2015 - A Knitter's Year Part 3 - The Year of the Sock Part 2

Socks did NOT come easy for me.  Socks were aggravating and frustrating.  But I so wanted to make socks.  Thus I persisted.  I got some tips, put them into practice and started trying to make socks.  Then came the heel.  I hated the heel and heel hated me.  I tried every heel out there.  Every way to wrap a short row.  I ALWAYS HAD HOLES!! No matter what I did, no matter what technique guaranteed me a no-hole heel, I always had holes.  Ugh.

Then I discovered the Fish Lips Kiss Heel.  SO worth the $1 that it cost for the pattern and changed the way I make socks completely.  I am not a huge fan of the system the pattern uses to measure socks and have come up with my own method, but the heel itself can't be beat.

My vanilla toe-up recipe works like this, after MUCH trial and error -
Cast on with Judy's Magic Cast On
Alternate knit rows with increase rows until it fits just over the fourth toe.
Knit all rounds until the toe and foot measure 2"short of the total foot length.
Complete the Fish Lips Kiss Heel.
Knit until your yarn almost runs out then make a ribbed cuff.

And it works!  They fit me well and my sister swears by them...

She's my sock-knitting addiction enabler as she loves them as much as I love to knit them so she buys me the yarn and I knit them for her.  Her cat is a big fan too.

2015 - A Knitter's Year Part 2 - The Year of the Sock Part 1

I admit it.  I am hopelessly addicted to knitting socks.  I knit inside...

I knit outside...

I knit at work...

I try to knit at home...

I knit on the train...

and sometimes I knit wee...

But it wasn't always this way.  The road to sock addiction was a long and winding (and tangled) road.

2015 - A Knitter's Year Part 1

Well then.  Didn't realize it had been over a year since I had written anything.  Shame on me. In my defense I had a lot going on in 2015.  I was going to call this post The Year of the Sock, but then I started looking at my project list and realized there was a lot more than just socks happening.

To start, I cast on this beauty...

Heheh, kind of hard to see under the cat but I can't work on it without her interfering. She was brand new to our family when I took these pictures and couldn't get enough snuggles.  Not much has changed.  :)

I also finished the special request turquoise lnen stitch scarf for my sister...

I also decided to try my first cardigan.  I found a really awesome pattern for free by Tin Can Knits and went to town.  I am not a huge fan of how the sleeve cuffs turned out, but overall I think it turned out well.

And then there were POSSUMS!!  There is a local wildlife rehab looking for some crocheted nests for their critters.  I made them a custom possum nest and they sent me this awesome pic of their little friends enjoying my creation.

AND I finally finished the shawl for my sister.  Not anywhere near as big as I had hoped but hopefully still workable.

The year also brought a lot of aborted projects.  There were a few patterns I tried that just weren't working and were ripped out multiple times before being ripped out in frustration.  But that is part of being a knitter I guess.

Now about those socks...