Socks, about to be put on hold

For some reason, I'm having trouble feeling motivated to work on these socks. The first one is finished, I love to work on corrugated ribbing, and the prospect of 2 row stockinette stripes is usually really compelling. You would think I'd be chomping at the bit to get going on sock number 2. I don't know what's wrong with me!

That last sentence is a lie. What's wrong with me is that I don't like either orange or brown, but I made the choice to put the two colors together in an attempt to use up sock yarn scraps. My thrifty "don't buy new sock yarn when you've got a storage tub full of the stuff" attitude has officially backfired in the form of these socks. Someone is certain to love them, but it isn't me, and that means I'm going to start working on a different project instead of finishing up the second sock of this pair.

Do you ever get halfway through a project and realize it's just not your jam? What's your strategy? For me, for now, it's goodbye, little fall-themed socks, and hello to my Beekeeper's Quilt!

More socks? Why, yes!

Happy holiday weekend! I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving and are enjoying the last day of this restful weekend. I am certainly giving thanks for the chance to catch up on sleep, catch up on knitting, and catch up with some very good friends over meals, movies, and glasses of wine.

This whole process of using up sock leftovers with skinny stripes and interesting color combinations is pretty fun.  I'm currently staving off second sock syndrome and my annoyance with all the dangly, tangling ends by alternating between pairs.  That means more works in progress and fewer FOs, since I'm still working on the socks from last post and I've started a pair in this new green-orange colorway.  I've got one of each and a start on the cuff of the second primary color sock.

By the way, because of my limited budget and my ridiculous stash, if you're a member of my family, you're probably getting socks or something else knitted for Christmas. Just to warn you...

How do you bust your stash?

Surprise! More stripey socks

Yeah, this project probably is not a surprise. I love stripes, and I love socks: what could be better for knitting down the sock yarn stash than a pair of tri-colored stripey socks?

These are two-row alternating stripes in plain stockinette stitch.  Yarn details (sort of) are on my Ravelry project page. I'm alternating between 6 stripes of white and 6 stripes of marigold, all against a background of variegated trekking. I originally thought I might incorporate another yarn in a tonal cerulean shade, but I think it was a better choice to stick with solids as contrast colors.

One major upside of my ongoing stashbusting mission is that I have not purchased any new sock yarn since February. That's right, February. The plastic tub's worth of sock scraps is... not noticeably depleted.  Socks really don't use up as much yarn as I thought! I may be forced to start one of these...

FO: Brocade II (Ninja Turtle style)

Welcome to November! I love the last three months of the year, and I'm very pleased to start this new month with a newly finished pair of wool socks.  It may be getting significantly cooler, and the trees outside my windows may have lost nearly all of their leaves, but that just means it's time for the daily rotation of cozy knitted items, especially hats, shawls, and socks.

Yarn: main color (green) is Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in Canopy and the contrast color (pink/purple slow change) is Marks and Kattens Fame Trend.
Needles: US 3 dpns, set of 5

Pattern: Brocade, by Lauren Osborne of Hungry Knitter fame; I knit the large size using large needles. The yarns this time around were a bit less sturdy, so the resulting socks are softer and more drapey, if socks can be called drapey.

 

Verdict: Ninja Turtles 4-Evah!

In all seriousness, I think the color combination on these is pretty great. There are certain points where the magenta shade starts to look almost luminous against the green, and the high-contrast combination is particularly striking along the bottom of the foot.

I was excited to make these and excited to finish them, not only because I seem to have broken through the 95% complete curse, but also because now I get to knit some more stashbusting socks. I have a great set of colors picked out; I can't wait to show you!

Brocade II

aka, Oh my God, I am knitting a Ninja Turtle.

At least it's a totally effective way to use up sock yarn leftovers, and the possible color combinations are endless...

Wool socks and other signs of autumn

In a somewhat silly attempt to use up sock yarn leftovers, I've cast on for a pair of stripey socks. As you will see below, there are so many sock yarn leftovers that this project hardly makes a dent.  Also, I fail at being random in my color ordering choices, but I am willing to own my controlling tendencies.

These socks are the perfect project to celebrate the start of autumn.  Some other things around my house are marking the change of season, too.  For example, mini pumpkins. I was so excited to see a giant bin of them at the grocery store this morning!

