and a little of that…

I finished my ugly dishcloth:

It’s so awful it’s funny. It makes me grin every time I see it, and I have been using it mercilessly ever since I completed it. I love it, even though it’s hideously ugly and even though I fucked up completely on the last pattern repeat (don’t know exactly what I did, don’t really care — it’s just a dishcloth! How — freeing!). What makes it even better is that I showed a photo of it to my best friend (who tolerates my knitting babble, much like my husband, with patient affection) and he said “It looks like the American flag dipped in hydrofluoric acid.” I cracked up. (I love that I know people who even know what hydrofluoric acid is.) It gives me even more reason to smile every time I see the thing.

In other news (unfortunately with no photos), I have finished the gusset decreases on my second Hedera and will shortly be racing along the rest of the foot — it moves so fast after this point! So my Socktoberfest “celebration” is well underway. I have loved knitting these socks. I think I’ll have two new pair on the needles very quickly — Embossed Leaves, for my friend Lily, and I may try my first pair of toe-ups (most likely for another friend). I already have the yarn for the toe-ups (I’m going to use some stash Elann Sock It to Me in lovely shades of brown), but I don’t know what I’m going to do for the yarn for Lily’s. I may try some of the KnitPicks sock yarn.

A little progress has been made on Icarus — I’ve made it halfway through the fourth repeat of chart one. It’s looking delightful. It’s so easy and brainless right now — but still fun because I just flat-out love knitting with lace-weight yarn. Still, I’m looking forward to getting on to the “real” lace charts. It’s going to be a while, though, particularly given that for a little extra size I’m going to be doing an extra repeat of chart one.

No progress on Mother’s bag (picture red-faced embarrassed daughter here). But I am going to leave this afternoon to visit my family (including Mother) in Orange, and I plan to take only my Hedera (I just can’t abandon it so close to the finish) and the bag. I should have a lot of time to knit, because there will be plenty of folks ready and willing to entertain the boy-child, so maybe I will make some real progress. Maybe even get finished with the body of the thing — what an appealing thought!

I think that’s all the babble I have for today. I’m on my way to pack and I hope I’ll be back with some pictures of finished socks on Tuesday!

Okay, so I’m a little late. But Lolly was interested in our sock knitting history for Socktoberfest, and I thought I’d put up my answers. I don’t have much of a sock knitting history (or really much of a knitting history at all — I’m just about to come up on two years!), but here’s what I’ve got!

1. When did you start making socks?

I started making socks pretty shortly after I started knitting, but I had a roadbump in my learning curve — my first sock was disastrously small! It was made from Wildfoote sock yarn, and I was very very happy with the way it was turning out — until it didn’t fit! I made it past the turning of the heel, and about two inches into the foot, before I finally tried it on. Dumbass!


2. Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?

I taught myself. I got the basic instructions from Sally Melville’s The Knitting Experience: The Purl Stitch.

3. What was your first pair?

The first pair I finished was a pair of Retro Ribs, from the Winter 2004 Interweave Knits. I did them in Elann’s Sock It To Me cotton/elastic blend — in bright red — for my mother.


4. How have they “held up” over time?

I don’t actually know. I’ve not seen them since I gave them to her — but I don’t get to visit her very often, so that’s not surprising. (Knowing Mother, she probably doesn’t actually wear them, so they’re most likely in great shape.)

5. What would you have done differently?

I’d have been more careful with my math so that the first sock actually fit!

6. What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

I haven’t used many yarns. I really liked the Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport that I used for my husband’s “around the house” socks, though. Very yummy.

7. Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?

Knit, on DPNs. I actually really enjoy using DPNs. I’ve never tried magic loop, but I tried two circs once for about three minutes before thinking I’d lose my mind. I still get minor laddering sometimes with DPNS, but not enough to bother me.

8. Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)

I’ve only ever tried a flap heel. I’m going to be using Socktoberfest as an excuse to experiment with short-row heels, and with toe-up socks.

9. How many pairs have you made?

Three, almost four. One pair for Mother, one pair for hubby, one pair for my son, and I’m currently almost finished with the cuff on the second of a pair for me. So, not very many!

All my photos of my sock knitting projects can be found here.