Hello Knitty

The problem with knitting a pair of socks is that you have to make two of them.

I’ve finished one. It’s sufficiently sock-like even though I feel I made a poor choice on the toe bind-off (three needle, for all of you keeping score). Note the spiffy new Blue Moon sock blockers.

I want to knit sock #2 exactly 3%. But I will anyways, because I try very hard to be a well-behaved knitter.

Last night I turned the heel of my sock.

The first pair of socks I knit had a heel flap and some other crap I don’t remember. This time I looked at a couple patterns, and then I looked at my sock, and I kind of went for it. The whole thing works if you don’t look too closely.

And don’t tell me that looks great. I can take flattering photos. The important thing is that it looks heelish, and also that I’m pretty sure I can fix the holes. If not, well . . .

Don’t think I wouldn’t do it, Monsieur Sock.

I taught myself to knit the day before Thanksgiving in 2004. Two years earlier I had tried, but after figuring out casting on I wasn’t able to get any farther.

But this time everything clicked, and in the weeks before Christmas I knit three simple garter stitch scarfs. And then I started on a sweater.

Here it is. Perfect it is not. When I started on this sweater I didn’t even know how to purl. There’s a row on the back that’s partially purled where it should have been knit, making a bumpy row. The neck was done in a seed stitch, which I didn’t understand, and end up knitting a mess of yarn overs I had to fix when it was over. I had to read a pattern for the first time, read a chart for the first time, and figure out intarsia on my own. I want to go back in time and hug myself because I knew hardly anything about knitting, but went for it. I made mistakes and had to teach myself how to fix them and knitting this sweater probably made me the knitter I am today.

I also didn’t knit a gauge swatch. Didn’t even know what that meant. And the sweater fit fine.

I didn’t stop knitting after this, but the amount I knit slowed down. It was only until this past fall that my fingers started to itch again, and I haven’t been able to stop since. Why am I telling you all this? I have no idea. When I started writing this post I had a train of thought, but it has since left the station. I think it had something to do with why I’ve been knitting as long as I have and only being on my second pair of socks.

Yes, socks. You guessed right, Michele.

I’m not sure how I feel about sock knitting. I like the actual knitting part of it, but when I look at all the beautiful sock yarn out there, and imagine wearing it on my feet I feel a little queasy. I’m jumping in headfirst with this pair though. Not only a gorgeous color, but a gorgeous, discontinued color and I’m putting it on my stinky feet agggghhhh noooo!

Blue Moon Fiber Arts Seduction yarn in colorway Waterlillies. I’ve seen pictures of this yarn in BMFA Socks that Rocks and the colors are even more amazing. I like the Seduction yarn. It’s very soft and silky, but it really dulls the colors.

I’m making up my own pattern as I go along. It has modified garter ripple at the top, and I’m just going to keep it plain stockinette for the rest. My next pair, if I decide not to follow a pattern, I’ll probably make more pretty. I think this yarn is pretty enough on its own not to need bells and whistles. Or cables and lace. Whatever.

I enjoyed knitting my Clapotis very much, but it didn’t inspire me to write. After you show the drop stitches once, how many more times can you photograph them? And when a knit is just row after row of stockinette stitch punctuated by drop stitches, there’s really not much to say.

But now it’s done. And I really, really like it.

I’ve always liked the way this shawl looks, but I never understood some knitters obsessions with it. But I get it now. It’s easy but interesting to work on, looks great when it’s done, and is the sort of shawl you can wear on a daily basis.

Usually when I finish a shawl I unpin it from blocking, take pictures for the blog, and then spirit it away to my bedroom, where it only comes out when I want to wear it. And I always wear it somewhere. To work. To my parents so my Mom can see it. Never just around the house.

But this is shawl I can throw over my shoulders when I get chilly on any old day. I have a feeling I’ll be making a couple more of these in the future.

I increased the middle section from 13 repeats to 17 so I could get maximum use out of the yarn. Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Mediumweight in Alina and size four needles. It’s big, stretching my wingspan, but I wanted it that way.

So what’s next? You’ll have to wait and see. But I will give you a hint. It’s not a shawl, but it starts with an S.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

She’s an amazing mom, and also one of my best friends. I’m a lucky girl.

After my brief fling with the shawl, I started work again on my sexually transmitted knitting project. There had to have been a better name out there than Clapotis.

(This should make you proud, Mom. Look up ‘caught the clap’ on Google. Guess whose webpage is #1?)

I’m just about done with the third repeat of the middle section. Nine repeats to go, which might turn into more because it doesn’t seem very big.

I’ve started the drop stitches, which is kind of fun in an ‘oh my god this is against everything I’ve ever been taught in knitting before dropping stitches is baaaaad!!!’ sort of way.