Making no progress

My company sent me to Edmonton for what was supposed to be a 3 day trip to help move that division to a new site. The trip turned into a week and now I'm going back for another week leaving next weekend. I took along a ball of sock yarn and needles but never got a chance to even get started. I'm still plugging away on a pair of Kroy socks for my daughter's boyfriend that are so boring! If I could knit on the plane I would be sooooo happy. I may try taking my knitting along this time because my husband will be taking me to the airport and I can pass it back to him if they refuse me.

Step 05 done

I finished the first sock in Austermann Step colorway 05. This yarn doesn't knit up anything like what it looks like in the skein! It's so hard to tell by looking at it in the skein just which colors are going to be the larger stripes. I really expected this one to be more of the browns and russet colors.

Finished Lava Rocks

I have one more pair of my Xmas socks done now. The Lava Rock Step socks are finished! I'm working afternoons this week so I've had time in the morning to get some sock knitting done. I think I like the colorways of the earlier numbers better than the newer ones. The new ones only have a 3 color stripe repeat and it isn't nearly as interesting. My favourites so far are still the original ones called Melba.

4 more Steps done

I have 4 more socks done with Austermann Step. They are left to right: 14, 11,03 & 15. I have the pair finished in the 15 so I have one Christmas present finished now! I'm way ahead of what I had anticipated so far. It's nice to have some breathing room! The 14 doesn't show the colors well in the picture. It's actually pretty shades of jade, amethyst and beige.

2 Step socks done

I've managed to finish 2 single Step socks so far. It sounds strange but I seem to be making more progress by jumping between 5 or 6 or I've lost count how many socks I have on needles right now. When I get bored with one I just put it down and pick up a different sock. The repeats seem to be different on almost every colorway so it keeps it interesting. The only down side is that the repeats are really long so making matching socks means unwinding a lot of extra yarn to find the right spot to begin the second sock. It doesn't help that I just started in on the skein without giving a thought to how I would know where to start the second one. A smart knitter would have started at the beginning of a color change but that would be a smart knitter, not me!

Step 03

I scrounged around and found 3 more needles to cast on one more of my Austermann Step colors. This is #03 and is mostly mossy greens. Not sure who these will be for, probably me!

More Step

I just happened to be driving by the store that sells Austermann Step this morning and somehow I ended up in there buying 3 more balls of it. They have all of the colors now and I picked up 21, 05 & 03 as well as a couple balls of Kroy in Winter Eclipse that I hadn't seen there before. I'm out of empty needles right now so getting started on more socks is going to have to wait but I can't stand not being able to see what they're going to look like!

Last Austermann Step

This is the last Austermann Step colorway that I bought. It is number 11 and consists of peaches, browns and beige. I really like this one and may keep them for myself!

United Way Afghan

I finished the afghan that I said I would donate for a raffle for the United Way. It didn't have to be done until the end of October but I have 5 pairs of socks to do before Christmas so getting it finished and out of the way is a good feeling. I found the pattern in the back of a book of afghans put out by Vanna White. It's called Zipper Tape and went quite quickly. I may do this pattern again when I have time.

More Step yarns

I've knit a little bit of another 3 of my Austermann Step yarns just to see what the pattern repeat is. I don't see any logic between the different colors at all. Some have quite a few stripes before a repeat and some have only a few. The ones with the long repeat are really going to be interesting when it comes to trying to get a second sock to match!


This one is all denim blues and is number 02 on the label. The repeat on this one is really long, I made it all the way to the top of the heel flap before I got a repeat.
The color number on the ball band of this one is 15. The colors look very muted and stone like.
This is number 18 and I saw it somewhere listed as Lava Rock for the colorway.

Austermann Step #14

This is one repeat of the Austermann Step colorway #14. It's a plum color, forest green and creamy beige.

Austemann Step socks

This pair of socks is made with Austermann Step yarn #10 Melba. It has Aloe Vera and Jojoba Oil in the yarn which is supposed to last for at least 40 washes. I don't know about the benefits of that but it is a wonderful yarn to work with. It has a very smooth and silky feel and drapes beautifully. It's a thinner yarn so you need a smaller needle to get a good fabric but the socks are nice for wearing in regular shoes. I really enjoyed working with this yarn so I've made it my Christmas gift of choice this year. It's a bit more expensive than some yarns (I paid $15.29CAN for a 100gr ball) but it's worth it to have a nice yarn to work with when you are making multiple pairs of socks. It comes in lots of different colorways as well.

