Fish Lips Kiss Heel by Sox Therapist!!!

Yay!!!!

My first pair of Fish Lips Kiss heel socks are done!!!!

To say that I have been on a heel obsession lately is an understatement!

Ever since two years ago when I had the crazy idea to make Christmas socks for EVERYONE, I have been wanting to find my Holy Grail of heels!

I've done the slip 1, knit 1 heel and then I tried the Afterthought heel (which I didn't dislike, but I didn't LOVE) and now this heel!

So far, I'm loving it!

I know there are a billion and one heels out there and I'd like to try them all!

Cat Bordhi's Sweet Tomato heel, the OMG heel (as in OMG, please make it stop!)

:)

I have really come to love making socks and I want my own Vanilla perfect pattern 

that I can do on auto-pilot!

So far, I think this is it!

Will do more heels and report back!

:)

See that ladder down the front (on the above pic)?  It really bums me out!  I worked these on 4 dpns and I think I need to put all front (top of foot) stitches on one needle...

Also note in above picture... those toes are different!  I can't decide which I like better... a shorter toe or a longer toe (smaller bind off or longer bind off).  Something new to obsess about!

:)

No holes in that little corner!

Pattern: My own Vanilla socks 

Needles: DPNS US size 0

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd in Doheny colorway!

:)

Afterthought Heel!

Pattern: Afterthought Heel

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd in Doheny

Needles: DPNS US size 0

Gah!!!

I am in the midst of a full-blown heel obsession!!!

I have mastered and memorized the basic slip 1/knit 1 heel 

(I'm not sure what that heel is called... that's what I call it). 

And I don't dislike it... but I don't love it.  Primarily because I like the idea and the look of a different colored heel... and I don't think THAT kind of heel lends itself well to a different colored heel!

Enter the Afterthought heel!

I LOVE all the ones I've seen on Ravelry with a different colored heel, cuff and toe!  I just think it's a nice kick of color!

BTW... did I tell you how much I love my Slipped Stitch Studios "Needle Nook"  DPN needle protector???  Like LOVE love it!!!!

I think this heel is very easy and I like the process of taking out the waste yarn!  

(I think it's the fun part of this heel process!)

I followed the YouTube video and picked up stitches as she said, 

but I still had a little hole there in those corners!

I think I need to keep working on it to perfect it.

I also feel like the heel didn't fit as snug as I'd like.

Maybe I need to make it smaller?  I dunno. 

Will keep working on it and report back.

When did I become so obsessive?!?!

:)

What's your go-to heel?

:)

Susan B. Anderson's How I Make My Socks...

Pattern: Susan B. Anderson's How I Make My Socks (and at Ravelry here)
Yarn: Schoppel Wolle Zauberball (Color # 1535)
Needles: US Size 1 dpns

See notes at Ravelry (id: Knit-my-grits)

Free Pattern Friday! - PurlBee Whit's Knits: Sporty Striped Peds!

Well, I have been a crazy knitting lady lately!!!

 

I'm trying to power through my existing stash and have been knitting faster than I can blog!

 

So I've decided to kill two birds with one stone...

 

with today's Free Pattern Friday!

 

These are the PurlBee Whit's Knits: Sporty Striped Peds!

And here are mine!

Pattern: PurlBee Whit's Knits: Sporty Striped Peds

Yarn: Spud and Chloe Fine (in # 7810 Lipstick)

Needles: Size One (1) double pointed needles (based on my crazy loose gauge)

Mods: none

 

 

These are for a good friend of mine (who's birthday was last month!) and I thought these would be perfect for her because...

 

she is a makeup artist up in L.A. and this yarn is the

Spud and Chloe Fine in # 7810 Lipstick!!!!

 

You should see this color in person...

It is GORGEOUS!

 

Pictures do not do it justice (though I tried!).

 



I really like the Spud and Chloe yarns.  I was thinking about it and I realized that I like them because...

 

while they may not have a lot of yarn options, the three options they offer are very well done.

 

These can be machine washed and thrown in the dryer to dry.

The yarn doesn't twist while on the needle and it doesn't have any breaks or knots in it!

 

It's a sturdy yarn that's still soft in the hands!

 

And I think it's fairly priced.

These two socks (this pair) came from one skein and I still have a quite a bit of yarn left over!



 

This pattern is incredibly easy and well written (as most of the PurlBee patterns are!).

 

I finished these two socks in about a day and a half!

 

 

Happy Friday!

 

And Happy Birthday Sho!

 

:)



Still working on...

Socks.

For Christmas presents. 

2 pairs down and like 10 more to go!!!

:)

Free Pattern Friday! - Labor Day Edition!

In honor of the 3-Day weekend, here's a quick 3 day project!!!

These are the Whit's Knits: Sporty Striped Peds from PurlBee.

Whit's Knits: Sporty Striped Peds



I know it must seem like so many of the PurlBee projects are on here but I just love 'em!

They always have good, interesting, unique, easy projects.

Happy Labor Day!

:)

What are you working on this 3-day weekend? 

The Loopy Ewe Wooden Sock Blockers!

YAY!

I know it must seem so silly to get so excited over sock blockers but,

YAY!!!! 

My Loopy Ewe Wooden Sock Blockers came!  :)

I first came across these from Susan B. Anderson's How I Make My Socks blogpost and I couldn't stop thinking about them!!!

Since I am working on Susan's How I Make My Socks as this year's Christmas presents, I decided I 'NEED' these sock blockers!

(you know... I just NEEDED them!)

