Finishing Friday

Finished! Ready to mail. Cotton mix. With enough leftover that I started another pair of socks.

Starting the new pair with a Turkish cast-on.

Right more rows of Continental worked ribbing. I think these bamboo yarn socks will be done by next Friday.

Just keep my hands busy with the looms. Somehow I like working with ChiaoGoo Red-lace Circular Needles, Toe-up Two At A Time Socks with Turkish cast-on, Fleegle Heel, mostly knitting right-handed, Ribbing Continental,and Jenny’s stretchy cast-off. But if my hands tire of knitting the Flexee Fine Gauge starting with the Kitchener cast-on for dif.

Because these are finer gauge needles and yarn, my hands don’t enjoy working on this pair as much. But I do like the colors and how soft the yarn and material feels.

Fun!

Finishing Friday

Two pairs are nearly finished. I would guess this greyish brown pair will be done tomorrow. Yay!

Eight more rounds of ribbing and these will be done. Maybe Sunday?

These are weeks from being finished.

These might be a week or so from hot off the looms.

I know, not related to knitting but our weird dark cloudy days had the hay barn in a glow. It looked like angels were singing! I know, I’m a dork. It’s the little things, right? This was a couple days ago

Finishing Friday

Oops! I was supposed to be finished with these  but I got distracted. Maybe by Sunday? I plan to make them low cuffs so about five rows of knitting, then five more of ribbing. Then I will give up on thinner yarns and needles. Oops! I still have the next pair. My fingers are saying, ‘Ugh!’

Still I love the colors!

This yarn is easier though a little boring. Still my allergic friends will like these better than the fun wools that I like. Getting ready to finish the heel. That’s the party I have to concentrate on. Lots of counting. I just admit the yarn and needles are much kinder to my hands.

I have a few other projects but the progress is even less than these. I’m wondering how summer will affect progress. With walks and biking indoors I’m moving more.

I am trying out my walking sticks. Who knew that could tire one out?

Making Monday

Finally the heels are done on this bamboo yarn pair of socks. The leg and cuff are left. That doesn’t take long. So maybe these will be featured on Finished Friday?

Four miles on the stationary bike and three walked. Woo hoo!!! I’m tired! I hope all this starts paying off somehow.

Making Monday

So many socks in various stages. And one hat.

I spent the day tinking these. I’ve started the heel and accidentally had picked up the wrong sock’s yarn.

Finished except for sewing in loose threads.

Hat in the brim stage.

Decided to make a pair on the looms.

I don’t like working on thinner yarn and needles.

The cotton is okay, just boring.

It’s getting late so I’ll leave out the yarn toes and needles, etc .

It was a cold rainy day. They say it’s going to be summer soon. I’ll try to be happy about helping the draught situation.

A to Z Challenge, Y

A to Z Challenge 2023

YARN!

My favorite Y-word!

I think this is my favorite yarn that isn’t wool. But I am almost out of it. I think I will get to the heel before running out. Luckily I have two more skeins of it lined up. By the way, the needles are not my favorite. These are the Knitter’s Pride Royale 47″ US size 8. Though I like the feeling of the wooden needle, the medal tips and bottoms snag on the yarn. The worst part is the company thinks it had solved with the rotary ends that are supposed to make the cord unkink. But whatever the cord is made of makes them permanently curl and get in the way.

This is enough to make at least four pairs of slipper socks.

The heel is coming along nicely on these bamboo yarn socks. By the way, that’s the Fleegle heel. I shared the YouTube tutorial earlier. The yard is thin but strong. The needles are ChiaogooRed Lace Circulars, 40″ US size 2. The tiny yarn and needles hurt my hands after a while.

Of the cotton yarns I have worked with, this is the easiest. It feels almost like wool. It is fuzzy. But it is also the kind that easily separates into threads and can be hard to work. The Chiaogoo Red Lace Circulars make it quite simple. See how the red cable just lays there out of the way? 40″ of useful cable holding the work. US 8

This soft Merino superwash wool is fingering weight. It feels nice. It is just thin. The Chiaogoo Red Lace Circulars 40″ US 2 are perfect for the job, but working the thinner yarns with thinner needles is harder on the hands, so I don’t spend as much time on these. A few rows at a time and I got back to the thicker yarns and needles.

These are the hardest pair I’ve worked on. The needles are not only thin but short. I have to have four either HiyaHiya Sharp Fliers 8″ US 1 or short Chiaogoo Red Lace 9″ US 1. Both are sharp, and I’ve needed to get leather thimbles to save my fingers the holes and calluses. I’m nearing the toes. I think I won’t work with these again. These socks don’t fit anyone I know. I more or less planned these as an experiment. So they will probably end up in the charity bag. They’ll fit a child.

