everyone needs a sock buddy

News flash! I just discovered something even more addictive than sock knitting: kiddie-sized sock knitting! All the fun sock parts but in half the time :) This mini-sized version of the popular vanilla latte sock pattern only took about a week to knit. Just one skein of knitpicks felici in the sweetheart colorway was enough to make both the socks (which should fit a child of 5-7 years old) and a teeny tiny matching sock buddy. Both will be on their way to hats and more for war-torn Syria, a charity knitting group whose mission is to collect warm items & other necessities for people displaced by the conflicts in Syria and the surrounding regions.

The awesome free pattern for the sock buddy can be found here. I followed the pattern exactly but used sock weight yarn instead of worsted weight. I also grafted the body closed instead of using a three needle bind off. I was undecided about whether or not to embroider the smiley mouth so I asked my little guy for his opinion. His answer: everyone needs someone to listen to them when they are sad or worried and the sock buddy looks like she would be a better listener without a mouth. I kinda agree :)

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!

skyp socks

It was hard to stop myself from taking way too many pictures of these socks. Let me count all the reasons why they are making me so happy:

♡ They only took a little over a month to finish (and not three years!)
♡ The awesome yarn (knitpicks felici sport) was given to me by one of the sweet knitters from my knitting group.
♡ Colorful stripes. 'Nuff said.
♡ I love ribbed socks but they are dull as dishwater to knit. Luckily, I found this simple skyp sock pattern to be quite engaging and addictive. It says a lot about a sock pattern when the knitter wants to cast on for the second sock right after finishing the first.
♡ I couldn't help but secretly chuckle at all the odd looks I was getting from strangers whenever I happened to be knitting on these in public, especially when I started mumbling slip-knit-yarnover-pass!

♡ I was happy enough with how the first sock turned out except for two things: the cast-on was a little too tight and those darn gusset holes. After a bit of research on the internet, I was able to find easy fixes for both. On the second sock, I used the alternating long-tail/Old Norwegian cast-on that I learned from knitting the Hermaness Hat pattern. It is a nice looking and sturdy cast-on with more stretchiness than just a long-tail cast-on. As for those gusset holes, this little trick worked like a charm. Can you spot the one without the hole? Pretty nifty, huh?
♡ Lastly and most importantly, these socks will hopefully offer warmth & comfort to someone in need of both.

If you are interested in knitting a pair of socks or have some hand knitted socks in need of a home, please visit Tracey's blog post for more info on how you can help. And thank you for indulging me on my newbie sock love :)

knitting en plein air

I was all set to show you some new fall knitting projects but with temps in the high eighties and the humidity going through the roof, it looks like those will have to wait. Not complaining too much because with beautiful views like these, it's hard to stay mad at summer for hanging around a little longer.

I love watching the slow transition from summer to autumn that happens here on the island, the little glimpses of gold and red among the still bright green leaves and the blue skies looking over it all.

So on days like these, the best thing to do is to find a quiet comfy spot in the shade, preferably with a small knitting project or two, and just breathe it all in. And the two projects keeping me company today?

The first is a fun stripey pair of Simple Skyp Socks that I was inspired to cast on for after reading this post on the lovely Wooly Cakes and Wooden Spoons blog. It was a call to help her friend Tracey in collecting much needed socks for homeless shelters in the Washington DC area. More info can be found here if you are interested in helping. Despite averaging a pair of socks every three years, I am determined to whip these out in less than a month. Some of you might be wondering if it wouldn't be easier to just buy a pack of socks to donate? Yes, it would be easier and I do intend to supplement my handknit socks with packs of men, women and kids sized store bought ones. But the merits of wool socks was recently made clear to me after reading this post. (And now my toes and feet are suffering from a bad case of FOMO** I might turn into a regular sock knitter after all!)

The second little project on the needles is the first of a pair of fake thrummed fingerless mitts. I wish that you could feel how soft this roving yarn is!

Have a wonderful rest of the week!


**fear of missing out