Pregnancy Socks for my Big Fat Foot

So, obviously I made these socks a while ago because I have a child tumbling around my house somewhere these days. A big hearty baby. That baby is also my excuse for not making more stuff and not blogging recently. But you guys know, I’m always full of excuses. I’m just hoping a baby is a good enough excuse that you might buy it this time? Maybe? Naww, you know me too well.

Yikes! I bet you didn’t expect to see a scary picture of some swollen feet but well, I tried to warn you with the title. I had one big fat foot when I was pregnant. The other one was just kind of squishy. But the right one got out of control. My OB actually poked it at one point and said, “is this thing alright?”

It had gotten to the point of being a thing and was no longer a foot.

Also, I was freezing all winter! It was really kind of irritating when we would take the hospital tours and the tour guides would make jokes about how all pregnant women want to live in ice chests because of how hot they got. They just loved painting these pictures of women only being happy giving birth in snow banks.

I made this ridiculous decision to knit myself some socks. Even though it takes me forever to knit anything, I went ahead and knit these and even made one bigger in the foot to compensate for the swelling. The pattern is Wedge by Cookie A and even just in the medium, the pattern makes one huge sock! For the second sock, I actually stopped doing the wedge pattern in the foot and decreased a bunch of stitches. I did this for two reasons:

1. A more snug fit for my foot that wasn’t out of control huge. It made that regular foot feel like the real winner.
2. I’m always knitting these socks and having a ton of yarn left over. So for once I was like, I’ll knit the longer sock and win! Only I was sweating bullets on the second sock because it was clear I wasn’t going to have enough yarn. I ended up with the tiniest bit left when I was done.

I knit this in Abstract Fiber, in the Portland colorway, which a friend convinced me to branch out and try something that wasn’t in my usual color palette. I’m glad that I did! But they really aren’t ‘me’. So, it was a good experiment because being pregnant wasn’t really ‘me’ either. I didn’t feel like myself. I still don’t, I’m trying to get used to being a mom.

At first I was like, what am I going to do with one huge sock? But I figure that foot will end up being extra toasty when I wear two socks under it next winter.

Sometimes, it really helps to do the stuff that you did before, that made you feel normal, you know? Like neglecting my blog. Or doing a kickass podcast with a friend.

Then there’s reading books about impotent 30-something dudes who suck but you’re kind of rooting for…? Is anyone else tired of that trope in media lately? If I have to hear about one more dissatisfied white dude who feels out of it, I may snap. (Obviously, I wasn’t a huge fan of Gone Girl.)

Missed you!

April socks and showers

Here in the heart of it all we have been getting record rain falls. I only say it like that because that’s how our banks’ appraiser put it when he observed “minor dampness” in our future basement. In fact, he only had really awesome things to say about our future house. Everyone who goes through it says the same thing: “Wow, this house is actually kind of amazing. Not what I was expecting at all.” Which doesn’t offend me any- it’s a grower not a shower.

This record rain fall has made it pretty damn hard for me to take a picture of April’s socks. But I want you to witness- they happened. They exist and are a real thing. Maybe they look familiar to you? That’s because I gave up on them in a frustrated rage a year (or so) ago. Why? Because I fucked up. I mean, there’s no other way of putting this one. I made a big mistake and it wasn’t one I could just ‘walk off’ if you will. (Get it, because they’re socks and you walk in them? Save me from myself, someone, please!)

I did the exact wrong stitch down at the bottom there. Well here it was, a week before April was going to end and I was like, oh crap, socks! I need a sock. So I decided to make a mate to one of my orphan socks and was like, screw it, I’ll just leave it all messed up looking and just make a second sock.

When it came time to making the sock though, I couldn’t purposely mess it up to match the other one. It looked too good the right way. So, against my normal will and philosophy of ‘fuck it, whatever’ I actually went back and fixed the first broke ass sock. Are you proud of me society? You better be.