I saw this pattern advertised on Facebook. I loved the concept so much that I ordered it and pulled out my crochet hooks. As long as I keep my sessions short, I don’t find it too painful. This is a great way to use up all the little leftover yarns. I’ll feature this more as I have only finished about four baby turtle bellies. They are smaller than the palm of my hand. I can’t wait to finish this project. I think it will be so much fun!

I haven’t used a lot of Ys. I love that letter because I can think of YOU and YOURS. I can be positive with Yes, I can! There are so many more, but I still have to work with my other yarning: CampNaNo. I lowered my goal to 12,500 words on Reflexions. I need to write 400-500 words a day to reach that on the 30th. On to Yarning on YWriter7.

A to Z Challenge, R, Finished Friday

A to Z Challenge

Another pair of Fleegle heeled Toe-Up-Two-At-A-Time Caron Peacock jumbo yarn. These are a little too big for me, so a friend will get them. I need to get them in the mail quickly before summer takes over.

Reviewing this pattern again was fun. I like getting to know a pattern to reinforce my memory, so I don’t need to look at YouTube or patterns. I rate this pattern and this yarn 100! I love it. The above URL takes you to Happee’s Ravelry page. But here are my favorite YouTube tutorials for this sock. These ROCK!

I know I shared this before, but I feel someone who hasn’t seen it might need it. Therefore I feel no remorse at the repeat. Repetition helps all of us learn.

According to the pattern, the following is one of the best ways to bind off.

Roughly speaking, I rarely can make a pair of socks in less than a week. Reasonably speaking, it takes two weeks to a month as I rarely work on one pair at a time. I always have a bunch of projects going on. It helps keep my hands from hurting by changing out sizes and yarns.

I guess I should reflect on my novel Reflexions. Yikes, lots of research and very little actual writing. So I may have to lower my expectations for this month. I may only get only a couple thousand words. But I am still loving the story, so I will do the best I can and continue next month.

Okay, it is getting late. Time to retire and relax. Despite the kookiness, this was

Combo Wednesday

One-Liner Wednesday

(sorry it’s so small. Posting on my cell) A to Z Challenge

Finished Friday on Wednesday

And they fit so cozily!

Just finished my socks!

Stream of Consciousness Saturday, Antic

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “antic.” Use it as a word or find a word that contains it. Bonus points if you do both. Enjoy!

Anticipating April and Camp NaNo, I set up an easy goal. 15k for the month. Editing the novel started in November helps me get reacquainted with all the characters and the plot. So I’m counting the contents of each scene I edit. That will give me word count at first. And today’s count impresses me: 3,440! Yay!

Other antics I’ve been up to: more socks!

These are for me!!! Toe-up Two At A Time Socks with Fleegle Heel on ChiaoGoo red-lace circulars US 8, 40″. I no longer need to watch the YouTube by Happee.

On the foot, nearly the toes. I’m so glad. These needles and thin yarn are hard for my hands. These will probably fit a child.

These have been knitted and tinked so many times! Though the needle and yarn are thin, the Two At A Time Toe-up Socks on ChiaoGoo red-lace circulars US 1 are easier than the HiyaHiya Fliers or double pointed needles. It’s a learning curve for the mind and fingers.

Meanwhile, I’m improving on my exercises. I graduated bands on one of the leg bits. I can finally do a jumping jack. Not as many as the trainer, but more than the arm lifts I did at first. Isn’t it fun to watch your own body and mind improve? Even at this age (73)! Marvelous! We are made out of the stuff of miracles!

We’re loving Piccard!!!

Don’t expect practice jokes from me. I hate them. But I love all you

Making and Manifesting Monday

Manifesting Monday. I found a pup like I want:

If you haven’t seen this show, it is a heart warmer.

I fell in love with the above pup. Criteria: female, fixed, vaccines, calm but enjoys walks and outings with me. Easily trained, already house trained. Not a fussy eater, but not a kitty litter consumer. Loves being bathed, nails trimmed. Loves being a lap pup. But enjoys alone time. Playful, enjoys toys. Healthy mind, body. Can read the humans. Get along with cats or other dogs. Knows we love her and loves us back. Soft little ears. Cuddles. This or better for the greater good of all of us.

Meanwhile, I finished these:

The yarn was soft. I’m done with double pointed needles for a while. I’m glad I know how.

Look at the right sock! Finally the toe is happening. I still don’t know who will get these. They are smaller than most people I know. It may be they will go to the charity. Again, I think I’m done with shorter needles. I prefer long cables. These tiny things hurt after a while.

This is my favorite pair. I think they will be mine! I’m at the heel stage which means they’ll be done soon.