:)



They came so quickly! 

I ordered these on a Tuesday, and they came by that Friday!

(They're in CO and I'm in CA)



I love that little sheep detail!

I ordered one small and one large.

I know it would have made more sense to order 2 large and/or 2 small but I'm trying to be good these days... :)



So cute!

Keep in mind, one sock blocker is $13.00... (as opposed to a pair of sock blockers for $13.00).

Cute!  Cute!

:)



Two at a Time! Sock Class!

When my MIL told me about a sock class at her LYS where you make 2 socks (or a pair) at a time, I was soooooo excited!

Sign me up!

After experiencing how long it takes to make just ONE sock (and thinking, "Oh my God, I still have one more to go!"), anything to help speed it up is helpful to me!

Here's what they'll look like when they're done!

My mom and I met up with my MIL early so we could have some lunch and talk for awhile...

Let me just say that 2 glasses of wine later, we were not very good students and this was quite a mess!

I think my mom had it together the most out of all of us. 

My MIL wasn't doing too bad once she got it going. 

Once I got it going, I understood it and it works fairly quickly!

I think the hardest thing is keeping everything untangled!

I'm using a random sock yarn that my mom had and LONG size 3 circulars.

I think I'll switch to 16 inch circulars so it's not so crazy!

Here are some links I found to Socks: Two at a Time online tutorials!

About.com Two Socks on Two Circular Needles

Silver's Sock Class Two Toe-Up Socks

CyberSocks 2 Socks on 2 Circulars

Knit and Tonic Knitting Two Socks at a Time: Supplies, Getting Started, Making Heels the No-Fuss Way

Free Pattern Friday! - Whit's Knits: Men's Socks

These are cute!

In honor of my sock making class (which I'll tell you about soon!) 

I thought a Free sock pattern would be appropriate!

Purl Bee Whit's Knits Men's Socks

After my experience with knee-high socks, I think from here on out, 

I'll be making shorter socks for Christmas gifts.  

:)

These are cute and seem easy enough!

I love the variation in color and I don't think they need to be just for men!

I'd make these pink with white heel & toe.  Or dark orange with light orange!

The pictures on the Purl Bee post are GORGEOUS and you know I love my Purl Bee!

What colors would you make them?

Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Knee Socks

And these are (almost) done!

Well... one is done.

:)

These are the Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Knee Socks, knit up in their Worsted Hand Dyes yarn.

These were definitely easy to do and I'm almost done with the second sock

(which I'll post an update pic on as soon as I finish!).

I was most nervous about the heel and toe but it actually could not have been easier!

This pattern (which I downloaded for $9.00 bucks off the Blue Sky site) calls the double-pointed needles by numbers.

So needles 2 and 3 are the instep of the sock and needles 1 and 4 are the heel. 

This pattern does call for picking up stitches, which you know I'm not a fan of...

But these were only 12 stitches to pick up so that's ok!  :)

How does it look?:

Seems ok, huh?

I used 3 skeins of 2013 Midnight Blue and 1 skein of 2007 Light Blue, all Blue Sky Worsted Hand Dyes.

If you saw my Socks post, you know that this yarn is a bit on the pricier side!

But I will say, it is gorgeous yarn.

It's INCREDIBLY soft and when I asked El Hub to try the sock on, he said, "WOW, that's warm!"

This yarn doesn't curl.  It works up beautifully!

I've decided that these will go to El Hub, EVEN THO!

After he tried them on, he said he didn't want to wear them ('cause he didn't want to stretch them out or ruin them).

Um, I'm sorry but I did not spend my time knitting a pair of socks that will NEVER get worn!

He WILL wear them and he WILL love them!

:)

They (the socks and the couple) are cozy, aren't they?

:)

Socks!!!

Well I know it's only March but I am already thinking ahead to Christmas!!!

After last year's last minute power sessions of knitting and crafting, this year I've decided to get a head start early on!

We'll see how long that lasts. 

:)

I've decided to MAYBE make socks for everyone for Christmas 2012.

I say MAYBE because it's quite possible that after the first or second pair, I MAY BE over it! 

And if that's the case, at least 2 people will get socks or maybe El Hub and I will get socks.   :)

I've decided on the Blue Sky Worsted Knee Socks for the guys:

$84.00 socks?  Eeeeeeks!

I bought my Blue Sky Worsted Hand Dyes yarn at Green Planet Yarn while up north last week and, well at $20.95 A SKEIN and needed FOUR skeins, let's just say that whoever gets these socks BETTER love 'em! 



3 Skeins 2013 (Midnight Blue) and 1 Skein 2007 (Light Blue)

These are worked on size 6 double-pointed needles with a simple k1, p1 rib and seems to be working pretty quickly, so far!

I'm a bit nervous about the heel and toe but I'll cross that bridge when it comes!

For the gals, I've decided on the Spud and Chloe Cable Cable Cable socks!

I also bought this yarn at Green Planet Yarn.



2 skeins of Spud and Chloe Fine makes one pair of socks!



Spud and Chloe Fine in # 7810 (Lipstick)!

These skeins were $13.75 EACH and $28.00 bucks for a pair of socks is not as shocking to me as 84.00!

:)

These call for size 1 and 2 double-pointed needles!  Eeeek!

Teeny-Tiny!

I have not started these yet but will post picks when I do!

You know I love my cables, so I'm excited to make these.

:)

Some detail pics from the Spud and Chloe site!

Have you made socks? 

Do you have a favorite sock pattern?

:)