast and knitting away on all my sock wips. So it’s a good thing that the kid is in charge and dragging me out of my nest to enjoy/whimper in the hot, humid, changeable weather. It’s been a mix of bright blue skies and brief summer thunderstorms lately.

As far as the knitting goes, this week has been dedicated to finishing up some more wips. Trying my darndest to get all the summer socks projects off the needles before Fall Castonitis hits (yes that’s a real thing!). My first priority was finishing the Mercury Socks for Sock School 2018. Gosh, what a fun enjoyable pattern. Surprisingly so because lace knitting isn’t something that I normally gravitate towards. But the stitch pattern was extremely simple and meditative. Also loved knitting with the sparkly glitz yarn from Hue Loco. This cheerful pair will be going into my Christmas box o’sox.

Are you looking forward to Fall Castonitis as well?

february knitalongs

I can’t believe how quickly this month has flown by! Has it for you? Definitely unusual for February but I have no complaints. The faster winter speeds by the better. This month has been filled with lots of fun knitalongs which are terrific motivators for getting projects off the needles, don’t you think? Here’s a quick rundown of the ones I am currently participating in:

The above pair of socks were for the little bobbins Christmas Eve cast on and also the Box O’ Sox kal. I love how comfy they turned out to be. The pattern is Emily’s Favorite Socks and the pretty yarn is from A Homespun House in the cozy nights colorway.


Still working on my logcabin socks for the Fringe and Friends Logalong. I decided to go with a darker color scheme for this one. It’s taking a little bit longer since I am trying to write down the steps as I knit.


Next up is a pair of Valentine’s Day socks for the hearts and heels kal hosted by the happy knitting podcast. The yarn is Paintbox Socks in the passion colorway. How was your Valentine’s Day? My husband and I usually give each other cards and some candy to celebrate the day. Nothing too fancy. This year’s treats are Japanese strawberry KitKats my fave!

Last but not least is the project that has been my main knitting entertainment this month. It’s the Carbeth pullover by Kate Davies knitted for the fast and furious annual bang out a sweater kal hosted by Kay & Ann of Mason-Dixon Knitting. I will post more pics next week after it’s washed and blocked.

I hope that you are having a fun month of knitting and creating. Are you joining in on any knitalongs or craftalongs this month/season/year?

the lighter side of winter

"Why, what's the matter,

That you have such a February face,

So full of frost, of storm and cloudiness?"

William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing 

And so we find ourselves in February! Trying hard not to hibernate the rest of winter away by injecting as much sunlight and colors into my days as possible. Luckily, adding a little brightness to my knitting is as easy as casting on a new pair of stripey socks in Valentine's Day colors:

And my winter fade is heading into the lighter side of the season:

Any plans for Valentine's Day? We'll probably spend it at home. I'm thinking of ordering lobster, filet mignon & chocolate covered strawberries from a local restaurant to celebrate my two guys. Hope that you are finding ways to brighten your February days as well!

the comfort of socks

pattern: charades yarn: end of the row

Happy Year of the Rooster! I can't believe how fast this month has flown by. Lately, I've been having a hard time keeping up with everything that needs to get done. Housework and grocery shopping are unfortunately not as appealing and fun as knitting or reading a good book. Actually, I would rather clean the house than go grocery shopping any day. In fact, I have been pestering the hubby into buying an extra freezer but the confounded man thinks that it will end up storing more yarn than food. Hah, he sure knows me well after all these years :)

One area that thankfully is not lacking in effort is my knitting. I am currently making an attempt to organize my to-knit list for this year by grouping yarn and pattern together into project bags. I have about four sweaters worth of yarn ready and waiting for when the mood strikes. Next up is to organize the sock yarn stash into future projects but that task is proving more difficult because there are so many wonderful sock patterns out there! Here is just a smattering of beauties just waiting to be knit up this year:

