When I started this blog, it was just a way to add more info about my crafting projects that might not be included in my Ravelry project page, but I feel like I’ve been doing a better job of adding info there so this has fallen by the wayside. It still seems like a good exercise though so I’m going to at least try to do a monthly summary. I like the idea of making something, taking nice photos of it, and writing about it; covers a lot of creative ground. So anyway, this will be more monthly.
I enjoyed the results of the Pin Striped Socks so much that I decided to cast on yet another; this time, for my husband. I actually started it the last week of March, but finished it in April. I decided to modify Jessica Gore’s Day Off Socks and add some simple 2×2 ribbing. I dove back into my stash yarn and used Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet, bought the same day as my Wisdom Yarns Stanza back in November at my LYS. The Brown Grey Forest colorway was the only manly color so I snatched up two hanks of that. For some reason, these socks knitted up so much faster; maybe I just got faster with practice?
My husband really loves these socks. He’s become a convert to hand knit socks after wearing this pair, and now he’s requested more!
Good thing I went to YarnCon where I was able to buy more yarn! Actually, I was being exceedingly lazy, and my husband had to force me to go. I know, I’m incomprehensible sometimes.
I met up with some ladies from my knitting group, and I went around with them for a bit, but I was like a kid in a candy store and ended up bouncing around on my own. Literally bouncing. I was actually getting a bit overwhelmed by the choices there. So much beautiful yarn! Indie dyed! Squishy! Sparkly! Notions! Good thing I eventually set my focus on sock yarn. Here is my haul:
I immediately gravitated toward CJ Kopec’s booth and got 2 hanks of Solitude and 1 hank of Ambition. Am thinking the Solitudes will be a shawl, and Ambition will be socks. The Grinning Gargoyle had some great yarn as well, and I got 3 Khalessi Sock hanks in Turbulent, Walnut, and Moss colorways. They’ll be socks for me and the husband. I think he’s particularly drawn to the Turbulent one. And lastly I got some lovely Le Squish yarn from BunnyBadger Fibers in Uptown and Avocado. They’re also flagged for socks.
Yarn Con was amazing, and I think I became a bit of a yarn snob after it. Can’t wait for next year!
Since I just got more sock yarn, I felt it was important to continue using up some stash yarn so I used the last sock yarn in my stash: Wisdom Yarns Stanza in Burns colorway. My husband loved the first pair of socks so much that I felt I ought to make him another right away. This pair went well, but I’m honestly over self-striping socks; so much work trying to get the stripes to match! In the end, I just made them mismatched.
The thing that I learned after this second pair is that I completely misread the Day Off Socks pattern the first time and made a more rounded toe. It was actually a good thing though because my husband prefers the rounded toe rather than the wedge. And, honestly, I do too.
After two pairs of socks, I felt it was time to switch it up so I started working on a commission for a co-worker. I had a hard time finding some bulky weight cotton yarn so I ended up using Bernat Home Dec which is a cotton and nylon blend. It feels nice, but it’s a bit slippery, and I had to knit it so tightly which kind of hurt my hands.
I used the Ruby Bear pattern again which is a great free pattern on Ravelry from Michele Wilcox. I made my usual modification of knitting it in the round. Once again, my head was slightly twisted after I attached it to the body though not as extreme as the first time. I also had the worst time with the embroidery. I was finally satisfied with it on the 6th try! It turned out smaller than I expected, but I think it’s still pretty cute, and the recipient was quite happy with it.
Well, that wraps up my FOs from April, but I’ve got two projects on the needles that I can’t wait to finish soon. I’m working on my Broken Seed Stitch Socks, and my first sweater! Hopefully they’ll both be done in May.