Friday 26 January 2018

Knitting: Lots of Socks!

Without doubt, one of my biggest crafting successes last year was discovering the joy of sock knitting. From a practical perspective, my feet get cold really easily so having some lovely wooly socks to keep them cosy is never going to be a bad thing. More than that though, I just really love the process of sock knitting - those rounds of stitches seem to fly off my needles. And, of course, it also helps that there are so many beautifully coloured skeins of sock yarn out there to tempt me!


Since finishing my first socks, I've now knit another three pairs. The ones above are the only one of those pairs that were for me, and they're my most recent pair. I cast them on while enjoying the festivities of Christmas Eve, and have been merrily knitting away on them ever since.


The pattern for these socks was Hermione's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder. They're a free pattern on Ravelry, and before I cast these on I was beginning to feel like I was the only knitter in the world who hadn't used this pattern. I'm really glad that I followed the crowd and gave the pattern a try - it's well written, easy to follow and the simple texture provides a bit of interest without demanding too much concentration.


Isn't the yarn that I used gorgeous? It's by Pixie Yarns and is called "Kitty Ate the Tinsel" (a Christmas colour so not available at the moment, but there are many other pretty colours in her shop!). I love all the speckles of different colours, and the merino/nylon blend was nice to knit and is feels lovely on my feet. These socks are definite winners!


These are the second pair of socks that I have to share with you today. They're the Atlantic Current Socks by Melissa Tuttle Sibley, and I knit them up for my Dad for Christmas. I enjoyed knitting these socks too - I would say though that I think the pattern assumed a bit of prior knowledge about sock knitting so I wouldn't recommend them if you're brand new to knitting socks.

Also, unless I was being completely silly (entirely possible), in the pattern as written for the larger size you end up with a bigger gap between the slipped stitch lines at the beginning/end of a row than you have between the lines in the middle of the row. I adjusted the spacing of the slipped stitches slightly so that they're even around the whole sock, which was easy to do but I just feel like it should have been even in the pattern anyway.


The yarn for these socks is Schoppel Wolle Crazy Zauberball, which I got from Loop. It was fun watching the colours change as I knit my way through the yarn, although the darker sections of the yarn possibly aren't the best for showing off the texture pattern in these socks. The wool/nylon blend definitely isn't as soft as the yarn I used for my socks, but it feels like it should be warm and sturdy.


And lastly, these socks were for my sister-in-law's birthday present. Being as I had a deadline (which wasn't too far off!) and they were only going to be the second pair of socks that I'd knit, I decided to use the same pattern as for my first ones. My thoughts on that pattern (My First Socks by Sandra Paul) are still the same as when I knit them for myself, so check out my blog post if you want all the details. The yarn I used this time is from Lamington Lass - it's the Mountain Pass colour on the soft socks base. Another lovely yarn! Can you tell that half of the reason I like sock knitting is because of all the pretty indie dyed sock yarn that's out there?!

You can be sure that these won't be the last socks that I'll be knitting! For my next pair, I'm planning to venture into the world of self-striping yarn and afterthought heels. Wish me luck!

9 comments:

  1. Your socks are all gorgeous. I started just to have a portable project but I just have to have a pair on my needles now. Love that Christmas yarn especially K xXx

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am at about the same stage of knitting socks as you - three pairs of my own and two pairs for my brother. I am just entering the world of patterns on the tops. I am using the free patterns on the blog of my friend Christina at Colourful life. She has a free pattern for each month of the year. Happy knitting. Jo x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven't come across your friend's blog - I'll have to check that one out. Thanks for the tip Jo!

      Delete
  3. Loving all your socks, especially the colours in your Dad's pair. I currently have a half done sock sitting at the bottom of the knitting bag. It's having a think about it's behaviour, as it somehow doesn't have enough stitches!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh no! I hope the naughty sock sees the error of its ways and somehow magically finds the missing stitches!

      Delete
  4. Just came across your blog today... Love your sock knitting adventures! I just cast on for my first pair of Hermione's Everyday Socks, so you aren't alone there. I'm also currently knitting the Vanilla Latte socks too. I've signed up to follow your blog - looking forward to your next post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for following my blog Jannette - it's nice to have you along for the ride! :)
      The Vanilla Latte socks are also on my list of patterns to try some time!

      Delete
  5. Yay! All the knitted socks!! I've also fallen down the sock knitting rabbit hole. There are just so many possibilities, both with pretty yarn choice and patterns.

    I love the speckled colours on your Hermione's Everyday socks. I started the same sock pattern just after Christmas but sadly the first finished sock felt too tight on my foot... Gutted!!! So I started again on bigger needles. Not the end of the world, but annoying that I effectively have to knit 3 socks to get a pair!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh no! That's such a shame that your sock didn't fit you properly - I can imagine that having to knit 3 socks must be quite frustrating. It'll be worth it when it's done though!

      Delete

Please leave a comment - it's always great to hear from you!