And yet another pair of basketweave socks.

 You'd think I'd be tired of this pattern after making a gazillion socks from it, but, nope.  It is perfect for any variegated sock yarn out there.  It makes a lovely and mindless sweater, too.

So here's the latest pair.  Yarn by Earth and Empress, colorway - Blackberry Mist.

 

Lot's of knitting and quilting stuff in progress, but nothing near being finished.

Here's my annual Jewish High Holidays' bread.  It's a very old recipe that both my grandmas made. Mama was born around 1875, and Zinn Grandma around 1885.  Mama was from some little town in Hungary, but she and Grandpa moved at some point to Vienna, where my father was born.  Zinn Grandma came from Szalard, Romania, but it was Hungary when she was born, and only became part of Romania after WWI.  So, 2 different grandmas from 2 different places but with the same recipe.  I'm guessing that their moms made it too.  It's easily 125 years old.  I made some small changes; nobody needs a stick of butter in the dough, but it tastes like when they made it.

So, here is Tejes Kolacs.

Moving along

 I've decided that Sept is now the beginning of the year.  I have no idea why, but possibly because the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) is in Sept this year.  At any rate, the cooler temps feel like a beginning.  My goals this year are to make 12 pairs of socks (for me and for the little kid), at least 6 sweaters, again for me, TLK, and his mom.  Miss P is good with socks and sweaters, DD1 doesn't need any, and the Hubz will wear my socks for sleeping socks, but is not apt to wear a sweater of mine.

So, on the needles is sock #1.  Basketweave pattern, which is my go-to lazy pattern.  My usual 56 st sock, but the pattern is a multiple of 8, so can easily be made in larger sizes.Yarn by EarthAndEmpress.

Sweater.  Ah well.  Remember the raglan from the previous post?  Turns out that I accidentally used the wrong needle.  I was working on a #5, and just grabbed it.  My #5 and #6 needles are pretty similar in color.  It was, of course, too small.  Frogged it, changed my mind to making another top-down raglan, but with a different neckline.  And I'm making stripes.  I think it will be very cute.  Yes, this scrimmage of stitches on a 24" needle looks too small.  It's not.  I tried it on, and anyhow, I always smoosh lots of stitches on a 24" needle.

Yarn is Spearmint in KnitPicks Palette.  The pink and white are some leftovers.  Size 6 needle, and should measure approx 38" in circumference when done.  

Quilting:  TLK, aka the little kid, has been asking for another quilt.  He has his baby quilt, now used as a sitting mat on top of a bench, and his I Spy quilt, which is someplace or other. He's growing, and could use a larger quilt.   At any rate, a grand wants a quilt, a grand gets a quilt.  He likes brights and I started this new log cabin with turqs and peaches and such.  Very little very light colors, which is good, since he'll schlep it around all over the place and his mom doesn't want to spend her life washing it.  So, here are a few new blocks.

I'm also binding a quilt that I finished way back when.  I'll post pics when it's sewn and crinkled.

This is all keeping me happily busy. 

Very interesting article on a quilting response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.  Worth reading!

What's new?

 3 projects, 2 knitting,and 1 quilting.

Yet another basketweave sock, this one in a lovely colorway by a brand-new dyer, Earth and Empress.The colorway is Blackberry Mist, and I believe that there is one skein of it left.

Remember the raglan craze I've been on?  This is the third in the series.  Bottom up, with that cute little rib I showed in the previous post.  The yarn is Palette by Knit Picks, and the color is spearmint.  After this raglan, if I can stand yet another one, the next one will be top down with a different neckline and with stripes.  I think.  Who knows?  

On the sewing machine is yet another log cabin, with colors in turquoise and orange or variations thereof.  8" blocks, so a total of 64.  I have 8 done.  The youngest grand has asked me a few times for a new quilt, and he's mentioned it to his mother, too.  So who am I not to make him one?  If he likes this, he'll get it. If not, then we'll figure something else out.

Basketweave socks

Yet another pair in my favorite pattern:  basketweave.  I use this all the time because it's mindless, works well on any yarn, and because I love it.  Sock Madness starts in a bit over a month, so then I'll knit crazy exhausting loony socks.  But not now.  Now I'm into brainless feet.

Yarn is Miss Babs Hot Shot, can't remember the colorway. The actual color is more intense. 

Yet another pair

of basketweave socks.  I knit this pattern over and over.  Why?  It's pretty no matter the yarn; it's mindless, but not boring; it fits; it's great TV watching stuff.

Cannot remember whose yarn it is, but I bought the yarn at Woolbearer's in Mt. Holly, NJ.

Here's a closeup of the leg.  Is this not a cute, mindless, adorable pattern?

Knitting in progress

4 projects on the needles, 3 of them socks, of course.

Another pair of socks for the little guy.  Same yarn as the previous post, same inability of my camera to get the red correct.  It's a lovely deep red with more blue than yellow in it.  You'll have to trust me.  I've just finished the gusset and am zooming onto the foot and finish.  Then sock #2 gets knitted.