I love sitting on stairs. Is there anyone else out there who understands this weird love of mine? I’ll just sit at the top of the stairs and hang out a few minutes sometimes. Think about random things. Sometimes I ask John to sit next to me and have a conversation for a few minutes. He’s such a sweet guy, John. He obliges most, if not all, of my weird requests/whims/fancies.

One summer when I was growing up my cousins were visiting from Minnesota. Which was pretty odd- they never came here, I usually went there. But I remember they were babysitting me at one point and we seemed to get bored really easily that summer. So they devised a ‘roller coaster’ for me that basically involved me sitting in a milk crate on a blanket that they pushed down the stairs. I think they put a bike helmet of me for good measure. But that roller coaster never came to its full potential for whatever reason.

Actually I was a a fan of that summer because one of my cousins taught me how to pick the locks in the house using bobby pins. Another one of them blew out my dad’s stereo.

Say hi to your mother for me.

Struggles and Triumphs

It’s funny really. Actually, I seem to saying that quite a bit lately even though funny isn’t how people describe these scenarios. Pretty much everything is funny to me lately. However, the current thing that I’m laughing about are the socks that I did in March.

Possibly the most knit socks to ever exist. Cookie A.’s Monkey socks. Using the Knit Picks Stroll in canopy tonal that I had in my stash. I was so excited to use this yarn but I don’t use much multicolored yarn that often. Or at all really. I’ve seen it go bad for a lot of people with a weird pattern or weird striping and I can’t stand pooling, so I tend to stick to solids or semi-solids. Still I loved the green of this yarn, so I threw my cares to the wind and went with it.

Well, I posted earlier this month, I had to frog my first attempt right before the heel because they were just way too big. I ended up going down to a size zero and now I’m feeling really good about these socks.

They ended up striping up really nicely! Originally they were pooling in kind of weird ways. So I guess from now on, when that happens I should take it as a sign that I’m doing something wrong.

Despite having to rip out and getting really frustrated (0′s are really small, okay?!) these were the quickest socks I’ve knit up so far. Maybe it was the yarn, or the pattern or my sheer determination to dominate these socks but I finished them with a week and a half to spare in the month.

Although I had kind of a scary thought. Since I’ve been wearing my knit socks, I’ve noticed that they really start to get baggy after some time wearing them. About an hour or so into wearing my socks they start to slouch off my feet. (Does anyone else have this problem?) These socks were a little snug but I’m hoping they’ll actually stay up/on. Otherwise, I realized, maybe I don’t really even like knit socks. (*gasp* *shock* *thud*)

Cold hard facts

When I started out this month I asked John if I should make some fingerless gloves instead of a pair of socks. He said that I should make the gloves because I’ve made so many socks already. At first I was like, totally, right on. Then I sat down and faced the cold hard facts:

No, I haven’t.

If you count last month’s, I have knit seven pairs of socks. Two were gifts. One for my mom and one for my Granma. Out of the five that I have kept for myself,

four of them are blue. The one that is not blue has blue in it. I think the only reason I was second guessing myself on this month is because the yarn I picked is definitely not blue.

This yarn makes me think of butterscotch, which, due to sentimental reasons, will always be one of my favorite flavors out there.

The pattern is Fox Faces by Nancy Bush and man, have I bitched about this pattern. Sorry people at knitting. Well, sorry everyone lately. I bet my bitching has been unbearable.

Despite my general pissy mood and some weird random crap that has happened lately, I’m really proud that I managed to finish another pair of socks. I always start out with these big ideas for the year and once I have achieved one milestone, I tend to fall apart. Hopefully I won’t do that this coming month, although I can already feel excuses gestating inside of me. Waiting to burst forth, kind of like

*cough* So anyways, yaaaay! Socks! Also, yay for not blue. How many more pairs of not blue socks do I need to make before people will stop making fun of me only making blue stuff? I hope it’s not many because most of the stuff in my stash is blue.

Give ‘em the boot, right in the fruit.