Also at the grocery store:

Goes well with the pumpkins, right?  Also goes well with pumpkin cream cheese muffins. Who knew you could make these things at home? I am so going to weigh about 8 million pounds by the time fall is over.

Maybe if I try to eat a balanced diet with plenty of veggies (oh my gosh, SQUASH!!!), I will only weigh 7 million pounds.

Then I will still be able to wear my cozy vest and autumnal scarves.

 And my new socks, seen here perched atop the neverending stash of leftovers. I need to come up with some more project ideas, and fast.

FO: Brocade on Parade

Okay. I am WAY OVEREXCITED about this project. SO so great. And it's not old/vintage/revived from the yarn pit; it's all new.

Yarn: I do not read the language that appears on the yarn label, however, I am pretty sure the brand is Snaeldan, and I have two shades - 24 (purple) and 1 (white/natural). The yarn was a gift from the wonderful N., who brought it to me in Chicago all the way from the Faroe Islands, where, according to our Dutch source, the men are uniformly unbelievably attractive. The yarn is not too shabby, either.

Pattern: Brocade socks by Lauren Osborne (Hungry Knitter), size M/L on US 3 dpns
Notice how these socks are designed by a friend and made from yarn a friend bought for me? The whole thing feels like a lovely collaboration between all my friends to make my mom some slipper socks that she is going to luuuuuuuurve. I love projects like this.

Mods: This yarn is pretty solid, so I didn't knit the heel flap with two strands of MC held together, as instructed. I think the heel will probably hold up anyway. Also because the yarn is heavy, I knit fewer rows for the heel flap before working the turn rows. It just meant fewer decreases down the gusset, which is no big deal. Hooray for less work, really.

Verdict: I am completely thrilled. The end result is fabulous, and the knitting was the right balance of challenging and simple.  My knitting group would also make some pointed comments about how fast I knit these up (start to finish in 5 days). Look, colorwork is addictive, and I'm pretty speedy. That's my excuse.

Here, have another picture. THESE ARE SO GREAT!!!

FO: XOX Fall

Is it really Fall? It sure feels like it outside, and I'm wearing a long-sleeved shirt. Almost time for sweaters, hot chocolate, and crunching in the leaves!!!  The cravings for tomato soup and grilled cheese have also started to set in.

In celebration (well, really in a state of optimistic anticipation, because it was pretty hot last week), I made an effort to finish these socks that have been languishing in a project bag since... wait for it... October 2010. Oh yeah. Vintage socks right here.

Yarn: Patons Kroy Socks Stripes in colorway Sienna - I quite like this yarn. It's very firm, and the color changes are fantastic.
Pattern: XOX Socks - Hugs & Kisses by Wollhuhn. The cable pattern is both simple and, after one repeat, fairly intuitive.  The ribbing along the back is pretty and stretchy, and I am starting to see the merits of a plain stockinette heel flap.

Mods: None. I might have gone my own way when it came to the toe, but I don't think that really counts as a change to the pattern.
Verdict: Yes, yes, yes. I heart these socks. Hugs & Kisses for everyone! My Ravelry project page is here.

In other news, my apartment is being demolished so that all the plumbing can be replaced. Everything is covered in a fine layer of plaster dust, and there is no hot water for washing the dishes that have been so coated. I am trying to look on the bright side and convince myself that this means a free pass to order takeout and immediately change out of fancy clothes into pajama pants whenever I walk in the door. Right? Right.

Socks, again

This seems like an excellent way to say HELLO! again after such a long and much-needed break. As always, even in the midst of exams (passed!) and books (excellent!) and weather (super hot and muggy oh my goodness!) and vacation (thoroughly enjoyed!) and people (so so so wonderful!), you can count on the fact that I have been knitting socks. These were completed back in May, and there has not been much knitting since then, but socks are probably going to get me going again. On Thursday and Friday I finally started feeling my knitting urge come back in full force, which means an expedition for more sock yarn is not far off. In fact, it might be as close as the yarn scrap bin in my office/studio, because stripey mismatched socks are sounding pretty good right about now.

Until then, two recently completed pairs, both in Socks that Rock acquired from the lovely Phoe.

Summer Lovin' Socks

River Rapids Socks

I'll be back here again very soon, I promise. Thanks for stopping by.