Yet another helix sock for the little guy's big sister.  At 14, she's into mismatched socks, and this is a great way to use up my leftover sock yarn.  Of course it never gets used up; the balls just get smaller and smaller, but they never go away.  Kind of like dust bunnies:  you sweep them up, but they propagate over night.  At any rate, these are mindless and fun and she loves them.  Plus, if she misplaces a sock, she has a bunch more to choose from.  That's the beauty of mismatched helix socks.

A pair for me in my usual basket weave pattern.  No hurry on this pair since I have at least 60 pairs already.  And when I'm done, I'll have a nice ball of yarn leftover to be applied to yet more helix socks.  It never ends.

And now, the really neat knitting news:  I'm so into yoke sweaters that I've started another one, this one with a Bohus-style design for the yoke.  Bottom up with body knitted first, followed by sleeves, and then joined for the yoke.  I saw an Icelandic yoke sweater with a contrasting rib and little pattern, and I liked it, so that's what's here.  The body of the sweater will be that lovely heathered pale brown that you see with the off-white.  KnitPicks sport Wool of the Andes, which is delightfully woolly and warm and delicious to wear.

Socks for Benjamin

Benjamin just turned 4 and he's beyond adorable.  But then, every Grandma thinks her grands are adorable.  Still, he really is a cutie patootie.  His favorite color is red.  So, red socks for Benjamin.

Sock specs:  48 sts.  Sock yarn.  Gauge:  around 7.25 sts/".  Length of leg is knee high.  (The child lives in the Frozen Northland and needs to be kept warm.)  Total foot length is a pinch less than 7", with room for growth.

Pattern is my go-to pattern for everything:  basket weave!

Yes, they will fit him; there's a lot of stretch in the circumference.

I'm adjusted! Shrinks take note!

My Leafy Green Socks are a hit! They're loved. People bought the pattern and made lovely comments on Ravelry. My little business sometimes becomes an ego thing; if no one buys, then my stuff is unloved. Would you please tell me why a 64 year old woman in the prime of her life (yup, the 60's are amazing) needs to feel validated? Huh? Why? You know my mantra: Maturity is just a phase, adolescence is forever!

So, did I tell you about my doctor visit? I needed some blood work done for the usual cholesterol, thyroid stuff, plus the blood pressure checked. Haven't heard yet about the first two, but the bp is great! I bow down to the hypertension meds. They work.

Anyhow, they must have had a quiet morning when I got there, because my doctor, who is the nicest, smartest, cutest guy around (as well as being a top notch physician) decides that the podiatrist should look at my feet. Why says I? My feet are perfectly fine. It's the arthritis in the right shoulder that gets me occasionally, as well as the knees and the back. Nope, he says, at least once in your life you need a podiatrist to check out your feet. So the podiatrist checked them out, pronounced them "lovely feet", shaped my nails, got rid of a winter callus or two. It was kind of neat.

Then, the doc says that the chiropractor on staff should look at my back. My back was fine that day. I've never been "adjusted" before, so he went easy on me, and gave me a stim on the arthritic spot. OK, it was interesting.

Are you getting the picture? These guys had a quiet moment and decided that I would be fun to file, clip, stim, and adjust. So I was. Do I feel any different? Nope, but it was fun in a weird sort of way. Given a choice between a massage and an adjustment, I prefer the massage.

The tough part of it all was that I had to go fasting to this orgy of care, and I was pretty hungry. Hey, you have to sacrifice to become adjusted.

Knitting news: I started these yesterday from yarn I had reserved for me in the last dyeing session. I like them. They're different. I got the pattern from a very pricey Japanese pattern book ($60 at Kinokuniya). Adjusted it to make it fit my parameters, and now I'm enjoying it.




By the say, there are no twist stitches or cables in these socks. Decreases and yarn overs only. My kind of socks.

KV - Adjustment and sanity are highly overrated. A bit of lunacy is far more interesting.

Melissa - This is probably the only time in my life that I have not had to wait. I always bring my sock knitting with me, so I really don't mind. But Tues was such a funny visit. I think they were bored, and saw a willing victim in me.

Christine - I told you that I'm an olde broade replete with olde Englishe spellinge. Did you believe me? NOOOOO. The pattern I started yesterday? I'll probably post it to Ravelry first; but I have to finish it. I'm exactly as far as i was yesterday. Dyed 8 skeins today, and two of them have matching mini-skeins for heels and toes. I'm going to try one out to make sure that I have enough for the mini-skein. Any excuse, you know. And any day now, the next SM2 sock will land on us. You want me to dye something for you? There's no obligation on a single skein, because if you don't want it, someone else will. I forgot to mention that I put in an entire career before retiring. My dues have been paid,as they say.

Meg - It was a surrealistic moment at the doctor's office. I giggled about it too all day long.

