Sock Knitting Palooza

Hey all,

I've fallen off the deep end of the earth this week, reading more than knitting, although there has been knitting too. I'm on my second book this week and some nights have found me curled up with a book instead of knitting.

Lately, I've been a bit of a joiner. I signed up for round 4 of Sockapalooza, perhaps idiotically, but I participated in Round 2 and it was a good experience, so I'm chancing it once again. I've really be in a socks and lace mode as of late. My pal says that she prefers fall colors and I took that to mean oranges and reds. After further re-reading her information, I realized I didn't pay attention to the part that also mentioned her idea of fall colors was oranges, but also reds, blues and greens. Yikes! The colors I chose were more oranges and browns, so none of those other colors. I guess this should teach me to pay more attention to the full text of an email.

I contacted my pal to see what preferences she had in terms of cables, texture, stitch patterns or lace and she was pretty open to anything, which is good. I kept thinking I would do one of the new sock patterns I've seen on the web, but I also ended up switching yarns at the last minute. I started to use my Brick House Fearless Fibers yarn as socks for my Sockapalooza pal, but then realized that I think the yarn is pretty, but is very fine. I cast on for 72 stitches and honestly the love was not there to knit those socks and to also do it quickly as these socks need to be finished and mailed by the beginning of August and I'm casting on the 1st week of July. Yeah, a bit of a time crunch.

So new yarn to the rescue, Fortissima Socka mit Bambou. I saw this at one of my local LYSs and picked it up. Cast on shortly thereafter and by Monday of this week, I'd completed ribbing and started the heel flap. The colors in the skein were not indicative of a pattern, if any. I'm not 100% convinced I like it, but this is the final yarn as I'm not switching again. The bamboo gives the sock yarn a softer hand, but it is splitty like a mofo. No fun that.



I'm using a tried and true sock pattern favorite, Thuja. Man, do I love this sock pattern, so simple, but has a nice effect. I might even use this for socks for M. He's been hinting lately for a pair of socks.

Then, because I couldn't just have one pair of socks on the needle and for someone else, I had to immediately cast on for socks from my wonderful coffee swap pal, Kathy. I've cast on for a pair of short socks, not really anklets, but with a 4 inch cuff, some shortish socks with a K3, P2 ribbing (not exactly sure why I did that) with Sockotta. I like how the yarn is knitting up. I've dubbed them my Lemon Ice socks. I'm knitting them with 60 stitches on size 2 needles. This is really information for me, in case I forget by the time I cast for the second sock (ha!). Also, because it is the Summer of Socks, I obviously had to have new socks on the needles to count towards it, right? :-)



That's it for now chicas. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Feel the (sock) love

Hi, my name is Wanda and I'm a sock-knitting addict.

Lately there's a lot of talk of sock-knitting in the blogosphere. All of you know how much I love knitting socks. Then there was the Represent event with the Harlot. I love seeing the pic of everyone's sock at the meetup in Central Park. I was all verklempt at the sight of those socks. Today, reading Carole's post, it really gave me a giggle.



I also got to thinking how some people left comments that I have yet to reply back to (sorry about that people, I have good intentions, but so little time these days) and one that I wanted to comment on was from Norma, who wrote (ed. by me)
"Portable, schmortable" about the
fact that people always say that is the reason they love knitting
socks. "What is more portable about socks than, say,
mittens, a hat, a scarf, or a sweater sleeve?"

What I wanted to answer to that is, other projects may have the same amount of portability as socks, although it depends on your project. In my case, this winter, I've done some top-down raglan sweaters that a sweater sleeve did not lend itself to portability. Hats are always portable to me, mittens and scarves are of course, portable as well. However, some of those items (hats, mittens and usually scarves) are seasonal, whereas I can always knit socks year-round. Even if I won't wear wool socks in the summer, I can always knit them and they don't get too heavy and I'm not turned off by knitting them. I never want to pick up a scarf in the summer (especially since I live w/o a/c in the summer). Also, socks are a like a sweet, small gift. As Kim said in a comment, I never tire of the simple act of turning a heel and I never get bored with socks like I do with scarves. I agree. While I do like scarves, the knitting of them does get tedious.

The sock you see above is the second of the Regia Banner socks. The pair is complete, but at the time of the picture, the second sock was waiting for the toe to be kitchnered for almost two weeks. I finally did it this weekend and M2 is already wearing them and has done so for 2 days. Which does my heart good, especially since I was trying to figure out a way to keep them for myself! I am so evil and perhaps not so generous of heart, but oh well. M2 is growing so much (he is 13 yo after all) and his feet have been growing hugely, in my mind. I was almost hoping they were too small and then I could keep them, but no such luck.