 

January, you are such a hater.

I love how we all start these resolutions in January, which happens to be a total love/happiness/energy killer. It sneaks up all stealth on people too. Right after the holidays, you have this sense of awesome new beginning with New Years or maybe you’re thinking good riddance- still, there’s all that newness to look forward to. Then the cold sucks. The snow happens. Your car breaks down and if your cat is anything like mine then January is a total cat vomit extravaganza. Gross.

Still, I’m trying to stay strong and keep up with my resolution of knitting from my stash. So here’s my FO for this hater of a month:

Kalajoki [rav link]. I knit these with some beautiful Lorna’s Laces. According to that blog entry, I’ve had this yarn in my stash for three years and I honestly don’t know what I’ve been waiting for. Although it’s a surprisingly thin wool. These socks came out pretty light weight and sporty. I’d knit with the yarn before but I sent the finished project to my Granma.

This was my first time with a sock pattern that had an anatomical toe. Meaning I knit differently for the left and right sock and the toes are angled either to the left or right accordingly. While they look cool on…

They look really stupid off. They come to a really crappy point at the end of the toe and then sort of puff out at the foot giving it the same silhouette as a row boat that a kid would draw. I had some problems with the pattern. It wasn’t a bad pattern or anything and was definitely great for being free. However some things just weren’t spelled out enough for me. I was increasing wrong at first and it was making big holes. Then all the stitches fell off my needles (damn you double points!) and I had to rip back to the ribbing anyways. A sort of hidden blessing in the middle of my curses.

Eh, whatever. That’s how I’m feeling toward most things right now and these socks aren’t getting any special treatment. I’m trying to decide what socks to knit for February. Anyone have some that are must knits?

Two Cookies, no fat

You really can’t listen to anything I say. When I say I won’t post in November because I’m writing, well that’s a lie. Because once I announce anything to the World that automagically kills it. My life is amazing like that. I can’t post a book I’m reading on Goodreads or I suddenly become illiterate. I can’t tell you all about upcoming projects or I’ll probably accidentally set fire to all my yarn or something. *ohdeargodnoknockonwood*

I have a sweet internet buddy who I’m friends with on Ravelry. She made some super sexy mitts so I messaged her and when she messaged back she asked, still no wips?

Well crap, I guess not. Everything I’ve worked on has been dormant or it’s super quick and not really a work in progress so much as just happening. However I did finally bind off on a new sock and it was a new technique and everything. Elizabeth Zimmerman’s sewn bind off. Which I heard from Michelle, the sock queen, is a good way to bind off your toe up socks. Who knew?

Leaving me with two Cookie A. socks. Both without mates and they’re probably not going to get them any time soon. On the left is Rick, which I started this summer but got bummed out on. On the right is my recently finished Hedera. While I love the pattern and I love the Cherry Tree Hill yarn, I don’t think the two sit well with each other.

Plus the two together make me think of Christmas and the knitting I should do for that which makes me want to barf.

Also thanks a lot Fall for making the sun go away so early so I can’t get any good pictures outside anymore.

I did finish my first gift… but it’s for my mom and since she’s kind of picky about things, I probably won’t give it to her since it’s huge and she’s tiny and she probably won’t like it. FAIL.

Since I’ve never seen my mom wear a hat in the Winter, I decided to make her a head band. Well I restarted this sucker a few times because it was HUUUUGGGGGEEE. Even modified it’s still freaking gigantic. However, the Malabrigo was nice to work with, despite it being wool and the pattern is cool: Calorimetry. That is, if you’re into huge ass head bands. Which I think I kind of am. Huh.

cherry poppin socks

Before I ran off to join the circus I actually finished some knitting. Lately though, me saying I finished anything sounds like a damn dirty lie. It would probably sound more realistic if I told you I stole these from somebody who was incapacitated, which is what I actually did.

Spring Forward in some beautiful and amazing Malabrigo sock. I freaking love these socks!