*charades are similar to my beloved skyp socks but without the purling (currently on the needles)
*whiskey and rye looks so stunning in autumn colors
*this beautiful version of the father's new socks (I even have the exact colors in my stash)
*flying north socks with a variegated yarn (love this pair)
*this gorgeous version of a twist of fair isle
*fun texture with bright pops of color for the (froot loop) win
*one of my favorite stitch patterns reincarnated into the lovely tulsi socks
*quick warm cozy sporty hyak
*bright & colorful jelly rolls
*rye would make a toasty pair of bedsocks
*pretty laule'a proves that simple is far from boring when knit in a pretty color
*every flavor stripy socks make perfect use of leftover sock yarn

my 2016 box of sox

I could go on & on but my current socks on the needles are patiently waiting for some attention. After having a heavy heart all weekend while watching events unfold here in America, I woke up on Monday determined to focus my energy on positive action. I went on Ravelry and found a wonderfully active and welcoming group called hats and more for war-torn Syria. They are collecting warm items and other necessities for those displaced by the war in Syria and the region. It seems that wool socks are in short supply and much needed. Since I love to knit socks but rarely ever wear them, I will be sending my box of sox (with the exception of the stripy monster ones) along with an assortment of hats and mittens. It lightens my heart to know that these items will offer some comfort. And motivates me to knit more socks to donate.

Hope that you are finding even a little bit of time each day to do what you love!

whoosh!

And just like that it's another year coming to an end! Can't believe how quickly Christmas came and went. It was a pretty low key affair this year since my MIL decided to spend the holidays at her new house in Florida. I also took a nasty spill at work and threw out my back two days before Christmas. Luckily, all the decorating, baking, shopping and wrapping were done so all that was left was the fun stuff i.e. spending time with the family, watching holiday movies and eating a ton of yummy food. There was also some knitting and ornament making:

mistletoe socks (pattern: hermione's everyday socks)

yarn: knitmona in mistletoe colorway

pattern: mitten garland advent calendar

stitchable mitten ornaments by katrinkles

Wishing that I had a few more days of bed rest but unfortunately it's a crazy busy time of year at work. So heading back to the grind tomorrow morning. I hope that your holiday season has been chock-full of family, love and joy! I will be back soon with an end of the year roundup.

playing catch up

So happy to report that the transition to middle school has been pretty smooth and the little guy loves his new school and teachers. Such a big sigh of relief. I've been hesitant in the past to go into detail about my son's special needs but school & learning has many times been a struggle despite all of our efforts to make it fun and as pressure-free as possible. Transitions are especially stressful but so far so good. Now that we are getting used to the new school routine and schedule, there's a little breathing room to start playing catch up in other areas. Well, what I should really be doing is cleaning/de-cluttering my mess of a house in preparation for a visit from my MIL but where's the fun in that, right? What I want to do is show you my finished Vanilla is the New Black / Skyp socks:

This Strong Heel is such a cool feature of these socks and I absolutely loved knitting it. Very easy & intuitive. But most importantly, they fit great and the socks are so comfortable to wear. Probably the best fitting pair of socks I've made so far. The sunny summery yarn is wsk aspen sock in the flirty owl colorway. It's funny that there is just a little bit of pooling in each sock in the exact same spot, so it was meant to be a design feature ;)

In other sock news, I am currently participating in a monster sock KAL on Instagram. The hashtag is #mskal16 if you want to check out all of the scary monster goodness. I was kind of worried that I wouldn't have enough variety/contrast in my sock yarn scraps to make a decent pair since I've only been knitting socks for less than a year. So after a little bit of brainstorming, I decided to go with alternating stripes of solid/tonals and speckles/variegated yarns. These socks are so addictive and I find myself knitting on them way past my bedtime. However, I am making a conscious effort to stop and weave in the ends as I go along otherwise the final finishing would be truly monstrous :)

I hope that the entry into September has gone smoothly for you as well. Have a great week!

freckles & butterflies

sock school goodies from little skein in the big wool

Wish we had this kind of summer school when I was a kid! For this KAL, I wanted to challenge myself by attempting my first pair of toe-up socks. There were some frustrations right out of the gate with learning how to cast-on for the toe. I don't recommend trying out a new knitting technique while on the beach with the sun beating down on you. But the light bulb finally clicked on. Judy's Magic Cast-on is truly magical! I caught myself stopping to admire the neat looking toe all while knitting the first of the pair. The fun speckled yarn is two sisters big sky base in the Pippi's Freckles colorway. The contrasting toes & afterthought heels were knitted with some stroll brights (pickle juice, pucker, hot tamale & razzleberry) that were in the stash. For the stitch pattern, I went with the same one that I used in my bowknot tabi socks. It's interesting how this pattern looks slightly different knitted in the opposite direction. More butterfly-like. I'm glad that I gave toe-up socks a try even though it felt a little strange to be knitting everything in reverse. And most importantly, I love wearing my mismatched Pippi socks: