Breaking My Own Rules

I have written that if I am going to participate in SKA’s monthly challenge, I have to use a pattern that I own or is already in my Ravelry Queue or Favorites. Plus, and I don’t think I have mentioned this, I must use yarn I have purchased and only one pair of socks on the needles at any one time.

So what happened in May?

I decided I didn’t like the challenges for May and cast on a sock at the end of April so I would have socks to work on in May. But, I saw the start of the Mystery sock, decided I liked it and cast on with yarn from my friends big destash. (All three rules broken. LOL.)

In this pattern there was something going on in every row – purls, knits, slipped stitches, cables, bobbles, as well as alternating colours, - as some concentration was required I put them aside in June to complete other projects and then there wasn't a rush to finish them as August is the finish all your socks challenge.

The pattern is The Old Vine, the pink yarn is Miss Babs Tarte and the dark yarn is from A Whimsical Wood Yarn Co.

 

 

First of Three

 

In my last post I mentioned that I started July with a sock project and I cast on two more. I wanted to start a challenge in July as the theme fit a pattern that I had purchased in 2017. I had cast them on with different yarn in 2022 but didn’t get very far as I didn't like how the yarn looked in the ribbing at the cuff.

Fast forward to 2024 and the theme for July is literature and I wanted to use yarn I had purchased in a sale, fingers crossed it will work – and it did! This is a simple crossed stitch pattern with the pattern occurring on every third row. After having worked the Advent socks concurrently I went one better with these and worked them two-at-a-time on a circular needle. I had to keep track of the third row but no counting to match socks.

The pattern is Prairie Socks and the yarn is Targhee Sock from Oink Pigments. (And, yes, it is a really bright pink.)

Start of the Second Half

I’ve been very quiet just lately. Mostly because I have not had any finished knitting to show but also because all my thoughts about blog posts have not made it to print.

Looking back at my post after finishing my mini WIP-along, I am not sure if I ever said what was still on the needles at the start of the second-half of the year. First, the projects which don’t count – four blankets. Two of them are year-long projects and even when the knitting is complete they have to be blocked and three strips joined to make a blanket and then any edgings of my choice added. In other words as long as I have the completed components I am not going to stress if I do not have a finished blanket at the end of the year. The other two blankets are scrappy, leftover projects without a fixed end date.

At the beginning of the second half I had three projects:- a cardigan, a pair of socks and a baby gift and in July I cast on two pairs of socks. Although it reads as if I cleared the WIPs and then added a load more I am keeping the numbers low as currently I have just two projects in addition to the blankets. Although they will increase soon as vacation is coming up and I will start a hat in the car and when the cardigan gets to concentrate part I will need an easy project to replace it.