Yesterday's knitting lesson, and a new project!

[kniteracy]

Yesterday's knitting lesson turned out to be a single-student affair; the other lady who was going to come wasn't able to join us. Luckily, I got the news before I spent $10S on photocopies!

The class was a low-key affair, because E has been to our house enough times now that she knows which one is her chair, she knows there will be tea the minute she gets in, and she knows I'm never in a hurry to push forward because the company is good.

Since E already knew the basic short-row technique outlined in Simple Socks, Plain and Fancy, I went straight into teaching her to knit socks on two circular needles. To do this, we needed to have two toes turned on our two separate socks to begin.

She worked on some new wool she'd gotten in shades of purple, blue and white, and I took this opportunity to begin oreouk's Really Purple House Socks.

Anyway, once we had the toes turned, we slipped all the toe stitches onto one of the needles, then picked up the other half of the sock with the second needle. After that, the process is pretty straightforward, but from this point on, I will help people learn the two-needle technique with a single tube rather than two tubes! Some confusion happened, but everything was resolved to our satisfaction, and E went home with a new technique and a copy of my Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles book to borrow unti Saturday, when the Singapore knitstitch group meets again.

The Really Purple House Socks are made out of Brown Sheep Burly Spun, a super bulky wool that knits up really fast; the colour is BS62 Amethyst, and I'm getting about three stitches to the inch on US 10.5/6.5mm needles.


We know you took a photo, Harper!

Of course I did.

I only need to knit about 7 inches on these before beginning the heels, and we're already up to 4.5 inches in length, so I expect them to come along very quickly, although I admit that after I've done the heel turns I will very likely go on to knit one cuff at a time. Managing two balls of wool at once is not conducive to something one can knit on the train, and I've already been considering starting a new smaller sock project that I can take around just because the wool for this one is so very bulky.

Anyway, now that the toes have progressed far enough that it doesn't look like I'm knitting a bra for a pixie (trust me!), here is a photograph.



If I'd been working on only one sock at a time, I probably would have a finished sock by now, but knitting them together this way means that they will match perfectly in length from toe to heel.

I haven't made any more progress on J's cardi since the photos I posted the other day; finishing folkmew's socks and starting these have given me plenty to do with my hands without too much of a brain drain.

I do not knit with a lot of super-bulky wool, but Burly Spun is really a treat. Unlike other big wools it doesn't scratch through my fingers, even though it is 100% wool. The colours are really consistent. The manufacturer suggests a size 13/9mm needle, but for socks and socklike things I usually go with a smaller needle anyway, so that I have a denser fabric. I hope these will make oreouk's feet all toasty warm when she's at home with a new baby this fall.

Comments

[angelovernh.livejournal.com]

Cool! I just started the sock class tonight and we're doing them on DPN's. It was tricky at first, especially the joining of the needles, but now it's just knitting the legs for 8 or 9" (double rib knit stitch) and then the heel turn and toes. I think I'm going to love socks since I need socks a lot. :) Wow, you're using two sets of circulars to do two at once?! That's really interesting. Do you think this is easier than DPNs?

[dyddgu.livejournal.com]

ooooAddis!

It just occurs to me, actually, that you are the person I should ask something about Short-row Shaping.... I thought I'd done ok with the tutorial from Knitty.com and made a top. Then I got into an exchange with white_hart who frogged a top with short-rows, and all is now confusion. Does one actually pick up and knit the actual wrapping around the stitch with the stitch itself? I didn't think you picked up the actual wrap at all, because it seems I just didn't twig...

Er, do you mind me asking this? It just occurs to me that you're the only person I know who would know...!

[telynor.livejournal.com]

I prefer it.

I think it depends on how you think of socks. It's easier, I think, to understand the structure of socks if you knit them with dpns. But I prefer the circular method, because you have more flexibility and can knit faster.

[telynor.livejournal.com]

Hm.

Well, let's see. When you wrap stitches for short-row shaping, you are only going to pick them up if you need your shaping to widen out again, like when you are doing a short-row heel.

You decrease and wrap stitches to bring the heel to its narrow pointy bit, then pick up the wraps and stitches and knit out again to widen the heel again and make it back to the sock width.

I don't know much about general applications of short-row shapings. I'm afraid that while I can knit almost anything, the only thing I really undersand deeply (so far) is socks. :)

[dyddgu.livejournal.com]

I think the thing my friend mentioned was to do with picking up the wrap and knitting it with the stitch that you've wrapped. Apparently it's meant to hide the wrap, or something. And I can't check it out because my other friends has the relevant book atm..Hey ho. It'll sort somehow. Thank you :-)

[guyelfkin.livejournal.com]

Ooooh! Pretty pretty amethyst woolyness!

Teddy

[wytchchyld.livejournal.com]

oooooo.

I clearly MUST learn how to make socks. And find something that is nice and thick and plushy to use to make myself socks for wearing around the house in the winter. And for sliding across Dad's hard wood floors. And make Dad a pair and see if he'll slide on the floors, too.

*giggles*

[callibr8]

Yarn looks yummy. So do the socks! Speaking of sock yarn, there's a local artisan who does unusual colorways. If you'll give me two or three groups of favorite colors (or take a look at what's pictured at the link below), I'll see what I can find, and send you a couple of skeins of their Socks that Rock sock yarn as a b'day present. Okay? :)

[callibr8]

Here's another link with more pictures including example socks. Wheee!

[telynor.livejournal.com]

Wow, this is gorgeous stuff! You have inspired me: I'm going to write a post about all the fantastic sock yarns out there!

Yum,
Harper

[telynor.livejournal.com]

Sorry I couldn't be more help....My feeling is that the wrap makes the short-row edge appear more finished if it's for something like an armhole on a tank top-- I'd think it would be easy to seam from the wraps as well. Hrm.