Emptyknitster

Today is February 1st so I thought I'd do an update on the Neverending Blanket of Doom (AKA: Down the Rabbit Hole Sock Yarn Blanket... Cozy Memories Blanket) January was a stellar month for the blanket. One hundred mitered squares knit (a current total of 588), all ends worked in and the i-chord knit as far as possible. I worked up and around one side until I could complete the ninth of the ten black big squares - worth four regular squares. This black square will only have one mitered square above it when the blanket is complete. the end is getting closer! There is a down side to this great progress however... only one pair of socks, a right footed half sock and a hat were completed this month. February will not be as productive for the Neverending Blanket of Doom. It's going to be a rather busy month and my hope is to just stick to the original one square a day or 29 squares this month.

I'm always on the lookout for yarn suitable for the male foot and hope this new Patons Kroy yarn isn't to "out there" for the men in this family! The body of the socks are identical matches. I used the other end of each of the skeins to do the heels. You will notice that neither one matches the other but I'm alright with that. Pattern: Vanilla socks with Fishlips Kiss Heel Yarn: Patons Kroy Jacquard Colorway: Route 66 Needle size: US Size 1

In the beginning of November I knit a pair of socks - I thought.... No lie, as I was working in the last loose end of the socks I looked down and saw not a pair of socks BUT two left feet! I was so angry at myself I swore off socks - for a few weeks... But now, the California Dreamin' Son-In-Law is soon to have a birthday and he does love his handknit socks - so I pulled out matching yarn to the original pair of left footed socks and knit the right, right sock.  Now, I have an odd left sock but plan on buying some matching yarn in the near future and then strangely, I think I'll be ahead somehow....

I have plenty of sock stash but can never seem to turn down a sock yarn sale. Cascade is a favorite yarn brand of mine but I'd never tried their striped yarn before. So, when it went on sale I bought yarn for three pairs of socks. The stripes are very busy and I live by the saying "You can have pattern (print), or you can have texture (cables) but you can't have both",  I knit a very vanilla pair of socks. They turned out great and were a quick knit. Pattern: Vanilla Socks, with a Fish Lips Kiss Heel Yarn: Cascade Yarns Heritage Prints Colorway: Phoenix Needle size:US Size 1

I'm not much for New Year's Resolutions. I seem to follow my bliss not only in life but my knitting as well. This year, however, I vow to complete my Down the Rabbit Hole Sock Blanket. This blanket is really catching on in the knitting world, probably for the same reason I started it - the blanket uses up all your leftover bits and bobs of sock yarn. Many podcasters are lovingly calling the very same blanket their "cozy memories blanket." However, as I look at their completed blankets, they seem quite small and some are even changing their minds about three months into the project and making pillows. My saga began almost three years ago and can't be over soon enough to suit me. The family has been watching this blanket steadily grow and have offered much encouragement over the years. During this holiday I told the daughters 2016 was the year it would be completed AND I was going to use the blanket to cross the finishline for the 10K Stash Dash! The girls we...

I’m a little disappointed in this yarn. I KNOW, I KNOW…. the industry standard states a knot of two in the skein is acceptable but these socks needed to be tall. About two thirds of the way through the first sock there was a knot then in the next color stripe a major flaw - solid turquoise instead of flecks. I cut the yarn and finished a perfect sock. But then at the same spot on the second sock I realized there wasn’t enough yarn. Thankfully I had saved the reject yarn and The Chick was there to give input saying she wanted the length over the perfection. So, two slightly mismatched socks were the result. bought several of this type of yarn in different colors, I hope I don’t run into this problem again! Pattern: Vanilla Bean Striped Socks Yarn: Cascade Yarns Heritage Prints Colorway: 12 Spring Bouquet Amount: 1 skein Needle Size: Us Size 1

Socks: 39 pairs Slippers; 1 Baby Sweaters : 1 Baby Blankets: 3 Baby Booties: 1 Christmas Sweater Ornaments: 9 Hats: 3 Cowls: 6 Scarves: 4 Mittens; 2 Dishcloths: 5 (Mitered Square Sock Blanket: 142 squares for 2014, total 488) Grand Total of knit items for 2015: 74 plus 142 squares Favorite items:   Favorite photo prop for knitted item: Craziest thing knit this year: Favorite hand dyed item: Dumbest mistake: (Two left feet!)