Although I kind of jumped the shark on them. See, I was so excited because I tried out some new techniques on these. I made them using magic loop, which I’d never done. I did them toe up! Two at a time even. See, I had one skein of Malabrigo so I didn’t know how much yarn I really had or how long I could make them. So doing two at a time made sense, otherwise it would suck if I made one really long sock and then ran out of yarn for the second and had a midget sock. It would be like when Eric and Bill interact:

I think I would have resented the midget sock. Much like I resent Bill.

I also (thanks to Julie) made a short row heel! Which was really nice and I think I might be a convert.

So I was super excited about these socks because I felt like I achieved so much with them. In my haste I cast off and foolishly wove in the ends for the first sock. Because what could go wrong, right? Well it was soooopa tight. That k1tbl, p1 ribbing just doesn’t work with my calves that are what? Freakishly huge? Too big to wear boots anyways. (However I believe most, if not all boots are made for people with tiny children legs. These are people I’m not friends with because that’s just creepy. I’d rather have man legs than tiny children legs.)

Anyways, it was tight. I was disheartened. It took me a long time to pick them back up and fix them. Which made me realize: knitting has shown me that I’m not a fixer. If it’s broken, who cares? I sure as hell don’t.

So yeah: pattern, super awesome. Yarn, super nice. Together… I think it looks like water. I like it when my knitting comes together like that.

On your toes yet? I am!

I’m in love with these which leads to a very lame post. Knitting needs more angst than just “oh I love you so much knitting, let me tell you how much I love you.” I’m sorry, I’ll try to deliver with like a sweater or a puppet or something.

Gratuitious Knit Shots

So yeah, I probably shouldn’t post pictures since they’re all “half done” and that’s what really ruins the full done effect since it’s like… yeah so? We’ve already seen a million pictures of that torturous lace. But I feel like I’ve been running dry around here lately. Maybe it’s because it’s been a year since I started this thing and I only have a year in me per blog. If that. o__O

Or maybe it’s because I’m l-a-z-y. Either way, here are my half done shots:

I’m loving the pattern… about two repeats back though I realized, you know what would have made this better? If I’d held the yarn double. Also, it would have made lace better for me in general if I didn’t have the attention span of a goldfish. Er, whoops. There are some big mistakes… but I’m thinking this scarf/stole thing is big enough that in the end it seriously doesn’t matter.

Okay, so this sock is kind of funny. It’s another mystery sock from Temptations. Called “Fade Away”. Well, I decided I’d finally really knit something for my mom. I always start out knitting stuff for her and then something big and dramatic happens and then next thing you know, the project doesn’t get finished… or it does and goes in the projects I hate but won’t get rid of pile. (Which resides under the bed with about two pounds of cat hair.)

Well socks are a different story. With socks they’re such a labor, even if they’re fun and you love them that you have to give them to that person… because they’re that persons size and it’s weird to hang onto socks that don’t fit you. So I’m playing fast and loose with the yarn because I’m like, she has a small foot, what’s the big deal? The picture isn’t representative but the foot, although when measured it’s an inch smaller than my foot, which is her size… actually fits me perfectly and looks like a monster foot compared to what my moms foot looks like.

At least it’s wool, it’ll shrink. I’m still just like WTF? That could be yarn that I could have saved! Because now I’m cutting it real real real close on this second sock. Real close.

Oh yeah… I had delusions of grandeur that I’d knit John a sweater for Christmas. Then his mom gave me a whole list of things that everyone would like to have and I’m like… well, I need an after Christmas project… right? Plus it doesn’t get super freaking cold until January anyways, amiright?