This is our newest granddaughter, Emma. She's 7 months old now and is a very happy baby. It won't be long until she's on the run and ready to go.

Long time gone

It's been a long and busy summer. We took our granddaughter, Nyla, to Sudbury on a camping trip. Now I know why old people don't have children! I finished my Raspberry Swirl socks finally and have worn them once. They feel alright in my work shoes but are a bit heavy. I finished another pair using Austerman Step and they are really nice. I'll have to get a picture of them. I like that yarn so much that I bought 4 more balls to do socks for Christmas for the usual recipients.

Raspberry Swirl

I finished one sock of my SOTM kit called Raspberry Swirl. I like the yarn even though it is a bit heavier than would be comfortable in normal shoes. I think it will work fine in my work shoes. The yarn is Lily Chin's Chelsea and is a combination of 30% merino wool, 35% cotton and 35% acrylic. It doesn't have lot of stretch so I'm hoping that they don't stretch out and get baggy. The pattern is easy to follow but I'm finding it hard on my hands. I'm not sure if it's all the K2tog, knit into the back of the K2tog's or if it's the heavier yarn or maybe a combination of both. Anyway, I work on them a bit each night and then switch back to my scrap socks.

It's kitten season again. I found 3 in the barn that are really cute but the mother is pure evil so if I want to look at them I have to sneak in when she isn't around!

Circles of Hope

I started making these little granny's daughters with my leftover yarn years ago. They never seemed to amount to much and I sort of forgot about them. I saw a woman on my local Freecycle list offering 600 of them and decided I would put them together. The directions can be found at Granny's Daughters Assembly which also has some other ideas for things to make with them. I think I'll donate this to my local nursing home as a lapghan.

I made this afghan for my co-worker Jeff's wedding. It's a Mile A Minute pattern and worked up quite quickly. I've done this afghan twice lately so it's time to retire that pattern for awhile!

Afghan time

We took a trip to visit my daughter and a 5 hour drive each way gave me time to make this baby afghan. I don't have anyone in mind for it right now but it's always good to have a stash ready for an unexpected gift. I should make a pink one now too and put it away so I'm ready for any new arrivals. I love the Mile A Minute patterns because I can make all the strips while we drive and put them together later. It's so much easier than having a whole afghan sitting on your lap all the time.






My co-worker Jeff is getting married the end of April so I decided to make this afghan for him. I have 4 of the 8 strips done so far.

Ridged scrap socks

I am really, really impressed with this sock! I had all these leftover yarns and wanted to make something that didn't look like leftovers stuck together. I used plain red acrylic for the cuffs and heels and Kroy Paintbox with some unknown yarn that I had on a cone in a forest green. The cuff is 2" of K2, P2 ribbing then I repeated 4 rows of plain knitting with one row knit, one row purl and one row knit in the forest green. On the foot I left the sole in plain knitting continuing the stripes but kept the purling on the top side. The colors really bring out the best in each other and the purl rows give some interest to the sock.


My daughter came home last weekend for a belated birthday and to pick up more of her things for her new apartment. She may have just turned 26 but is still not too old to go out and roll in the snow with her niece!

Good weekend for socks

I had a good sock weekend. I finished the first pair of scrap socks. The Kroy Denim was enough to finish off the toes so that went well. I finished the first Moda Dea sock and it looks great. Now I'm on to a second pair of socks to use up my scrap collection. I used plain red in an acrylic for the cuff and then Kroy Paintbox and some green wool on a cone for the leg. I decided that I might have enough Kroy if I mixed it with another color but plain stripes would be boring so I'm doing 4 row of stockinette in Paintbox then one row knit, one row purl and one row knit with the green. It makes a really interesting design and doesn't look like a scrap sock. I'll get a picture when it gets a bit further along.

Monster socks

My basket of odd bits and balls of yarn has been growing again so I decided to create a pair of Monster socks. So far I have some navy of unknown origin for the cuffs and heels with Kroy for the leg and another ball of unknown origin for the gusset. Next will be Kroy in Denim for the foot or as far as it will go.

