When I came back from the LRP event last week, I was so tired I just couldn't face working on any of the projects I had on my hooks/needles. Even my granny squares seemed like too much effort, with all the colour changing involved. But I wanted to do something while I lay recovering on the sofa. So I scanned the yarns on my Year of Projects list to see if there was anything simple I could get started on.
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| King Cole Zig Zag |
I hunted out this sock yarn, and went searching for my DPNs. I had a quick look through Ravelry for simple sock patterns, but couldn't decide on any of them. In the end, I googled "easy sock tutorials" and found my way to knitty.com and their Socks 101 tutorial. The only DPNs I had were 2.25mm or 2.5mm, which meant I definitely needed to swatch to ensure my socks would fit.
I know, I know, I've said many times that I have no interest in knitting socks. But there is a method to my madness! I can't think of anything else to do with this yarn, for starters. I have also become more curious about why people get so excited about knitting socks. After all, you wear them inside your shoes, so nobody even sees them half the time. And on my list of yarn to use this year is a gorgeous skein of Candy Skein Yummy Fingering in Arctic Mint, which I would love to do justice to and I think a really nice pair of socks I can show off would fit the bill nicely.
I know, I know, I've said many times that I have no interest in knitting socks. But there is a method to my madness! I can't think of anything else to do with this yarn, for starters. I have also become more curious about why people get so excited about knitting socks. After all, you wear them inside your shoes, so nobody even sees them half the time. And on my list of yarn to use this year is a gorgeous skein of Candy Skein Yummy Fingering in Arctic Mint, which I would love to do justice to and I think a really nice pair of socks I can show off would fit the bill nicely.
I ended up getting 8 stitches per inch on the 2.5mm needles, and decided that this would be perfect, as it meant I could cast on 64 stitches. The socks are knit cuff down, and I've whizzed through the first half of the first sock.
I love how the colours pool and stripe with this yarn, although I'd prefer there to be more purple and pink and less white!
The instructions for turning the heel were very straightforward; even my super-tired brain didn't have any problems with it. I've been obsessively making notes on my Ravelry project page so that when I come to sock number two I can do it the same way!
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| Spot the difference... |
I've only faced one set back so far, when I snapped one of my beautiful bamboo needles. I've had to proxy in one of my longer 2.25mm needles so I can knit the foot over four needles, which I find more comfortable than just using three when I've got this many stitches on the go.
I have to say, I am actually quite enjoying knitting this sock. I still don't really see the point of spending all that effort on a really posh patterned pair when they'll be hidden in my shoes, but a plain vanilla sock certainly fits the bill for brainless and portable project. Plus, it means I get an excuse to buy more sock yarn! I think ultimately, I will only knit these plain socks in real workhorse sock yarns, so I end up with a stash of socks to wear inside my army boots when I go to LRP events. Any recommendations for decent, relatively inexpensive, hardwearing sock yarn that would fit the bill?
I have to say, I am actually quite enjoying knitting this sock. I still don't really see the point of spending all that effort on a really posh patterned pair when they'll be hidden in my shoes, but a plain vanilla sock certainly fits the bill for brainless and portable project. Plus, it means I get an excuse to buy more sock yarn! I think ultimately, I will only knit these plain socks in real workhorse sock yarns, so I end up with a stash of socks to wear inside my army boots when I go to LRP events. Any recommendations for decent, relatively inexpensive, hardwearing sock yarn that would fit the bill?
