Suica Kēki no Yume (スイカ ケーキ の 夢) (tabimonogatari v20)

It was time for another pair of socks for myself.  Using my Wisdom Yarn Pix yarn I was gifted from my yarn buddy and my 4" & 3" interchangeables Chiaogoo US 0 needles, I casted on 36 sts based on my Mini Monet socks and here's what I did:

1. I started with a Provisional cast on with a total of 36 sts.
2. K 1 straight row on each side, then connected in the round.
3. K 15 rows in the round as part of the foot portion.
4. Started the toes: with 18 sts on each side, splitting it up for 8 sts for big toe, 10 sts for remaining toes.
5. Big toe:

• Row 1:
• Front: k, m1, k to the to the last st, m1, k for a total of 10 sts
• Back: k, m1, k to the to the last st, m1, k for a total of 10 sts
• Row 2-15 (14 rows): k
• Row 16:
• Front: ssk, k to the last 2 sts, k2tog, total of 8 sts
• Back: ssk, k to the last 2 sts, k2tog, total of 8 sts
• Row 17-20 (4 rows): k
• Row 21: same as row 16 continuing to decrease 2 sts, total of the 6 sts on each side
• Row 22-23 (2 rows): k
• Row 24: same as row 21 continuing to decrease 2 sts, total of 4 sts on each side
• Bound off using the Kitchener stitch.

The big toe came out to 5 cm (2 in).

6. The rest of the toes:

• Row 1:
• Front: k, m1, k, m1, k3, m1, k3, m1, k, m1, k, pick up 3 sts, for a total of 18 sts
• Back: pick up 3 sts, k, m1, k, m1, k3, m1, k3, m1, k, m2, k for a total of 18 sts
• Row 2: k
• Row 3:
• Front: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog (L) / ssk (R) for a total of 17 sts
• Back: k2tog (L) / ssk (R), k to the end, for a total of 17 sts
• Row 4:
• Front: k, k2tog (L) / ssk (R), k to the end for a total of 16 sts
• Back: k to the last 3 sts, k2tog (L) / ssk (R), k for a total of 16 sts
• Row 5-8 (4 rows): k
• Row 9:
• Front: k, k2tog tbl (L) / ssk (R), k to the end, for a total of 15 sts
• Back: k to the the last 3 sts, k2tog (L) / ssk (R), k for a total of 15 sts
• Row 10: k
• Row 11-20: same as row 9 & 10, continuing to decrease 2 sts, for a total of 14, 13, 12, 11 & 10 sts on each side
  • Row 21: same as row 9, for a total of 9 sts on each side
• Row 22: same as row 21, for a total of 8 sts on each side
• Row 23: k
• Row 24: k, k2tog (L) / ssk (R), k2, ssk (L) / k2tog (R), k for a total of 6 sts on each side
• Row 25: k, k2tog (L)/ ssk (R) 2x, k for a total of 4 sts on each side
• Bound off using the Kitchener stitch.

The rest of the toe came out to 5 cm (2 in).

Then I went back to the bottom of the provisional cast on and picked up the stitches to start the foot.

7. Row 19: pick up a st fr below at the begining & end, k2tog then k to the 2nd to last st, pick up a st for 19 sts on each side
8. Row 20: k
9. Row 21:  pick up 1 st at the beginning and end of each side for a total of 21 sts
10. Row 22-23 (2 rows): k
11. Row 24: pick up 1 st at the beginning & end of each side for a total of 23 sts on each side
12. Row 25-26 (2 rows): k
13. Row 27: pick up 1 st at the begging and end for a total of 25 sts on each side
14. Row 28: k
15. Row 29: pick up 1 st at the beginning, 12th & end of each side for a total of 28 sts on each side
16. Row 30-61 (35 rows): k

Including the initial 15 rows, this came out for a total of 12 cm (4 3/4 in).

With the foot done, I started on the heel portion using the Fish Lips Kiss Heel method (since I liked it so much on my Too Cute for Names Sock)  Since the method is copyrighted, I can't give you much explanation as I normally do so, I'll just note any changes I did. 

   17. Row 62: 

       • Right side: K the "top" portion, start the heel on the "bottom" portion.

       • Left side: start the heel as you're already on the "bottom" portion.
   18. Row 63-96: Follow the Fish Lips Kiss Heel method until you have 10 twin 
         stitch (ts) knits & purls sts on each side and 8 regular sts was

   This came out to 2.5 cm (1”).
   19. Row 89-100: Continue using the Fish Lips Kiss Heel method to turn the heel 

         until you have a total of 28 sts again. 

   20. Row 101 (Left side only): Since the left side ended on a purl side, K to bring 
          you back to the correct side.

This came out perfect! 🙂 *yay* 🙂

With the heel done, I finished off the leg and cuff:
   21. Row 101-121 (20 rows): k in the round for a total of 28 sts for each side.
   22. Row 122-146 (24 rows): decreasing 2 sts, complete cuff using 1x1 ribbing, for 
         a total of 26 sts for each side.
   23. Bound off using a variation of the Estonian bind off, in which I picked up a 
        stitch from the row below then used the Estonian bind off technique. :)

The total length of the leg and cuff was 9 cm (3 1/2 in).

Look another finished pair! *Yay*! 🙂 And, I finished it in record time! 😊

I know, I know ... The socks look funny but they fit really well. 🙌🤗. I could tweak it a little bit and may do so on my next pair. 😉

New Knitting Toy (aka Knitting Jewelry)

I saw this ring on someone's blog quite some time ago and have been drooling over it ever since:🤤

What is it, you ask?  It's a yarn guide ring - something to be used when you're knitting with multiple yarns (e.g. if you're knitting with 2+ yarns, you could use something like this).  

Now, you must be wondering: But, why would you want this?  You've already done projects with 2+ yarns!  That is true; I've made a travel tray and made a Christmas hat with 2+ yarns (the other projects don't count; they were easy projects in which they were stripes!).  But, I must say, when I made them, it was not easy and pretty painful. 🤦 So, this is why I've been wanting something like this for a while.

It took me a while to find out who made this ring but I finally was able to figure it out.  The ring is called: Lankapiika koko and is created by a Finnish knitter: Kultaseppä Sanni Lehtinen. You can see the various sizes on her website (Note: Everything's in Finnish - use Google Translate!).  

I finally saved up enough money to finally be able to splurge on this!  When I was ready to buy it, I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to order on her website (after all, it was in Finnish and it kept seeming like I needed a Finnish bank account ...🤦).  So, I emailed her and found that she has an Etsy site! 🙌 I ordered it on a Friday and got it on a Monday!  It was amazingly quick!  🙌

Here's my new ring (it's an XS):

It's really comfortable and it has some "weight" on it.

Since the ring doesn't close, it's adjustable! 👍

Now, I just need to finish all my other on-going projects so I can start on a fair isle project and use my new ring!! 😍