Socks, socks, socks

These socks are for me after I got all my Christmas knitting done. The yarn is Jaggerwool in an autumn tone. It knits up into quite a nice fabric but I haven't done a wash test yet. The pattern stitch is called Eyelet Mock-Cable Rib and I don't remember where I got the stitch pattern from but it's very easy.

Eyelet Mock-Cable Rib Stitch
Rnd 1: *Sl 1, K2, PSSO, P2; rep from * to end.
Rnd 2: *K1, YO, K1, P2; rep from * to end
Rnd 3: *K3, P2; rep from * to end
Rnd 4: *K3, P2; rep from * to end
These socks are for my daughter done in plain stitch with Kroy sock yarn in a color called Krazy Stripes.
These socks are for my mom using Kroy sock yarn in the color Paintbox and using the
Blueberry Waffle pattern.

Off to the frog pond

I spent the morning frogging 2 pairs of socks that I've never really liked. One pair was done in a faux cable with Trekking XXL that has always been a bit on the tight side. I did them toe up and the instep has always been so tight that I had to yank to get them on.

The other pair were with a Lana Grossa yarn that I really loved but the socks shrank a bit when they were washed. So I ripped back the toes and added more but they still were tight in the instep so they got frogged too.

I'm still working on Christmas gifts so reknitting will have to wait but I feel better with them wound into balls instead of sitting in my sock drawer reminding me that they don't fit every time I open it.

Tutti Frutti

These are the latest socks completed on my Christmas list. The yarn is Kroy Sock in Tutti Frutti.

Hallowe'en princess

This is my little princess, Nyla, dressed up for Hallowe'en!

Fixation

These socks are made with Cascade Fixation. I really like the feel of the fabric that this yarn makes. It takes a bit of getting used to not stretching the yarn out as you knit so that it will have some elastic to the final product though. I think they will be really comfy in my work shoes and great for next summer. The yarn came with a pattern from my Sock of the Month kit but I was having enough trouble keeping the yarn at the right tension without throwing in a pattern stitch too!


I made these little socks for my granddaughter with some left over yarns. It's a great way to use up all those little balls and she loves to wear the socks that grandma makes for her.

Fish tank

I posted before about my new venture into keeping goldfish. This is my 55 gallon hexagonal tank now that it's all setup. It's got too many fish in it but I'll probably move some to my tropical tank once a few more of those ones go to the big fish tank in the sky.

I'm still working on the soy socks. I've been on vacation this week and hope to get them finished to wear to work when I go back on Tuesday. They're supposed to be good for perspiration so 10 hours in my work shoes should be a good test!

The Chain of Hearts tablecloth is within a few rows of being completed. I've already found my next project while cleaning out some dresser drawers. It's a pansy bedspread that I started for my daughter's bed from the Crochet Yearbook. I'm not getting it out until the tablecloth is done or I'll never finish the tablecloth at all.

Wicker Basket Socks

I finished this sock this week from my SOTM kit from theKnitter.com made with Wick yarn from KnitOne CrochetToo. It's 53% soy and 47% polypropylene. I wore it around the house a bit to see how it feels because the yarn feels very much like acrylic which I hate. It's supposed to have great "wicking" properties to keep feet dry. It's also a heavier weight yarn so the sock is quite thick. I'm not sure how it's going to feel in my shoe.

Otherwise, I've been continuing to work on my Chain of Hearts tablecloth and we're in the process of installing an outdoor wood furnace so that seems to be taking up a lot of time.

Chain of hearts

I kind of got back into crocheting when I finished my pineapple tablecloth so I decided to finish this Chain of Hearts tablecloth I started about 6 years ago as a tester for the pattern. The original idea was to use up all the odds and ends of balls of thread I had hanging around but now I'm not so sure I like the look. I started it for my old kitchen table that was considerably smaller than the one I have now but I'm about 1/2 way done so I guess I'll keep going! There's still about 4 banana boxes full of thread upstairs that needs something done with it. My obsession before sock yarn was thread!

Pineapple tablecloth finished!

