Izzy the cat has decided that Missy the dog’s bed is the place to be.

Izzy the cat has decided that Missy the dog’s bed is the place to be.

I finished a pair of socks in three months! This is much better than the year and a half for the last pair. It must be noted that I can only knit for about 15 minutes before I get distracted; I am not a power knitter. I usually knit as a time filler between other activities.

I knitted these by feel and measurements, rather by row, and that also helped save me time. The ribbed arch is a personal preference that I added to the basic sock instructions.

That the socks match almost perfectly is pure serendipity. Or fabulous planning by the yarn manufacturer. I split the skein of yarn in two by winding one cake until I reached half the weight, then wound the second cake of yarn. I knitted from the center of each yarn cake, one per sock. I used a coordinating solid color for the toes and heel to avoid disrupting the stripe pattern. To be honest, I’m a little sad that they match so well, I rather like coordinated mismatched socks. Hm.
It took over two months, but Thor the gray tabby cat finally figured out the cat flap to the catio.

He is still skittish about it and it takes several minutes for him to build up the confidence to go out or in, but he eventually does it on his own.
Here is a cute teacher gift: crocheted pencil bookmarks. They make up quickly, use just single crochet, and use up yarn scraps, or those cute tiny skeins. I made these in May of 2015 using this pattern from LittleOwlHut on Ravelry.

Important note, as you crochet these curl. To get them flat, steaming them works well. You can also iron them between two thin layers of cotton. If you choose to do blocking (getting them wet and laying flat to dry), pin them down well.
After taking a year and a half to knit one pair of socks with a line-by-line pattern, I needed to try something where I could just knit by inches. I chose a toe-up striped sock with a ribbed arch and afterthought heel.

The yarn is printed and self-striping, so no forced color changes or multiple ends to weave in, which is fantastic. I also really like the afterthought heel. It knits up like toe shaping, and is easy to track. No heel flap or gusset confusion.
This pair is almost done. Just one more heel!