I have been knitting socks for many years. Once long ago I read a pattern and when I got to the turn the heel instructions I balked. "Oh no, I do not think I can do that" went through my head. One day I saw and article in Spin-Off by Celia Quinn on knitting boot socks. With the article and the Elizabeth Zimmerman book that Celia mentions I decided to take the plunge. I figured if I got stuck I could ask for help.One step at a time is good in many situations. Go forward until you are at the end or get stuck and either figure it out, or ask for help. I managed to knit a pair of socks following the instructions even when I thought things did not look right. It worked! I was then on the path to being a sock knitter. I even had a pair of hand spun dog hair and wool socks published in Spin-Off. Now these many years later I always have at least one pair in progress so I have something to do while waiting in a doctor's office or at the auto repair shop, etc. I used double points for a very long time and finally tried two socks at a time on two circular needles and now also the magic loop on one circular. A few years ago I tried toe up and that is my preferred method. Three pair in progress in the picture are 3 ply hand spun BFL that I had blended with 20% nylon at the mill. I dyed the yarn in balls, sitting them first into one color and then turning the balls over into another color. This is a fun way to dye and I like the results. From top left the socks are; Jojoland Melody, (magic loop) Drops Fabel Superwash, (magic loop) and the other three are my hand spun. (double points) The first pair was done with peacock and old rose, second is a mix of color to cover up the screaming orange from the first dip into the pot. The last is done in purple and forest green. However, there are only a few spots of green showing, it turned into a nice gray where the dye mixed. Not bad, but not what I was aiming for either. I will be playing more with this technique, but first I must get more sock yarn spun.
No comments:
Post a Comment