Family of Socks

Do you do gift knitting for your friends and family at the holidays? I've done some in previous years: socks for my cousin Annie in 2009 and for my friend Elizabeth in 2010. Last year, I also knitted my biggest gift project ever, a vest for Mr. D. This year I decided to knit socks for my sister-in-law, her partner and my nephew, six year-old Olin.

You've already seen the finished Karen's Crow's Feet, and the in-progress Hearts for Evi Socks when I wrote about them in October. Since then, I finished Evi's socks and started and finished Olin's, which I'm calling the Stripes for Olin Socks. All three pairs have been blocked, and I think they look fantastic! And best of all: my holiday knitting is done—as of December 6—the earliest ever!

I have also finished knitting another sort of sock project about a week ago: a Christmas stocking. Mr. D is Jewish, and so he doesn't have a special handmade Christmas stocking, like the one Aunt Helen knitted for me when I was little. He has been using one of my collection of store-bought and craft fair stockings when we do our annual stocking tradition (more on that in a later post). My knitting group decided to knit Christmas stockings as a group project, so here was my opportunity to knit Mr. D his own stocking! My knitting guru, Christy, converted Maurya McBride's Snowflake Stocking to a stranded pattern in the round, and as a result, I got to practice two-color, two-handed knitting. The result isn't perfect, but I'm really proud of finishing it—it's only my second completed colorwork project.  Here is the final result:

So, gift knitting is done, but the holidays are just beginning. I'll keep you updated about my holidays—both Christmas and Hanukkah—in the weeks to come.

Some Socks, and a Couple Bits of Mystery

It's finally time for the obligatory knitting post, so I can say this is more than just a photography blog. What have I been knitting, you ask? The answer is: socks. A while back, I decided that I would knit a "family of socks" for my California sister-in-law, her partner, and their son, my six year-old nephew. The partner has narrow, but pretty big feet—size 11, to be exact, so I started on her socks first, casting on in June. I've already written about those socks as they were in progress, but last weekend, I finally finished them. So, here, without further ado, I give you Karen's Crow's Feet:

This is the second pair of Linda Welch's Crow's Feet socks that I have knit. I love this pattern! It's simple and easy to memorize, and I think the result is spectacular, especially in this lovely shade of green, Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in the Euphorbia colorway.

Now that the Crow's Feet are complete, I have picked up my Hearts for Evi socks, which I started on September first. I'm knitting Laura Chau's Slip Stitch Ridges pattern, and it is moving along pretty quickly now. Here is a peek at the first sock in progress:

I'm knitting these in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Mediumweight in the Bleeding Hearts Colorway.

A few days ago, I cast on for socks for Olin, my nephew. They are in the early stages, so no photos of those socks yet, but here is a picture of the yarn I'm using:

Definitely colors that a six (almost seven) year-old will love!

Other than socks, I finished Gwen's Garden, a pattern by Sharon Dreifuss, and one of two designs that were part of the She-Knits Mystery KAL #8. I loved working on this project! The pattern was well-written, and there were sections of it that were almost meditative to knit. In addition, the pattern included beads, and I love working with beads in my knitting.  The finished object was beyond stunning, in my humble opinion. Kudos to Sharon for a wonderful design!

There is also another mystery project that has been in the pipeline. The mystery involves something to go on one's head, but that is the only clue you will get for now. You will just have to wait a few days until I tell you about that one.