knitting | 365 Days Handmade

May 6, 2018
by FC5 Leave a comment

Progress Report and Socks

Wow, my last post was in August of last year. Re-reading that entry, I could see I was kind of depressed back then. A lot has happened since I wrote that post. In October we started a major remodel on our house, which included (among other things) knocking out an upstairs wall, updating the kitchen, converting our basement into a spare room/office, pulling up the old carpet, installing new floors, painting the interior, tearing down the backyard deck and stairs, and building a new one. This remodel involved me having to pack up a bunch of stuff (like we were moving) and living in essentially a construction site. We finally said goodbye to the crew in March and got settled in by mid-April.

I posted a lot of photos on Facebook and Instagram. You can find me on Instagram under my blog name (365dayshandmade). Add me and say hi! (I should also mention that I block any follower who looks like a shop just trying to get my business, so please make sure to let me know it’s you.)

I started knitting socks again a couple weeks ago, and thought I’d share this story. Friday night I pulled these old socks out of the washing machine and noticed one had a snag in the cuff and had started to unravel. I thought, NBD, I’ll just frog a couple rows and knit it back up. Turned out that I originally knit that sock from the cuff down, meaning I had to unravel the WHOLE sock and start over. I wasn’t going to throw it out. So I unraveled the entire sock and knit it into a new one, but from the toe up this time. I put in a short row heel (the fish lips kiss heel pattern). Sean asked me if I planned to re-do the other sock and I think probably not. It’s kind of neat to see the difference between my sock knitting in 2004 (cuff down, flap heel, using DPNs) vs. the present (toe up, short row heel, using one long needle with Magic Loop method). The re-done sock (on the right) is looking a little crunchy because I didn’t bother to wash and straighten the frogged yarn before I started knitting.

Hope you’re enjoying a happy Sunday!

socksblog

May 1, 2016
by FC5 4 Comments

Week 17/52: A Couple of Knitted Things

Two weeks ago, I started knitting a scarf and then a hand towel and then another scarf. Then I went back to crocheting my afghans, and the knitted stuff got set aside. I made more progress on the As We Go stripey blanket this week, but I’m feeling like it would be too boring and redundant to share more photos of that today. So here are a couple of knitted things from my pile of WIPs.

A yet-to-be-blocked lace scarf in Noro yarn:

4.30.2016

Moss stitch grid pattern hand towel in cotton/linen/viscose yarn from the stash:

4.30.2016a

April 10, 2016
by FC5 3 Comments

Week 14/52: A Bunch of New Projects and No Photos of Them

Yesterday after I got off work, I drove straight down to Ventura, and then this morning Sean and I headed out to L.A. for my annual eye doctor appointment. Even though we no longer live in L.A., I’ve kept the same eye doctor over the last 12 years because she is the best optometrist. Our appointments are usually about an hour long, and it’s more like a pleasant visit with a friend I only see once a year. In addition to completing a thorough eye exam and answering all of my questions, she always takes the time to chat with me. She remembers details like the fact that my husband and I have jobs that are 150 miles apart and that we commute back and forth between two homes and that we are childfree by choice. She chose not to have any children herself and completely understands our decision.

Anyway, I brought a sock to knit during today’s drive to L.A., but I forgot to take any photos of my progress. I also forgot to take photos of the three different scarf/wrap things that I’d been working on all week, and I left them all at our house in Morro Bay. Luckily, my cousin J texted me a photo to show that she received the Golden State Warriors socks that I’d knitted for her. So here is a photo of that:

Also, while Sean and I were leaving my eye doctor’s office, I saw this place and had to take a photo:

How hot is it?

I’ll post photos of my other projects next time, I promise.

April 2, 2016
by FC5 2 Comments

Week 13/52: One Finished Pair of Socks and One New Project

I finished knitting my cousin J’s Golden State Warrior Socks and right away got started on another knitted piece.

This is a chevron pattern that I got from the book Mason-Dixon Knitting. The pattern is meant for a linen hand towel, but I thought it would work well for a nice wide scarf, too.

The yarn is Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn (40% lamb’s wool, 25% silk, 25% nylon, 10% kid mohair). After spending so much time crocheting with acrylic over the last few months, I felt like getting into some of my fancy yarn stash, which I almost never use. Last year I posted an entry to reveal my shamefully abundant yarn stash, and I have to admit that since then I’ve barely made a dent in it. (It also didn’t help that I bought more yarn over the last few months.) So this year I am going to try to use up more of the fancy stuff, and hey, maybe by December I’ll have a nice little pile of handmade Christmas gifts ready to be wrapped and delivered.

March 20, 2016
by FC5 2 Comments

Week 11/52: Golden State Warriors Socks

When my cousin J put in a request for handknit socks, I asked her what colors she wanted.

“Royal blue and gold,” she said. “For the Warriors.”

So I’m calling this pair the Golden State Warriors socks, and hopefully I’ll finish the second sock in time for J to wear them for a home game.

March 13, 2016
by FC5 1 Comment

Socks (Because I Can’t Think of Any Original Titles for This Blog Post)

I forgot how much I enjoyed knitting socks. I’d been spending the last couple of months engrossed with my crocheted afghans, and then I got a request from my beloved cousin J for another pair of socks. She was genuinely fond of the previous pairs I’d made for her, so I was more than happy to cast on and start knitting.

Here is the progress on J’s socks:

The yarn is a hand-dyed merino wool that I had purchased off Etsy. It was the only skein of yarn that I’d ever purchased off Etsy, but once I started knitting that first sock, I thought, Damn, this is pretty cool hand-dyed yarn that an independent U.S. seller spent some time making. I have got to buy more hand-dyed sock yarn and support the small businesses.

I went online and found two more skeins that I liked. I ordered them and just a few days later, they arrived. I wound them into yarn cakes and in the process, my fingers just itched to start knitting with the new yarn. So I started this one:

I am trying to keep myself from starting a third sock with the other skein of yarn (it’s a wool-cashmere blend!), but I may not be able to resist.

March 5, 2016
by FC5 Leave a comment

Week 9/52: First Sock of 2016

Last year, I was all about knitting socks. I don’t even know how many pairs I completed (but they’re all tagged under Socks if you have any interest in checking them out).

This weekend, Sean and I are making a short trip up north to visit with some family, which means several hours in the car on the 101. I wanted to bring a project with me to pass the time, but any one of my WIP crocheted afghans would be too unwieldy in the passenger seat. This is where sock knitting becomes an especially useful hobby.

With about 8 hours of driving ahead of us, this sock should be done by Monday.

January 1, 2016
by FC5 4 Comments

Day 365/365: The Last Day of 2015

Thank you for reading and for all your support! See you in 2016!

December 2, 2015
by FC5 6 Comments

Day 335/365: A Sweater Half Empty (Or Half Full?)

Here is how far I’ve gotten with the sweater. I still have to knit the neckline and the rest of the body and figure out what I want to do with the cuffs. It’s not an incredible amount of knitting left, but now I’m feeling like it’s time for a break. The Coast Ripple afghan is calling to be finished.