You know how you're supposed to be wearing a mask when you're around other people?  And you know how you are an awesome person and are totally doing that because you are not a selfish asshole?*  Right, well there's absolutely nothing that says you can't turn the whole mask thing into an absurd craft project.  I did, and it was fun! I started by buying a 50 pack of very boring white cotton masks.  I got these (amazon links are affiliate links), but these and these and these look similar in case they're out of stock (just make sure they're [...]

On Monday we talked a bit about yarn and gauge for thick socks, and for the rest of the week I’ll be showing off some of my personal favorites. These are Truckle, they are just the thing for when you want miles of stockinette, but also need just a little something to keep you engaged, and they’re 25% off on ravelry with the code SUMMER SCHOOL through the end of the day, eastern time, Friday July 10. I knit these years ago when I had a terrible flu.  Well no, I didn't knit these...these ones in the pictures were knit [...]

On Monday we talked a bit about yarn and gauge for thick socks, and for the rest of the week I'll be showing off some of my personal favorites. These are Afshari.  They have some truly delightful textured stitches on the cuff, and they're 25% off on ravelry with the code SUMMER SCHOOL through the end of the day, eastern time, Thursday July 9. Look, some folks really truly feel like there's no point in putting the fancy bits on the part of the sock that hangs out in your shoe all day.  And some folks have very sensitive skin [...]

On Monday we talked a bit about yarn and gauge for thick socks, and for the rest of the week I'll be showing off some of my personal favorites. These are Marooned.  They are the perfect way to spotlight beautiful hand dyed yarns (those floats break up pooling and give the yarn extra room to shine), and they're 25% off on ravelry with the code SUMMER SCHOOL through the end of the day, eastern time, Wednesday July 8. I finished these almost exactly seven years ago, they are one of my favorite (read 'most worn') pairs, and they are still [...]

On Monday we talked a bit about yarn and gauge for thick socks, and for the rest of the week I'll be showing off some of my personal favorites. These are Wrack.  They are ridiculously mellow (I find myself rather drawn to mellow knitting right now), and they're 25% off on ravelry with the code SUMMER SCHOOL through the end of the day, eastern time, Tuesday July 7. I knit this pair in Squoosh Aran by Skeinny Dipping.  Yup socks in aran weight yarn.  And yup, I worked at 7 stitches per inch.  The result is socks that are amazingly [...]

You are the boss of your socks.  And if you want thick and cozy socks, you can have them (even if the sock pattern you're working with is intended for more traditional socks).  Because you are the boss of your socks, and you get what you want.  All you have to do is pick the right yarn and work the right gauge.  Let's break it down. Yarn If you're going to knit thick socks you're going to need thick yarn.  Seems simple enough, right?  But you still need your thick sock yarn it to do all the things you'd want [...]

We did this last year and it was kind of fun, so I'm doing it again.  We're holding summer school.  Instead of bringing out new patterns this month, I'm going to take shameless advantage of my ability to hold forth on knitted socks and just sort of natter on about them at alarming length. I'll pick a different topic each week.  We'll start by talking about how to make your socks extra thick and cozy (which is secretly an excuse to talk about picking suitable sock yarns and checking gauge and doing a bit of math...but I promise it won't [...]

So I couldn't just do the hat and be done with it.  I tried. I really did.  But I know myself and I know I'll be happier with a set.  So here we are.  This is Predilection, it's the companion to Proclivity, and you can take 10% off on ravelry for the next day or two with the code FONDNESS. It uses that same so mellow it almost distracts you from the news for a minute stitch that worked so well on the hat.  But it adds in something special on the thumb. Now, the tradeoff for that amazing thumb [...]

I'll give them this...they're fast. It could be that I just needed to see that thumb done so I could gaze upon it in wonder and delight. Or it could be that the thick yarn and stretchy stitch pattern mean I only need 32 stitches in a round.  Either way, these just flew. Pattern should be out next week assuming nothing goes pear shaped between now and then (yeah, yeah that sound you hear in the background is 2020 laughing at us and our plans, I know it). And yeah, I know I don't normally do patterns quite this late [...]