Making the Easy Peasy Sock - In Progress

One of my goals for 2013 is to knit my first pair of socks using DPNS. I cast on Sunday night using the Easy Peasy Socks for First-Timers pattern. I knew about this pattern because I follow the designer (FreshStitches). But, there are a lot of reasons why I chose this one:

1. It uses worsted weight yarn, so that means the project moves along quicker than a traditional sock/fingering-weight yarn.
2. The pattern guides and explains each section you will complete. 
3. There are helpful tips on every page.
4. A note toward the beginning says that this is more like a written class on sock-making with Stacey than it is a pattern.

I am still working on my first sock, but I really wanted to share the progress!

I cast on Sunday night for this sock. Then, I got to this point where the pattern says:

Put up a do-not-disturb sign, and let your loved ones fend for themselves. It's heel-turning time, and you mustn't be bothered.

I love little notes like that! It's sort of saying, "Hey first-timer! Yeah, You! Pay extra attention that you don't get lost in this section! Capiche?"

With that, I left my sock in this state Sunday night:

Turning the Heel

I spent my lunch break Monday turning the heel and setting up my knitting needles for the next section of the pattern. I adjusted my stitches to have an equal number on the left/right needles and the remaining needle was left as it had been all along. When I did this, a little sailboat emerged.

Sailing, Sailing on...Sailing, sailing on...

I finished the gusset yesterday. Don't know what a gusset is? Guess what?! This pattern explains all those terms! Like I said, it's more than a pattern. And, I bet when I move on to a "real" sock pattern, I will probably keep referring back to this pattern for all the helpful tips.

On the 4th Day of Sock-Working...

My needles brought to me: the mindless part of knitting! < I hope you were singing the 12 days of Christmas there. If not, go back and read it again, but this time sing. Maybe in your head if your coworkers might give you funny glances.

At this point, I am finally knitting around and around. I will continue in this manner until I try it on and it reaches my big toe. Then, the pattern has more fun things planned. 

In case you can't tell, I am having a lot of fun in this new knitting adventure! If you want to make a pair of socks, this pattern is a great starting point! You will learn all the basics of making your first sock and all those little questions you have are already answered in the helpful tips scattered throughout the pattern. If you have never made a sock, I hope this pushes you just a little closer to trying it.

If you want to watch the continuing saga of my little sock, check out his project page. 

Sir Dragon (Day 3)

Today was a fun family day at Brown County State Park hiking trails and we bought a little fudge and taffy at a candy shop in nearby Nashville, IN.

Tonight I worked on Sir Dragon for an hour or so after my guys were in bed. I have made lots of progress on his head and I am now working on his body. So far, I have probably spent around 3 hours on him. All of his pieces are complete and waiting to be attached to his body.

He will probably be much easier to identify the next time you see him.

Sir Dragon (Day 2)

I spent a few more hours on Sir Dragon today. Here is what he looks like now....

The Making of Sir Dragon....Day 1

During the month of September, I went on a Dragon Adventure using the Choose Your Own Dragon Adventure pattern from FreshStitches. You can read the whole dragon tale on Ravelry.

This entry still makes me laugh a little:

I've Done It Again...

It's WIP Wednesday and I just took not of all the projects I currently have in progress and I suddenly understand why I can't seem to get anything done. I have too much going on all at once.

Project 1: Mr. Bear

He's actually a specific kind of bear, but I can't show all of him until he meets his new owner. All of his pieces are complete. Now, it's just a matter of performing surgery to get him in one piece.

WIP Wednesday: Project Me

Well, it's WIP Wednesday. Normally, I would give you a glimpse of what I am working on. I have some Amigurumi animals in progress. My major WIP for right now is myself and getting me fit! This image was pinned on pinterest:

Source: Pinterest

A week passed since I first saw the pin and I decided to try it. I began yesterday.

Day 1 and 2: I repeated the process 3 times: 20 Jumping Jacks, 20 Lunges, 20 Pushups. It only took 20 minutes to do the whole thing and I was done. I definitely felt my muscles working while I was doing this and it felt great! Before bed, I noticed my abs and legs were a little sore. Awesome!

Never in my life have I ever been able to do a pushup. Seriously, I need some sort of training program to train me how to do a pushup! That being said, I am still attempting something to strengthen my core and arms. I replaced the pushups with planks. I hold them for about 5 seconds and do 4 planks per set.  If I am feeling gutsy, then I attempt something like a pushup. I think I may have done 2 real pushups yesterday, but no one witnessed it, so it's still a mystery to me.

I should have weighed in before I started yesterday, because my scale says I'm down 4 lbs today from when I weighed myself a couple of weeks ago. So, I will take today's weight as my starting weight. Let's give this a few weeks and I'll give you an honest update every week of how this is working for me. I know that these are "stretches", but it sure seems like a cardio workout to this spring chicken. lol

So, while I am crocheting away, my biggest WIP (Work in Progress) right now is me. :)

WIP Wednesday - Holy Kanoodles!

Holy kanoodles! I have a ton of projects in progress...I don't think I have ever had this much in progress all at once.

1. Sock Monkey Hat & Diaper Cover Set
2. A Pair of Barefoot Sandals
3. A Pacifier Clip (Tutorial coming soon)
4. An Amigurumi Goldfish
5. TWO Tiny Crabs
6. A fun hat with Fur
7. Two hats inspired by Hershey Kiss candy
8. Lace Pixie bonnet (not pictured)

These are the Amigurumi projects in progress:

Here is a close-up of the pacifier clip and barefoot sandals. I finished the pacifier clip during my lunch break, so technically, it is no longer a WIP. How cute would these be as a matching set as a gift? The pacifier clip will be posted as a Tutorial sometime in the month of May.

WIP Wednesday

WIP = Work In Progress

4 owls & 1 sock monkey.

The yellow character from last week is done & I posted a pic on my Facebook page.

WIP Wednesday / Wordless Wednesday

In the blog world, a lot of bloggers celebrate Wednesday with a wordless post. So, my goal for 2012 is to have wordless Wednesday where I post only a picture of the projects I am currently working on.

My phone is nearly dead, so this picture doesn't have flash. A yellow hat to make you go hmmm. The other two will become an owl & sock monkey.