socks and more socks

Yesterday afternoon I finished these grey stash-busting socks. I've come to think of them as "industrial socks" because of the black/grey colourations. Very practical and sturdy. I'm pleased with the charcoal grey cuffs; they don't look out of place with the rest of the sock and they give the legs some much needed length.

At the Warm Hands Network, their shipping deadline for knitted contributions to ship to Moosonee is January 31st -  ten days from now. If I allow three business days for mailing by ExpressPost, then I have until Wednesday for knitting. Definitely time enough for one more pair, possibly two.

Next on the needles? This grey and red sock that I'm calling my "extended play" socks. There was about 30gr of this red/grey self-patterning yarn in my stash. I figure I can knit a top down sock with cuffs, heels and toes in this complementary grey yarn. And, by alternating the solid grey yarn with the red/grey yarn I can extend the red down the leg and (hopefully) through the foot.

I'm knitting this sock on 52 stitches. The grey socks - knit on 60 stitches - fit me, so I thought I'd better try to make some socks at smaller childrens sizes. Somehow or another all the socks I make end up my size; do you suppose it's an unconscious desire to keep all the socks I make?

today's bright idea

I had about 80 grams of this grey/black jacquarding Kroy sock yarn in my stash and I thought that'd be enough for a pair of vanilla socks. As it turns out, it's only enough if I'm content with a sock that's slightly more than an ankle sock. Sock one is shorter than I'd like and given the yarn that's left, sock two is not going to be any longer. While thinking about how unhappy I was with this result, the light bulb went off ... I should knit as much leg as I've all the jacquarding yarn I've got and then add a longer cuff in a matching solid grey yarn. Et voilà, I'd get a better pair of socks.

That's today's bright idea. Now that I've come up with this solution I feel immensely better about these socks. Funny, I don't think I had admitted to myself how much the alternative was bothering me. Of course it does mean that later today I will be picking out the bound off edge of the first sock. And for those keeping track, this is the second time this year that I'm doing that. I hope it's not an omen for the rest of the year!

Barring anything unforeseen these socks should be done later today. Next up? Another pair of scrappy stash-busting socks! I've got just less than a 50 grams of self-patterning Red/Grey Kroy sock yarn in my stash to pair with a complementary solid coloured yarn.

Work in Progress and Wool-Eater Wednesday

On Sunday Chris posed a question on my blog about my Wool-Eater blanket:

What does the other side look like? I can't get past the color showing on the foundation row of each new color. It's me, just something that drives me batty in knitting when changing colors on ribbing. I always do the first row in knit so I don't have those color blips on my purls showing.

First things first: here are two pictures, one of the front and one of the back. On the back side the colours form a field of not very interesting mounds. On the front there are ridges outlining the diamond shapes of each row; this looks a bit like a Cathedral Window Quilt to me. I really like the three dimensional quality of this pattern. Before starting the blanket I too was concerned about those colour blips, but now I'm embracing them. I've come to think of them as representing the stitch lines in my multi-coloured crocheted quilt.

I'm way ahead on the CAL. According to Sarah London's proposed schedule I should now have finished colour eight, but instead I'm working on colour eleven. I just can't seem to put it down. The blanket measures thirty inches squares now. But now the trouble starts. I've come to the end of the bright red yarn about 20 yards short. My plan this evening is to rip this colour out entirely to see if I can't re-crochet it a bit tighter and squeak through. After all this is meant to be a stash-busting blanket - wouldn't that notion be entirely defeated if I run out to buy more?

Don't forget to check out the links at Tami's Amis! There's sure to be plenty of interesting projects to check out ... and maybe the inspiration for your next project?

dull and dreary

Tuesday, huh? I don't know about you but Tuesdays leave me at a bit of a loss. It's a nothing kind of day, isn't it? Especially a damp and foggy, dark and slushy day like today.

My Wool-Eater blanket is too large to take along and my blue Whitby socks seemed too fiddly for my mood today. So I've cast on a pair of vanilla socks to use up this self-patterning grey Kroy sock yarn. This is mindless knitting at its best; concentration only required to cast on, turn the heel and bind off. Barring any unforeseen events, this should result in another pair of socks to post to the Warm Hands Network by the end of the week. They're sending a shipment to Moosonee on January 31st so my plan is to knock out a couple of pairs of socks in time for that.

You know, I think this day would be improved by chocolate. Maybe I should take a little break to go get some? Um yes, I believe I will. Mmmm .... chocolate.

Year of Projects - Whitby 03

Knitting on the Road: Canada • Canal du Midi • Conwy • Dalarna • Denmark • Friday Harbor • Hiiumaa • Huron Mountain • New England • The Road to Oslo • Santa Fe • Spey Valley • Christmas in Tallinn • Traveler's Stockings • Uinta Cabin • Unst • Whitby

I'm a day late on my Year of Projects update (sorry). After sleeping in yesterday there was just no time to organize a blog post before meeting up with a friend in Oakville. All of which has me wishing that there was more to report than this small amount of progress on my Whitby socks: the first sock is done and the toe of the second sock is knit. Blame the blanket I've been working on - I can't seem to focus on anything else!

This morning's winter sky is a beauty with low dark clouds streaked with red. But what is it they say?

Red sky at night, sailor's delight.
Red sky in morning, sailor's warning.

Seems like the sky colour may be a valid prediction. The weather forecast calls for mixed precipitation and freezing rain at today's evening rush hour. And that makes it a perfect day to take the train back and forth to work. Sounds like the forecast also calls for some knitting time too!

munch, munch, munch

now 18" x 18"

Seems like I'm working on my Wool-Eater blanket obsessively these days, although not always productively. Last night I felt like I was coming down with something -  a bit of a fever, scratchy throat, achey - and as a result I crocheted and ripped out the dark green rounds three times. Apparently when unwell I cannot count to twelve. Just as well I wasn't working on anything more complicated.

The blanket works up very quickly so the name "Wool-Eater" is very fitting. In less than a week my WIP is an 18" x 18" square and weighs 185 grams ... that's about 375 yards! If I continue adding rounds until the blanket is about 44"x44" or so according to my calculations I'll be using about 2240 yards total. Munch, munch, munch: that's a lot of yarn!

My original plan had a light sky blue between the dark green and royal blue bands, but after crocheting most of the foundation round of that colour I changed my mind. The contrast between the dark green and the light blue was just too much! Two more colours still to add before repeating the established colour scheme - navy blue and purple. I'm guessing that my obsession won't subside at least until I've incorporated all the colours and see how they play together. Good thing the weekend plans leave lots of time open for crafting!

the plan for today

Besides the usual ....

 • getting to work safely despite the snow and wind
 • eating healthy, drinking more water
 • doing my best at work to finish all the projects on my desk
 • getting more exercise
 • avoiding yarn buying temptation

... the plan for today is to finish this second chemo hat and get both into the mail today. They're headed to Halos of Hope and if I've calculated correctly I can post each in its own tyvek envelope as oversized lettermail. Because Canada Post doesn't offer a small package rate that should be quite a savings. Happy Friday the 13th everyone!