I have a 2nd Sock!

Well, the matching pair is done. Unfortunately, the second pair is a little "off". I messed up the heel turn, probably because I wasn't paying attention to the darn pattern. The heel is a little square-er than the other sock (which fits perfectly) which then slightly shortened up the reinforced back heel. Bugger.

The sock *fits*, but feels slightly funny at the back of the heel. I'm not about to frog the whole of it back to the heel, so I'll keep them as house socks. I *knew* I should have tried on the sock while making it (like I did the first one), so this serves as an object lesson.

And, it also speaks volumes for actually knitting BOTH damn things at once. So, lessons learned for the next sock.

Photo of the unblocked 1st sock (which fits), so it looks a bit funny shaped:


(Hmm....and why does my photo have a *red* cast to it? Must look at the finished web image later, because the original doesn't....)

I Have a Sock!

I finished up my sock tonite, AND it fits. So, go me!
The sock yarn I used from Blue Moon is a great yarn. This pattern would have been probably better if it was a solid color to show off the stitches better, but they're still nice. The pattern book is pretty nice, showing you the mathematics of making socks that actually *fit* you with your measurements. It appeals to the costumer in me. :-)

It's always good to finish *something*.
Now, I have to actually finish the OTHER sock, but that can wait until tomorrow. Eventually, I probably should learn how to cast on two socks at once so I can finish both at the same time.

Wrist Warmers

I finished the body of the singular wrist-warmers (Dashing from Knitty.com) that I started last week. I still need to do the thumb, and the matching pair.

The Alpaca yarn I got from Stitches is working up well, and is a wonderful color. I'm actually quite pleased with it, and it promises to be warm.

However, now I'm ever-so-slightly paranoid about losing them, now that I've seem to lost one half of two pairs of gloves (cheap tho they were) somewhere between the SF train station and work. Oofda.



After trying out A's KnitPicks interchangeables and *really* liked them, so I went ahead and ordered a set for myself. I am now waiting for them to arrive so I can give A back her set.

I have also discovered that I have a tendency to cast-off TOO TIGHTLY. I noticed this on scarves, but really noticed it on the baby socks I had created. I need to remember to switch out to a bigger needle when casting-off.

Sock Book & Needles

I started going through the book I had purchased at Stitches. (New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One). So far, so good.

She has little "exercises" -- knitting baby socks since they're quick, don't require a lot of yarn, and can generally be useful. I'll probably have more than a few baby socks by the time I'm done. So, any friend who is expecting will probably get baby socks from me. LOL

As part of this exercise, I'm also:
1) trying out the interchangeable knitting set lent to me by [info]amiwithani
2) trying out two circular needles to knit socks

For #2, it took several cast-on tries to actually get the hang of it. The first two times, I fudged, frogged, and started over again. Once I wasn't even knitting in the round. I eventually did it correctly. However, it's taking some getting used to, but I think I like it better than the DPNs. I don't feel like I'm going to poke an eye out.

For #1, I opted for using two pairs of needles: one wood, one nickel-plated (the same size), just so I could get a feel for both sets while making a baby sock.

Nickel-plated: DEFINITELY easier to use on the acrylic yarn. However, there are times it's too "slippery" for my taste and then there are other times when it's really very nice to have the slip. It makes things go faster (subjectively, of course)

Wood: I definitely do like how they feel. I like the fact that the needles have a much more sharpened point than the nickel-plated AND my bamboo ones. It's easier to pick up stitches and the like. Plus, I like the coloration. :-D

Cable: Stays tightly onto the needle, even with me shoving them into my bag for my train commute.

Conclusion: I'll probably buy the wood interchangeable set, and get a few nickel plated ones for the needles I use most just to round things out. Plus, it's definitely easier to figure out which needle you're working on using 2 Circs on socks when the needles are different.

Stitch Markers

Today I made myself some knitting markers. I have cheap plastic crochet markers, and had seen a recommendation for using "letter" versions from the knitting book I bought to help keep track of where you are in a pattern. A quick look online had them from anywhere from $5 - $10 without shipping.

BAH. A quick look into my beading kit produced letter beads and all the necessary findings & extras necessary to make letter markers. Five minutes later, I had markers A-H that will fit up to a 10 needle. And I still have quite a bit left over to make more...should the mood strike me. LOL

(Taken with the iPhone camera)

Stitches West!

On Saturday, I went with A & S over to Stitches West. It was my first time at this event....and OMG, the thrall of women (and a few sprinkled men) in the Santa Clara Convention center was insane. It wasn't the feeding frenzy of costumers in Costume College's Friday market, but, it's pretty darn close.

And there were a few instances of B.O wafting in the throngs of people that we quickly had to leave those areas. There were also more than a few instances of catty-ness looking at various creations people had made (and seriously, a knitted shawl of fuzzy orange that matches your hair color exactly is not necessarily a "good thing....")

There was lots of yarn and lots of doo-dads for everything you could possibly want to do with any sort of fiber arts.

I did buy some yarn, but I wasn't too overly pleased with some of the coloration I had seen. There were some very gorgeous dyes on some of the yarns, but nothing screamed out at me to BUY ME NOW unlike moments I've had at the LA Garment District. LOL.

The whole first Stitches West experience was fun. A&S showed me around, answering my various questions and introducing me to a few things. I bought one pattern (hedgehog), one book (Cat Bordhi's book, "New Pathway for Sock Knitters" as I really want to get into sock knitting.), and some yarn for a few projects (mostly socks) that I had in mind. I probably could have then wandered looking at the various doodads, but my back was protesting.

A graciously lent me her KnitPicks options set so I could try them out for myself to see if the wood versions would be a good fit. I intend on using them on a pair of wrist warmers as soon as I'm done with that extra sock for DH