Why are second socks so frequently the "better" of the two...

...at least for me anyway. And how can I say frequently when I have only knit one complete pair of socks, lol (but i do have a couple of socks on there second run now)

~sock one making its (second) debut at one of my "new places" to knit... Wegmans~

And yes that is Wegmans the grocery store. What an incredible store of specialty and everyday foods AND a sushi bar among many many others. Food, great lighting, extended hours and seating galore make it a wonderful knitting spot for meeting up with friends for a bit of snack, chat and full serving of knitting (AND pregrocery shopping enjoyment, lol). I ripped back a bit more than intended due to the fact that I decreased a bit more than the pattern dictated for the foot for that snug sock fit, but it resulted in a look of stressed stitches if you know what I mean. That "oh it feels perfect" but boy are those stitches spaced a bit differently at the widest part of my food kindof way. Prior to ripping back sock one however, I decided to give sock two a fighting chance by getting a jump on it. I must have learned a bit from sock one 'cause I found sock two much easier to knit to fit while making adjustments based on sock one (and yes I knew this would mean ripping and reknitting one, but then I was going to have to do that anyway right?). However I didn't add to the equation the fact that sock one had been sitting around for months knit tightly on 0's resulting in a what I initially felt was a beautiful rippling of waves in that "oh that would make the most gorgeous hair for a knitted doll" kind of look, but not gonna happen cause that's koigu, babee. But in awe of it I never realized that it would cause so much havoc when I reknit it.

~lumpy bumpy vs. somewhat smooth~

Well that sock one reknit was so bumpy and lumpy that it threw off the gauge completely resulting in a much bigger reknit (even though it was in the same fashion as sock two). At best it looks like twisted stitches. Now I have had many a sweater sitting around waiting on somebody to reknit it for ages, but it was never anything a little after-reknit-blocking party couldn't handle, but this sock was a "Bad Hat"*. Now is it possible to unwind and just wet and hang all of the skein, but the cuff. I mean that IS 2x2 ribbing on size 0's and 50 some odd rows. So yes, I am trying to save that cuff. I mean I don't mind ripping, but this is getting a bit sad...humph!

I mean these sock are breakin' my heart AND my needles even. Well I wasn't actually knitting when it happened, but it must have occurred when I put something in my bag. Maybe it was that bottle of root beer in the glass bottle. The one time in a while that I crack and drink a soda..oh well. That'll teach me...must.drink.more.water.

*Madeline and the Bad Hat has been read a lot lately and has crept into my vocabulary I guess.

Vogue on the go...to go

Vogue Knitting on the go books

Top L to R: Chunky Knits ISBN 1-931543-02-X, Weekend Knits ISBN 1-931543-23-2,
Bags & Backpacks ISBN 1-57389-018-9
Bottom L to R:Teen Knits ISBN 1-931543-09-7, Toddler Knits ISBN 1-931543-03-8
Retail $12.95 each

Any takers @ $7 each or $30 for all (plus shipping)?

If interested, send me an email.

Oh, where have you been?

~almost time for kitchener, huh~
I have been trying very hard not to drop any stitches when sock knitting cause I didn't really have a crochet hook small enough that would not distort the stitches and though I can pick up stitches using the knitting needles, I believe that when using a crochet hook the stitches tend to look more uniform (at least compared to when I pick up stitches using the needles. If its only a row or two the knitting needles suit me just fine, but any more than that and I call on the hook. Luckily I now have a hook point needle small enough to use with my sock. Boy, did it come in quite handy.

~at the first try-on i was quite pleased~

My initial excitement was over once I took a closer look at the toe. I tried to use some reinforcement thread and that extra thread really threw off my kitchener groove and I ended up with funky little pinch on the side. I do think that orange looks very close to one of the color threads going through the yarn. Now I just have to rip back and give it another go. I'm thinking I may just rip back a bit more to create more of an defined orange toe. What do you think? Or would that only look okay with a orange heel (and no, i'm not ripping that far back)?

~oh, don't look so sad, i'll knit you back up and knit you up a pal too~

Posted by froggy at 10:45 PM | Comments (34)

Third time's a charm

I know, I know, you've seen it all before...

~wanna see the back~

Project Specs:
Pattern: Rebecca 19 Mottled Sweater
Suggested Yarn/Used: GGH Via Mala (two strands held together)
Needle Size: US 15 (one size smaller than suggested)
Gauge: almost 2.5 st/in (preblock)

~hmm...would that make a difference in the fit...heck yeah!~

I never really thought row gauge mattered 'cause I've been somewhat happy with my knits without even thinking about it. I usually have so many other issues going on I don't really think of it, but after reading Wendy's post about row gauge, I decided to incorporate that "eureka" moment I had after reading it into this knit. Could not getting row gauge contribute to some of my wonky fit issues...why yes, it did (even though I didn't know it specifically). Within the shoulder shaping rows I threw in a row here and there and after (cause I was lacking in the row count) and let me tell you the fit is much better. Look at that difference in the sleeve cap above (is that what you would call it). Makes all the difference when you put it on. And yes I will be ripping the Noro Kochoran back down to sleeve...eventually. So I'll no longer be saying that row gauge doesn't matter to me. It matters...bigtime.

~mottle goes to work with me too~

Posted by froggy at 06:46 PM | Comments (37)