It was supposed to be 26 In 56...

...And I managed to completely forget about it.  So I have around 3 1/2 months to knit 26 pairs of socks.

Yeah, I'm feeling a little stupid for that.

Thankfully I have small feet and I knit fast, so let's take a peek at what I'm knitting.

The top pic is Leafie, by Trude Hertaas.  Absolutely recommend every last one of Trude's patterns, since they're all unique and knit fast.  Or...Would if I'd actually knit on them.  Yarn is KnitPicks Stroll Handpainted in discontinued colorway Budgie.  These might be taking forever, but that yarn is squishy soft and these are going to be a fine pair of socks in my favorite colors once they're done.  (Project Page)

The second one is a 56 stitch plain vanilla sock with no pattern of my own devising, and is going to have a shortrow heel very soon.  Just as soon as I finish that last red stripe on the leg, as a matter of fact.  I need a pair of rainbow striped socks, so I'm finally making them.  Yarn is KnitPicks discontinued Felici in Rainbow with Stroll Tweed in Oyster Heather for cuffs, heels, and future toes.  (Project Page)

Last, but certainly not least, is a test knit I'm doing for Kathrin Steinhauer, which doesn't have a pattern page as of yet.  It's a fun, quick, addictive cabled design with lots of texture, and they feel awesome even with the texture along the sole of the foot (which was a personal choice on my part).  Yarn is KnitPicks Palette in Rouge.  I'm so glad I don't have feet that sweat very much, because being able to make socks out of untreated pure wool is great.  (Project Page)

I've got several more patterns lined up, and the way I figure, to reach that goal means I've got to knit four pairs of socks a week.  Absolutely doable, but I guess I'm kissing goodbye to my sock yarn stash.  That's okay, it just means more room to buy more, right?

As for my absolutely homely and homemade sock blockers...This is an experiment to see if I'll use them, before I lay down actual money for a real set.  So far, they work great, being made out of a boot box and packing tape, besides.  I'll find the tutorial I used to make them and link them up in the next post, because it's going to be all socks, all the time around here until I'm done.

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Did I mention I'm addicted to socks? Because I'm addicted to socks.

I said I was going to set aside a day for ripping things back that I know I won't finish, and it should come as no surprise that I still haven't done that.  Frogging is a lot of work and I have a lot of projects that need to be reclaimed and reabsorbed into the stash, and on top of panicking about starting college again (in...seven and change months, self, calm down) along with the gathering of info that requires I just...Haven't been able to force myself to do it yet.

Maybe next week.  Yeah, that sounds good.  (Spoiler:  Unless someone holds me accountable, it probably won't happen then, either.)

Instead, I started another pair of socks (I know, I know, I'm absolutely missing the point here).  But these are special socks, you see.  From a pattern from 1817 which you can find here on Ravelry.  And so far, so good.  They knit up amazingly fast, and I guess I was just craving some simple stockinette knitting in my life or something.

Surprising no one, my phone camera is still terrible.

As you can tell from the awful, blurry picture above, they have a one stitch wide garter 'seam' running down the back of the leg, and that is just the most charming thing to me right now.  There are mirrored 'seams' on the foot, as well.  Or...Will be, when I get that far.  In truth, I'm pretty sure there are some very late 18th Century / early 19th Century ladies rolling in their graves at my yarn choice, the overly-long length of the ribbed cuff, and the educated decision I've made to slip the stitches on the gusset when I get there (because the pattern specifies to not and my interest in most things being historically accurate aside, messy gussets are a thing I cannot tolerate).  The yarn is a discontinued colorway of KnitPicks Stroll Handpainted Sock (called Spectrum, so hooray for rainbow socks).  Or, rather, I'm assuming it's discontinued, as it's no longer available on the site.  They might simply be out and will bring it back.  You never can actually tell with KnitPicks.  I mean, they've brought back Felici about ten times already or something - not that I'm remotely complaining.  I still have two balls of Rainbow hoarded away for the right moment.

I'm also considering making myself some 1655 Stockings in the near future, as well, because I am a sucker for 'translated' patterns from different times.

So that's been my last few days:  Antique sock patterns.  I'm still waiting on that intervention, really.

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New Year, New...Not Much Else, Really

No one tells you this stuff is a work out.

Since resolutions just aren't my thing.  I  never keep them, even when I swear this year will be different and I will go out and exercise more and I'll do this or that or that thing over there.  It seems kind of cheap to lie to myself like that, so I stopped doing it a long time ago.  If I want to work out, I will.  If I want to eat an entire pepperoni pizza with extra cheese, I'll do that, too.

One thing I do want to do this year (but it's not a resolution, keep that in mind) is to finish more things that I start.  I'm horrible about having the itch to start projects on a whim, and then leaving them languishing in a basket.  Or on top of my computer tower.  Or in a box.  Shoved in a dresser drawer.  You know what I mean.  And I seriously doubt I'll ever stop casting on with no thought to how long it's going to take to finish (I have projects sitting around from two years ago, and I admit I need to either shit or get off the pot with them...I guess I should put aside a day for frogging.), I want to finish more.  You can't get rid of stash if the yarn you use ends up frogged and back in your stash, now can you?  And while I mostly think stash busting is a thing that people don't actually do - kind of like I don't believe in people who only drink water or the Easter Bunny - I've realized it's time to admit that perhaps (only perhaps) I may have more yarn than is advisable at this time.  I suppose when it starts invading everyone else's space like Alexander the Great's army on a bender, it's time to take stock and actually do something with it.

Or give it away.  Ha, like that'll ever happen.  You can pry it from my cold, dead hands.

It doesn't help that the Boything is an enabler that provides me with more yarn while simultaneously griping about the skeins and balls and cakes that have to be shuffled about all most of the time.  Hey, look, okay, he can't complain if he's the one that provided the yarn.

For example:  A few days ago he stumbled across yarn on clearance at our local WallyWorld (and while I do enjoy indie yarn, I cannot resist any of it), he put together what he called a 'sampler' pack, which included so much Wool Ease Thick & Quick and  Fettuccini that I literally had to carve out a new spot to keep it in until I could figure out what to do with it.  So who's complaining now.

Luckily it hasn't taken all that long.  That strip of stripy garter stitch up there?  The last of the Fettuccini, destined to be a new bag to haul my crap around in.  I've also gotten a bathroom doily rug and a new pencil case and pen cup out of it, so I consider that to be a success.  And they're finished projects.  No sitting around for months and years while I move on to the next shiny thing that catches my attention.  I'd like to think all I needed to jumpstart my knitting and crochet mojo is some super bulky that produces almost instant gratification but I know, before long, I'll have six different pairs of socks on the needles and the idea to start another.  I  need someone to hold me accountable for this nonsense.

But that's the goal - not resolution! - this year.  To produce more finished objects and clear space in the stash for new yarn.  I want to see more things in my finished basket as opposed to my wip...Everything else.  And maybe on the side I could squeeze in a little jogging or something.  No promises.

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