Category: knitting

I knit something besides a sock, from a kit, inspired by Instagram, and I might be a little too old for it? It’s a lot of lewk, but I had fun knitting it.

The story? I saw an Instagram ad for a We Are Knitters scarf kit. I had taught the 20-year-old at work to knit and she was crazy about their stuff, but they always seemed like an odd combination of remedial and aspirational to me.

I loved the scarf but the full price kit seemed expensive for what you got. Then, of course, I got another retargeted Instagram ad for 40% off and I thought, “Fine, we’ll see what this is about.”

The wool is really nice, the branding and packaging were great, but the instructions were a little sparse. It didn’t matter in this case since the lace pattern was so simple, but if I were a 20-year-old and their marketing had convinced me I could just knit a sweater, I would be frustrated.

The pattern itself is a simple a diagonal lace stitch, but the diagonal means you’re not going to get an even triangle. (It’s so big that you have to bunch it around your neck, so I don’t think that matters, but just FYI.)

And you can see I didn’t do the fringe–one, because I was ready to be done with it, and two, because nothing starts to looks more chewed-up after one wash than fringe. (I got the pom-pom idea from, ahem, Instagram.)

I bought this yarn over a year ago with the plan to work on some socks for me during the Big August Vacations. I did just that and, since there was a lot of driving/knitting time in Yellowstone, these are done and might be the fastest socks I’ve ever made:

The pattern is your standard 64-stitch sock and the yarn is self-striping, from Must Stash Yarns. I find the colorway name–“Kama Sutra”–really cringeworthy, because 1.) there is nothing erotic about handknit socks and 2.) these are CLEARLY Rainbow Brite socks :

It only took me six months to finish the neutral pair of socks for myself, compared with a year for the pair before that. Such speed! Now, of course, it is far too hot to wear socks but they’ll be ready for me in the fall.

I was also able speed through the stripy sock below mine (thanks, chunky sock yarn). It’s another Sock For Doc’s Pop–it was his birthday this past weekend so I was able to get one sock done but he’ll have to wait a bit for the other one. (He hopefully said, “Father’s Day?” when I told him and I was all, “I’m probably not THAT fast, my good sir.”)

I’ve been knitting away on a Cline sweater since about January, but since it’s black and is knit in pieces I haven’t been taking a lot of pictures. Here’s way back when I was doing a gauge swatch:

Remember how when I was planning my last cardigan that I announced I hated seaming and would only knit sleeveless, top-down sweaters I could try on as I went? Yeah, this isn’t that.

But I really want this sweater. Every version on Instagram looks so cool–and I was really swayed by Karen Templer’s version, especially since she always has so many good construction notes.

Historically, I haven’t gotten a good finish on a seamed sweater, but everyone raves about this pattern’s instructions (and so far, so good). I’m also about 10 years older and wiser than the last time I tired a seamed sweater, so maybe I can follow instructions a little better, too.

 

 

When you mostly knit socks for other people, it can take a while to finish your own. Case in point: This pair, last seen in progress nearly a year ago:

Yarn was Opal brand, Sweet & Spicy 3 – Safran color and it was just your usual 64-stitch sock pattern. It was also a total accident that I got the stripes to match up on the feet (one leg got a leeetle bit longer than the other).

After I finished these and realized I don’t have a lot of pink and purple in my everyday wardrobe, I thought, “What if I made a neutral pair of socks to wear with ankle boots or even clogs?”

So I started some:

Yarn is Madeleine Tosh Sock in Modern Fair Isle; pattern is the Impossible Girl Socks by Madeleine Gannon, just to add some interest to all the neutrality.

Check in again in about a year and I should have these finished!

I did!

I got these done Monday with a week to spare for Christmas. I had to think of Farmer Boy, where Mother is trying to get socks done for everyone going off to “The Academy”:

“In the evenings Mother’s knitting-needles flashed and clicked. She knitted so fast that the needles got hot from rubbing together.”

(Full disclosure, I’m not that fast a knitter. But if you read enough Laura Ingalls Wilder growing up, you’re going to have a quote for nearly every occasion in your head.)

 

I’m making the traditional Socks for Doc’s Pop again for Christmas, but this year I added a pair for his brother. Because if you joke just once while you see me knitting about “is your pair next” and “how many pairs does Pop have and you don’t have any” well GUESS WHAT: you too get socks.

I finished the blue pair for Doc’s Pop (in some discontinued Regia Active)  in October and have made good progress on the gray pair for Brother (in plain old Pattons Sock from JoAnn, which is surprisingly nice). But I realized this morning that I have 19 days until the gift exchange and about 15 inches of sock still to knit. Time to get cracking!

I finished the latest Socks for Doc’s Pop this last week, two months later than his actual birthday. I don’t even have a good reason for the delay–looking back, I guess I spent July trying to keep the heat from wrecking the yard and also worrying about being in charge of the HOA? (Note to Past Self: Knitting would have helped with both of those anxieties.)

Anyway, they are done and he likes them. This is a thicker yarn, the Regia Active 6-Ply that I used in his first pair. He reports they’re the warmest so I found some more on eBay (it’s discontinued) and added stripes to make all the balls last longer. I used this Purl Soho pattern for a reference–I’m almost getting to the point where I don’t need to consult sock patterns, but not quite.