Day 288 of 2026

I'm behind on my sock for my KAL with M, 

but I am going to stop the pattern here 

and do the forethought heel. 

This will help me determine when to start the toe. 

I don't think it is far away.

 

Day 280 of 2026

I have met the first goal for this sock KAL with the exception of 

placing a waste yarn for a future heel. 

I'll do that tomorrow when I am able to make sure I am doing it properly. 

Everything about this pair of socks is new to me 

so I expect a huge learning curve and two socks 

that may or may not be similar in any way.

 

Day 279 of 2026

Time to change color, but it wasn't wound yet. 

I thought today was the target date for the first stage, 

but it is really tomorrow. 

 

Day 274 of 2026

Finished. 

The Puffy Checks Socks are blocked and ready to be worn. 

I can now get ready for the knit-along with M 

without feeling guilty about starting another pair of socks.

I started posting about these socks in January 

as I was hoping for a pair of Valentine's Day socks, 

hence the vague heart formation for the picture. 

Feel free to go look at all the related posts about these socks 

which are under the label "the puffy checks socks."

 

Day 269 of 2026

My fast finish is improving. 

I completed the foot of sock number two last night,

 and then my needles that were supposed to arrive tomorrow

 arrived today. 

I was able to start and finish the first toe with the new needles 

tonight during the Indiana football game 

with the exception of the grafting.

 If all goes well, I should be done with this pair of socks

 sometime this weekend.

 

Day 268 of 2026

Today's puzzle setup was a little unconventional. 

 

Day 266 of 2026

I took a little time this afternoon 

to assemble the tree in my current puzzle. 

I guess I should have led with the fact that I got out my pick

 for the next puzzle to work last Thursday, 

but today is the first time I have actually worked on it.

 

Day 265 of 2026

Well, my fast finish is not going as quickly as I had hoped. 

I have been having trouble lately 

with stitches dropping off the end of my needle. 

Once I notice it, it takes quite a while to fix 

as the pattern is not easy to decipher

 when the stitch continues to unravel. 

I have tried to use the 9" circular but my hands cramp

 making it impossible to proceed with that method. 

I am not a fan of magic loop knitting but I may try two circulars. 

I think that may stop the dropped stitches but not bother my hands. 

I need to order several needles to finish this pair

 and to be ready for the first SAL pair M and I will be starting soon.

 

Day 260 of 2026

It's time to bring the red socks back out. 

I think the last time I posted about them here was in May. 

I am at the straight foot part of the second sock. 

I am motivated to get them done

 so I can begin an informal sock along (SAL) with M. 

I think I'm going to give myself

 a minimum number of rows or repeats

 to do each day for a fast finish.

 

Day 252 of 2026

I can't really call this done yet as you can see 

I still have ends to weave in, 

but I did get the fancy bind off done today.

 

Day 240 of 2026

USA State Flowers. 

The puzzle includes a list of each state and what the flower is. 

The puzzle itself it so beautiful. 

I have had my eye on it for years. 

I finally saw it at a sale price I've never seen before.

 

Day 237 of 2026

I like to work my puzzles by color or specific area or subject. 

I started with the reds and dark pinks. 

I'm now moving through the blue/purples. 

The pieces here are a bit washed out because 

I had to get out a daylight lamp in order to pick out the pieces I needed. 

This room does not have afternoon light, 

and you know my left eye needs lots of light to see. 

I'll try to get a true to color picture when I finish it.

 

Day 234 of 2026

Puzzle update: 

I have sorted most of the pieces by predominant color. 

Right now I'm working mainly on red portions.

 

Day 229 of 2026

I was hoping to finish color number 5

 before my cutoff for today's picture. 

I didn't quite make it but only have one repeat (two rows) left.

 I'll finish them before I go to bed. 

I am officially more than halfway done with this blanket.

 

Day 200 of 2026

It's been a while since I've knitted anything. 

My hand has been giving me some pain 

so I thought it best to give it a break. 

Tonight I was able to get color number three finished. 

 

Day 191 of 2026

I started this shirt yesterday afternoon and finished it up today

 with the exception of the hem. 

I will be doing a try-on tomorrow 

to decide what length I'd like to make it. 

There are a few changes I will probably make to the pattern 

before making the second top, but this wearable toile 

is definitely going to be wearable.

 

Day 148 of 2026

Puffy Checks Socks update: 

I promised to let you know 

when I reached the straight foot section

 of these socks. 

The decrease section on both socks is done, 

and I have am halfway to the toe section on my first sock. 

It feels like real progress.

 

Day 142 of 2026

I feel like these socks are coming along like

 The Little Engine That Could. 

I'm done with the heel flaps 

and these adorable little pink heel turns on both socks. 

Now I am going to be chugging away

 at the gusset decreases for a while, 

but I know if I keep chugging, I'll get there.

I'll let you know when I get to the straight foot section. 

If you weren't sure, 

the picture yesterday shows magnetic water balloons.

 

Day 114 of 2026

Now that the hat is done, I'm back at my socks.

 I completed three more pattern repeats

 and started the heel flap today. 

It has not been hard to jump back into. 

I'm trying to be better at finishing things

 before I cast on a new thing. 

Sometimes it cannot be avoided.

 

Day 113 of 2026

I finally finished the knitting of the Musselburgh hat. 

I am so excited about it.

 Tomorrow I'll block it and figure out a way to show you

 the four different ways to wear it.