two coasters (& pattern)

Recently Jason's felt a little uncomfortable with resting his mug right on the dark finish of our new desks. But with my back to back personal sock projects and the Bapsicrafts pieces always on the needles, he's been reluctant to make a request. Now that my Chai Latte Socks are finished, and my traveling Bapsicrafts stash here is dwindling at a morale-boosting rate, I've had the kind of lull in my knitting that must have given him the strength to ask(I was happy to oblige!) I found some leftover wool from this past winter's projects, cast on until the width felt just right, and went to improvising a coaster.

And then--I made one for me, just to match. Like our lens mugs?

The coasters love each others' company! I'd hate to tear them away from each other when I go back to California in just under two weeks' time, so they'll stay to cushion Jason's mugs here in England. I'll look forward to our visits when I have enough saved up to come back. :]

For anyone interested, here's the simple pattern to make your own. It uses less than 25 yards of any leftover worsted weight yarn you have lying around. I worked this with 4.5mm needles.

Cast on 22 stitches.
Work 30 rounds of Seed Stitch.
If you'd like a neat slip stitch edge, slip the first stitch of each row purlwise, and knit the last stitch of each row.
Bind off, and weave in.

fo: chai latte socks

And they're done! I actually finished these about a week sooner than planned. It typically takes about a week and a half to make one fingering weight sock, but the I surprised myself by knitting the first in only 9 days! When I heard about Must Stash holding a Month of Socks KAL contest for knitterly prizes on May 24th, I was determined to try upping my chances to win by finishing and photographing all of my WIPs by the end of the month. This meant casting on and binding off the second Chai Latte sock in only one day, when you consider my time working on the Wellies. I caught up watching Elementary, my hands were on fire, and the sock was finished and woven in one day with just enough time to collapse and wake up in time for photos with Jason's help.

pattern : Vanilla Latte Socks by Virginia Rose-Jeanes

yarn : Four Seasons Gründl Hot Socks Country in Shade 33

needle : US 6[4 mm] 

size : 9.5

I didn't win, but the fun in posing outside in socks (and admiring the photographer) made the experience worth it. Also, new socks!

The fit is absolutely perfect! Like, an exact fit. I was a little worried about the dryness of the yarn, but after the first soapy dip, they softened up nicely. And I couldn't have been more impressed with the way this yarn striped up. The pattern is gorgeous.

As mentioned before, I opted for a k2 p2 cuff, and worked the Eye of Partridge heel, which was a lot of fun and very satisfying to see in this color scheme. I also went for a simple Wedge Toe. The other option was a star toe, which would have been a great new thing to learn how to do, if I wasn't so repelled by the look of it! I'm sure there's a pattern out there somewhere that the Star Toe helped make shine, but I don't think this one is it.

All in all, I loved the project. I highly recommend it to beginner and advanced knitters alike. Perfect for a softly stripey or semi-solid sock yarn in your stash. These Chai Latte Socks really flew off the needles for me, and became a welcome addition to my growing pile of hand-knit socks.

fo: entwined bed socks

This project didn't last long at all! After I finished the last pair and a shop knit, I went digging in my suitcase for yarn I brought from home (Yep, a strict 50lb suitcase limit to travel overseas, and some of it was yarn..). A lone skein of Patons Wool was lying their waiting to be attended to, so I casted on and knit away.

pattern : Entwined House Socks for Ladies by Margaret MacInnis

yarn : Patons North America Classic Wool Worsted in Grey Mix

needle : US 6[4 mm]

size : 9.5

Entwined was the calming cabled sock pattern I was looking for after I completed my Angler's Loop Socks

late last year. I'm happy to have come across it (and it's free too!). It's basically a vanilla ankle sock pattern but with a little more involvement at the very beginning--so these just flew right off the needles while I was watching Stargate SG-1 this weekend, with a little bit of yarn to spare for reinforcing the heel using the tutorial

Severien suggested. Thanks, pretty sure it'll help the heels! Personally I found the reinforcement process to be suuper fiddly and tedious, but if you spent ages working on your socks and want them to last that much more, it's worth the time investment. This pair in particular won't cause a tragedy if they get mixed in with the wrong washing load, but they're still all the better for it.

My favorite detail next to the gorgeous cabled cuff would be the way she designed the wide ribbing to balance nicely on the top of the foot. It takes a little extra work when you're setting up the heel in the beginning, but worth the satisfaction when you wear it completed. :] I'm also in love with the plain toe over carrying the ribbing all the way through, like in my last project. There's something about a plain toe that balances whatever drama you have along the rest of the sock. It's the resting point this pattern needed, and Margaret made a good call on making it this way. :]

With one less skein in the suitcase, I felt the weight of guilt lift from my shoulders and made a yarn purchase yesterday. The yarns are a nice 75% wool, 25% nylon blend that I'll use for...you guessed it, more socks. I'm hoping to be able to make just a few more socks for Jason before I head back home mid-June(and have to deal with the horrors of international shipping), so the race is on.

P.S. : I will be participating in this, starting tomorrow!

fo: ribbed for bapsi

This little pair of socks is finally finished, and I can't stop wearing them!

pattern : Ribbed for Him Socks by Marie Godsey

yarn : James C. Brett Woodlander Double Knitting in L5

needle : US 3[3.25 mm]

size : 9.5 

I really really needed this project. It was a really nice transition from the monotony of my last few sock projects to my next-in-line, and also became a much-needed addition to the sock drawer. And it's so squishy!

The pattern called for about 275 yards of yarn but the plan was for size 10 feet, fortunately, mine are a bit smaller. I'm pretty glad to have this small amount of yarn left over for future repairs, or maybe even a fantastic

scrap yarn project in the future. Or, more realistically, a ton of repairs in the much nearer future. Acrylic doesn't seem to be the best yarn for socks (Jason can attest for sure), but I have too much fun stashing the cute variegated yarn I find in LYS's! I'll make my next sock-stash addition a nylon-blend..or whatever it is that's most hard-wearing and easy-care around.

Spring is really kicking into gear here, so it's green green green wherever we walk, as opposed to the shades of grey we had just a few months ago. I'm enjoying the fresh-air for sure, even if it's pollen-city whenever I leave the house (not the most fun).

It's ridiculous how wet the weather is here compared to socal. It rains once, and every plant is a foot taller. Here's to temperate climates and precipitation!