Another thing I've been doing is listening to podcasts. One that I am fully caught up on (which is scary since I've only started listening in the past 2 months) is the Lime & Violet podcast. Holy crap, are they funny! And they have a section where they talk about yarn porn. These two ladies primarily knit socks,so they are always talking about a new purveyor of sock yarn.



Besides the sock knitting love that I've already professed to, back in August, I talked of crossing a line. Now, I'm much less likely to buy a skein of the self-striping yarns, although sock yarns like Austermann Step, Trekking and Opal still feel the yarn love, but for the variegated colors. Now I'm all about the handpainted yarn that are sold by so many independents, it's insane. But what is really pushing me over the edge is Cookie's sock patterns. Holy cow, those socks are gorgeous.

After all of my handpainted sock love, this girl has picked up a few (gasp!) solid-colored sock yarns, which is so unusual for me. But seriously, I need to knit a few of these sock patterns.

The last sock pictured, is my "to-go" sock knitting that I keep in the car for those moments of waiting. I've done the heel and am now working on the foot. It's some old school Opal purchased at least 4 years ago. It has lots of colors, but the predominant ones are purple, mustard, brown and cream. At first I wasn't sure if I liked it, but now I'm really diggin' it.

Do you think you might be a sock-knitting addict when you want to wind up all of the handpainted skeins of sock yarn just to see how they look all mixed up in the center pull skein?

Sorry for the long tome, please also remember the blog contest! You can leave a comment to enter for any of the projects, except sock yarn. For sock yarn, please send me an email or leave a comment stating why you think you should win sock yarn. All other entries will be entered into the giveaway with use of a random number generator. I've also decided to close the contest a little earlier. I want to get the prizes out ASAP, but wanted to let the Easter holiday pass. The contest will now end Tuesday, April 10 at 12 midnight MST. Sorry for that, but I want to get them out and on Tuesday I have a big assignment due, after that I will want to clear out the prize yarn and send it on its way.

Weekend Knitting (Or An Ode to Sock Knitting)

Is it just me or when faced with a long weekend you think that you can get something finished? That you can start a project and finish it in that time frame? Not that it isn't possible, certainly. But perhaps because I feel a bit stymied b/c my knitting time is scarcer than before. Also the cardigan that I am knitting is a top-down one, so it doesn't go as fast as a pullover that is in the round. You switch back and forth with purling and knitting and having all of the body stitches on one long needle. It goes more slowly and that is a bit taxing. I know in the end I will love the sweater, but it certainly doesn't go as fast. Speed is not the end result of my knitting, but I'm used to it going quicker than it is. Each row takes 10-12 minutes, so progress, she is slow. It's a good thing I like that project. It does mean that whenever I start Ariann, I will need to remember that slowness thing.

With that in mind, I've been really interested in a)making smaller projects and b)a quick project. So far, I've cast on for another pair of socks! (I know, I have half a sock in the cat's paw lace to complete, the mate to the Monkey sock, as well as an Opal sock "to-go" in my car for those small moments to knit a row or two). I started to berate myself about having so many socks on the needles or in queue, but what the hey? It's only socks and I do always finish my socks. Those never not get finished and none of these are on a deadline, they are just for my feet, so when I get them done, I'll have more socks for me, except for the Regia Banner socks, those are for M2, but it's not as if he asked for them. Since I'm about to start the toe on this sock, I'm sure I'll be more motivated to work on the cat's paw lace sock to get that foot done and then I will have a completed pair of socks.

Sorry for that whole foray into socks. Yesterday Norma talked about sock knitting and how she doesn't have the thrills and chills that other sock knitters talk about it and it got me to thinking. I don't think that I have thrills and chills, but I do enjoy the finished object so much in the end.

When I first started knitting, I joined a group of knitters that met twice a month at the local Borders on Saturdays. I met a lot of knitters that had been knitting for years and were very experienced. Many of those ladies knit socks at the group meetings and it seemed the perfect project to work on while knitting in public, especially a good stockinette sock! I really enjoy a plain sock. Even though I've ventured into knitting patterned socks, my favorite is my old standby. Once I learned how to knit socks, it's a perfect on-the-go project, perfect in its portability, doesn't take up much space and easy to whip out and knit a row or two. I can knit while waiting, on the train, at group knitting, on the plane, standing in line, waiting in a Dr's office. And when you're finished, a warm, toasty sock that when I wear them make me so happy. They are the bright spot in an otherwise dreary day and looking down at my feet, I get so excited (it's always the little things that make me exceedingly happy) to see something I made. So when I think about what my favorite knitted item is, it's not a sweater I made (although I do have many that I love), but it's socks. Darn, I wish I had a pair on today.



So I'm curious, why do you love knitting socks, if you do? If you don't what is it that turns you off from it? I'll be back a little later this week with the rest of those not-so-quick knitting projects that were started this weekend.