After 8 years I finally finished this crocheted tablecloth! The pattern came from Craftown for free. I have no idea how much thread it took but I know I used at least 2 of the giant balls from Walmart. It really needs to be blocked properly but it's just been too hot here to even think about getting a steam iron out.

Sock monkey

I finished this sock at work this week. It's made with Scheepjes Invicta that I made an attempt at dyeing with spots of red to make it sort of "sock monkey" looking. I didn't really get the effect I was going for but they're alright.

Tablecloth revisited

It's been too hot here to hold wool yarn in my hands so I've switched back to working on my neverending tablecloth. It's going to be 76" across when/if I finish it and it's taking over an hour to go around it once now. I'd really like to finally finish it this summer so I've challenged myself to do a round a day on it.




A co-worker gave me a 55 gallon hexagonal aquarium that I set up for goldfish. This isn't my fish but it's the type I've put in it. They're called Oranda's and are almost round with a lumpy thing on their heads. They're really graceful swimmers and are supposed to live up to 10 years. We'll see how I manage with that!

New Footies

I decided I needed to make use of some of the yarn I've been collecting. I have a bunch of yarn on cones that someone gave me but I have no idea what the fiber content is on any of them except that most are natural fibers of some sort. I also have a lot of Bernat Hot Sox that I bought because it was cheap. That was before I discovered that wearing acrylic socks is like putting plastic bags on your feet!

This footie is a combination of some red Bernat Hot Sox and some blue yarn from a cone that has flecks of other colors in it. I added some pink woolly nylon to the heels and toes because I'm afraid it will wear through because it has no nylon content. I already washed it to see if it would shrink and I can't see that it changed at all. Next I'm on the the wear and comfort test. Hopefully it works out because I have a lot of this stuff!

Michigan trip

We went to Michigan International Speedway last weekend for the Nascar races. My husband wanted to go to the Arca race which I found totally boring so I amused myself by taking a picture of my Flickering Flames sock enjoying the race with the Nascar banner on the grass behind it. I embarrassed him to death but I now have proof that my sock went to the race!

I got some good knitting time in while we were away and finished sock number one of last months SOTM kit from theknitter.com. I didn't do the pattern as written because I kept getting the repeats messed up when I was knitting and talking so I just did a 2 row repeat. It looks nice and fits well so I'm happy.

We had Pit Passes so I was able to go down on pit road and get a picture of my favourite driver Kevin Harvick's car sitting on pit road before the race. We watched qualifying on Friday from the pits as well.
On the way back from Michigan we stopped at The Pinery to camp for a few days. This butterfly came and posed for me and it was such a brilliant blue I just couldn't resist taking its picture. I have no idea what kind it is but it was definitely pretty. I'd love to know what kind it is if anyone knows.

Footies

Well it's been a hectic month or so. My father-in-law passed away on April 2nd suddenly and left a lot of things to be looked after. Then my daughter moved home from university for the summer in the middle of April. She immediately decided that her old bedroom wasn't to her liking anymore and had to be changed. What started out as a coat of paint ended up being a re-do of everything including the flooring.

When we started cleaning out my father-in-laws house no one wanted his big oak table because it needed refinishing so I brought it home and started that project. It took a week of blood, sweat and tears but looks really great now. So great that I decided to re-do my cupboards too!

So knitting has been taking a back burner to all our home renovations but I have managed to finish a pair of footies using Sockotta Bold Stripes. I had no idea when I bought this yarn what it would look like when it was knit up and I am pleasantly surprised! I guess Bold Stripes should have been a tip off for me but I wasn't expecting the wide striping at all. These will make fun summer socks for work.

Kool-Aid Dyed socks

I finished the first sock with my Kool-Aid dyed yarn. The yarn came in a kit from the SOTM club at theknitter.com but the pattern is one I found on the web that I liked called Fluted Bannister Socks designed by Laura Gallagher. I really like the way the colors turned out and this yarn is great. It has a lot of stretch to it but unfortunately I threw away the wrappers when I dyed the yarn and have no idea what it is! This pattern has an easy repeat and gives a really nice texture to the sock.