Smooth Operator Socks

Whoops!  More new yarn. 

Of course I already have several other pairs of socks in the works already but I just love this yarn. I got it at my local yarn shop - The Yarn Shop at Words of Life. The yarn is Patons brand Kroy Socks in the Sunburst Stripes colorway. I am using a new pattern by Susan B. Anderson. The pattern came out about a month ago and it's called Smooth Operator Socks. The design calls for an afterthought heel and Susan includes some tips and tricks for the heel portion which I've not seen before. These socks are working up quickly; the yarn is rather plump like Kroy Socks yarn typically is. I only have 48 stitches per round. 

I'll try to snap some photos as I work on the heel portion to show how that all comes together. Until then... happy knitting!

Finished Pillow and Finding Balance

Finished Pillow: Entrelac Square from The Great American Afghan Pattern

My goodness!  I have NOT posted a lot on this blog lately. 

A lot of my creative energy has been going into healthy cooking over on my cooking & baking blog; you can read more HERE.  I also recently shared quite a bit about my cruise to Alaska on that blog, so check it out if that interests you. 

I did finish up a pillow with in the past few weeks (or months?) but never got around to showing the completed project.  Above, you can see the pillow top.  This was a challenging square from The Great American Afghan pattern.  I posted about this square way back in March (see it HERE).  My, time sure is passing me by quickly.  I finally made a back for the pillow and got it all sewn together. 

For the back of the pillow, I knit a square on the diagonal using the basic "Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth" pattern.  I just kept increasing until the square was close to the size of the pillow top (on the diagonal) and then I started to decrease.  Both the pillow top and the pillow back have a crocheted edge.  I whip-stitched the top to the back and inserted a pre-made pillow form.  Viola!  A finished pillow.

Currently, I am working on my Skew Socks (see pair #2 HERE).  My goal is to finish up this pair of socks this weekend so I can move on to other WIPs/UFOs.  I recently took a class to make a highly embellished felted bag and look forward to sharing more about that soon.

One of my biggest goals since I retired back in October 2015, was to find better balance in my life. I think the fact that I am NOT knitting a ton is a good sign I am finding better balance.  I have been taking advantage of the time I have to exercise more, but I am also enjoying reading more.  This summer, I have finished up some great books, which you can see below.  I got a bit bogged down in "The Goldfinch", but over all, it was a very good book and an excellent story.  I could not put down "Unbroken" and "The Girl On The Train".  I enjoyed the storytelling in "Unbroken" so much that I am now reading "Seabiscuit" by the same author. 

Otherwise, in my knitting world... I am still teaching my monthly classes using the "Building Blocks" pattern by Michelle Hunter.  The students are currently working on Block #8 of 12.  In mid-September, I am teaching a class at my local knit shop called "How to Use Ravelry".  In October 2016, I am looking forward to participating in a Mystery Knit Along, also by Michelle Hunter.  Sounds like we will be knitting socks from the toe up and the socks incorporate cables, but that's all I know since it's a Mystery Knit Along. I better finish up some of my WIPs/UFOs so I can get cracking on another new project in October!

Can you believe it is already mid-August?  How did that happen.