Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Day 14

I have now finished the decrease rows for both the socks and will be beginning on the foot.

I am running out of time to get this pair done. Eep!

So, what is on your needle/hook today?

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Day 13

So, I had one of those, OMG please kill me now because I really don't want to have to do this, moments today.

I had finished the decrease section of sock one, it came along nicely and I was quite satisfied with it so I picked up sock two and started working on that one. Finished the second row and realized I forgot to set up the needles properly, the entire pattern was thrown off.

What does that mean?

Well, I had to rip out the two very difficult rows I had just spend a good twenty minutes working on getting on the needles. I want to cry I am so frustrated, it was such a silly mistake but it ruined so much work.

So, putting the socks aside, starting dinner, then I think this evening will be working on the shawl.  Hope your knitting goes a lot more smoothly than mine.

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Day 12

So I am currently working the foot decreases on the first sock and it is very slow going, but it is looking nice. I was confused (again) at first but after watching the video tutorial in the class, I understood it.

As you can see, the solid green for the heel gives it some fun character and does not really take away from the pattern at all, which makes me really happy. I was so worried it would look bad.

So, along with the socks, I have finally gotten around to working on my daughter's shawl. She had picked out the fur February of last year and I finally found the perfect yarns to go with it for the pattern.

I am using the pattern Splendid Shawl by Lainie Hering that I picked up at Knit or Knot in Jupiter, FL. The pattern called for a ribbon to be knitting through it in sections but I hated the texture, it ruined the overall softness of the shawl.

I have a feeling it is going to be so elegant looking when it is complete, cannot wait.

So, that is what I have gotten accomplished so far, what have you gotten done?

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Day 11

Okay, so I am finally back on track with the sock knit-along. Today I finished the heels, including turning the heel. If you are wondering why they look different sizes, it is because I had tried the right one on and it stretched it out a little. hehe

They are coming along nicely, and now I am at the point where I will be adding the foot, and toe. Love how the green looks and cannot wait to see them completed.

I have been keeping up with the Temperature Scarf, here is my progress thus far. As you can see, the weather has been on the colder side the past week, perfect time to do a lot of knitting.









And finally, the reason the socks were put on hold to begin with, the sweater for our new puppy.

 

Sock Delayed

Our spoiled little Princess

So there has been a bit of a delay in the sock knit-along, we adopted a puppy on Saturday. She is a rescue pup, 8 months old, and a mixed-breed German Shepard/Pit. She is on the thin side, and very skittish, so we are assuming her previous owners were not very kind to her.

Start of the doggy sweater.

The first time we took her out in the snow she was not very happy, and refused to do her business, for that matter she didn't even want to leave the covered porch. So, what is the first thing I decide to do for her, knit her a sweater of course. I found this pattern on Ravelry called Hunter's Urban Dog Sweater by Lisa M. Barnes but I plan to make a few changes to it along the way. I am hoping to get it done as soon as possible so she will not be so cold when the snow is coming down. I am using Lion Wool, and plan to felt it when it is complete so that it offers a nice amount of warmth as well as water resistance.

Temperature Scarf

I have also managed to keep up with the Temperature Scarf project, and I am now at 5% complete. :) Not the best picture sadly, the overcast skies have made it a bit dark in here. The weather has been crazy, as you can see by the color variances.

As far as the socks, I have finished heel one, and about to do the turning of the heel, then I will get to the second one, but not until Princesses sweater is complete.

Happy knitting, and stay warm!

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Day 10

Almost done with the first heel, it's an interesting method and I was confused at first but once I got the hang of it (and didn't accidentally pulr a slip stitch) it went along nicely.

I am definitely glad I went with the Woodsy Green for the heel and toe, it is complimenting the variegated yarn nicely. Ignore the yellow, that is just my marker for the starting point.

Happy knitting!

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Day 9

Well, I finished the cuffs on both socks, they now measure 6.5" from cast -on to the beginning of the heel flap, which by-the-way I have started. If you are wondering, the yellow is just a scrap piece of floss that marks the beginning of the round and will be removed once the sock is complete.

I was worried the green I picked up wouldn't work with the variegated yarn but actually I am really liking it, guess we just see how it goes.

Happy knitting, and please feel free to share a link to your socks from the knit-along!

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Day 8

Sock 1 - top, sock 2 - bottom

So day 8 was fairly uneventful, no breaking needles, no glued fingers, slow progress.

I am almost to the end of cuff 1, and have 2 more runs of the pattern for cuff 2 after deciding to expand them a little. Sock 2 shows the length it was originally, which was 5" but I decided to do two more runs of the pattern adding 14 rows and 1".

Hopefully I will be done with the cuffs by tonight and tomorrow I can start in on the heel flaps and move along from there.

