Faded Frills Knit Socks

 About a week ago I finished knitting a pair of All The Frills socks, the 2nd pair of socks I completed in the Scrappy Happy Pals KAL.  I enjoyed knitting that pattern so much that I went ahead and knit the Faded Frills pattern, as my 3rd pair of socks in the KAL.  It is the exact same pattern as All The Frills but with 4 different yarns/color changes faded into the socks by alternating Color A/Color B, Color B/Color C, Color C/Color D in the following sequence:

A B A B AA B A B A BB A

I bought this Koigu Kpppm 100% SWM Puppy Kisses Webs exclusive a couple years ago.  I was always planning on using it to knit sock but never actually got around to fading until now.  

These are the 4 different sock minis that I used from the set.  They are the 3 hanks on the very right of the box and the 5th hank to the left of the 4th bluish hank (going right to left).  I was already familiar with this yarn because I'm actually crocheting a cardigan for Xena in a different colorway of the same type of yarn.  I love the variegation and how it feels to both crochet and knit with.

Tonight my dinner prep even matched my socks!

The faded colors on these socks remind me of sunrise to sunset.

I am truly mesmerized by all of the different colors!  I used size 0 needles as usual and I had just removed these socks from my feet before taking the photo so the bottom one looks bigger than the top for some reason but they are actually the same size.

Fading is so much fun! 

I have a bunch of faded patterns on my to do list that I am anxious to get started on as soon as I finish all of my X-Mas knitting.  I also plan to fade an upcoming pair of the shorty sport socks in my current KAL.

In case ya'll have been wondering what to wear with your white sandals.

Just blending in with my natural surroundings!

My hair is getting long but I'm (finally) getting it cut this weekend.

And now for something completely different!

All The Frills Knit Socks

This is my 2nd completed round of socks in the Scrappy Happy Pals KAL.  

I was hoping to finish them sooner but Matt's schedule is constantly changing on an unpredictable daily basis.  Sometimes he works at the office, sometimes he works from home, sometimes he works late and sometimes it's too hard for him to concentrate on WFH if Xena is around so I have to drop everything and take her outside for an extended period of time.  First World problems, yeah, I know.  

Anyway, the All The Frills pattern makes the sweetest little socks!

I used leftover Wooly Wonka Fibers yarn from the Flatiron Shawl I knit a couple years ago.  The ball band has since gone missing so I have no idea what the colorway is but it's really beautiful lilac colored yarn and I hope the photos I took outside in the bright sunshine reflect its lusciousness.  

I love how the frilly cuff is created by casting on double the regular stitch count and then decreased and secured with extra tight stitches.  

The rest of the pattern is just like the Basic B pattern and at this point I practically have it memorized.

As usual I knit the smallest size of the pattern with size 0 needles and I didn't block my socks before taking photos.

I especially like the idea of these frilly ankle socks because I have a lot of ankle boots.

The highlight of this summery afternoon was binding off my 2nd sock in the shade while Xena played in her pool.

Scrappy Happy Pals KAL

A few weeks ago, I joined my first virtual KAL organized by Rachel Alpine and Summer Lee.  With all of the X-Mas knitting currently on my needles, I decided to mix in a sextet of selfish, scrappy socks.

I was assigned 3 knit-pals to exchange mail with containing 35 yds of fingering weight yarn and a letter about myself.  I also volunteered to send 4 additional shipments of yarn to participants who otherwise couldn't afford to participate in the KAL.

It felt great to share some of my stash along with some happy mail!

Unfortunately, by the time the pattern was released and the KAL had begun, I had only received 2 of the 3 letters from my knit-pals.  The 3rd letter still hasn't arrived and what's the lamest is that the sender is located in Salinas and we both mailed our letters to each other weeks ago!  

So I decided to just go ahead and knit a pair of socks with my own stash.  Of course, Xena was more than happy to help me rummage through my yarn.  Of the six different sock patterns included in the release, I wanted to knit the Basic B pattern first but I wasn't sure if I would have enough of the yarn from my knit-pals for the stripes.  Well, it turns out I probably would have since the amount of stripes on the socks that I knit for myself have 1/2 as many stripes as the socks featured in the photo of the pattern.

My tiny foot size is no secret at this point but when it comes to instant gratification, shorty socks are where it's at. 

A crazy toddler + Matt WFH = perpetual interruptions, drama and chaos and it still only took me less than a day to knit each sock.

I didn't and don't block socks for myself so my jog might be slightly more obvious than some might desire but guess what?  It's on the sole of my sock so no one will even see it!

The fingering yarn scraps I used were from the following awesome indie dyers: 

KindredRed - Oh snap! (100% SWM)

Wonderland Yarns - Queen of Hearts (80% SWM/10% cashmere/10% nylon

Knitted Wit - Oregon Sky (100% SWM)

I couldn't resist using my matching ruler that I've had since elementary school to demonstrate just how short my shorty socks are.  

So, I still have 5 more patterns to knit until the KAL ends in Sept and I can't wait to cast on my next pair!

My 2nd No Frills Cardigan!

As I noted in my previous post, I started my 2nd No Frills Cardigan and this morning I finally finished it and after weaving in all of the ends, I sewed my tag on without wearing my glasses and then realized it wasn't centered but oh well.  It still feels absolutely perfect to me.

