Day 310 of 2026

The next pair of socks for the KAL with M is finally showing progress. 

This is my fourth try at a decent cuff. 

It occurred to me early this morning that my other three attempts 

were possibly not due to my ineptness but the yarn I was using. 

I started my fourth attempt today with a different yarn

 and that seems to be what I needed.

 

Day 309 of 2026

My first pair of the socks for my KAL with M is done. 

All ends are woven in.

I soaked and gently washed them. 

 I was going to wait and take a picture tomorrow when they are dry, 

but they looked so cute hanging out on my drying rack 

that I had to post them today.

 

Day 307 of 2026

My flower socks are done 

with the exception of weaving in ends and blocking. 

I will get a good photo once that is done. 

In the mean time I am starting the next pair. 

To prepare I have wound all the yarn 

and put the appropriate tassel on the knitting bag.

 

Day 303 of 2026

I've been second-guessing one of my color decisions

 for the next pair of socks lately. 

Today I decided to do the black and white test

 to see if the contrast is acceptable. 

Looking at the photo I took, 

I think my initial choice will work. 

Have you ever used this test for determining contrast?

 

Day 297 of 2026

Second sock knitting has been slow this week, 

but it feels like I am back in the groove now.

 

Day 295 of 2026

Happy mail arrived today. 

These skeins fill some color gaps in my stash. 

I can't wait to incorporate them into future socks.

 

Day 293 of 2026

Let's get this second sock done.

 

Day 292 of 2026

I am on my final color for this sock. 

I believe I have about three more rounds to knit

 before I start my toe. 

A final try on will confirm this. 

At this point I am very behind with the KAL. 

I should be finishing the second sock tomorrow 

but have not started it yet. 

 I have learned a lot and hope that makes the second one

 go so much faster.

 

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 281 of 2026

I had a little quiet time today

 so I decided to be more efficient 

and wound the rest of my colors for my current socks.

 

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 278 of 2026

M and I have set a schedule and have started our knit along. (KAL) 

I have completed more than this but got caught up in a question

 about the row I was working on and didn't figure it out in time

 to get a picture for today. 

My hope is to be able to stick to our schedule

 and have a picture of a much further along sock 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 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 251 of 2026

Time to let a few more things go.

 

Day 244 of 2026

I just finished the second row

 of my two row repeat of this blanket

 only to realize 

that there is not enough yarn for the next row, 

let alone another repeat. 

I am not too broken up about it though. 

It means I get to start the next color sooner.