I was able to finish the Darjeeling socks late last night.  Definitely a pattern I'll make again.  Grant's OSU socks haven't fared as well, but they are quick when I get back to them.   I think these are actually pair 9 & 10 for my 12in2012, but in the end I'll probably only count the kid socks as 1 for every two pair.

Darjeeling pattern; KnitPicks Stroll in Midnight Heather

Ohio State-ish colors for Grant
Generic 52-stitch; KnitPicks Felici in Firefighter

The most exciting thing happening around here is lots of knitting in my 'free' time.  These projects were finished in May, June, & July so far.

Hermione socks; Corkscrew mittens; generic for Oliver (Grant's are not pictured);
Twin Rib socks; another generic for Oliver

I have a pair of OSU-colored stripes to finish up today for Grant, and I only have a few inches of leg to go on these Darjeeling socks so I should finish them today too.

Darjeeling--fantastic pattern with lots going on and a great fit. 

In other news, I lost my job in early June and spend countless hours in the quest for a new, better, less stressful one.   I also joined the Y a couple of months ago and quit smoking finally, once and for all, last time, EVER.  And of course, the weather continues to keep me on edge and/or paralyze me; bring on Fall & Winter!

I allowed myself to be talked into buying a bushel of tomatoes, and I made salsa for the first time yesterday.  It was quite bland so I'm off to try again today with different peppers!

Take care!
Sheila

Simple SKYP Socks

I thought this was going to be an "no worries" pattern to sail through the shortest month, but I've only completed one sock due to lots of ripping back the first 10 days.  For the record, not a great pattern to rip back unless you have a lifeline.  It's much easier to count and examine your stitches every half-round.

I'll be binding off in daylight today, and then heading to the sewing machine for the remainder of the weekend!

Simple SKYP socks

***
I asked Santa for a hanging canvas shoe organizer but I'm pretty sure it wasn't expected to be used like this.  I love having most of my yarn in one compact place now.

We have socks!

Running late for work so I'll get better pics later with the particulars, but one finish and one needing only bind-off as of midnight (even though I was tempted to knit into the Pacific time zone to get them finished).  These were both UFOs from 2011.

Sept2011 UFO

ETA: Plymouth Sockotta #5618, 6x2 rib, toe-up on 64 stitches.  

Did a twisted rib on the cuff that I won't do again :-)

These will be going to my friend Maureen.

Jan2011 UFO

ETA: Knitpicks Stroll in Terrain Twist colorway, toe-up 72 stitches; Garter Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks.  Followed these directions to switch to 1x1 rib for the cuff and it was a thing of beauty.  My "something new" this month will be an invisible bind-off or tubular bind-off on these; just need to wait to work on them in daylight to do that.  These are for me.

It's been a long dry spell!

First of all, Happy New Year! I'm so glad 2011 is done with and I made it to the other side. To quote a facebook friend, my plans in 2012 are to " Eat less, move more. Frown less, smile more. Do what I can, when I can." Especially those moving & smiling parts.

I haven't sewn a stitch since probably April, so I've decided to participate in Judy's UFO challenge to get several projects to the finished flimsy stage:

1- Rangeley Stars
2- Triple 4-patch swap
3- Blue/white Duck & Ducklings
4- Black S&W
5- 4-patch on design wall (Yes, I cheated and made this #5 so I could get it off the wall!)
6- Swap from California Cruisin' book
7- Cheap Trick
8- Green County Lines
9- Patriotic Hidden Star
10- Baskets BOM
11- Green Caffrey mystery
12- Leaf Season

I also joined in on SewCalGal's free motion quilting challenge.  A lot of comfort quilts are going to be my practice pieces this year, so hopefully next year I can quilt this year's finished UFOs.

And last but not least, I've joined Denise's 12 in 2012 sock knitting challenge.  I think I've only finished one pair of socks this year!

Nothing but knittin' this week

I've managed to do quite a bit of knitting this week.  I'm past the heel and ready for the leg on the second dark sock, and I found two skeins of Regia Cotton in the nether regions of my stash to restart the two-at-once last Sunday.  Toe-up this time, just because it's what I'm used to.

I'm not entirely fond of this cotton yarn (very splitty!), but I'm loving the process.  I want to work on quilts tomorrow, so I'm hoping to make it through the heels on the grey tonight, leaving nothing but legs to work on during the coming week.

Must get a pedicure!

Socks!

It's been many months since I last knit on anything but I was inspired to play along with  Judy's November Sock KAL.

