My First Socks, Holiday Knitting, and Learning to Slow Down

I am having a hard time accepting that today is already December ninth. It feels like Thanksgiving just happened. When you are young, the days seem to last forever, and you do not always appreciate the reason for the holidays. Now, as an adult and a mom, it feels like everything moves too fast, and I am missing so much.

I think part of it is because Thanksgiving came late this year, and part of it is simply that my boys are growing up so fast. I truly love this time of year, and I am okay with slowing down and turning down a few events. The only thing I do not love is all the colds and virus-type things that seem to come with the season. This year, we have been hit hard. Our oldest started kindergarten this year and brought home every bug imaginable. On Thanksgiving, he had a fever, and we found out a few days later that he had pneumonia and bronchitis. Then the two-year-old got it. When my kids are sick, not much gets done around our house. Even so, I have been working on my socks when I can.

The pattern incorporates the Fish Lips Kiss Heel, written by Sox Therapist. It is very easy once you understand how it works, and the designer does a great job explaining it. Watching the videos included with the pattern is very helpful.

These are my first socks ever, and I am learning a lot along the way. The project is called Caffe Macchiato by Marian Moldan, and you can find the pattern here:
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/caffe-macchiato

I am knitting these socks using US 2 needles, 2.75 mm, and doing magic loop with some needles that I bought from the LYS. 

For the main sock, I am using Wisdom Yarns Marathon Socks in the North Pole colorway called Balsam Fir. I purchased it at Tuesday Morning in Mississippi while visiting my parents, which makes ita special memory yarn. This yarn stripes beautifully and has the perfect amount of sparkle, but it does tend to split and lose its twist at times.

Because I have rather large feet, I was worried about running out of yarn, so I decided to use a contrasting color for the heels. For that, I am using Red Heart Heart and Sole With Aloe in Ivory, which I purchased at Hobby Lobby on November sixteenth. I really like the feel of this yarn. You can actually feel the aloe in it, which is a treat for my hands, and it has held up well with no splitting so far.

I started these socks on November fifth, and I restarted them several times while learning magic loop. I am doing these as part of a knit along, with the Knitting in Circles Podcast group KAL for November. I find that once I get the rhythm down, socks are actually very enjoyable.

Here are a few things I have learned while knitting my first pair of socks.

Know how many stitches you need to cast on. Swatching matters, even though we all cringe at the word. If I had swatched first, I would have known to cast on sixty-four stitches instead of seventy-two and to use a US 2 instead of a US 0.

Know your yarn. Some yarns stretch more than others, and that makes a big difference with socks.

Read your pattern all the way through before you begin. My toes are not perfect, but I fudged them enough to make them work.

Keep notes on any changes you make so you can repeat them, especially if you are a multi-project person.

Know where to look for answers, and do not be afraid to ask. Use the web, blogs, designers, and social media.

I really enjoy this project and hope to have these socks finished by Christmas Eve.

You can see all of the project details and progress photos on my Ravelry project page here:
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/yarning4asmile/caffe-macchiato

I also want to share a quick update and ask for a little help. I am entered in a blog contest, and I would really appreciate your vote. Please visit the following link, scroll until you see my sock, and click on the little heart. Thank you so much for the support and hugs.
http://www.favecraftsblog.com/christmas-craft-blog-hop-vote/

I have also been working on a few other projects. I just started a TMNT plush for my hubby using the TMNT Plush pattern by Matthew Gravelyn. I have only completed a few rounds so far, but you can follow along here until the next post:
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/yarning4asmile/tmnt-plush

I have done a little spinning as well. I spun a two-ounce sample called Rainbow from Luthvarian, which I received when I purchased a batt from her Etsy shop. I spun it using my MockingJay spindle from Spinatude. I ended up with about thirty-four yards and plan to turn it into a little bunny using a pattern by Rebecca Danger. I love her designs, and you can see the pattern here:
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library

That pretty much wraps up my holiday needlecraft projects for the month. We have also been doing simple projects with the boys like painting and decorating foam ornaments, and this week we are making shrinky dink ornaments. I am very excited about that.

If I do not post again before then, I hope you have a lovely holiday season and a very Merry Christmas. Thanks so much for stopping by, and happy yarning.