Socks, socks, and more socks

Now that our beloved camera is back and safely at home, I can finally populate this boring blog with some pictures.

DH left for Las Vegas tonight. He was snowed out yesterday morning, and poor guy missed seeing his brother for a man's weekend before DH's conference. I'm sure the pity I have is palpable through the blogosphere. If it's not, let me tell you I'm just torn apart for DH missing a bachelor weekend in LV. Complete with a brother with an Am Ex card who knows how to use it.

DH steals a few minutes before leaving tonight to read to DD in the fort that she and I built. BTW, we're not witches; DD is wearing the "base" to her bumblebee Halloween costume.

Anyway, with DH gone (actually, he's still local, as his plane is delayed by 3 hours) and DD asleep, I have some valuable bonding time with the camera and my socks. These are in reverse chronological order, starting with DD, of course.


(Sorry for the sideways pic.) First up in the sock category is the first of the pair of CAKE socks. This yarn was kindly wound and mailed to me by an NJ knitting neighbor, Netter. It is squishy like cotton candy (I literally stop knitting sometimes to squeeze the ball of yarn just to feel its softness and yumminess). It also has the color of sprinkles, ice cream, or cake (take your pick). In all honesty, when I first started knitting with this yarn, all I could think of was sweets. I kid you not. Really. It's dangerous stuff (but knitting does keep my hands busy and away from hand-to-mouth disease).

I digress.

This pattern is my first try at a provisional cast on. It only took about 7 tries, but I finally got it right. I first decided to skip it and do a simply picot cast on, but it rolled and looked awful. Since I'm now committed to knitting the right way and not allowing mistakes (the ones I catch, at least), I ripped and learned how to do the CO. The results make it worth the pain of learning. I'm sure you'll say something like, "It's not that bad of a CO method," but I didn't like it. Hopefully the second time around will be better.




Another gratuitous picture of DD from last weekend on our walk.














Second up are the socks I knit for MYSELF. My FIRST pair for myself; my third pair ever. I used Lorna's Laces after the rave review by Grumperina and the yarn didn't disappoint...well, ultimately it didn't disappoint. This is the pair of socks that I had to reknit -- after finishing the second sock (after re-knitting it because I knit it too loosely the first time), I tried them on to admire. Instead, I finally learned first-hand what "pooling" is. The second sock was lovely -- the striping was terrific. But the first sock pooled horribly. I tried to live with it, but I couldn't. I couldn't do it. I started knitting another project and thought nothing except of the ugly ink-stain sock. Luckily, the pooling started after the heel, so I ripped back to the heel, used the second skein of yarn (that I used for the second sock), and reknit in about 2 days. These aren't the greatest pics, but hopefully you can see that the striping is good on both socks. The color is a little off (it's actually more muted and brown-ish than in the pic), but the striping is great. Ultimately, I can't say I am as in love with the yarn as Grumperina, but the yarn does look pretty amazing in this pattern. I also like that the yarn has a vintage feel to me (colors, feel, etc) and the pattern is from Knitting Vintage Socks. I love this pattern and didn't tire of it even after the second sock. I didn't modify much except the toes (I like flatter toes) and followed my favorite heel (sl1, k1*). I wish they were a little more sturdy (more on that in another post), but I love these socks. They even wash (and dry) really well in a garment bag.



Finally are the socks I knit for DH. These were the second pair I knit, and I grumbled along the way. I liked the pattern but it got boring after awhile. The yarn also wasn't that soft. It was more scratchy (I can't remember what I used).

HOWEVER, I now absolutely love these socks, and I am wearing them now since DH is gone. They are sturdy -- they hold up well (is it the yarn? is it the pattern? is it both?), meaning they don't get loose and flaccid after a few minutes of wear. At the same time, they're not too tight -- they stretch nicely (evident by the fact that DH and I both can wear them, even though his feet are much larger than mine).


This is a long post. Can you tell I'm alone tonight??