Month / January 2019

by TechnicolorMom

Frog or Finish: Part 1

Pairs two and three for January! Bicycle Socks (yellow) and Creeping Kudzu (purple).

I am a process knitter. That means that when I knit, I do so for the enjoyment of the project. It also means that I end up with a few unfinished objects or works in progress that end up languishing in a project bag or my yarn dresser for a long period of time, some never to be finished. I’ve just lost the motivation, or the joy, or whatever it was that made me start knitting that project to begin with.

I’d like to change that. I’d like to either finish the project or free the yarn and needles so I can use them for something else. My husband, Technicooldad, and I have differing opinions on this — he thinks that I should just finish it so I can move on to the next thing. After all, I can always buy more yarn. I struggle with this. I want my knitting experiences to be fun, relaxing, and engaging. If I’m bored, frustrated, stressed out, or not having fun, then why am I even doing it?

My goal here is not to force myself to finish projects. Instead, I’m hoping to remember why it was that I cast on that project to begin with. Each month, I’ll select a project from my pile of WIPS and decide what to do with it. Some of them will be easy. I have a couple of pairs of socks that literally just need to have the ends woven in. Some just need photos so I can feel like my Ravelry page is complete. But some will take more work. (Here’s looking at you, Hue Shift Afghan!)

Things I’ll consider:

  • How much of the project is complete vs. not complete?
  • Am I able to finish the project? Do I still have the materials required for it? Does the project even live with me anymore?
  • What will I do with it once I’m finished?
  • Why did I start the project to begin with? What did I love about it?
  • Why did I stop? Was I frustrated with it, or did I get distracted?
Finished Bicycle Socks!

For January, I’m pulled out my Bicycle Socks. I started on these August 1, 2018 as part of the 2018 Tour De Sock, which is hosted on Ravelry. The Tour raises money for Doctors Without Borders. Designers donate patterns, knitters pay an entry fee, and everyone has a blast in the competition. My socks were over 75% complete. The first one was done, and the heel had already been turned and gusset decreased on the second.

I still had all of the materials, Three Irish Girls Adorn Sock in Cian that I had purchased from my LYS, Eat.Sleep.Knit. I’m planning to gift these socks to an aunt whose favorite color is yellow for her birthday. I love the cable details in the pattern. So why did I stop? Well, I didn’t finish them in time for that stage of the tour, and the next stage was starting, so I needed to move on to another project. That’s ok, because I picked them back up this month on January 21, 2019.

It didn’t take me long to finish these (January 24, 2019), and I’m so glad that I did. Aren’t these so cool? You can find the Bicycle Race socks by Heidi Nick pattern on Ravelry. This is definitely a focus-and-pay-attention type of knit, but the end product is worth it!

My Chiaogoo 2.25 mm 40″ fixed circulars and my green ESK bag have officially been released back into the wild! Will you join me in choosing to Frog or Finish? Do you have any languishing WIPs that need to be finished? Next month, I’ll be working on my Lagertha Socks (pattern by Melissa Beyer) and freeing up my blue ESK bag!

by TechnicolorMom

Friendship is Magic Sock KAL

Hello, fellow knitters! I’ve been loving everyone’s #makenine2019 posts on Instagram. I haven’t been able to choose just nine projects to make for the year because I want to cast on ALL the THINGS, but there is one set of items that I know I’d like to knit up this year: the My Little Pony – inspired self-striping colorways by String Theory Colorworks.

My plan is to knit up the socks inspired by the Mane 6 during 2019:

  • Rarity – Gemology
  • Twilight Sparkle – Crepuscular
  • Rainbow Dash – Dispersion
  • Fluttershy – Signalling Theory
  • Applejack – Malic Acid
  • Pinkie Pie – Salvinorin A

And a little bird told me that she is working on a Celestia-themed colorway as well.

Apple Jack’s colorway: String Theory Colorworks in Malic Acid

Friendship is so important, and I’ve felt like the knitting community has been a huge source of camaraderie and fun for me. I want it to be that way for everyone! So, let’s share the kindness, generosity, loyalty, honesty, laughter, and magic with everyone.

I would love for you all to join me in this endeavor! You don’t, of course, have to use the String Theory yarns (Yarn Cafe Creations has a set as well), but I would love for you to choose a colorway or pattern that you think represents each of the Ponies and their Elements of Harmony: Generosity, Magic, Loyalty, Kindness, Honesty, and Laughter and knit a pair of socks with it.

We’ll plan to run the knit-along (KAL) from now until December 31, 2019. You can enter as many or as few socks as you’d like, so long as they fit in with the Ponies and their Elements! Works in progress count as well, as long as you still have some knitting to do. To enter, share your finished object on Instagram with the tag #FriendshipIsMagicSockKAL2019 and tell which Pony or Theme you are representing. You’ll get an extra entry for sharing a collage picture of all of your Mane 6 socks together. (Feel free to use the tags for your in-progress pics as well and tag me @technicolormom in your posts!)

Here’s my first pair for the year: Rarity! Rarity is my spirit pony. She is generous, creative, and doesn’t really care for camping or getting dirty. I used Susan B. Anderson’s Smooth Operator Socks pattern for mine. This is a great basic sock, and excellent if you are looking for a vanilla sock with an afterthought heel. The mini-skeins in the String Theory Inertia sets are quite generous (25 g), and I was able to get an extra-long cuff and toe out of mine and had about 3″ to spare.

Rarity Socks in String theory Colorworks Gemology

Prizes! For this KAL, I’ll put together a little prize to include a skein of Celestia’s themed sock yarn, a coordinating mini skein, and some other goodies.

What do you think? Will you join me for the Friendship is Magic Sock KAL of 2019? Any questions? I’m happy to answer them!

Where to shop? I purchased about half of my friendship yarns directly from String Theory, and the other half from Eat.Sleep.Knit (my LYS with super-fast shipping). I use the Inertia Sock Sets for all of mine. Again, you can shop anywhere you want and use any yarn/pattern you like, as long as you follow one (or more) of the friendship themes.