My first pair of knitted socks!

Well, here they are...

They are pretty close in size..although one is a bit tighter than the other. Perhaps a knitting journal would be a great idea. Just a small notebook to keep in my knitting basket to write down what size needles I used, etc.

And as for blogging during Christmas break!! Ha Ha Ha! With all 5 kids home we have been ice skating, sledding, celebrating Christmas at church and at home,hosting a princess party with T-shirts and a trip to see The Princess and the Frog, baking and eating cookies, caroling, sleeping in, reading, and, of course shoveling snow.

A few more parities and then back to life as we know it!!

Happy New Year to everyone!

I Remembered my Other Sock Concern!

As I was knitting my 2nd sock I had two concerns. One was that I would not have enough yarn to finish sock #2. The second concern was that sock #2 would be the same size as sock #1.

Because this is a silk/wool blended yarn it is a bit stiff, and will be until it is washed (hand washed) a few times. My daughter tried on sock #1 and stretched it quite a bit in the process. So, when I was comparing the two socks side by side it was hard to judge because one had been stretched and one had not. Here they are now...


Since it is now Christmas break, it will probably be lunch time before I see kid #2. Once she awakes I will have her try them on and see how close they really do match!

I'm going to make it!

When I began sock #2 I was worried about having enough yarn to make this sock the same size as sock #1. I was hoping it would not come out short because I ran out of yarn. That is a tricky thing about socks, there is a level of trust you need to put into your skein of yarn. If it says it is enough for 2 socks it probably is!

I am making great progress on the sock. I have just rounded the heal and I'm thinking the yarn will last to the end of the toe!

Kid #2 will not have mismatched socks.

We found the Sock!

Thank goodness for Saturday morning cleaning routines!! The sock was in kid #2's room. Had I not insisted on the once a week cleaning out of stuff, laundry, and assorted other things that just seem to pile up, we may have never found the sock.

So, it did reappear!! And thanks to an invitation to watch the Vikings at someone else's house I had time to sit and start sock #2! Yeah!!

My two concerns are that I have enough yarn to make the second sock the same size as the first sock, and now I can't remember the other concern!! Must not be so concerning!

The Case of the Missing Sock!

OK, so I am ready to start sock number 2. Here is the picture from earlier this week when kid #2 pointed out to me that one sock does not work well for her feet!

After taking the picture I proceeded to the computer to post the entry about creating sock number 2. After the picture we are not sure what kid #2 did with the sock! I wanted to use it as a guide for the length of the ribbing at the top, and when to start the heel. But, the sock it gone!!


This weekends knitting project is still up in the air. Once she returns from school we play the "go back to where you were" game in hopes of finding the sock. Otherwise, I'm sure I will come up with something else to knit until it shows up!

Time for another sock

Wow! What a bonus. It is a snow day for all my kids! I am remembering sitting around the radio as a kid waiting for that familiar voice on WCCO to read through the list alphabetically, hoping he would call our school. Today we just went to our schools website to get the notice. Not quite the same anticipation building exercise as listing to WCCO, but exciting just the same.

Since it is a pancake morning, pajama wearing day, I get some extra time to knit!

My #2 kid has been waiting and waiting for sock number 2 in her new pair of socks. She is even willing to just wear one! This is not a good idea so, today is her lucky day!!



Since, I have done this once before rather recently my hope is that this sock will come together much more quickly than sock #1.

A Knitted Hat for a Guy I know

The hat I knit for my friends new little baby was so easy to do that I thought I would try to knit a hat for my husband using the same pattern. I just used a bigger yarn and bigger needles. Then I thought I would get creative and continue the ribbing, the knit 2 purl 2, all the way to the top of the hat. This brilliant idea went well until it was time to decrease for the top of the hat. Because of the K2 P2 pattern the decreasing was a bit messy. I did rip it out once and am now on creative try number 2 for the decrease. Here is what it looks like now....

I used one of my home made stitch markers to mark the beginning of my row when knitting in the round:)

Cute Baby Hat

Here it is!! The baby hat for my friends baby that will be arriving any day! Yeah, I got it done before the baby arrives.

One of my favorite things about this hat is that the finishing is so simple. All I had to do was sew up the small seam from where I started the join for the "knitting in the round" and tuck in the tail at the top of the hat.

So, after a quick sew of the seam and a tuck in of the tail on top, the hat is complete!


The self patterning yarn just adds to the cuteness (is that a word?) of the hat. The color possibilities are endless.

A Knitted Baby Hat

A friend of mine is going to have baby #6 very soon! I am making a baby hat for the little one to wear this winter. The self patterning sock yarn is so adorable for a baby hat.

I decided to use double pointed needles.The first step was to cast on all the stitches onto one needle. Then I knit a few rows on one needle.The double pointed needles are a bit intimidating, but that has not stopped me before. I feel a bit awkward knitting with them, but I am sure the comfort and confidence will follow soon. Also, the thought of not having to sew a seam is a great relief to me. Sewing a seam is not one of my strong points. Case in point...I still have to sew the sleeves onto the coral sweater I have been working on. I finished knitting it about a month ago and it is still sitting in my knitting basket just waiting to be sewn.

Next was to split the stitches evenly onto three needles. This just left a very small bit of sewing to do at the end. The tricky part here is to join the stitches without creating a twist in the row. I carefully lined up the stitches and started to knit "in the round".

Then I knit the hat to the top, following the pattern carefully.

I am getting better at reading knitting patterns, but WOW, the can be so cryptic. I feel like there is a secret code, and I didn't get a decoder ring.

Anyway, enough self pity, I can read this pattern and the hat is going to look great!