This is Moda Dea yarn that I bought last year by mistake not realizing that it was acrylic. The color is very pretty and they make great socks as long as you don't need the wool factor for warmth. I tried wearing the other pair I made when we went out to cut wood last weekend and my feet nearly froze.

I've been teaching 2 of my co-workers to knit socks since the first of the year. It's a slow and painful process! I'll have to get pictures of their finished product if and when they ever finish even a first sock. Both are using Kroy yarn, one in a bright turquoise and the other in the Crayon colorway. I hadn't realized how many ways there are to mess up a sock!

Raspberry Swirl

I started my new SOTM kit from theknitter for January yesterday. It's called Raspberry Swirl by Debbie O'Neill and the yarn is Lily Chin Chelsea which is 30% Merino Wool, 35% cotton and 35% acrylic. It's a bit heavier than sockweight but is knitting up nicely and looks like they won't be too thick to wear in shoes. I'm not sure that this yarn has great stretch to it so I hope the cotton content hasn't compromised it's memory.

I finished the socks in Mega Boots Stretch and they look fantastic. It is really a nice yarn and it blooms beautifully after the first wash. I'll give them the work shoe test on Monday!

Lots o' Socks

I finished my Kool-Aid dyed socks. The yarn was white Sisu that I dyed with 3 colors of Kool-Aid. I just washed them and the yarn really bloomed nicely.
These socks were from my SOTM kit at theknitter.com. I only have one finished and I just tossed it in with my sock wash to see how it comes out. I like the feel of the yarn, Mega Boots Stretch, and think that these will be a really comfy pair of socks.
Another pair of Kroy Country Jacquards on the way. Knitting 3 pairs for other people has left me with enough yarn to make a pair for myself!

I washed my Clematis Socks and they really turned out very soft. The yarn is Jaggerspun Superlamb and it felt quite stiff when I was knitting it. I really think I should have put some woolly nylon into the heels and toes but by the time I thought of it it was too late. The yarn came from a SOTM kit and didn't have any label so I had no idea what the content was when I started them. I have a lot left over and another ball set aside so I will definitely reinforce the next ones and only wear this pair for good and not in my work shoes.

More Country Jacquards

I finished Jane's socks with the Kroy Country Jacquard yarn and discovered that after making 3 pairs of socks with this colorway I have enough leftovers to complete a pair for myself. As much as I'm sick of this yarn now, I've cast on a pair for myself that are just plain knitting so they'll make a good take-a-long project and use up the little balls of this yarn that I have sitting around. Now all I have to do is dream up a project for all the other little balls I have in my leftovers basket.

We're expecting a major winter storm here so maybe I'll get snowed in and not have to go to work tomorrow! A whole day for knitting! Not likely to happen but I can dream.

SOTM Ripple socks

I got my new SOTM kit from theknitter yesterday and couldn't resist starting it. The yarn is Meilenweit Mega Boot Stretch and I'm really liking it. It's very soft and has a nice "spring" to it. The pattern is just called Ripple Socks and has an easy repeat once you get it in your head.

On the needles

All the gifts that I made for Xmas were hits with their new owners. My twin nieces loved their sweaters and everyone's socks fit!

I'm now making my 3rd pair of socks with Kroy Sock yarn in Country Jacquard. I made a pair for my daughter-in-law for Xmas and a co-worker loved the color and asked if I'd make her a pair. The "I don't have anymore of that yarn" trick didn't work because she surprised me by showing up at work with 2 balls of it that she got at a store in another town. I like Kroy yarns but I'm starting to really get sick of this colorway!

My new work project is this pair of socks that I'm making with some yarn that I Kool-Aid dyed last spring. The yarn is/was white Sisu that I got from theknitter and dyed with 3 colors of Kool-Aid. They're a refreshing change from the Country Jacquard. I'm using a stitch pattern called Little Ladders that is:
Rnd 1: K4, P2.
Rnd 2: Knit.
It gives the socks a little more stretch and is a bit more interesting than plain stockinette but doesn't get overwhelmed by the colors in the yarn.

The third pair on the needles are the socks from my last post. I got bogged down after the first one and have abandoned it in the ribbing stage. The yarn is very fine and it takes a lot of knitting to look like there is any progress at all. Maybe I'll get into the right mood again soon to work on it.