Category: Knitting

I think this yarn is lovely. The colors make me think of Van Gogh’s painting, Starry Night Over the Rhone.

Yes, these are more socks. Two at a time, toe-up. My cast on was 32 stitches (divided between two needles) per sock. I ended with 56. Originally, I was going to go up to 62, but measuring against my foot, that would have been to big. Since I’m only using one yarn ball, these will be mismatched… which I adore. It’s sock weight merino yarn and I’m using my Hiya Hiya Sharp fixed circular needles, size 0.

 

No pattern is being used. I’ll make it up as I go. I already have an idea of the design I want to incorporate within these socks. By the time these are completed, I’m guessing I will have knit about 47,000 stitches? Or… perhaps a bit more. 🤔The completed socks will be able to be worn in almost any shoe.

Happiness is….
Discovering your first pair of toe-up socks that you knitted. This morning, they literally dropped on the floor from their ‘hidden’ location. A few weeks ago (ok maybe a month) I put them in a secret place. Sadly the place was so obscure that I hid them from myself. These aren’t the first socks I’ve knitted. I used to knit cuff down. These are the FIRST socks I knit toe-up. Still, two at a time. (There is no way you can convince me to knit one at a time.) Flaws and all (which I corrected with my next pair) I adore these socks and they are my favorite, even though I’ve knit two additional pair, for myself, since then. ❤️

In other news…

I still have wrist pain, but this morning, after dropping my daughter off at school I am going to sit in the sauna.

My goodness, where has the time gone?

I’m still around although my posting has come to a standstill. It’s been that busy. My newest venture is knitting socks four at a time, toe-up. I normally knit them two at a time, although recently I have not done much of anything due to wrist pain. But here are the socks that I started a while ago. Perhaps I’ll be able to finish them before Christmas? We’ll see how my wrists feel.

 

A few days ago, I finally finished knitting my toe-up socks. These socks were customized for my feet, so yes… I took measurements.

 

I must say that these socks are incredibly soft and comfortable. It’s like walking on a soft cushion that hugs your feet. The socks were knit with (superwash) worsted weight wool. The gauge is tight so nothing is penetrating these socks, which will work perfectly for wearing them outside (within shoes) during our cold weather seasons.

As with the other handknit socks I’ve made (those were cuff down) these are so much better than store bought socks.

 

 

I used three different needle sizes. I started with a size 5 Hiya Hiya sharp circular knitting needles. After the heel flap I dropped down to a size 2. Once I moved past the ankle, I moved down to a size 0.

This is my first time knitting toe-up socks. Supposedly they are harder than knitting cuff down socks (what I’m used to knitting) but I didn’t see them as difficult. I did make a few mistakes along the first heel flap; however, by the time I moved to the second heel flap… I’d corrected my mistakes. Sure, I could have ripped back to make them ‘perfect’ but sometimes, I like these reminders that show me where I’ve been and how much I have advanced… with practice.

There’s a lesson there… our Christian walk is like that, the more we spend time within Gods word and applying what we’ve researched into our own lives, prayer, surrounding ourselves with like-minded believers and obeying his commands (in all things) the more like Christ (and the less like the world) we become.

 

But back to knitting…
These socks were knit two-at-a-time. Most sock knitters knit one-at-time. Uhm, no thanks! I much prefer knitting them two-at-a-time to insure that I have the same consistency throughout the pair of socks.

Also, knitting them at the same time means I’m not going to have different sock lengths since I don’t have to count rows… or measure. I can make up my own pattern mods as I go along, and just keep simple notes for future socks.

Sock (pattern) details…
I did not use a pattern, but I did use a pair of thick Timberland socks as my pattern guide. The bulk of the sock was stockinette stitch. The top of the sock was done in a rib stitch (k2, p2) for about an inch and then I moved on to stockinette stitch for about four rows (In hindsight I would have used seed stitch) and then I ended with rib stitch (k1, p1) for about four rows. I used a stretchy bind off.

Now that I can knit toe-up socks without mistakes, it’s time I knit my daughter a pair. I’ll be blending the fibers of merino, alpaca and Cotswold. Alpaca is three times warmer than wool, which will work perfectly for my daughter since she likes having toasty feet… just like her mom.

If you ever make it on someones “sockworthy” list, by all means… find how you can stay ON THAT LIST! Handknit socks, knit correctly, are an incredible experience. You won’t want to go back to store bought socks.