The blue Sockotta cotton/wool socks were started before the 2010 Olympics but, sadly, I dropped a stitch and didn't notice it until the sock was bound off and they got pushed aside for a more patient day. I fixed and finished it last weekend so I could start the ones in the center with my currently preferred toe-up, one-at-a-time.  I needed something to fall back on if I got too frustrated with the new method.   The center sock is a wool/nylon OnLine yarn that, thankfully, is getting softer as I knit. 

The green and black toddler socks on the right are from stashed Essential yarn from Knitpicks a few years ago when it came in 462-yard skeins.  Sunday I buckled down and forced myself to learn two socks-at-once in daylight hours.  Early in the summer I bought the books recommended by Mary and read them a lot, but hadn't tried the method.  

It really defeats the purpose of knitting two at once to make them different colors, I guess you're thinking?   I didn't have two identical skeins of any yarn, so I decided to use different colors of the same yarn.  As it turns out, it's hell on the eyes to knit black /dark yarn, so teaming it with the green works better for tracking where I am.  Another reason for using two colors was to track Sock 1 and Sock 2... I thought.  It took a bit to realize Sock 1 changes with each portion of the round.  Before that realization, there were quite a few gymnastic effects and frustrating moments when trying to knit the black 'Sock 1' first each time.  

I'll have to work on these during lunch hours if I hope to make any significant progress during the month.  My nights are mostly filled with what little quiltmaking happens in my life right now.

Morning sampler

Mary's new sock kick has motivated me to a finish.  (And she is fast!) Mary, I love that you're making them in Scarlet & Gray -- Buckeye colors.  ; )

This pair was started in May'09 and has been languishing... waiting for those last 20 or so rows of the second leg to be done.  As is my usual, once I know what it's going to look like, I've moved on.

Last week I discovered that this young pup has been using my dining room as his personal potty.  I have an open kitchen/dining/living area, but I never go through the dining room, or even use it much for that matter. Unfortunately I've had to go back to crating him while I'm at work.  Here's a picture of one of his milder moments this morning.

Non-diet food:  I made some kolaches to take to work today.  One could find sausage kolaches in nearly every donut shop in north Texas, but no one locally has heard of them. Just as well, since it's cheaper to make them. This last batch is fresh from the oven, but a couple mysteriously vaporized as soon as this picture was snapped!  

Eckrich breakfast links rolled in Pillsbury Grands biscuits (biscuits were separated in half horizontally before rolling).

We're supposed to be in for "the biggest snowstorm of the season" today and tomorrow, but it hasn't started yet. Are the weather people in your area incite-ful alarmists too?  By listening to them, you'd never know this is a northern climate with four seasons.

The good news is... I finally found the cord to my new camera!  It looks just like one of my computer cords, so it was right under my nose the whole time.

The pursuit of hand-knit sock happiness

I first started knitting socks about two years ago. I'm not good at it, easily frustrated by it, and certainly not fast. But it's entertaining on those nights where I just 'have' to watch TV or when it's too warm to hold a quilt for binding.

Several weeks ago I finished these socks. They are very thick; way too thick for my taste to wear in shoes, so maybe house socks in winter or to wear in boots. As soon as those socks were done, I couldn't wait to start another pair. In fact, I wouldn't let myself start another pair until I'd finished them.

I've struggled with understanding short-row heels and have several sets of directions to try in the pursuit of happiness. Tried a heel and it came out perfectly (I was in love!) but the sock was too short and the heel too shallow. Knit, rip back. Knit, rip back. Knit, rip back. I wasn't willing to waste all my time finishing a sock that wouldn't be worn, so I perservered. I honestly ripped this sock out probably six times (from the heel to the arch) before I had something that fit and something I was happy with. Not only that, I finally understood what was going on with sock shaping! You are seeing it now it its half-a-sock glory because it's taken me 6 weeks to get this far and I don't see a 'pair' anytime in the near future. [Although 'near' is relative... can you believe it's July already? In 2009?]

Do you remember that I once said I was a tight knitter? My gauge on this is ~12spi and 13rpi on #0; that's a whole lot of knitting to do over and over on a 10.25" foot. But I don't want a sock that my foot is going to be sliding around in or one that the light shines through. The cramps in my hands tell me I may have to relax those specs a little if I want to continue knitting socks, but for now it is what it is.

And can I just say that all that ripping is a testament to this yarn (ONline Supersocke; thank you, Miss Howdy for the recommendation); for the number of times it has been ripped and re-knit, it doesn't look one bit different than it did when first pulled from the skein. I know it will wear like iron. And yes, I know it's not a particularly attractive color scheme (cough), but it was cheap on sale and expensive plain yarn would not have been nearly as entertaining to practice with.