Wyoming Breezes

Silver Lining Hat made with several scraps of sock yarn Summer 2023 Last night just before sunset, I snapped photos of the Silver Lining (reversible) hat which I knit this summer with several small bits of scrap sock yarn. Most of the knitting was done during Sunday Face Time calls with my nieces and my sister. The hat grew about two inches during each of the weekly video chats.  hat turned inside out The sun sets early this time of year, and the golden light quickly disappears. The hedge outside my front door turns a brilliant red when the conditions are right, and the transformation has begun. Many of the trees and shrubs around town are just beginning to change color. Morning temperatures have been in the mid to upper 30s, and daytime temperatures are now in the mid 70s. I hope this is an extended Fall, but I doubt that it will be. 

May 2023 This month I’ve been focused on fabric scraps and stash knitting because I hope to get both under control. Since April, I’ve knit four pair of socks - all knit with Patons Kroy Socks, so that’s EIGHT balls of yarn (a pair of socks requires two 50 gram balls) out of my yarn stash.  This pair used Brown Rose Marl (#55017) and I had 28 grams remaining (13 grams for one sock and 15 grams for the other). I love the colors and of course, I love the stripes! 

Recently, I finished a pair of socks for my sister knit with Patons Kroy Socks yarn. I had 36 grams (out of 100 grams) remaining. I just finished another pair of socks knit with Patons Kroy Socks, using the same pattern, same number of stitches, same size, and the same needles. I had 9 grams (out of 100 grams) remaining. I finished another pair in April and had 28 grams remaining.  Why the difference? I’m uncertain, but the yarn for the most recent pair (the Grey Marl) does seem to have more “ body or bulk” to it.  I’ve never run out of yarn when knitting socks for my size 10 feet, but this time, one ball was pretty close.  Of all the sock yarn I’ve knit, Patons Kroy produces the more substantial product, and it wears extremely well.      Yarn :  Patons Kroy Socks (two balls — 100 grams total)              Grey Marl  #55045 Needles :  US size 2 — 64 stitches Remaining Yarn :  9 grams total   ...

Marilyn’s socks  size 8 April 2023 I worked on these socks at Marilyn’s during the evening Colorado Avalanche (hockey) playoff games and the Denver Nuggets (basketball) playoff games.  You’ll notice that they are fraternal twins since the balls of yarn were wound backwards of each other. I considered making the socks match, but it would have required “wasting” a lot of yarn to get to the correct color repeat.  Yarn : Patons Kroy Socks (two balls). 100 grams total           Grey Brown Marl #55048 Needles : US size 2 — 64 stitches Remaining Yarn :  36 grams total            19 grams from one ball            17 grams from the other ball

size 10 women’s/size 9.5 men’s March 2023 These socks seemed to fly off the needles.  Pattern : none, just a 2x2 rib cuff and a plain foot, using 64 stitches  Needles : US size 2 Yarn : Paton’s Kroy Socks            Blue Brown Marl #55101 (two 50 gram balls — 100 grams total) Remaining Yarn :  28 grams total            13 grams from one ball            15 grams from the other

one side of the reversible hat March 2023 I am very pleased with this scrappy Silver Lining (reversible) hat. It’s knit with five/six different sock yarn scraps, using the helical stripe technique. The helical stripes help the scraps to blend more completely than just alternating yarn for each row. other side of the reversible hat It’s still Winter in this area, but the hat will go in the donation box for next year. 

Scrappy Silver Lining Hat March 2023 According to my last measurement, it is time to start the decreases for the crown of this reversible hat. This is the fifth hat I've knit using the Silver Lining Hat pattern with scrap sock yarn. Each hat is unique and fun, and I love the one I kept for myself. 

March 2023 Dee ( Wool and Steel ) posted about her recent sock knitting projects: she has SEVEN pair on the needles. I commented that she was tempting me to cast on a pair of socks: she replied, "Do It! Do It!," so I did. I haven't knit on socks for months - five months to be exact, so it was time to get busy knitting. Yesterday during the FaceTime call with my sister and niece, I cast on this sock and knit nearly two inches of the cuff.  Thanks for the nudge, Dee!

Even with all the sewing that's been happening recently, I'm making progress on another scrappy Silver Lining hat. Most of the knitting is being done at night while watching movies on the tubi app. I've used six different sock yarn scraps so far on this hat, and I like the results. 