Although it may be hard to tell, I made this one a little shorter than my previous one.  

I used a combination of Ritual Dyes Fae Laceweight 70/30 Kid Mohair/Silk  (450 yds/50g) held with Ritual Dyes Maven US Grown & Milled 100% Rambouillet Wool 2-ply fingering (265 yds/50g).  This was my first time ever knitting with 2 different weights of yarn held together and I had no idea what to expect but it's really a magical combination and something I would encourage everyone to try doing.  Honestly, I used to loathe mohair but this is seriously one of the softest and smoothest sweaters I've ever knit and it has definitely inspired me to want to try more mohair-friendly patterns in the future.

I feel like I should call this my IG sweater because it was 100% inspired by amazing women I follow on IG.  Historically speaking I discovered the pattern by following @KindredRed and then seeing @theladywholunches posting photos of her finished version and then seeing @marfiesnowflake wearing one at the Ritual Dyes booth at Stitches West and then finally being inspired by all of their IG stories to just buy some yarn and knit it up.

The color of this cardi matches everything in my wardrobe.

It's only 9:12 PM and I'm already ready for bed.  The fireworks over the past few nights have been relentless and I'm just exhausted.

I'm really proud to have finished this sweater but it also marks the bittersweet ending of me posting any photos of finished objects until after the new year as I will be very busy knitting X-mas gifts until then.

 This is really the ultimate everyday sweater, something you can throw on first thing in the morning and continue to wear as a stylish compliment to your outfit for the rest of the day.

My last pair of "plain socks" for a long time and F-ck the Police!

In the wake of the recent highly publicized murders of George Floyd and Breona Taylor compounding decades of police brutality and hateful targeting and/or sheer neglect of the black community by the police, the past week has brought no shortage of chaos, turmoil, bloody riots, violence, propaganda, political manipulation, looting and destruction and to counter all of that negativity, peaceful protests, love, compassion, uplifting education, acknowledgement, action, fundraising, communication and understanding, especially right here in the Bay Area where there is already such a strong consciousness (but still not enough; will there ever be enough?) for civil rights.  I've previously stated that it's not my intention for this to be a political blog but it is impossible not to take a stand and not to have an opinion or to stay mute as so many weaklings who profit off of online social networking have chosen to do.  I don't post on here everyday but I've already made my message very clear on FB and IG.  You don't need a blog or even Twitter to speak out online but if you have the energy to post a selfie or send a text message, then at the utmost very least, you should have the grace and power to virtually stand up in solidarity with and support the Black Lives Matter movement.  Tell the black people in your community that you care about them.  Ask how you can help, become educated and inform others.

And in the meantime, ya'll know what I do to keep calm and carry on.  My birthday was a few days ago and although it felt wrong to even celebrate under the current circumstances, I wanted to share this photo of the gifts I received because of their relevancy.  American Spy is written by Lauren Wilkinson, a black female author.  The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson is an account of how humans fought fascism during WWII, particularly in the UK.  Since I've been really getting into stranded colorwork knitting, MJ Mucklestone's 200 Fair Isle Motifs is totally my jam!  Finally, I've been curious about the MDK field guides and my MIL bought me the complete run of volumes 4-12 (I think 1-3 are out of print and maybe available online only?).  I also just read in their Snippets digest as soon as I woke up this morning, that (although as of right now their website still doesn't reflect it) they considerately changed their name from Mason Dixon Knitting to Modern Daily Knitting.  This reminds me of a similar situation from my other world, the philatelic world, regarding controversy over the name of the CSA (Confederate Stamp Alliance), a stamp society focused on stamps issued by the Confederacy and Confederate postal history of the Civil War.  Some people don't take names too seriously but if a name is repeatedly remarked upon as being offensive then just have some respect and change it already!

I bought this Pennsylvania-based, indie-dyed Machete Shoppe Alektorophobia (Fear of Chickens) Simple Sock 75% SWM/25% nylon yarn at the Firebird Yarns booth at Stitches West 2020.  I say it every time but the photos simply do not do the vibrant colors in this yarn justice.  These socks are on FIRE!!!

I knit them entirely on 0's.  That's my vibe.  With fingering, many patterns call for switching to 1's after the ribbing but I have tiny feet.

I actually finished these socks last night but I was too mentally drained to post about them until today which also happens to be my husband's birthday and it's about time to get this wrapped up so I can prepare some greatly anticipated breakfast sandwiches.

I am proud and pleased to admit that this will be the last pair of "plain socks" that you will see me knitting any time soon because from now on, I will be knitting socks almost exclusively out of Laine's 52 Weeks of Socks.

Finally, if anyone is curious about what else is on my needles (because socks are mainly my to-go project), I am making great progress on my second No Frills cardigan with some totally amazing yarn from Ritual Dyes that I will discuss in more detail once the cardi is finished.  

If anyone wonders what I enjoy listening to when I knit, this moog record is a perfect example.  Fight the power and if you're out on the streets, doing your thing, whatever it is, wear a mask!  It's not for you, it's to protect other people and the least any responsible citizen can do.