Happiness All Around

Well, I finally managed to finish those socks I have been plugging away at.

Avocado Toes by Cori 2012.

Pattern: Starter Stockinette by Betsy Lee McCarthy, size large (pattern available in Knit Socks! 17 Classic Patterns for Cozy Feet by Betsy Lee McCarthy)
Yarn: Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash Quatro in Summerdaze (blue, two balls), and Green Tea (green, one ball)
Needles: US 3

Even though the measurements given for the women's large should have fit my feet, these came out way too big for me. They were not too big, however, for my husband, who was more than happy to reap the benefits of my needles:

Socks! I have socks, yay!

I shall put them on my feet and do a jig for you!

You can see from his sexy legs why I married him, of course.

Anyhoo, other than issues of size (I swear my gauge was right, but whatever), I am really happy with how these came out. I will definitely be making another pair (in the smaller size next time) for myself at some point. Also, I love this yarn.

After I was done with the socks, I even had enough to make this guy:

Swell Fella by Cori 2012.

With only eight legs, not nine, despite my husband's urging.

Pattern: Amigurumi Octopus by Lion Brand (may require free registration with site to see pattern)
Yarn: Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash Quatro in Summerdaze and Green Tea (less than one ball each)
Hook: US G

I used two strands at a time to get the fun color effect on this one. I like it a lot. I was really happy with how this guy came out. Quick and easy despite the pain of making and attaching all of the separate legs (while my daughter kept wandering off with what was assembled of him so far). This will be a gift for the son of a friend who is expecting her second child at the end of this month. I hope he enjoys it. It already has my daughter's stamp of approval!

Now I am back in blanket making mode. I am already pretty happy with the pattern and yarn for the current project, so that's a good thing. Hopefully it will work up quickly! I definitely have a lot more small projects I would like to try to squeeze in this summer. Only three blankets to go after this one gets done though, so my fingers are crossed.

Halfway There

So, I can't show you my most recently finished blanket just yet (soon, I promise), but I did manage to make some progress on my socks this past week.

See:

One down, one to go. These are officially my husband's socks, too. I chose to make them in large, because I do not have small feet, but because the pattern uses worsted weight yarn, they ended up way too big for me. My husband just loves constantly being told I need his foot for a minute, let me tell ya. Still, in the end, he will have a new pair of super cool socks made just for him. So he has decided to tolerate my demands for feet.

My plan is to have the second one finished before the month is out. But before I start it, I have another little project (which is crochet and is actually going pretty quickly) to knock out. After the socks I have one more small project I may or may not make and then on to the next blanket. Whoo!

Also, making this pair of socks has convinced me that I definitely want to learn the magic loop method (for knitting two socks at the same time). Another thing to add to the yarny to do list.

Have a great week, y'all!