DK Ribbed Sock Pattern

DK Ribbed Socks: Free pattern here.

We have a lot to catch up on. Up first and most excitingly: I finished my DK weight ribbed socks last night! The yarn has been in my stash for about a year. 

My stash

I keep my stash, minus dishcloth yarn which never counts as proper yarn stash, in this vintage crate from hubby's mom. I had to rescue it as he was going to pitch it. Can you believe it!? Back to the socks. I taught myself to knit socks two at a time. Very excited about this. I used a tutorial by verypinkknits, click here. She has great tutorials about pretty much everything knitting related.

Two at a time! Fancy filter via Instagram

Again back to the socks. I couldn't find a pattern I liked for this yarn. I didn't want anything busy because the yarn has a fair isle effect - that's fake color patterning for you non-knitters. I also NEED ribbing in my socks or I feel like I have to fight with them to stay up. Who needs to fight with their socks, right? I've knit enough socks that I know the basics: short row heel, gusset, toe shaping, etc. So, why not just make up a pattern? Here's what I did: I spent about an hour or so swatching to get the exact number of stitches I wanted and to figure out my gauge, which oddly was very, very, close to the gauge on the yarn band. When does that ever happen? Then I just kept track of what I did, typed it up, and viola! a pattern. I put it on Ravelry and am sharing it for free on my blog. Just click on the first tab under my heading. The pattern hasn't been test driven yet, so if you notice any problems please let me know.

Just click the first tab on the left called "DK Ribbed Socks"

I also put my free baby santa hat on a tab too. Since Christmas is coming...  but, let's wait until Halloween has passed to blog about it. Oh and the santa hat pattern has been test driven. Try to find the same yarn I used if you can. It's sooo soft and relatively inexpensive for a yarn shop yarn.

My first 31 party!

My next exciting news - I've become a bag lady! No pitter-patter of little feet kind of news here. Almost a month ago I joined Thirty-One as a consultant. My kids are older and don't need me as much, and I am a social creature, and I love parties, and I love bags, so this is a perfect fit. Too excited for that not to be a run-on sentence. I had my first two parties this week and am so excited about this company! How many times have I used some form of the word "excite" in this post, I wonder? Anyway, a friend was gracious enough to hostess my first party in her new kitchen. Above is a picture. There's not much of the kitchen showing as I was focusing on my bags, but it really is a fabulous kitchen. 

I have a 31 website where you can look at the catalog and see the monthly specials. If you want to do any shopping for the holiday I'm not blogging about until after Halloween, my contact info is on the site. Product can be direct shipped to you or if you live in West Michigan I can combine it with a party and save you a couple bucks toward shipping. Here's the site: http://www.mythirtyone.com/toppen/

Basket weave dishcloth. Fancy filter via Instagram.

I also started knitting dishcloths again. I'm giving them as 31 hostess gifts. Who wouldn't want to spend a couple hours with friends and cocktails to get a beautiful dishcloth knit by yours truly? I know. Love this safety orange yarn I found in my dishcloth yarn stash, not to be confused with my proper yarn stash. I dug up my old pattern books so I can make different types of dishcloths.

Well, this post is getting long and it's a school night so I'll sign off. I'll leave you with a few pictures of beautiful Lake Michigan via Grand Haven beach. We spent a few hours there last Sunday hanging out with friends and watching a kite surfing race.

Lake Michigan at Grand Haven Beach

Lake Michigan at Grand Haven Beach

Thanks for reading and please let me know what's new and exciting in your life. New career ventures, knitting adventures, holiday plans... Please comment :) Christina

Why I Love Michigan and The Pattern That Started It All

First a few words about The Mitten on this beautiful sunny Sunday. For non-natives that’s the official nickname for Michigan, although some shape-impaired Wisconsinites are trying to cash in on our gig. Hold up your left hand - palm facing away from you. See? Michigan. You can even position your right hand - thumb down, pinky up, palm facing away - above your left if you want to get fancy and include the UP. 

  (www.Michigan.gov)

                                                                                                

Being a troll (I live south of The Bridge), I usually just stick with the LP. Still can’t work out the Wisconsin thing, but anyway, moving on. Many Michigan residents joke that in this great state you can wear your bathing suit and snow pants in the same day. Ok, this might be a slight exaggeration, but I submit two pictures in defense of our musings about weather.

The beach at Grand Haven Monday through Thursday afternoon.

My backyard in Grand Haven on Friday.

I can’t really think of a clever segue linking Michigan weather and dishcloths, so please excuse this abrupt shift to knitting. 

A comment by a new follower, Diane, inspired me to post the pattern for the beloved dishcloth: Grandma’s Favorite. 

Grandma's Favorite with Scrubbie Corner

Despite extensive research, I am unable to find the creator of this pattern (many claim to be the author), so I can’t give credit. Sorry. Anyway, dishcloths are a great way to learn to knit or re-acquaint yourself with the art. The yarn is inexpensive, the project is quick, gauge isn’t important, and you have something useful when you’re finished. Most importantly, it’s a dishcloth so a mistake here or there doesn’t really matter. Grandma’s Favorite is the pattern that started it all for me about 11 years ago when my mother-in-law offered to teach me to knit. I had crocheted nearly all my life (someday I’ll write a post about my 23 year long crocheted afghan, ugh!) and was eager to try my hand, or hands as the case may be, at knitting. I finished the first dishcloth and was hooked! No pun intended. My girls were still young and money was tight, so dishcloths were the perfect project for me: quick and cheap. Aside from the occasional fling with a scarf, which is really just a long, rectangle dishcloth if you think about it, I stuck with dishcloths. I taught myself how to read patterns, knit cables, and many other skills via dishcloths. I dubbed myself the dishcloth queen. I passed them out at every family get together and they made the perfect hostess gift. Although, if a hostess says something along the lines of your dishcloth being unique or a nice doily, bring a bottle of wine next time. 

So, enjoy this pattern as a way to learn to knit or rekindle your love of knitting.

Materials

1skein cotton yarn (Sugar‘n Cream works great)

Size 8 needles

Using a knitted cast-on, CO 4 stitches.

Knit 2, yarn over (YO), knit to the end of the row.

Repeat this row until your project has about 45 or so stitches.

Then decrease as follows:

Knit 1, knit two together (K2TOG), YO, K2TOG, knit to the end of the row.

Repeat this row until you have 4 stitches left.

Bind-off.

Now if you want to really impress friends and family, you can add netting, also known as scrubbie material. Purchase netting at a fabric store. Cut it into roughly 1” strips, or have your mom do that part for you - thanks mom, and knit double-stranded with it and the yarn for the first 20 rows or so. 

This adds a scrubbie corner great for cleaning up sticky stuff - not kids though, ouch!

Knit on! ~ Christina