Project! Summer Lee Knits Totally Rad Ribbed Socks in Beehive Yarns

Pattern: My mom gifted me a limited Christmas Socks Set - "Vintage Cheer" - from Beehive Yarns last year and it took a minute to find the perfect pattern worthy of this gorgeous yarn. It came with a pattern, but there were certain details that weren't exactly my cup of tea, so I held off. When Summer Lee released the Totally Rad Ribbed Socks pattern, I knew IT WAS TIME. I pulled in some design elements from the pattern included and mashed it all together in a pair of beautifully retro socks.

 

Cost: The Christmas Socks Set was gifted, and the pattern was $5. 

Timeline: This was my travel project in France during the month of April. I love working on socks while traveling - they take a decent amount of time but take up a small amount of space, so they're perfect, in my opinion.

Sizing, mods, changes and notes on fitting: I knit a size M with a cable cast on for a stretchy cuff, and then followed the pattern as written, with the exception of adding another round of stripes before the toe to use more of the accent colors. This was a VERY generous sock set - after I finished the Totally Rad socks, I had enough yarn to cast on a second pair of Weekend Shorty socks, whoohoo!! And I still have leftover yarn. 

Project! Summer Lee Knits Weekend Shorty Socks (HAMBURGER SOCKS)

Ok, here's another project (finished in March...) that I didn't blog about in a timely manner... so details are missing but I super love these socks and wanted to make sure they saw the light of day...

Pattern: My new favorite sock pattern - the Weekend Shorty Socks by Summer Lee.

Materials: I knit these socks with the leftovers from my Hamburger Socks, knit from Knit Picks Felici (sadly, no longer available in the hamburger colorway, but there are lots of other fun self-striping colors available), and some ancient Knit Picks Stroll Tonal - truly scrappy socks. It makes me *very* happy to use up scraps. 

Cost: Free Ninety-Nine, since this was a completely scrappy project, and used a free pattern.

Sizing, mods, changes and notes on fitting: I cast on a size M using a cable cast on for a stretchy cuff and followed the instructions pretty closely from there. The Felici yarn is self-striping, so I just let it stripe as it would for the cuff, heel and toe, and then used the Stroll for the main part of the sock. I love the fit and simplicity of this pattern!

Feelings about this project: Yes, I have already knit another pair of these socks with other sock leftovers. It's such a versatile pattern!

A pair of socks and Flickr weirdos

I finished these socks awhile ago, and I think they're my most successful to date. Just like my striped socks, they were knit two at a time, toe-up. These are from my Knit Picks Sock Kit, and knit with Stroll Sock.

But here's what I really wanted to talk about: Putting these photos up on Flickr made me a bit nervous.

I rarely get weird comments on this blog, or Twitter, or Instagram, but the weirdos love me on Flickr. Apparently, posting a picture of yourself in a sweater is an invitation to get that photo added to an unsavory-type group. And by "unsavory," I mean nudity. Why does a picture of me in a sweater appeal to those who are moderating porn groups?!

So yes, I'm a bit worried about the fate of these pictures of my feet. Let's just try to appreciate the knitting, and not sexualize it, ok? 

finally, successful socks

I call these socks a success. 

Yes, they're boring, and knit out of boring, old Lion Brand Sock Ease, and I didn't even bother matching the stripes. But they fit! And they're both the same size, unlike some socks. I followed this pattern from Knit Picks, and busted some stash while I was at it. Yup, success. 

Also I used to be a dancer. 

still attempting socks...

Yup, I won't quit. Or more accurately: My stash of sock yarn just won't quit. 

I bought this Sock Ease yarn about 7 years ago to make a pair of Jaywalkers, and they just didn't work out. Then, Lily invited me to join a knit-along for two-at-a-time, toe-up socks, and this yarn had purpose again. Hopefully these work out better than my last pair of socks. 

giving socks another chance

Back in January I planned out my selfish knitting. I knit a Beatnik and Bella's Mittens, and the final item on that list was a Knit Picks sock kit.

I asked for the kit for Christmas because I'm not really a sock knitter. I know some might consider that knitting sacrilege, but I'm just not that into it. 

But I wanted to give socks another try. Because knitting socks seems very useful, and portable, and non-seasonal. The kit has enough yarn for five pairs of socks, and here's the first.

They're too short, but other than that, successful. I knit them from the top down, and I'm going to knit the next pair from the bottom up and go until I use an entire ball of yarn. 

And how great are those shoes? I got them on sale at the end of last summer and - lucky me! - they're still hip this year. Now if only there wasn't snow on the ground, I'd be able to wear them. 

inside a knitting kit

It's been a pretty lazy weekend over here. As I mentioned yesterday - it's really sunny in Chicago right now, but it's also freezing. Like 33 degrees freezing. Way too cold to consider leaving the house or, say, putting on real clothes. 

So Chris and I have been catching up on movies - Winter's Bone and The Kids Are Alright - and I've been knitting socks from my Knit Picks sock kit. 

knitting in my pj's

I wanted to experiment a bit with my iphone camera, so I took some pictures of my supplies. Yarn, pattern & mini knitting kit.

I always love to see "what's in my bag" posts, so here's the mini knitting kit version:

From top left: stitch holders, needles for weaving in ends, safety pins, tiny scissors, waste yarn, Emergency Fix Keychain, row counter on a big safety pin, measuring tape and coin purse from h&m. 

Despite appearances, I swear this post is not sponsored by Knit Picks! But maybe it should be... 

planning my selfish knitting

So after I catch up on my Christmas knitting, I have a few selfish projects in mind.

First up, a pair of Bella's Mittens, knit from subliminalrabbit's pattern. When I pulled out all my long gloves in December, they were completely worn through, and they had already been mended and then worn through the mending! So if you ask me, it's time for new ones. I bought some bulky Lamb's Pride for these in Denver, so I'm ready to roll.

Next, a Beatnik.

This was my very favorite pattern from Knitty. Honestly, I haven't really been inspired to knit any of their patterns in a long time, but this one is perfect. Challenging but hip with a great neckline. And then Allyson from The Sweatshop of Love announced that she was doing a knit-along... I'm in, albeit I'll be casting on a little late. They started Monday, but I'll probably join in two weeks or so. I have faith I can catch up!

And lastly, I got a Sock Cocktail Kit for Christmas. Don't stone me here, but I don't really like to knit socks. But this winter, all that will change. Or I'll have a lot of left-over sock yarn.