Category Archives: sock

Another knitter in the family

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Mr. Aitch and I visited with our son and his family while on our vacation. 

This was the first time that we met our daughter-in-law in person.  She is a delight, very down to earth, generous, super nice and a knitter.

She and I were both pleasantly surprised to learn that we were both knitters.

When my grandmother taught me to knit, it was (what I’ve since discovered) in the “cottage” style of knitting where the knitter would prop the right needle against their hip/waist/underarm for support and move the left needle.  Circular needles don’t offer that type of support.  Dpns don’t really allow for that either as they are usually 5-8 inches long.  Plus they are pretty thin (US 0-2) and very pointy.  Sometimes I stick one end of the dpn into a wine cork so I can still support the sharp point against my body and not poke holes through my clothes (or skin).  I just need to remember to move it as I knit from one needle to the next.

My daughter-in-law has mastered the two-at-a-time socks on circular needles.  I am a double point needle (dpn) sock knitter, however, I want to learn this technique.  During our visit, she gave me two sock knitting books:

The Sock à la Carte (c) 2008 by Jonelle Raffino, Katherine Cade and the SWTC Staff is so unique. 

The book has 17 cuff patterns, 20 body patterns and 18 heel and toe patterns that one can mix and match to create hundreds of different socks.

Part of the book contains flip pages to design your own unique combinations for the cuff, body, heel and toe that refer back to the directions for each section.

The other book 2-at-a-Time Socks (c) 2007 by Melissa Morgan-Oates explains the technique so well that I am going to give it a go. 

With 17 sock patterns included (and the patterns in the other book), I will have many to choose from for my first pair…just as soon as I finish more on my To-Do list.

Are you a sock knitter?  Do you use double point needles, circular needles, 2-at-a-time, or knit flat socks and seam?

Adding to the stash

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When I ordered the yarn for my BFF’s Kindness shawl, I also ordered a few more fingering weight skeins of Knit Picks yarn*.  Because you know, free shipping and all.

Plus it was on sale!!!

My friend wanted this color of Knit Picks Chroma Twist Fingering yarn (Confetti):

So to round out my order I also got some Thunderhead Stroll Tonal:

Inverness Stroll Tonal:

They look good together.

And more of the Chroma Twist Fingering in Weather Vane (2), Red Velvet, and Surf’s Up:

That should be enough to keep me satisfied until May 6.  I’m headed to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.

* I am not affiliated with Knit Picks and received no compensation for this posting.

 

 

Kindness

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I haven’t abandoned the socks but I took your advice and decided to step back (haha) from that project for now.  And I’m still debating about what to do with the Which Way Now shawl.

The Bacardi Cardi is ripped back part way and on my radar.  That sweater will be finished this spring (or summer), however, I need something different on my needles. Right.  Now.

Enter Kindness.

The garter tab start is new for me and I really liked how the beginning few rows look.  No bump.  Trust me, there is no bump.  All the stitches just blend right in.  

The yarn is Knit Picks Chroma Fingering in the beautiful Galápagos colorway (which is not available anymore). Soft blues morph into greens and cream and back out again.

I would be farther along with this but I decided to convert the directions into a table with row-by-row stitch counts included in the far right column.  It was a bit tedious and I don’t have all the stitch counts at the end of the rows as I am new to reading and deciphering lace charts to see how the count changes.  This concept is used by Helen Stewart and the Spindrift Shawl pattern and it really helped me especially when the stitch counts changes every row.

I think this lovely little shawlette will be just the thing to get my confidence back.

 

 

 

Stuck

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How many times will/can I begin knitting the same sock before I find the right pattern for the yarn?

The yarn is a nylon and acrylic blend because the recipient can’t wear wool.  I figured that I could just substitute this for the usual wool yarns and end up with a similar item.  It is the same but it’s not and I’m having a hard time figuring out what to do.

One color is so different from the Berroco website.  Hari Hari 1811 looks a lot brighter and bluer than the Hari Hari 1811 I received.

Plus I’ve found two knots in the first several yards which might be the reason why it’s coming out more as a self-striping yarn than a patterned yarn.  The other color called Beach House is bright and I thought the two would play well with each other.

Source

My original plan was to knit the slipped-stitch sock pattern I’ve used seven other times only instead of using both colors in the ribbing, I was just going to knit with one and start the second color once I got to the leg of the sock.

I didn’t like it so I ripped it out and started again just with the dull grey yarn and tried another sock pattern with some textural stitches.

Too subtle and the slipped stitches melt into the surrounding stitches and are not noticeable enough to add any texture.

Perhaps I should go back to the beginning of my original plan and use both colors so the grey tones down the brighter one.

Maybe it’s the color.

Maybe it’s the yarn.

Maybe it’s the wrong pattern.

Maybe it’s me.