Anyways, it was my friend Heather’s last day at work last week and it made us all really sad because she rocks. Luckily we made a sweet ass friendship that should hopefully survive. (*knock on wood*) Anyways, since we’re obsessed with Sonic tots, we made our boss an honorary tot member:

He looks super freaking stoked, right? MonsterTot and FrankenTot.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

For my Irish Valentine <3

I know it’s a day early but I figured, hey, I’m thinking about it, so I should probably do a post before I get back in bed and overdose on antibiotics. (I have the strep, like I get every year. This year I preemptive striked it by seeing a new doctor near our new place who wears some really swanky shoes. However, it was not preemptive enough apparently.)

Pattern: Be My Dishcloth by Kristen Patay

Yarn: Lily Sugar ‘n Cream solid in green

I don’t know how smart it is to knit a dishcloth for a boy for Valentine’s day. He’s such a weird boy that I’m hoping he’ll see it and say it’s the most perfect gift he’s ever gotten. However, I’m sure he would rather have an XBOX 360. Although in my mind, they’re pretty much the same thing, only this is useful. Poor guy. (We got the tulips at the grocery store the other day, they’re my favorite flower! I don’t know if it’s because I think they’re pretty, I’m pretty sure it’s because I think they’re smart.)

Also, this one has been brewing for a while but just in case she ever checks this blog (which I’m pretty sure she doesn’t) I didn’t want to put up the pictures of them finished. So here are the socks I knit for my Granma, she got them in time for Valentine’s Day!

Pattern: Hedera by Cookie A.

Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Sock in Periwinkle.

This was an edge of the seat nail biter type knit because I was so paranoid that they wouldn’t fit. That she’d be allergic to the wool. That I’d accidentally knit in one of those seven year chain mail curses and then she’d have to send socks out to fifteen people or it would be seven years of raining toads or something. Because… that happens all the time, right?

However, she maintains that she loves them:

My poor aunt Gerri got suckered into taking this picture and sending it to me.

socks! in! action!

Oh man, just typing that has taken all of my energy. (Also, I’m going to randomly insert here that my aunt Gerri is married to my uncle Tom. How freaking cool is that? Tom and Gerri, I love it!)

As for the socks, they were a great knit once I finally decided to set the shawl aside and just focus on the socks to get them done before Valentine’s day as a nice sort of present. I of course can see all the mistakes (especially the row where I don’t know what I was doing but it certainly wasn’t the pattern!) but Granma maintains that I’m the best knitter in the world and she’s proud of me, so… I guess I really can’t disagree with the woman.

Sax was irritated I got in the way of her silhouette campaign photo.

Socks, a dishcloth- whoa. I guess February really is the month to get thangs done. Like sleeping, I think I’ll get that done right now.

Go Team Venture!

This weekend has been up and down. However, I did manage to finish my FIRST pair of socks. Hoo yeah!

SHPLADOW!

Actually, knitting socks was weird. I definitely did feel my interest waning during the second sock. Although to be fair that second sock had it out for me. If you look at the socks together, you’d think the second sock was the first since it looks so wack.

(which do you think I made first?)

Either way, I feel super accomplished. Although it’s made me wonder, what next? I’m tired of the big project. I think we’ve given ourselves a ‘whenever the hell it gets done’ deadline on that sucker. So that leaves things wide open. Gloves for John’s mom? Dad’s hat? I’ve been thinking about finally knitting that turtle. He called to me last night said “You know you want to knit me and when I exist, you can call me Archibald.”

Thanks Baldy.

Also, here’s me and my new best friend:

My mom wants to borrow my car.

Edit: I just decided to edit this and not complain like a whiney complainer. I’m having troubles with my mom and I think I’m going to talk to her about it tomorrow. Because supposedly I’m an adult and that’s what we do, we talk about things.

At least Jessica and Joey’s party was a lot of fun:

Most of the men folk. We played Apples to Apples for at least three hours. Seriously. It was some xhardxcorex game playing. I was seriously winning, then everyone turned against me, as they typically do when you’re winning and they wouldn’t let the game end until someone had more than me. However, after the game ended, Jessica was looking at the rules and it said the first person to 8 won, so IN YOUR FACE SUCKERS! Ha! I’m a totally gracious winner.