Jo - The name of the book is 1000 knitting patterns book, and the ISBN is 978-4-529-02142-5. Without tax, it cost $60.50. Pricey, but what a book!

Vicki - I use both Jacquard and Washfast Acid Dyes, and I use Wilton's Food coloring for the yellows. For some reason or other, the Wilton yellows mix well with the dyes, and don't fade out.

Holly - Or Marion Zimmer Bradley. Retirement is a glorious time. If you are willing to take chancea, or fly with a passion of yours, or just do new things, it is a most wonderful time. It's when you vegetate in front of the tv and mope around, that it is a bore. I'm retired now over a year, and I haven't had one single moment of boredom. Not one. Some mightily major stress, which I will not talk about, but right up on the awful list, but even so, it's been the best time of my life.

Basketweave Socks

New Pattern! Well, a lot of people have versions of this, but I like it very very much so here's my pattern!

Basketweave Socks

They look pretty, no matter if they are compressed or stretched to accommodate the foot..

Cuff down.
Gauge: 7.75 sts/inch
Double pointed needles, 2 circular needles, or magic loop needle – your choice. I use 2 circular needles.

Needle size to get my gauge: #1, 2.5mm. You use what works for you.

Yarn: sock weight yarn, approximately 300-400 yards, depending on how big or how long your foot is. A 4 oz skein ought to do it.


Instructions are for a 56 st. sock. If you have a larger foot, use 64 sts.

Pattern: multiple of 8.

Round 1: Knit this round and all alternate rounds.
Round 2: *K2, P5, K1* Continue in this pattern around the sock.
Round 4: Repeat round 2
Round 6: Repeat round 2
Round 8: *P3, K3, P2* Continue in this pattern around the sock.
Round 10: Repeat round 8
Round 12: Repeat round 8

Repeat these 12 rounds for the leg of the sock.

Cast on: 56 sts (64 sts) on whatever needle method you choose. Cast on over 2 needles held together, so that the sock will easily stretch over your foot. Make sure that you don’t twist the yarn. Join the stitches into a circle.

Divide your stitches so that each needle holds a multiple of 8. It’s just easier to knit this way.

Leg: Work a k2, p2 ribbing for 1 inch.
Work in pattern for desired length.

Heel: Arrange stitches so that half of the total stitches are on one needle, and the other half are on the other needle.
For a 56 stitch sock, you will have 28 sts on each needle on 2 circulars; for a 64 stitch sock, you will have 32 stitches on each needle.

Working on either 28 or 32 stitches only, on the heel side, slip the first stitch, and then purl back.

Heel pattern: Row 1: *sl 1, k1* across the row.
Row 2: sl 1, purl across

Proceed with these two rows until you have worked 28 (32) rows.

Turn heel: Row 1: On rt side, k15 (17), ssk, k1. Turn
Row 2: sl 1, p3, p2tog, p1. Turn
Row 3: sl 1, k4, ssk, k1. Turn
Row 4: sl 1, p5, p2tog, p1. Turn
Repeat these rows, always adding one more stitch to the center ones, until you have used up all the stitches. You should end up with 16 (18) stitches.

Heel gusset: On right side of sock, work across the heel stitches. Then pick up 14 (16) stitches. Knit or work in pattern across the instep (the front of the sock). Pick up 14 (16) stitches. In other words: work the gussets and sole of the sock in stockinette. The instep will either be in pattern or in stockinette. Your choice. If you work in pattern, you'll notice that you are one stitch off at the end of the pattern to make it completely symmetrical. It really doesn't matter, but if you want, you can add one stitch at the end of the instep, and then it will be even. Just remember to decrease that stitch when you get to the toe shaping.

To shape the gusset, you will work alternate dec and plain rounds.
Dec round: Work to 3 sts before the end of the back sts. K2tog, k1. Work the instep. Then, at the beginning of the back stitches, k1, ssk, and knit.

Plain round: Knit, working the instep either in pattern or stockinette.

Repeat these 2 rounds, decreasing one stitch at each end of the back stitches every other round until you have 56 (64) stitches left. You will have half of the stitches on one needle, and half on the other.

Foot: Work in pattern or in stockinette until foot is about 1.5 inches before the end.

If you've added that stitch to the instep, decrease it now.

Shape toe: Round 1: K1, ssk, work until 3 sts from the end of the needle, k2tog, k1. Repeat on the other needle.
Round 2: Work plain.

Work these 2 rounds until 10 sts remain on each needle. Finish the sock by grafting the stitches together using the Kitchener stitch.

Weave in your ends. Make the second sock.

P.S. I know. Graphs are so much better. I have a brand new graphing program but it's too advanced for the laptop. NOW you see why I can't wait to get the new hard disk? Well, it's a brainless pattern which you will figure out in a couple of repeats, so I don't feel too guilty.

Yes!!! We have turned the corner!!! Sunrise today was at 7:21!!!