Razzleberry Fest Socks

That guy of mine, my hubby, who loves hand knit socks, will be getting a third pair this lovely winter. His birthday is near Christmas, so he'll be getting one for his birthday, one for Christmas with my family, and one more for Christmas with his family!













These gorgeous Razzleberryfest socks are the culprit! I used Knit Picks Stroll Brights in the color Razzleberry, and the pattern is Oktoberfest Socken (the same as I used for my own pair last year)!















I'm quite happy with them, and I know they'll fit him quite well - both his feet and his personality!

Ravelry Project Page

Amethyst Diamond Socks

I don't have very many pictures of these, but my brother, one of the guys in my life who is obsessed with hand-knit socks, will be getting these for Christmas. He picked out the pattern and the colors - he needed professional looking socks, and he liked the argyle effect in the original pattern (the Border Socks), but the blue and brown were not colors he would wear, so we went with his favorite color - a bright purple - and black. I love them, and I hope he does too!

Ravelry Project Page

Sontag

My mother-in-law works at a working historical farm. She works in authentic historical garb, and cooks, spins, and cleans in an authentic historical manner, giving tours to visitors and explaining her processes.

She mentioned to me last year that at the later-season (fall and winter) gigs, her co-worker had a bosom-buddy, or sontag - a historical woolen shawl that wrapped around to allow a woman to work while she wore it. She mentioned that she would like that for Christmas this year, and then she (hopefully) forgot about it.

So, I made one! It's humungous, and I followed a basic pattern from 1860 that I adapted, due to my gauge. I also created a button using Kate Davies Button Tutorial. The garter edge was knit with the body, and when I broke for the "wings," I cast on the 6 stitches needed for the "inside" garter ridges. Later, I went back and knit from the cast-ons, and applied a garter ridge by picking up a stitch from the neck edge, and knitting two together near that edge to maintain the six stitches.

I knit a 6-stitch garter ridge strip, and knit about 300 rows, and then continued that same applying technique to attach it to the bottom back of the sontag, and then knit another 300 rows. I then knit an applied i-cord all the way around that garter strip, which stabilized and strengthened it.

I sent it off to her for a late birthday/early Christmas gift, so she could use it this fall season, and thankfully, she loves it!

Ravelry Project Page

Disco Dance Socks

These are another pair of Christmas socks for the hubs - since we celebrate Christmas twice, once with each family, I love to have something for him to open at both celebrations!

I used a discontinued crazy neon self-"striping" yarn, which I love, and it's using Susan B. Anderson's Smooth Operator Socks pattern, which uses an afterthought heel. I used a contrasting heel, toe, and cuff, from the remnants of some yarn I used for another pair of his socks (upcoming).

He actually hasn't seen these yet (although he's seen the yarn). I tried one on him, but made him close his eyes. I hope they're a good surprise!

Ravelry Project Page

Farmer Saffron Socks

Last year, I bought some "Firefly: Serenity Class" yarn in Bounce and Stomp from Nerd Girl Yarns for a pair of Firefly Weave socks for my brother! Well, I also bought a second skein at the same time, for my husband, and I finally got around the making them!

I used the Farmer McDonald socks from Socktopus, which was a pattern well-worth purchasing! I turned it into a toe-up sock, and didn't carry the pattern on to the back because it wouldn't fit over the Mister's heel.

I absolutely love the way the pooling turned out! It was completely un-intentional, but I'm so in love! It's completely different from the other pair!

These will be given to him for Christmas, since he doesn't actually know I finished them!

Ravelry Project Page

Heather's Mitts

A co-worker of mine saw my October Mitts when I wore them to work, and she asked for a pair of her own, but picked out new colors.  

They turned out very well, although my tension got more even (and therefore smaller) on the second mitt.

Ravelry Project Page

Very Hungry Caterpillar

I had been looking for an excuse to knit this for years, and then this April, it came - a Children's Book themed baby shower!

It was a pretty quick knit, and I'm very happy with it! It was nice to work with some thicker yarn (worsted held double) after having done socks for a few months.

I hope to eventually see the baby in it, though it was for a distant acquaintance, so I'm not sure I ever will.

We gifted it with a book and a rattle - I love the little kit it made!

Ravelry Project

SM4 - Sweet Nuttins

And Round Four is here! I absolutely love love love these socks! These were my fastest knit in the whole competition, and the pattern was so well written and so beautiful!

This was also deep stash - some leftover yarn from Becca's Shawl.