Scrappy Silver Lining Hat reversible hat December 2022 Remember the old Doublemint commercials: “It’s two, two mints in one!” The Silver Lining hat is two hats in one. The pattern is straightforward and a mindless knit: it was once free but is now $5.99 at Valley Yarn. The popular Musselburgh hat is very similar, but the crown is knit differently.  My hat was knit with random balls of scrap, sock yarn. The darker section was knit with two different balls of leftover yarn; the colorful section, with multiple, small balls of scrap, sock yarn.  I’ve got a bag of sock yarn remnants, so I cast on another Silver Lining hat as soon as this one was off the needles. 

I started the Scrappy Silver Lining Hat in September from sock yarn remnants , and I'm still working on it during Sunday Face Time calls with my niece and sister. I'm almost to the final decreases.  This has been a wonderful, mindless knitting project, using two small balls of scrap yarn in random order, knitting helical stripes. The yarn is doing all the work, and I'm trying not to control the color order. So far, I've used about 10 small balls of sock yarn. The hat is reversible: one end is wild; the other, subdued.

October 2022 I can't believe it took me so long to finish this pair of socks! Cast on -- July 2022 First sock finished --   August 2022 Second sock finished -- October 2022 I've decided to take a long break from sock knitting. 

colorful balls of scrap sock yarn September 2022 I planned to knit baby hats with the growing pile of leftover sock yarn; however, after knitting three hats, I lost interest, and the pile of leftovers grew. Saturday, I assessed the yarn and decided to cast on a Silver Lining hat , which is a double-sided hat that I’ve knit twice.  Of course, this pile of yarn will make more than one hat, but one hat will make a dent in the remnants.  I pulled these colors, determined their weight, and cast on the first section of the hat.  The Silver Lining hat is a mindless knit, and I’m ready for that kind of project. 

Redcliffe City Sock August 2022 As soon as the toe was grafted on Sunday afternoon, I cast on the second sock. I hope to have this pair finished by the end of the month if life cooperates.  This ball of Perth yarn is very splitty and is not particularly enjoyable to knit. I'm ready to work with a softer and more knit-friendly yarn for my next project.

 pair of shorty socks Women's size 5 July 2022 This pair of gift socks has been on the needles for over a year. I intended to send them to the recipient last summer, and then this spring, and now a year later, they are ready to send on their way. Since the recipient has tiny feet (size 5), the socks don't require a lot of yarn, making them are perfect for leftover sock yarn. The knitting queue has one final project in progress. I hope to finish that project before the end of August.

While going through my yarn bins, an abandoned project caught my eye. Frankly, it’s caught my eye every time I’ve searched for a new project, but it hasn’t been worked on in years. Yesterday, it went in the frog pond! long neglected, improvised scarf You can tell by its rumpled appearance that it’s been stuffed in the bag far too long. It was an improvised pattern that didn’t spark my interest anymore. The yarn is pretty so it went back into the sock yarn bin. 

June 2022 “Kunterbunt” #565 is the name of the colorway on the Trekking XXL label. Curious, I typed the word in a German translator: it means “jumble,” “motley,” “varied,” or “multicolored” — all fit the yarn well. As I knit on the socks, the colors and striping became more appealing to me. Matching the socks took just a bit maneuvering to find the correct color change for the cast on edge.  This pair will be a gift. 

May 2022 One sock finished and the other at the heel flap. 

close-up of color striping May 2022 While I would probably have not combined these colors on my own, I like how they work together once knit. I was not expecting the yarn to stripe but rather to have random blotches of color, but I do like the stripe effect. I think the gold stripe at the end of the gusset is the first stripe on the cuff. It will be fun to see how the rest of the foot looks. 

April 24, 2022 The Noro Scarf is nearly 40 inches long; thus, it has grown nearly 15 inches in two weeks . I'll gladly take that kind of progress.  I've been knitting on the scarf during the Sunday FaceTime calls with my sister and nieces. I don't seem to mind knitting the ribbing when I'm talking with someone, but other times it is a slog.  Spring and warmer temperatures are taking their time arriving in Laramie this year. A few quick snow storms have blown through in recent days but haven't dropped much moisture as the winds have been strong and fierce. Jackets and wool socks are still essential, and flannel sheets are still on my bed. I'd gladly welcome some green grass, leafing trees and shrubs, and blooming flowers, but until then, I will be happy with the Noro Scarf growth spurt.