Friday, January 30, 2015

Knitting: New Year's socks.


My first socks of 2015 are complete! I'm hoping to knit six pairs this year (not counting any I might knit as gifts)...I think a pair of socks at least every other month is definitely doable. :)

I've mentioned this before, but this was my third attempt at knitting socks with this yarn. I had never before tried different things to avoid pooling, but the initial pooling on these socks was pretty awful. And with the amount of time and money that goes into a pair of socks knit from hand-dyed yarn, I want to love the result. So it was worth it!

The yarn is from Spun Right Round (one of my favorite dyers of yarn and spinning fiber): it's her SW Sock 80/20 in the nightfall colorway. I love tightly plied sock yarn like this. It has nice texture even in stockinette stitch! It also feels more durable somehow. I used the stitch pattern from Show-off Stranded Socks, but instead of doing the unusual heel, I just did my regular heel and toe. I love how the stitch pattern made the yarn knit into thin spirals that look like stripes! The colors sort of remind me of the Cheshire Cat (Disney version).

I'm linking up with Liesl's Monthly Sock Challenge. I actually started these socks on December 29th, but I made sure to finish on January 29th so I would still have completed them within the month. :)

Ravelry project page.

9 comments:

  1. Very neat! I hope to someday be able to knit my own pair of socks!

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    1. I had always heard how difficult socks were to knit, but it turns out they aren't very difficult at all! :)

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  2. Well done - those are gorgeous. I'm totally getting that Cheshire Cat vibe, too! :)

    Every time I see one of these finished products of yours, I'm left wishing that I knew how to knit like that! I've learned a few basics of both knitting and crochet, but I've always gotten frustrated and stopped. I really need to try again and persevere. Questions: Did you teach yourself how to knit? If so, how did you do it??

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    1. Thanks! :) I taught myself how to knit using YouTube videos. I had a couple of knitting books but found that they didn't actually help too much...I needed something visual! On this post, I linked to some videos that apparently helped me a lot in the beginning: http://missvintagegirl.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-first-scarf-and-some-knitting.html.

      I didn't have this when I started knitting, but Tin Can Knits has a collection of patterns and tutorials that's basically a learn-to-knit system, starting with scarves and working your way up to socks and sweaters. I have experience with some of the patterns (which are really nice), but the whole system looks great! I wish it was around when I started knitting. :) Here's the link: http://tincanknits.com/thesimplecollection.html .

      I also really recommend creating an account on Ravelry if you start knitting. Basically every yarn and pattern ever created is on there. You can keep track of your projects, what patterns you want to knit, what yarn you own, etc. Plus there's a very helpful forum community. I love Ravelry. :)

      Good luck! I struggled with knitting at first (you'll see my first attempt at a scarf in that post I linked above), but now I'm a bit obsessed with it. :)

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    2. Thank you so much for replying to my questions! I will check out all the links you gave!

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  3. Love the socks! I was planning on doing the Show off Strandeds this year too. I think I might do it the same way you have. Thanks for the idea. :)

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    1. Thanks! :) The unusual heel construction for that pattern looked really interesting, but at the moment I just didn't feel like attempting it, ha.

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  4. These are seriously the cutest socks I have ever seen! Great job! :)

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