April Stats

In April, I finished 3 pairs of socks and 1 shawl. In total I used up 4 balls of yarn/ 1,464 yards.

Come Together Socks

Pattern: None. My regular K3, P1 rib

Yarn: The Cozy Knitter in Bliss in the colorway Come Together

Needles: US Size 1 DPNs

Started on: April 4th

Finished on: April 27th

Comments: I've not shared this sock progress on the blog. This was a stealth knit as they are a gift for DH.

This was my first time using this yarn from this dyer. When I got close to finishing the first sock, I started to get nervous looking at my yarn. It was the first time ever that I actually worried that there wouldn't be enough yarn left to finish the socks.

I went back to the dyer's Etsy page to check the yardage on the skein. When I started the socks, I had assumed that I would have plenty of yardage. I assumed it was like other yarns I bought from other dyers; where it was a 400 yard skein and that the sidekick skein was also 100 yards. So I thought I had a total of 500 yards, which should be more than enough for a pair of man socks.

Upon actually reading the dyer's description of the yarn, I realized it was 420 yards total for both the main skein and the sidekick skein. And she even wrote that it should be enough yarn to knit up to a size 10.5 socks. Well, DH's sock size is 11. Ack. So I panicked a bit. Then decided to finish the first sock then look at the yarn again.

Luckily these are stripey socks, so I can easily look at the remaining ball and count by looking at the colors as to how many stripes I still needed. I am so happy I had enough to knit the second sock. I even have a little bit leftover that will go into my sock scrap memory blanket.

WIP: socks

I started another sock yarn blank. This one is one of a kind from Neeley's Knits in super sock in Thunder and Lightning. The top photo was taken after I knit the first sock. So I don't have a good photo of the entire blank.

I really love the colors in this one and how it's knitting up. It wasn't what I expected, but I feel that's part of the fun in knitting these blanks. I'm using the waffle rib pattern from my SKS book.

The pattern shows up a bit better in person then in the photo. The yarn does compete with the pattern a  little bit, but I don't mind because I really like the texture it's creating. And after knitting all those mindless socks, it's fun to knit a patterned sock, especially one that's easily memorized.

36

I'm now up to 36 squares on my sock yarn memory blanket. It's fun to watch this crazy blanket grow little by little.

Vivid Blanket Project

I love granny squares, but alas, I do not crochet. I came across, Vivid, a knit blanket pattern designed by Tin Can Knits, and it reminded me of granny squares. So I decided to make it.

Well actually, my plan is to make 3 blankets (one for each girl and one for myself). I noticed every year around summer time, I get restless or maybe it's just daydreaming in the good weather. Either way I end up with lofty goals/ ideas and crave knitting large projects.

Luckily, my stash is extensive, so I already have enough yarn to make all three blankets.  I was originally planning to make the ever popular Hue Shifts Blanket, but since I haven't started it, I can repurpose the yarn for this project. DD # 1 is really into being matchy matchy with her sister. So the plan is to make two identical blankets. The third blanket which will be for me will be in the same yarn, but different colors.

The first photo shows yarn for one blanket. The yarn is Knitpicks Brava in Sports weight. The top two yarns are for the border. I'll need to buy more of that color to make the entire border. That colorway is Dove Heather.  From left to right the colors are: Tranquil, Sky, Custard, Blush, Cotton Candy and Lady Slipper.

I've finished three squares so far. My current goal is to make 48 squares. So that means I will need eight squares out of each of the six different colors.

I started with Cotton Candy. And in the photo, the squares aren't blocked yet, which is why they aren't laying flat. I really like the way these look. It actually takes quite a bit of time to knit one square. So this is definitely a long term project.

Dancing Bunnies Socks

 Pattern: None - plain vanilla stockinette socks over 64 stitches

Yarn: Gale's Art in Sock Yarn Blank Dancing Bunnies

Needles: US Size 1.5 DPNs

Started on: April 4th

Finished on: April 14th

Comments: This is pair # 7 for the year. I'm almost caught up. My goal is to knit two pairs of socks per month. I still need to finish one more this month. Hopefully I can reach that goal.

The yardage on this yarn is very generous (463 yards) and I have small feet. So I knew I wouldn't run out of yarn, if I took off the purple on the top. I wanted to start knitting the bunnies right away. I forgot to make a note of how much I wound off/ where I started. So when it came to the second sock, I tried to guess how much to wind off to make matching socks. I was off by quite a bit. But for non self striping socks, I don't really mind that they don't match.

I found the yarn itself to be really soft and nice, but incredibly splitty. So it wasn't as mindless as I would like. I kept having to keep an eye on it because I would constantly split the yarn, then have to tink back to make sure I was knitting the entire strand of yarn. That being said, I am smitten and love the beautiful patterns/stenciled designs in the yarn. It's so fun to see how it will knit up.

Black Waltz Socks

Pattern: None

Yarn: Gynx Yarns Sports Weight in Black Waltz

Needles: US Size 3 DPNs

Started on: April 6th

Finished on: April 13th

Comments: This is pair # 6 for the year. This is my go to plain K3, P1 rib socks. This was my first time using Gynx yarns. I enjoyed knitting with this yarn. It's soft and squishy. I really like this color way.

WIP: Second Socks

 All I'm working on are second socks.

I'm almost done with the leg of my second Dancing Bunnies Socks. The second photo shows how much I have left of the sock blank. I did wind off some of the yarn, to try to start around the same place as my first sock. I didn't do it too accurately, as I can tell that I'm going to be off. But that's fine, I don't mind that these socks won't be matchy matchy.

I'm working on the foot of a second sock of my other plain socks. This one is just a K3, P1 rib in Gynx Yarns Sports weight in the colorway Black Waltz. This one is knitting up quickly as it's sports weight. I think I'll have this one done in a couple of days. I'm excited to have a new pair of socks!

WIP: Sock blank

I started knitting vanilla socks from the Dancing Bunnies sock yarn blank. The first picture only shows half of the sock blank. The second picture shows the full sock blank. So you can see how it's possible to get two close to identical socks if you wanted to.

I wanted to start knitting the bunnies right away.  I also have tiny feet. So I knew I could cut out the first purple section and part of the white section and still have enough yarn left to knit the socks for myself. (Don't worry the purple and white section I cut out won't go to waste. I saved them so that they will be knit into my sock yarn memory blanket.)

I love how cute the bunnies are on this sock blank. The blips of yellow, pink and purple are how the bunnies knit up into the sock. It's fun to see how the pops of color will appear on the sock.

Dragonfly Wings

Pattern: Dragonfly Wings designed by Boo Knits

Yarn: Lamb and Wolf in 80% wool and 20% angora fingering weight in the colorway Sapphire City

Needles: US Size 6, 7, 8, and 9

Started on: March 31st

Finished on: April 2nd

Comments: I was completely enchanted by both the pattern and the yarn. It felt like it just knit itself up. I'm not usually one who likes small shawls, but I really love the ones with long ends that you can just wrap yourself up in them. This was such a fun knit, and this yarn was lovely and soft to work with. These colors are so beautiful and are very me. I'm so happy to have this new shawlette to wear.