Seeing Double

Look! There's two of them! My first "big people" socks.


The details:
Yarn: Apple Pie (merino wool, silk, mohair and nylon) by Apple Laine.
Color: Wild Thing
Pattern: Just Ribbing
Needles: Size 2 (US) dpns

Having read the suggestions in the comments, and having thought about them, I cast on for my next project yesterday afternoon between meetings. I had one meeting immediately after school, then a break, and another meeting back at school at 6:30. There was no point in driving home in between. I settled in to knit for 35 minutes before having the mandatory parent meeting with parents of the students going on the Washington, D.C. trip in June. (Have I mentioned that Buddy B and I are taking 95 seventh graders to our nation's capital as soon as school is out? Now you know I'm certifiable!)

What's that? Oh! You want to know what I chose to make next! Details, details.

I'll tell you in my next post, when I have some real progress to show you.

Second Verse, Same As The First

My first "big people" sock is finished!

The second half of the pair is already underway. Hopefully it will go faster than the first. I am even pleased with the way the first half of the pair turned out. Wild Thing (which is what I've named the sock, even though the pattern is called Just Ribbing) even fits! That's always a plus when knitting a sock that one intends to keep for one's self, I've discovered. Proof that the sock fits is below.
I love the way the toe finished up! Who says grafting the toe is tough?


Did anyone score good loot at The Loopy Ewe last night? In the wink of an eye, nearly everything added in the update was gone. I managed to get a hank of Yarn Pirate sock, color "Sonoma" and a hank of Cider Moon Glacier in a yummy pink and green colorway called "Giddy." I also had some of Yarn Pirate's "Malamute" in my cart, but it was snatched away before I could check out. *sigh* Who has my Malamute???

Sock Progress... Anyone have a toe?

Big People Sock numero uno, which is what I've fondly dubbed my Just Ribbing (pdf) sock made with Wild Thing yarn (from Apple Laine), may actually be finished sometime today. Maybe. See?


My tootsies have defied the pointy toothpicks of death in order to bring you some photos of the sock nearing completion.

If you haven't tried Apple Pie sock yarn from Apple Laine Yarn, treat yourself to some. This stuff is yummy and a joy to work with. The Loopy Ewe carries Apple Pie, but sells out quickly. I ordered mine from Canada, from an online store called Pick Up Sticks. The service was great, prices (with exchange rate) were good, and it only took a few days longer for shipping. That didn't matter since I'm a slow knitter.

Speaking of slow knitting, do you know I don't knit right? That's according to my mother. (Insert eye-rolling here) If something isn't done the way she learned it, then it's not correct. Now, the photos above show that I am indeed capable of producing knit objects. I must be doing something right! Having been on the receiving end of her criticisms for the past 40 years, I'm accustomed to this, but yesterday she was really annoying.

Yesterday, Mom and Dad were in town, and I was working on my sock while visiting with them. "You aren't doing it right," Mom insisted. "Here's how I did it," she said. Now, she hasn't knit in years and years, mind you, and has never followed a pattern in English, but she was determined to take over my sock and re-learn me how to knit! I just kept reminding her (but mostly myself) that there are many different ways to knit, and if the end result is the same, what does it matter? Thank goodness for Elizabeth Zimmermann! There's no right or wrong way.

The icing on the cake is that after all of Mom's preaching and nagging, she caught sight of my sister's nearly complete Booga Bag in my car as I was leaving. "You can make me a bag like that. But with longer straps that I can wear across my body. And not so many stripes. I need it before we leave for Germany at the end of next month, too. Maybe a little deeper, so the camera will fit in it. You do know I want to take your camera, right?"

Gosh, I don't know if I can knit it right. Wait! Did you say MY camera???

I think I can... I think I can...

This morning our district had scheduled professional development for staff members. Students were on a 2 hour delay that, for once, wasn't weather related, while we all sat together to be taught. I brought my knitting along to help me concentrate and pay attention. During that time, I knit nearly an entire baby sock, thus completing a pair for a friend who just delivered baby boy #2 last week, the day after my birthday.

That proves a couple of things. One, I CAN knit socks. (OK, I can knit wee little socks so far!) Two, I can complete a pair of socks. I will document these statements with photos, but for now you have to trust me. The socks are outside in the car, and right now I'm in jammies.

On to the big people socks. The socks for me. You know, the ones I want to make from the yummy Apple Pie sock yarn.

Why in the world is it taking me so long to knit with these toothpick-like size 2 needles? I am picking up speed, and I am making progress, but when I look at how far I've gotten, I can't imagine that I'm ever going to have a whole sock, much less two of them!

The process for socks, now that I have worked through it, really is not all that difficult. I have done more complicated knitting. Turning a heel only sounded complicated. Picking up stitches and knitting the gussett isn't tough. Shaping the toe is just decreases. Even kitchener stitch, which so many fear, isn't scary to me. What is giving me trouble is the small size of the needles. Until this point, the smallest needle I've used is size 5 or 6 (US).

Like The Little Engine That Could, I guess I will keep telling myself "I think I can, I think I can," and just keep moving forward, one teeny, tiny stitch at a time. At the risk of sounding crass, though, I'll be really honest. I think I've picked my teeth with things bigger than these size 2 knitting needles!

Feast your eyes

Isn't it yummy? Top left is Apple Pie sock yarn, color "Red Delicious." Top right is Noro Kureyon, color #52. Bottom center is Apple Pie sock yarn, color "Wild Thing."

I snapped the photo out on the woodpile this afternoon while I still had some light. The snow helps keep the colors true. Getting good photos of yarn colors is really challenging for me!

Enjoy!