Inky Socks 2

I started with 4 balls of Knitting Fever Indulgence Cashmere in my stash that I had acquired a while back from a friend's destash. So given the success of Inky's first pair, I set out to make a second pair, but this time quirkier.

Yarn: Knitting Fever Indulgence Cashmere (discontinued)

Needles: US 2 / 2.75 mm

Pattern: Same basic design as before: cuff down, extra long heel flap, wedge toe

Since Inky was so delighted with the off-kilter stripes in the last one, we doubled down on the quirky. I used up the last of the first color before switching the the new ball in a a coordinating colorway of the same yarn that had some of the same colors. This meant that those very long repeat stripes moved in opposite directions. Fun!

Sparkle Red Rainbow Socks

My dearest Majes had his birthday this week, which was great motivation to finish these socks that I had been working on for basically forever. Ages ago his wife had acquired this yarn and asked if I could do the knitting of some extra sparkly red rainbow socks. She wasn't sure how much yarn that would take so she bought 300g of fingering weight sock yarn! This seemed like the moment to finally make those handknit knee length socks that he has been dreaming of.

Yarn: details lost to history, but it has a strand of silver sparkle and rainbow variegation in the red

Needles: US 1 / 2.25 mm

Pattern: 84 sts cast-on, cuff down, decrease down to 72 stitches for the ankle, heel flap, wedge toe

I am not going to lie, these socks were a slog that I put down and "rested" a lot. But I am really pleased with the result.

Totality Socks

Like many other Americans, we were eclipse chasing at the beginning of the month. We ended up in Texas, where we had some amazing food, had some lovely time with family, and got to experience the total solar eclipse surrounded by people of all walks of life, united in that moment.

Also while we were there I made a pair of socks for Salvbard, who has not received a pair in a while.

Pattern: 72 sts 2X2 rib cuff down sock with heel flap and wedge toe

Nothing special here pattern wise, just my default pair of socks to his preferences. He has one pair of black socks that I knit 16 years ago, and I had told him that I was not doing another pair of just black ones. So he got creative in his yarn choices to get as close as he could manage.

Gloucester Rowing Socks

Last year my partner and I checked Glacier National Park off my bucket list, and this trip was my very first time to Montana. 

While I did not really need any souvenir yarn given the size of my stash, a mutual friend of ours with a huge love of orange had been on the sock list for a while, and our color palettes are so different I really didn't have anything in my stash. So while we were out that way, we picked up some locally dyed yarn that was right up her alley.

Yarn: Big Sky Yarn Co. Star Sock

Yarn Supplier: Cama's Creek Cottage in Kalispell, Montana

Needles: US 1 / 2.25 mm

Patter: cuff down, 2X2 rib with offset cable twists

Our friend is active with the rowing community up in Gloucester, MA, and a pair of warm wool socks will be very useful for those early morning rows. Plus I was very charmed to add running cable that travelled from the leg down the top of the foot.

Mountain Fire Socks

While I was sitting around knitting Majes' Fire Circle Socks, a mutual friend started chatting with me about them and jokingly asked how to get on the sock recipient list. She has been going through a lot in recent years, so it was nice to surprise her with a pair that the next pair of stockinette socks that I was just making to keep my hands busy anyways

 Yarn: Hobbii Happy Feet Print in Sea of Flames (leftover from making Majes' fire circle socks) and a lonesome skein of Lang Yarns Jawoll Superwash Acrylic Blend in Navy

Yarn Supplier: Hobbii Yarns and Knitting Treasures (permantly closed) in Plymouth, MA

Needles: US 1 / 2.25 mm

Not the best photo in the world (no blocking done out in the woods), but these were warmly received by a very surprised recipient.

Fire Circle Socks

This past summer, sitting around campfires I knit my friend Majes another pair of socks for his selection. He has been a fantastic knitwear recipient, so I don't mind the fact too much the fact that he has unreasonably large feet. 

Yarn: Hobbii Happy Feet Print in Sea of Flames

Yarn Supplier: Hobbii Yarns

Needles: US 1 / 2.25 mm

Nothing fancy here pattern-wise, just my standard cuff down, heel flap socks with wedge toe. The simply 2X2 rib and stockinette was perfect for sitting in the dark knitting around a campfire and talking with friends.

Baby Blanket for Lil' Pup

Friends of ours were expecting a very welcome baby whom they nicknamed "lil' pup" due to their respective love of otters and wolves. So my partner picked out an unusual colorway for a baby blanket to look more like an island surrounded by water.

