Squishy socks

A soft pair of pretty socks is something that I have been wanting to knit for a few months now. I have a lot of socks, but they are mostly of the athletic variety. Socks are great in the summertime for lounging around the house in the air conditioning. 

I'm gathering materials to knit these pom pom peds and I cannot decide which color combination of yarns to choose.

Purl Soho describes their Anzula's Squishy yarn like this: "with super soft superwash merino for flexibility and comfort, a touch of nylon for durability, and a splash of cashmere for bliss, Squishy is the ultimate fingering weight yarn. Add to its sumptuous feel the beautifully hand dyed palette of sophisticated, quirky colors, and you will fall in love too!"

I'm hooked, but I'm a tactile shopper and it's hard to make these kinds of purchases online without getting my hands on each skein to compare the colors in person. 

Maybe you can help me out? The body of the socks will be one color with a contrasting cuff and pom pom.  With two skeins of yarn I can make four pair of socks.

Here are a few combos that I like:  

Persimmon + Shitake = summer romance

Shitake + Avocado = pickle

Clay + Charcoal = newspaper

Shitake + Apricot = abalone seashell

Avocado + Persimmon = strawberry fields

Apricot + Clay = sweet dreams

Which combination do you like the best?
(It doesn't have to be one that I've listed here.)

UPDATE: I ended up buying one skein each of Clay, Charcoal, and Persimmon. I'm gonna mix it up!

Finish #2: Felted Oven Mitts

I finished my second and third knitting projects yesterday. I learned a few new techniques like knitting in the round, which I really enjoyed, and how to use double pointed needles to taper the tops and the thumbs.  I spent a few hours at the Yarn Lounge on several Sundays for some extra instruction, and the first mitt took a few weeks to complete.  The second mitt I did all on my own and took only three days from start to finish.

Using sticks and yarn to create beautiful things still has me intrigued. It's so interesting how the different stitches and patterns come together.  I find it mesmerizing.

The mitts were huge and floppy after the initial knitting but with some heat and agitation in the washing machine they shrunk and felted up nicely.

The pattern for this project can be found here. I used three skeins of worsted weight malabrigo wool in a butter yellow, cream, and orange. For my next project I think I will knit a pair of pom pom peds.

My first finish

The scarf that I started back in March is finally complete. It's been slow going, but that's one of the reasons I'm a fan of knitting. I do a little whenever I can, and make progress here and there when things are quiet.

I blocked it at the end of last week, which perfected the shape. While it is too warm for a scarf now, I'll look forward to wrapping up with it in the Fall.

The Pattern:
Row 1: knit
Row 2: knit
Row 3: knit
Row 4: knit
Row 5: knit
Row 6: knit front and back of each stitch
Row 7: purl
Row 8: knit
Row 9: purl
Row 10: knit
Row 11: purl
Row 12: knit two together

I used one skein of worsted weight malabrigo merino wool.

Time and Knitting

It's taken me almost three years to get here, but I've found that carving time and space out each week, to do with however I please, makes me feel more balanced and whole. I have to believe that a more peaceful self translates to a more present and patient mother, and hopefully a more giving wife.

I've made a point to ask for what I need, and so every weekend I've been getting 3 or 4 hours--usually overlapping the kids' naps. Sometimes I go to the coffee shop up the street to drink tea, catch up on my reading, and work on various writing projects.  Other times I go out to run errands (alone is a rare treat!) and then come home to take care of a task that I would never find time for otherwise, like organizing my digital photo files.

This Saturday begins a three week course in knitting at an adorable little shop called The Yarn Lounge. Highly inspired by most everything that comes through my RSS feed from the Purl Bee (like this big knit rug), and also my blog friend over at the Maiden Metallurgist who knits for fun in between work and snuggles with her little guy Henry (check out her archive for more on her projects), I am looking forward to learning a quiet and portable craft that involves gorgeous yarns of all colors.

I'm told that I will learn the basics and, if all goes well, finish a scarf!  I picked that vibrant hue of blue in pure merino wool because it made me think of Spring.