UhlissaKnits

Ive finished my first project that I cast on this year and I officially love two at a time knitting! My goal was to get these done today,  but they went so quickly that I finished last night! I stayed up a little late,  but it's hard to go to sleep when you get to the toe decreases.  The strong heel turned out a little looser than I had hoped,  and there a couple of spots where the laddering is pretty bad,  but overall I'm very happy and have been enjoying wearing them all morning.   Pattern:  sumu  by Joanna Ignatius  Yarn: Leading Men Fiber Arts  Show Stopper Cast on: January 14th Cast off: January 30th I enjoyed the pattern,  but I absolutely loved working with this yarn. I have worked with one of Leading Men's other bases on a half finished sock project and enjoyed it then too. Their products are great and I'm looking forward to trying some of the other bases and colors I have stashed. I also have a few more of Joanna's simple and gorgeou

Somehow it's already the end of January! This is a very busy time in my non-knitting life, so not much to report this week.  My Sumu  socks are finally looking like socks! I finished the heels last night, and I'm still fascinated by this technique. There is no heel flap and no picking up stitches. The gusset is increased while you continue to knit in the round. Only a small heel turn is done flat and then you return to knitting in the round for the decreases. I think this was a great technique to try with my first two at a time socks.  I'd like to get these done this weekend and I'm feeling pretty optimistic.  The insole pattern has become very intuitive and the bottom of the foot is plain,  which will go much faster than the back of the leg. The back leg pattern was mostly 1x1 ribbing,  but there is a textured pattern down the middle.  It took me almost the whole leg to get the hang of it, and even then I had to double check the pattern constant

Between  how much fun I had with my first MKAL and my newfound love of shawls, I found myself joining just about every shawl MKAL that popped up in the last few months. I've been remotely reasonable by skipping things involving beads,  lace or particularly weird shapes that really didn't interest me. As I participated in more and more knitalongs (mystery or not), I felt like I was learning more about knitting from other participants than I had managed to teach myself in all my years of knitting.  The sense of community is definitely a major part of the magic. I have also discovered several designers whose patterns I really enjoy because they happened to be hosting KALs in the midst of my obsession.   Garden Variety MKAL by Lisa Ross and Secret Life of Cats (and dogs) by Casapinka The problem with obsession is that it can lead to feeling overextended and add stress to what is supposed to be a fun, relaxing hobby. I started to feel this way while doing some

I've considered myself primarily a sock knitter for as long as I can remember.  I've branched out plenty of times,  but since I made my first pair of socks in 2007, they've been my favorite thing to make. Granted,  I have quite a pile of lonely socks,  because I've long suffered from second sock syndrome, but what sock knitter hasn't? I get excited about the next pattern and different yarns and the next new thing to try or learn.   After last year's foray into shawls and knit alongs, I decided to focus this year on socks. I have found myself getting dressed in the morning and struggling to remember to throw on a shawl or scarf, even though I love the ones I've made and want them to see the light of day.  However,  I haven't had that problem with handmade socks. The struggle there is which pair to wear or whether a specific pair can survive another day without a wash. It feels completely logical to focus my knitting energy back on socks. I have a few non-

As things started to shut down last spring due to the pandemic,  I was still going to work every day,  but I suddenly had much more time to spend at home.  I don't know if I was just looking for something to do,  or if finally starting to organize my craft room in the new house inspired me,  but I decided to knit a pair of socks.  I had barely knit anything the last few years,  and I realized I missed it. Before I got very far into that first sock, my boyfriend asked if they could be for him. I was torn. I'd been very excited about the pattern and one of the skeins of yarn had moved with me for over a decade.  It felt like a very special project,  but after some internal debate,  I realized he was absolutely deserving of a very special project.    Pattern: Losanges Socks  Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss and Dream in Color Smooshy When I finished his socks,  I made myself a (very different) pair. Then I started spending all my time on   ravelry  I'd always used the sit

In college and for a few years after, a friend and I maintained a knitting blog. No one but us ever looked at it,  but I fondly remember the entertainment it brought us.  A few months ago,  after I had started knitting consistently again, I got the urge to revisit that blog. I even posted to it for the first time in a decade. I made grand plans to update it regularly, but after a few weeks of procrastination and reflection,  I decided that if I wanted to blog, it was time to move on and find a new home for my writing,  just as my friend and I had moved on in our lives. So, I find myself here with a blank canvas and so many thoughts about how to fill it. This is definitely a project I'm undertaking for myself, to give myself an outlet and hopefully a place to document memories that I will be able to look back on fondly one day as I've recently looked back on the days of dorm room knitting and scouring campus for the best places to photograph finished projects.   xo uhlissa