Yarn: Cotton Kings Sultan Deluxe in 17 Mojave Azurite

Yarn Supplier: Hobbii Yarns

Pattern: Tusindfryd Baby Blanket by Sys Fredens

I hadn't been able to find good photos of this pattern laid out flat (potentially a red flag in a pattern) but by reading through the pattern it seemed like it should work. The result at least in my gauge, which tends to be relatively short, wide stiches, were these graceful curving lines of the eyelets, which you just needed to organically spiral out from the center to let the edges lie as expected. I was actually very charmed.

Do Ewe Yoke KAL

It had been a while since I had done a KAL, and the Do Ewe Yoke (Ravelry link) was right up my alley as it combined both Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool which I am absolutely obsessed with  Zanete Knits's design aesthetic which has been really appealing to me and colorwork. 

The Spincycle Dyed in the Wool are seconds that I had picked up in a grabbag a while back, and the Louet Gems Sport weight I am knitting with was chosen primarily since it was in my stash, I had enough of it, and the colors seemed like they would work together.

FO: Smores Socks

Well, from a stash-busting perspective, these socks were successful, and they are very soft and cozy. I am a bit nervous about how they will wear though, after the amount of halo that I can see just from traveling with me to work on and then blocking.

 

Yarn: mystery  handdyed wool sock yarn in the colorway S'mores 

Needle: US 1 / 2.25mm

Pattern: 64 sts toe up sock with wedge toe and tubular bind-off

I didn't use a real pattern, but I did thrown in a tubular cast-off  just for fun. I had really loved it in the Alpenglow cuffs. I think actually it is a good bind-off for me for this length sock, but it wouldn't work for everyone or even every pair of socks for me.

WIP: Mitered Sock Yarn Blanker

I have been reorganizing my craftroom and in the process ran across this long hibernating WIP. I was so excited to see it! I have lots more sock yarn scraps odds and ends to add to it, and quickly added a few more rows.

 Mitered squares are just so deeply satisfying to knit.

It is also very popular with the cat, who seems to know as soon as it has been laid out that it is available for his enjoyment.

Purple Slouch Hat

 This hat is one that gets used all the time by the recipient, but somehow I had never blogged. 

Pattern: Sockhead Slouch Hat by Kelly McClure

Yarn: Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball® Crazy

Needles: US 2 - 2.75 mm

I love this pattern so much; it is a classic. I have previously also made in into my original Sockhead Slouch hat and  Firefly hat. In fact, I knit this hat as a backup for the friend who took the original Sockhead slouch hat.

Such a good pattern! Super simple and mindless, and perfect to wear. It does not put a lot of pressure on the head, but it stays on well. And for those with  bunch of hair, it is nice way to keep it all tucked inside.

WIP: Smores Socks

Last weekend we stayed just a few minutes walk from Webs, but somehow I overcame temptation and did not stop in. It helps that I have recently been going through my stash at home, and I have lots of inspiration of things I can make with the stash that I have.

So instead I worked on these toe-up socks in a yarn that I remember was from a hand dyer inspired by smores on a wool sock blend yarn, but that is about it. It is a good travel project and has kept me company through several meetings and lectures.

In general over the last few years, I have been trying to focus on really looking first at what is in my WIPs and stash to see if any of those would match what I want to be making. I still have passion projects, but I find that I am often reinspired by the stash I have when I take this time.

FO: Hallima Fever Dream Shawl

In addition to a pair of socks and some mystic armor panels I also knit my LARP character a shawl. My character is a healer, so the pattern name amused me to no end: Fever Dreams.

 

Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Arroyo in Cereza and black

Yarn Supplier: Lucky Cat Yarns 

Pattern: Fever Dreams by Kate Burge and Rachel Price

Needles: US 7 - 4.5 mm

The major modification here was to knit it in just two colors, and I extended the honeycomb section because it was my favorite part visually.

I am super pleased by how the whole look is coming together. 

Any thoughts on things I might want to tackle next?

FO: Alpenglow

I wasn't quite ready to return to Rhinebeck in 2022, but I did fall in love with Alpenglow, the 2022 Rhinebeck sweater.  It certainly did not hurt my feelings that this pattern was designed with my favorite: Spin Cycle Dyed in the Wool, which you have seen in many recent FOs from me including the Promises in the Dark shawl, the Shift Cowl, the Hinterland sweater, and the Trigradient Shawl.

Yarn: Spincycle Yarn Dyed in the Wool in Summer Love and Melancholia, Moondrake Kid Mohair in White, and Juniper Moon Farm Patagonia Organic Merino in gray

Yarn Supplier: Black Sheep Knitting

Needles: US 4 - 3.5 mm & US 2 - 2.75 mm

This was the first time I can recall knitting with a mohair yarn like this, but I really love the soft look of the result. Such a great combination of yarns and pattern. The Dyed in the Wool was, of course, a delight. The Juniper Moon Farm Patagonia Organic Merino was really nice, and I would definitely consider knitting with it again.

