Finally finished knitting this pair of socks for my husband exactly one year after I started them. I learned a few lessons along the way:

1. My husband has giant man-feet.
2. Socks take a really long time to knit.
3. No matter how much fun/easy it is to knit socks one at a time, that method will only lead me to Second Sock Syndrome and it’s going to take me a year to finish the pair.

I started this project while we were on vacation thinking that it would be easy to knit while driving, flying, sailing, etc. I was correct about that. By the end of our week long vacation I had gone from toe to heel. While traveling home I worked my way up the leg, but as soon as we were home this poor sock was set aside for other things.

The pattern for this sock was something I made up as I went along. This is difficult when you’re knitting socks one at a time since you kinda want them to be the same. I ended up taking notes on the airline cocktail napkin.

Barely surviving

So here are the pattern details:

Pattern: My Own Napkin Pattern
Yarn: Zitron Trekking (XXL)
Needles: US 2
Ravelry Link

These socks did indeed bring about many compliments considering how the yarn worked itself into such an amazing pattern. I would get compliments while knitting in the airport, on the plane, on our cruise, and pretty much anywhere I sat working on them.

At one time a few older ladies (who were all veteran knitters) were going on so much that I finally realized they thought I was working them fair isle! I showed them the yarn and they were doubly impressed at such a genius idea for yarn. They were still doubtful they’d knit socks, but all said that yarn such as this would make it more fun.

Now let me close this blog post with the notes that I took on the napkin. If anyone is ever interested, I’ll write it up into somewhat of a proper pattern.

CO 24 (12 on each needle)

Increase every other rnd to 60 sts

K4, P2 on top of foot
K bottom of foot
Repeat for 9″

Heel flap over 30 sts:

Slp1, K across
Slp1, P across
Repeat for 30 rnds

Turn Heel:

Slp1, K15, K2tog, k1, turn
Slp1, P5, P2tog, p1, turn
(Continue)

Pu and k 15sts, K across top of foot, Pu and k 15sts (47 heel + 30 top)

This is as far as I wrote the pattern on the napkin. However, if you are a sock knitter you will know that you’ll need to decrease the heel sts until you’re back to 30. I did:

K 1, SSK, knit to last 3, K2tog, k1
Knit all

(Repeat until you have 60 total sts)

Once you’re back to 60, you can continue the pattern in a k4, p2 over all 60 sts to give the sock lots of stretch, but to hold itself up nicely. I finished with EZ’s sewn cast off. This link has great photos and the how-to.

The crown of a hat in the works.

Swiffers are meant to gather and collect dust and hair from various floor types. And when you have a couple of adorable white haired chihuahua’s running around the kitchen, you definitely need something for hair control. I wasn’t sure how well these things would work, but you never know until you try right?

So I grabbed a ball of Lily Sugar’n Cream that I had purchased back when Michael’s had them on sale for $1 and went right to work. It took a few hours to knit this 4 row pattern, but I didn’t mind as I was enthralled with a silly audio book called Christmas Letters by Debbie Macomber.

The simple pattern requires that you knit the 4 rows for 15″ before binding off. When you’re done, you fold up each edge by about 2″ and seam it. Then you’re ready to Zoooom!

But I suppose the 99 cent question is… Does it work?

See for yourself:

Yuk is right! I can’t believe how much dust and hair it trapped after a short go-round!

Over all, I’m very pleased with this quick little knit. Not only was it inexpensive and quick to knit, it can be thrown into the washer and dryer to be used over and over again.

I’d love to hear if make and use this, so leave a comment!

Pattern: Zoom (PDF) (Ravelry)
Yarn: Lily Sugar’n Cream (less than 1 ball)
Needles: US 7

It took me just under a year to knit this beautiful afghan, but I did it! If it had been my only project, I could have done it in 2 months. Of course knitters are not notorious for being monogamous with their projects, and neither was I. Toward the end I got excited about finishing this project, and really focused my energy on it.

The yarn for this project is quite expensive so you really have to consider that before you start casting on. You can easily spend $300 in Noro alone. I’m very grateful for all of my friends who donated their scrap yarn and also gave me several balls for Christmas and my birthday. Thank you!!

Ahh, colors!

Pattern: Lizard Ridge by Laura Aylor
Source: Knitty Fall 2006.
Yarn: Noro Kureyon

I intended to knit 30 squares for a 5×6 blanket, but after laying them out and looking, we all decided that longer was better than wider. So since the pattern calls for 24 squares, I did 28 which added another row to the bottom. Now we can use it long-wise to cover up on the couch, or I can curl up and not have to figure out which I’d rather have hanging out: shoulders or toes.

Rather than use the crochet border, I just did a garter stitch all the way around leaving 6 bumps (12 rows). I’m considering adding an i-cord border all the way around in the same red, just to give it a little something more. (And because I’m insane!) I guess I still can’t get enough of working on this!

I started making Endpaper Mitts for my friend Molly last night. The first thing it says is to use the Italian Tubular Cast-On to cast on 56 stitches. The purpose of this is to create a neat, but stretchy cuff for your mitts.

A new technique could be daunting, but it’s very satisfying when you succeed.

One method that I tried was the long tail tubular cast-on as instructed by Ysolda. You can watch her YouTube video here.

My problem with this method is that my stitches seemed to slip off and come untwisted if I didn’t pay attention.

Instead I found this method by Francesca to be much easier for me. It’s the same Italian Tubular Cast on, but it doesn’t require waste yarn. It’s similar to Ysolda’s method, only you are using both hands to transfer the yarn, rather than moving the needle around the yarn.

If you scroll down to the end of the blog post, you will be able to watch a QuickTime video which will make a lot of sense.

Once you are in the rhythm of moving the yarn back and forth, you’ll be able to cast on very quickly. This is a great cast on for cuff-down socks, sleeves, or even the hem of a sweater since it’s very stretchy but looks very neat and clean.

Once you have cast on your stitches, you will need to knit two rows flat before joining in the round. Both videos cover this and Ysolda even discusses how to make a 2×2 rib since the most common is a 1×1.

I hope you give this method a try sometime. I think it will be a great knitting skill to conquer.

Beautiful. I love that pattern because it’s fun to knit and looks entirely unique. The yarn is also exquisite. Trust me.

Now check out KatieCakes‘ Shalom Shawl.

I’m not sure I ever would have wanted to knit this from the pattern itself, but Katie pulls it off so well. Plus, she’s just so darn beautiful!

Also, LambyKnits‘ Amelia is spectacular and fits her perfectly (something all knitters worry about while they are knitting…)

Again, nothing I just had to knit until I saw this photo. Lovely buttons too.

Don’t under estimate hats, knitters. Maybe we just need a little more of a challenge? Like CharityKnitter’s Sheep & Wool Hat. Maybe it’s the colors, maybe it’s the fair isle, maybe it’s the cute photo, but it’s so in the queue.

Talk about perfect fits, lleehome‘s Cozy V-Neck Pullover With Deep Ribbing (from Fitted Knits) looks amazing! Not only the color, but the sweater just fits great.

Yet another amazing sweater knit by CelticCastOn:

This is the Asymmetrical Cable Cardi and it’s lovely.

These will be a Christmas gift as well. Though I must say that they are very hard to give away. I am on the second chart repeat on the second mitt, so I better quit showing off and get back to knitting. I hope that everyone is enjoying the winter season – I know knitters are! And I hope that you all are looking forward to celebrating Christmas.

It didn’t take me too long to whip this sweater up, though I did end up ripping and re-knitting both the V-neck and the bottom edge. I’ve worn it once and blocked it, so I’ll take some more photos and put some more details up as soon as I do that.