I knit this in a bigger needle size, because initially I was trying to make them to fit my mom, but they definitely weren't big enough. However, they're a little loose on me. I'm thinking about frogging the toe and increasing the length to give them as a gift for someone else in my family, but I haven't decided. I also haven't worn them, just in case!

Ravelry Project

PS: Round Five will be on hold until December, since it's a gift!

Ben's Birthday Moss Socks

Between rounds three and four of Sock Madness, I somehow had the urge to...knit more socks.

Well, I guess that's a little misleading. I had already knit these socks for my brother, and I had knit them with exactly the same construction of the Firefly socks I had knit him, and then I got a call, literally the night they were blocking, saying he had a few fit problems with those socks.

Don't get me wrong - I'm really glad he called. I would much rather knit him socks that he'll wear, especially since he likes them so much, but the timing was...non-ideal.

Well, during Round Two, I had gone to my Uncle's party, and while there, I tried the socks on his feet for heel alignment. I had already knit toe-up, and the problem area had been the heel, so I tried (for the first time) a toe-up heel flap. I frogged the cuffs, finished the two heels, and then headed home.

In April I got the bug to finish them. They were, after all, supposed to be a March birthday gift. So knitting back the Ramen Yarn, I finished them up and sent them off!

And the best part is? This was deep-stash yarn!

Ravelry Project Page

October Mittens

I recently fell for a KnitPicks sale. You know how it is - they send you the pattern for free, and before you know it, you're buying the kit. Well, I bought the kit. It's for the Woodland Winter Mittens, a set of six patterns of colorwork mitts, one for each month October through March.

Jumping right in, I made the October mittens in the large size, and once blocked, discovered they were far too big. No trouble! My mom would love them - and so to her for her birthday they went, and as predicted, she fell absolutely in love.

I used the colors called for in the stormy colorway, as seen on the project page.

Ravelry Project Page

Hacky Sack - Kids' Puzzle Balls

And here we are - we've reached the end of the Christmas posts! This'll be the last one!

Today I present to you the hackysacks I made for the kiddos - they're all puzzle balls! Each one uses a different pattern, but they all come apart in a series of puzzles.

First, I made one for Owen using Dedri Uys's Mini Crochet Amish Ball pattern. Owen liked green, so I used a variety of green scraps for the inside, and made the edging in yellow. 

This one was completed in June.

Ravelry Project: Owen

Second was Ellie's flower ball, and this one was an adapted version of another one of Dedri's patterns, the Flower Crochet Amish Puzzle Ball. I adapted the pattern to try to make the ball smaller, and so the flowers only contained one row in the center, and the outside DCs were HDCs. I adapted the wedges accordingly, and though it worked, it still wasn't quite as small as I had hoped.

Ellie liked blue, but I also knew she really liked flowers, so this was a perfect fit for her, and I finished it in July.

Ravelry Project: Ellie

Third was Caleb, a kiddo who liked red, so I simply turned Dedri's Crochet Pumpkin Segment Ball into an Apple segment ball for a delightful finished product, completed in October.

Ravelry Project: Caleb

And finally, last but not least, I've got a Spikey Star ball for Grayson, whose preferences I never got, so I just made him a rainbow of color using an adapted version of Dedri's Crochet Star Ball. I simply made each of the wedges about half the size, and the end result works great, though it does tend to bulge in the center.

The best part is that all the rings are completely reversible, so he can decide which side he wants out!

Ravelry Project: Grayson

Stay tuned next week for the first non-Christmas post since December!

(Oh, and in case you were curious, yes, these are the same Ellie, Owen, Grayson, and Caleb as the quilt recipients!)

Hacky Sack - Fuzzy Bobble

A few of the Hackysacks I made were essentially pattern-less, in an effort to let the yarn speak for itself, and I present them to you today!

Peter's, which was finished in September, used a fuzzy blue yarn. Unfortunately, the fuzz didn't really show through in the final project, but I chose to make just a plain sphere in order to highlight it. 

Ravelry Project: Peter

Uncle Andy S requested purple and green, so knowing that I had this yarn, it was really a no-brainer. I worked another simple sphere, but after the boring results I got from Peter's, I decided to add a few bobbles haphazardly. When I finished it in October, I decided it had worked.

Ravelry Project: Quog

Finally, we have my hackysack. I chose a green fuzzy scrap for mine, and somehow mine came out much fuzzier than Peter's - go figure. Anyway, I finished in October, and packed it up with the others.

Ravelry Project: Lily

Hacky Sack - Easy Peasy Baby Ball

Another one of the patterns I used for this project was the Easy Peasy Baby Ball by A la Sascha. I absolutely love this one, and though I adapted the pattern a few times by adding rows or changing needle sizes, it was still one of my favorites.