I also just really loved a ton of the design elements in this one. The short rows for the back of the neck are perfect. I went with the folded collar, and I love the finished look. The corrugated rib at the bottom: delightful. I went fussy to align the color transitions on the sleeves, because I could.

Great knit! And it has become a wardrobe staple pretty much immediately.

FO: The Shift

It is not often that I go on a huge jag, but I have been completely head over heels for Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool. So this cowl was right up my alley.

Pattern: The Shift by Andrea Mowry

Yarn: Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool in Salty Dog, Family Jewels, and Lapis

Needles: US 4 - 3.5 mm

Seriously look at these colors. The combination of slow color changes and the textured pattern is really fantastic, and this has been an FO that I get lots of compliments on.

Hallima socks

In 2022 I joined a local LARP, and since my character knits in character I had a great excuse to make socks during down time. It literally had been many years since I had made socks in worsted weight, and I forgot how incredibly fast they go.

Needles: US size 3- 3.25mm

Yarn: Ella Rae Classic Wool Solids & Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino

Yarn supplier: The Knitting Room (closed) and Mind's Eye Yarns

Pattern: made-up toe-up with short row heel

These were just made up from stash leftovers in relevant colors, but I totally added them to this character's kit.

Trigradient Shawl

Sometimes you have the perfect yarn waiting for you in your stash. I have been absolutely obsessed with the soft gradients of Spincycle Yarn's Dyed in the Wool, so I jumped at the chance to pick up some of their seconds last year. And while Midsommar is not my colors generally, it is my exactly up the alley of my friend Diamondsoled. And the Valley Superwash DK has been hanging out for a few years, waiting for the perfect squishy knit.

And it turns out Diamondsoled just bought her first house and painted her room in golds and pinks, with touches of blue and lilac. I wouldn't have necessarily have put these together spontaneously but they match her new space perfectly and look great draped as a cozy layer in a favorite (goldenrod colored) chair.

The Trigradient Shawl was a great pattern, with slightly different front and back for two different looks.

Pattern: Trigradient Shawl by Stephen West

Yarns: Valley Yarns Valley Superwash DK in Squash (MC) & Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool in Midsommar (CC)

Yarn Suppliers: Webs and Spincycle Yarns 

Needles: US 4 - 3.5mm

This project was my first time doing brioche stitch, and I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I got in the rhythm. I has 3 skeins of each, so I wanted to optimize to make it go as far as I could, which the pattern is flexible about. In the end I did the final bind off in CC instead of MC, since I ran out of the main color first. Ultimately I used all 3 skeins of the Valley Superwash, but just over 2 of the Dyed in the wool, so the remainder will show up in another project.

Majes blindfold

One of the fun things about being a maker is when those eminently-knitworthy people in your life request something very specific that that they can't find available. So when my dear Majes asked for a "dark colored blindfold like thing because I had the feel of sleep masks but I really need a sleep mask", I dug around in my stash until I found just the thing.

Yarn: Bear Brand Ever Match Sport and Sweater in black

Yarn Source: Somerville Yarn Swap

Needles: US 1 - 2.25mm

Pattern: (made-up) crocheted provisional cast-on and then kitchenered close the "tube"

This yarn has been in my stash *ahem* a long time. Like since (now grown) my kid was in middleschool. And even then it was being destashed from someone else's stash. This yarn is *old* and long since discontinued. And I still have a bunch of it.

FO: Bulky Toques

While out on vacation in western Massachusetts this year, I had picked up 2 skeins of this beautiful yarn at Colorful Stitches in Lenox. 

Yarn: Urth Yarns Koozoo Yarn

Yarn Supplier: Colorful Stitches

Pattern: improvised based on gauge

Since I have a tiny head, 2 skeins was totally enough to knit a hat for myself and my hiking partner Majes though. And since this was a super bulky knit, they were done super quick,

My Kind of Cowl

Sometimes you end up with a random skein in your stash that is lovely, but does not have immediate plan. That is what this skein of Malabrigo Rasta was like for me. I had originally purchased it sort of impulse to help support this LYS that is a friend's home shop.

Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Rasta in 96 Sunset

Yarn Supplier: Circle of Stitches

Pattern: My Kind of Town Cowl by Trish Woodson

Super soft, squish yarn knit in a squishy garter stitch makes a really warm, cozy knit. And the bulky weight of the Rasta makes this a super quick knit as well. Since the garter ridges end up being vertical when worn, this looks a lot like a turtleneck when tucked into a jacket or other layer. Cute!