Happy knitting. :)

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Day 7

Yarn for scarf

January 1-12

 Not a whole lot of progress done on the socks yesterday because I had errands to run, calls to make and I finally started my Temperature Scarf based off the Yarnspirations Temperature Afghan. I had been tracking the temperatures every day so I knew what they were once I finally made it to JoAnns to get the yarn. BTW they are having a great sale on all their yarns!

For the socks :)

Ouch

 While there I picked up a solid colored hunter green for the heel and toe of the socks, so I can extend the cuff a little more. Yay.

I also attempted to glue my broken needle back together. I recommend you don't try this, as I only managed to glue my fingers to the needle. :(

Well, hopefully tomorrow there will be more progress to share on the socks, but until then I hope you are staying warm and have plenty of fun projects to work on.

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Day 6

It broke :(

I know, I skipped a day but day 5 was posted so late I figured this was the easiest way to get back on track. To begin with, there has been a tragedy, one of my needles snapped in half. Oddly all I was doing was trying to fix the curve that had formed by gently straightening it and snap. :( Luckily the pack came with six, so I have enough to finish as long as I don't break another one.

I have been asked why I use bamboo needles over the metal ones, simple, the bamboo isn't cold. I have issues with my hands and the cold metal needles aggravate it. Yes, I do have a set of metal ones in my one sock, but they were a hand-me-down.

As far as progress goes, I have finished the cuff on one sock and 2/3 done with the cuff on the other one. Going out today to see if I can find an appropriate solid color for the keep and toe, if I do I will add another two inches to the cuffs, if not I continue on with the pattern.

It is coming along nicely and I am quite happy with my progress so far. Not feeling especially rushed, as I have a full month to finish this pair off before the next pattern and tutorials are revealed, but at this rate it is probably going to take me that long to complete it. LOL

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Day 5

I know, this is a little late, but I was really hoping to get the first sock done and start the cuff of the second one before posting.

Anyway, almost to a five inch overall length on the cuff, and it is looking great. I am so happy with how well it is coming along so far. I am trying to decide if I should go for the seven inch length on it, just concerned I might run out of yarn before I reach to the end so considering picking up a solid color of sock yarn for the heel and toe. What do you all think?

So I made a mistake in one of the rows of pattern, although if somebody was close enough to notice it I would probably be licking them in the face and they wouldn't even have a chance to see it. LOL

It is a quite interesting design, and well worth the time it takes to make each of those little bobbly looking sections. I am really interested to see how the final sock looks.

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Day 4

So I did not get as much done on my socks as I hoped because I needed to finish up the Tokyo Pocket Poncho for my daughter. This was a long-term project, and I am so glad to see it done. Well okay, it will be completely done when the buttons arrive but the hardest part is complete as you can see. She absolutely loves the warmth and softness of it.

So now onto the sock. I have been working the cuff of the sock which is an alternating two rows of knit with a single row of the DW2 pattern. Let me tell you, the DW2 pattern is tedious and takes forever but the outcome is just too cool. I'm hoping to get this part done on the first sock, and start working on the second sock by the end of the day. Will see.

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Day 3

So it is now the third day of the knit-along. Yesterday's work was slow going as the pattern made it a bit difficult to work, I had to switch back and forth between knitting a row and purling a row which is not as easy as I thought, and there is a small ribbed section in the center of them.

Today's work will be even slower as there is this weird technique I have to do called a DW2 (double wrap two stitches) and requires me to move two stitches back and forth several times as I wrap them. It's a really pretty design but wow it is tedious. Here is an image from the class of the finished sock, see the little bumpy designs? That is the DW2, very interesting texture.

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Day 2

Ribbed Cuffs Complete

So it is now day 2 of the knit-along and I have completed the ribbed sections of the cuffs. I decided to work both socks at the same time because then I won't poop out after finishing one and only have a single sock. LOL

What I have learned in the class so far:
1. When knitting on multiple DPN's (double pointed needles)...

• use a piece of embroidery floss to mark the first row, easier than trying to constantly move a marker on super tiny needles.
• rotate the yarn around the needles (knit 2 at the end of every needle from the beginning of the next one) so you don't get those weird wider rows.

 2. When starting a cuff, add stitches (so for a k2 p2 rib, start with k2 p3) and knit this until about 1/2", then decrease the p3 to a p2, this should give you the number of stitches you need for the sock. It also gives you a little more play for getting the sock on and off over your heel.

3. Size 1 DPN's are dangerous!

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Day 1

So I decided to do this sock knit-along through Craftsy and watched the first few videos and so far it is quite a learning expedition. I did not buy the kit as I already have plenty of sock yarn in my stash, and the needles.

Technically I started yesterday, but after casting on, knitting a couple rows, and ripping it all out again I gave up. Started again today and got the first three rows complete. Once I get the first section done I will get the other sock started and plan to work them both at the same time.

Will keep you updated.