How I like to wear my DRK Everyday Cowl - paired with a lightweight jacket and a tee. Taking a break from the inconsistent gauge issues of my Low-Key Halloween socks proved to be a good decision. The DRK Everyday Cowl was calling my name and not having to worry so much about gauge sounded nice. The hard part was actually finding enough DK weight yarn in my stash. Yarn Fort did come through though with 2 skeins of Araucania Copiapo which is a blend of cotton, rayon, and linen. I picked up the yarn a few years ago with the aim of making a lightweight shawl to block the sun and wind on warmer da ..read more

Maybe I should take a break from knitting socks for a bit. This is my second attempt at knitting what I’m calling my Low-Key Halloween Socks. I frogged my first try because my gauge was wildly different from the pattern I wanted to use. This time, I modded the Smokestack Socks to fit my larger stitch count and denser gauge. Seemed to be working well until I noticed my gauge relaxed by a whole stitch per inch. Instead of starting over again, I cast on for the second sock with the smaller stitch count to see if my gauge kept the relaxed 8 sts/in or the denser 9 sts/in. A toe and one repeat in ..read more

The beginnings of a toe-up sock on Circular needles in front of a spooky Project Bag and a Yarn ball. This yarn and baby sock toe used to be a rather troublesome sock WIP, and there wasn’t even that much of it. Just the toe, an attempt at a little texture, and just enough stockinette to cover the ball of my left foot; however, the mental space the sock occupied was huge. When I cast-on, I did so with the aim of trying out the new-to-me heel of the Vanilla Reversed socks (<-Ravelry link) by Anneh Fletcher. The pair was supposed to be a simple knit, but that definitely didn’t happen. My gaug ..read more

A large, floppy, and oddly shaped crochet basket made with tweedy navy blue yarn. I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole a couple of weeks ago - a big blue crocheted one at that. Crochet baskets have been popping up a lot recently on my various feeds, YouTube binging, and algorithms. This time, instead of filing the idea away for later, I really had to make one. When I had an opportunity to go stash diving for yarns to make a giant, scrappy basket, I pulled out enough yarn to make four! All different sized baskets, of course. And I might have bought a skein of puffy cotton yarn and some wood bask ..read more

At the time I’m writing this sentence, I’ve knit a total of three short row heels. Not a big sample size, I know, but I have a few thoughts. There are some definite pros to a short row heel: A short row heel takes way less time to knit than a gusset and heel flap. A short row heel, even with a mini-ish gusset, requires way less yarn than a gusset and heel flap. The pattern of self-striping yarns is not completely distorted because there are minimal (or no) increases. I’ve also come across a few cons for the construction: The method you choose for working the short row is incredibly i ..read more

A pair of hand knit socks on a pair of socks blockers. I might have started on my 2023 goal to try out different sock heels a little early thanks to this pair of socks. After knitting a rather large pair of cabled socks on tiny needles, I was so not ready to cast on for another pair on tiny needles. But some DK weight yarn and 2.75mm needles seemed like a good place to ease back into sock knitting. My original plan was to follow my default sock recipe: toe-up, gusset and heel flap, a cute stitch pattern on the instep, and a bit of ribbing before binding off. Unfortunately, I didn’t have quite ..read more

I’ve got so many plans and goals for this year, that I could fill a Bullet Journal keeping track of them all. And I intend too, but we’re here to talk knitting. So, here are my knitting goals for 2023: 1. Knit fun stuff for me, not just others. This goal is pretty self-explanatory. Don’t worry, I’ve got a list filled with color work (Cowls, mitts, and hats! Oh my!), cute socks, complicated shawls, and a sweater or two to keep me busy. 2. Knit with new yarn while it’s exciting. I have the irritating habit of buying yarn for a project and then not knitting with it because I feel obligated to fin ..read more

On a complete lark at the beginning of November, I challenged myself to knit every day of the month. There were a few close calls, but I always got a few rounds in on something before heading to bed. The challenge helped me cross a few holiday gifts off my list and finish a pair of socks for the Bearded One that just seemed to drag on and on. More on those beauties later. After finishing all the projects that I could easily stuff in my bag, it was time to start a new one so I wouldn’t break my knitting streak. After spending so long knitting large socks on tiny needles with tiny yarn, I was no ..read more

I could only pass by the cotton yarn I tie-dyed (you can read all about that multi-step process here) for so long, before I couldn’t resist winding it up into a ball any longer. There had been plenty of time for me to pick out a pattern or two while I waited on this yarn to dry. Over the many years that I’ve been knitting washcloths and kitchen towels, I’ve definitely figured out what I like. Washcloths can be most any shape, lacey, or textured so long as they are just the right size. That sweet spot is about 7” (about 18cm) square. Kitchen towels I like long and narrow (around 8-9” [20-23cm]w ..read more

A bare ball of cotton yarn sitting next to bottles of dye on a plastic work surface. I’ve been slowly scribbling out a Summer Bucket List for the past few weeks. There’s a few of the usual things - making popsicles, going to the pool, having a picnic at the park - and tackling some tie-dye. The kiddo was all in when I suggested the idea, and helped pick out a few things cover in bright neons. There were bags, shirts, a dress, and yarn of course. I dug through the stash and pulled two balls of dishcloth cotton and the last few grams of cotton from a giant cone. Spoiler alert: I could have pull ..read more