Newest socks

These are the finished socks which I began at the start of January (Pattern used ‘A simple sock’ Two socks, one week KAL)

I didn’t quite get the stripes to match up properly – but it doesn’t make them any less cosy!

I’ve also started back on my Eyelet Yoke Sweater   . This time I used a long tail cast on, which made it easier to keep everything lined up and un-twisted ( plus I took my eye of the telly for a while!) It’s knitting up very quickly:

Photo shows where the yoke ends, and you divide for the armholes.  But because I’ve such straight shoulders, I’ve knitted 6 extra rows before dividing it.  I also wanted to keep the neck higher as above – I’ve noticed in some versions that it opens out into a wider neckline on some people, so I’m hoping that less stretching into the armhole will mean the neck doesn’t open out too much.

I’ve also cast on another pair of socks –  the Hermione’s Everyday socks  and have been working away slowly on them.  It seems like non stop knitting at the moment, but I have started sewing a bag which I’ll share soon:) ,  Chris

Finished – Two socks, one week

 

Finished –  my first pair of socks !

I’m so glad I tried something new. During knitting the first sock, I really though it was too much work for ‘just socks’ , but I’m a convert to sock knitting. The second sock just came together without me even noticing. We were watching a lot of movies over the holiday evenings, and I just knit away.

 

I did have a few bumps with the first sock but it was so handy to have all the help and videos from Kristin and I was determined to learn some new techniques. Long tail cast on, magic loop and kitchener stitch were all new to me.  I’ve already cast on a second pair – although I don’t think they”l be ready in a week! But I do think it’ll be handy to have a pair of socks on the go, to pick up at TV time or in between.

It was good to keep to a time frame too – often my plans get pushed aside as there is no real deadline. It’s my goal this year to knit (& sew) with a plan. With that in mind I thought a blog would help me keep accountable to myself ( and hopefully to other like-minded stitchers!) so please follow along if you can 🙂   Chris

 

Sock progress

My first sock ever pictured above! I’ve finished the second one also, which turned out a lot better.

There are a few little errors on the first one – I had a little speed wobble on the heel which can be seen if you look closely. I also jumped onto grafting the toe before I aligned the stitches correctly which made for a wonky toe! ….I actually didn’t realise until I was finishing the second sock, and then saw the difference!

Ooops… I did undo the toe stitching and managed to catch all of the stitches safely before re-doing the toe.  They fit beautifully – photos to come ! Just a little blocking to do and they’re finished. I’m really glad I followed along with the KAL at K-Line,and a big thank you to Kristin for the pattern and links to the various techniques. ( It was a first time using magic loop and doing Kitchener stitch!)

The second sock came together quickly over the course of a few movies, and I’m beginning to see why people love sock knitting so much… I may even have picked up a new ball of sock yarn today!

In other news I cast on my new sweater and knitted away for about fifteen rounds until I took a proper look at what I was doing:

**NOTE TO SELF** – drinking wine and knitting is never a good idea…… doh!

Two Socks One Week KAL

Socks Ahoy!

So I’ve started my first pair of socks ever…. I cast on using a long tail cast on and after watching Kristin’s video on magic  loop I gave it a go. It felt a bit fiddly at the start, but it didn’t take long to get the hang of it.  I had tried using dpn’s (double-pointed needles) for a sweater sleeve recently and it nearly drove me insane – I wish I’d known about magic loop then!

The pattern and directions can be found at K-Line – all the related posts are visible in the side bar of the blog.   I’m using a 4ply cerise wool ( cos everyone needs pink socks, right?)   a leftover yarn, as I didn’t want to buy yarn until I was sure of what I was doing.  I got ahead of myself and didn’t read through the directions fully so forgot to decrease stitches after the ribbed cuff, but decided not to unravel it.   I just decreased from where I was at a few inches down. I don’t think it’ll make much of a difference to the fit.

The heel shaping was a revelation to see taking shape – I had to try it on just to look at how well it fitted! I’m not too happy with the gaps at the picked up stitches – it actually looks better on the other side. But  I’m treating these as a practice pair so not stressin’ over it.

I’m not sure how long I’ve spent on these as I’ve been knitting during tv time.  But it didn’t feel like a lot of work.  The only thing is that I think I’d prefer to have a cardigan or sweater to wear ,after putting in all the knitting time.   It just seems like a bit of a waste when they’ll get covered by my boots!

So to compensate, I’ve been looking for a sweater pattern to knit up. I have some deep red aran weight yarn and I think I might start on The Eyelet Yoke Sweater by Courtney Spainhower.  But I’ll keep on track with my socks aswell 🙂