Never Say Never

I never wanted to knit socks. Those tiny needles. All those tiny needles. And that skinny, skinny yarn. Why would anyone want to torture themselves knitting socks? Considering that they'll be hidden inside a pair of shoes or boots, or worse yet, worn around the house in your PJs.

I was totally Anti Sock.

But then, my sister who is a flight attendent, often picks up discarded books from passengers. To kill time at 30,000 feet, she reads. (She should really knit -- imagine how many things she could finish on those long flights??)

Anyway, when I last saw my sister, she had just finished reading "A Good Yarn" by Debbie Macomber. In a nutshell the book is about a few divorced woman and a depressed, overweight teenager who bond over a sock class at their local knitting store. (Need I say more about not wanting to ever knit socks?)

Sister: "I just read this book about knitted socks. Do you ever knit socks?"

Me: "No. Never. I hate the thought of knitting socks."

Sister: "But why? They sound like they'd be so soft and comfortable. This book I just read made them sound great. And they knit them on something called 2 sets of circulars."

Me: "Never. It's torture. Knitting on 2 sets of circulars is horrible. Sock knitting would put me in the looney bin in no time."

Fast forward a few weeks to me in my LYS.

Me: "My sister read this crazy book and now wants me to knit her a pair of socks."

Helen (owner of LYS): "You want to knit something for someone else? Are you feeling well?"

Me: "Yeah. Well. You know I'm not from the knitters-of-stuff-for-other-people crowd, but she is my sister."

Helen: "Well...yeah. And knitting socks is really fun. You'll become addicted (not like you need another yarn addiction.) And I have a class starting this Thursday night for 3 weeks."

So I signed up and learned how to knit myself a pair of socks. We used DPNs vs. 2 sets of circulars. Which is fine for me because I've used the 2 circulars to knit sleeves once and really didn't enjoy it. (Translation: I cursed a LOT.)


Progress


Completed


Heels together now


Yes, I stand like a duck

Here's what I learned from knitting socks:

• Those little needles are annoying. I sort of got used to them, but let's face it -- straight needle knitting is far easier.
• Knitting on a plane with double points is rather dangerous. The guy behind me was sick of looking for my lost needle. I think that's why dpn comes in sets of 5.
  
• I hated the fact that I did my first pair in stockenette. But it was quickest and we had to finish a large portion of the sock before each class and I was afraid anything else would have taken too long. It doesn't make for the most attractive sock, but I'm not about to rip these out and start over.
• Size 5 needles for socks make them just too damn fat.
• My husband keeps calling my socks "boots" because of how wide they are.
  
• He can not understand why anyone in their right mind would knit socks when they are available at Nordstrom for $4.
• I prefer the look of short row heel to the heel flap.
  
• The toe shaping on this particular pattern was a little too "pointy" but I assume there are other options out there.
• I know I took this class to make a pair of socks for my sister, but I couldn't give her the first pair I made. There are just too many things I want to change for her pair.
• I've finally learned that K2Tog slants to the right and SSK slants to the left.
  

Clearly, Helen was right. Knitting socks is somewhat addicting. Mostly because they are a challenge and I like a challenge. I even bought this book to learn other sock variations:



I've now got the yarn and needles for my sister's socks. Let's hope I finish them before the local looney bin comes a knockin'.

Kntting Books, Worm Farms and Horrified Friends

My sister and I decided that we would tell each other what we wanted for Christmas this year since we are both convinced that the other is the hardest person in the world to shop for.

I asked for this:


Barbara Walker's classic Treasury of Knitting book

My sister gave me a hard time.

Suzie: "A stupid knitting book?? That's what you want for Christmas? Is that the best you can come up with?"

Me: "She who asks for a Worm Farm can't really be scoffing at my request for a Knitting Book, can she??"

Side Note: Yes. My sister really wanted a Worm Farm for Christmas.

I think her friend David, who she has been friends with since junior high, had the best comment:

David: "What the hell has gotten into you both? You scare me! One is asking Santa for a Knitting Book and the other wants a worm farm? Are you mad? Have you both lost your minds? A knitting book! A worm farm? You want a worm farm? Please... I'm going to have to order a second bottle of wine with breakfast if you keep this nonsense up any longer..."

Well, Santa did OK. I got my knitting book and Suzie got her worm farm.


Start of a scarf - the first project combining two patterns from the book

No news yet on the worm farm is coming along...or if David opened that second bottle of wine...

"Your Blog is Stupid"

That's what my sister emailed me recently. Mostly she was pissed because she couldn't find the comment she posted earlier and accused me of removing it to add more "jibberish." (Lack of web skills and the knowledge to click on "comments" would have helped...) but hey -- she might suck at computers but speaks fluent Italian and can run circles around me in the kitchen. So I'll keep blogging and she can keep making the meatballs...

In the meantime, she asked for pictures. "I want to see stuff."

Ask and ye shall receive. Here is an assortment of stuff that I've completed over the last few weeks or works in progress. No animals were hurt in the photography process. (Sleep was disturbed, yes. But come on. They sleep 20 hours a day -- what's a few minutes for a bit of Knit Kitty Knit fame?)

Simple garter stich scarf with very cool (and cheap) Peacock yarn from Joann's. The scarf brings out the blue in Missy's eye.



This scarf was made with Moda Dea Tutu. I used a checkerboard pattern (k4,p4 for 25 stiches and then flip) which you really can't see unless you look at it closely.

I don't mind. Because not only can't you see the checkerboard, you can't see all the mistakes I made, either!

This is the same poncho that my mom made. Once I saw hers I ran out to get yarn so I could make my own.
The hat I made with left over yarn. Bad enough that my ass freezes when I wear the poncho. At least my head can be warm!



I love this pom pom yarn. I wanted it to go with the eyelash yarn to make a great long and wide scarf using 17 needles. But the eyelash was too overwhelming when combined with the pom pom. And the pom pom was too airy on its own. So I opted for a shawl, just using the eyelash in the first two rows and the first and last stitch on each row.

We'll see how this ends up. On my shoulders or rolled up back in balls in my yarn drawer...