Dad's was first, and his selected color was blue. For a man known for wearing only blue for years of his life, this was not a surprising choice, and I striped his ball accordingly, with two of his favorite shades. This one was completed in September.

Ravelry Project: Gary

Aunt Jody requested red, green, and blue, so this stripey duet seemed perfect. Hers was completed in September as well.

Ravelry Project: Jody

Also a September ball, this one was for Elizabeth S, and she liked the colors green and grey, so hers was the perfect excuse to use up some scraps. I am particularly proud of this one because I only had a few yards of the light green left, and I was able to use it up almost perfectly, with less than 10 inches to spare.

Ravelry Project: Elizabeth S

Finally, I made one more as an extra, and quite frankly this might be my absolute favorite of all the balls I made. This one was finished in November and just might end up in my classroom.

Ravelry Project: E1

Striped Double Crochet Ball - Pattern

Once again, I present to you the pattern for the hacky-sacks I previously posted.

Materials:

• Yarn in chosen colors (worsted)
• size F crochet hook
• scissors, darning needle, filling (stockings, stuffing or rice)

Directions (Detailed):

• Round 1: With color A, create a magic loop. Into the magic loop, chain one, and then make 6 single-crochets. Slip-stitch to the top of the first SC. (6 stitches)
• Round 2: Make a standing DC, and in the same stitch, make two more DC. Make 3 DC in each stitch around, and slip-stitch to the top of the standing DC. Cut and bind off color A. (18 stitches)
• Round 3: With color B, attach to first stitch with a chain, and sc in the same stitch, and then sc in the next stitch. (sc twice in one stitch, sc in next two stitches) around, and then sc twice in the last stitch, and slip-stitch to the first sc. (24 stitches)
• Round 4: Make a standing DC in the first stitch, and then two DCs in the next stitch. (DC in one stitch, make two DCs in the next) around, and slip-stitch to the standing DC. Cut and bind off color B. (36 stitches)
• Round 5: With color C, attach to first stitch with a chain, and sc in the same stitch, and then sc in the next four stitches. (sc twice in one stitch, sc in next five stitches) around, and then sc twice in the last stitch, and slip-stitch to the first sc. (42 stitches)
• Round 6: Make a standing DC in the first stitch, and then DC in the next five stitches. (DC twice in the next stitch, DC in the next six stitches) around, and then DC twice in the last stitch, and slip-stitch to the standing DC. Cut and bind off color C. (48 stitches)
• Round 7: Attach color A, sc around
• Round 8: dc around
• Round 9: sc around, cut and bind off color A
• Round 10: With color C, make a standing DC, and DC in the next 5 stitches. (DC 2 together, DC 6) around, Dc last two stitches together, and slip stitch to standing DC. (42 stitches)
• Round 11: Chain one, sc in same stitch and next four stitches. (sc 2 together, sc in the next five stitches) around, sc the last two stitches together, slip-stitch to first stitch. Cut and bind off color C. (36 stitches)
• Round 12: With color B, make a standing DC. (DC 2 together, DC 1) around, Dc last two stitches together, and slip stitch to standing DC. (24 stitches)
• Round 13: Chain one, sc in same stitch and next stitch. (sc 2 together, sc in the next two stitches) around, sc the last two stitches together, slip-stitch to first stitch. Cut and bind off color B. (18 stitches)
• Note: At this point, you should stuff the inside of the ball in whichever way you choose, before attaching the last color.
• Round 14: With color A, Make a standing DC 3 together, and DC 3 together around. Slip stitch to the first stitch. (6 stitches)
• Round 15: Chain one, sc in each stitch, slip stitch to the first stitch, and bind off. (6 stitches)
• Sew all ends in

Directions (Simplified):

1. (A) magic loop, 6 SC (6 sts)
2. (A) DC 3 in each sc (18 sts)
3. (B) SC 2, SCinc across (24 sts)
4. (B) DC, DCinc across (36 sts)
5. (C) SC 5, SCinc across (42 sts)
6. (C) DC 6, SCinc acorss (48 sts)
7. (A) SC all
8. (A) DC All
9. (A) SC all
10. (C) DC 6, DC2tog across (42 sts)
11. (C) SC 5, SC2tog across (36sts)
12. (B) DC, DC2tog across (24 sts)
13. (B) SC 2, SC2tog across (18 sts)
14. (A) DC3tog across (6 sts)
15. (A) SC across (6 sts)