Dad's 2018 Knit Christmas Socks

I did it, I did it! I miraculously finished my dad's socks before we left for Kentucky. I thought I was going to have to resort to car knitting. Phew.

Pattern: Hermione's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder (Free on Ravelry)
Yarn: Unidentified scraps from my stash

Knit Birthday Socks for Liz

I can't think of anyone who wouldn't want a cozy pair of knitted socks, which is why eventually all my friends will end up with a knitted pair of socks from me at some point.

I made this pair for my friend Liz of cozyblue. The sock yarn is leftover from my Sunset Highway sweater, and I even weighed the yarn and felt SURE I had enough yardage to make two socks. I guess you can see that didn't work out...

Pattern: Waffle Rib Socks by by Carolyn (Jill) Ferneau
Yarn: Hedgehog Fibres Sock in Budgie

Waffle Knit Socks for Jake

One day, my cousin Jake told me he would like to up his sock game. I think he was starting to be jealous of all Alex's hand knit socks.

In the past Jake has given me some of his art, like a drawing of a lumberjack and a drawing of a kid with a worm (which I realize is hard to picture, but trust me that it's really cool). So I figured it was only fair for me to give him some of my art.

Pattern: Waffle Rib Socks by Carolyn (Jill) Ferneau
Yarn: Pandora's Yarn Luxe

I bought this yarn at Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF) last year, and I used it to make one other pair of socks in a different color for my friend Jessica. This yarn is no longer available, but it's nice, soft, and fun to work with.

The one difficult part about making socks for someone new to hand knit socks is that they can't put them in the dryer like they can regular socks. But it's nice to convert someone over to the hand knit world for the first time. Knit socks really are the best.

Fall and Winter Lace Shawl

I stored this shawl kit in a drawer for about two years, picking it up and putting it away again during that entire time. This is one of those projects that looks beautiful when it's finished, but there was a lot of sweat and complaining going on while I was knitting it.

I started to sort of dread working on it, which makes me think perhaps I should stay away from lace knits in the future. But ahhh, isn't it pretty?

Pattern: Fall/Winter Shawl by KnitPicks

Yarn: Alpaca Cloud Lace Yarn

Here are some things you might need to know about my completion of this shawl:

Test Knit: Rhubarb Stalk Socks

I always have at least two knitting projects going at once, but sometimes I see a test knit opportunity that I just can't pass up! In this case, I was actually happy to pause on that crazy lace shawl that I'm still working on... Ugh.

Pattern: Rhubarb Stalk Socks by Buckaloo View Designs

Yarn: Junkyarn Smooth Sock in Candace

Rice Stitch Knit Socks for Alex

Socks are practically the only knitting project I ever travel with, so when we went to Scotland and Ireland, this is the project I packed. These socks are for Alex -- what a surprise!

Yarn: Woolen Boon Classic in Los Bluejeans

Pattern: Rice Stitch Toe-Up Socks designed by me

Sewing a Moneta with a Peter Pan Collar

Summer ain't over yet! My go-to dress pattern these days is Moneta by Colette Patterns. I probably have about six of these dresses, mostly in knit fabrics from the juvenile section at Joann. I figured as long as the print is distracting, no one will ever know it's the same dress. Shhhhhh.

Fabric: Knit fabric from Joann

Pattern: Moneta by Colette Patterns