WOW!! This week went fast! It's Sunday again and the sun tea is brewing. It is near 90 in Norhteast IN and humid today; the normal high is low 70's for this time of year. So I am taking advantage of the sun tea weather for as long as I can!
Here is an update of the socks from last Sunday. The pattern is Mountain Color's Peaks and Valleys Socks and the yarn is their Bearfoot in Sapphire Trail colorway. This week's picture is more accurate of the colorway. The main color is navy with bits of red, green and orange interspersed. It's a great colorway for fall and winter and the yarn is so cozy!
I want to share a few interesting things about this particular pair of socks. My LYS had a class the past two Saturday mornings of knitting two socks at a time on one circular needle. Since I have never tried the "Magic Loop" method and I have never tried socks on anything other than double points, I thought I'd give it a whirl.
Well, let me tell you, you could hear the neurons "pinging" in my brain as they were growing! I really enjoyed the class. It was challenging to learn two socks at a time on one circular needle, in a patterned cuff and instep and with a dark colored yarn. I love challenges; bring it on! It was fascinating for me to see how to switch the stitches around to fit the sock in progress especially after the heel and picking up the gusset. It is amazing how Sarah Hauschka's mind works. How in the world did she come up with this Magic Loop idea? It's so totally twisted but cool! There is a book, The Magic Loop, which describes the process written by Sara Hauschka and Bev Galeskas published by Fiber Trends. Check your LYS and give it a try.
I decided that I would like to try a few more pairs of socks with this method to get it "implanted" in my brain. I don't know if it will be my method of choice for socks since I have a great rhythm established with double point needles. I'd like to see if I could get a rhthym going with this method. However, it is really fun to have a pair of socks completed at the same time! I am glad that I learned this method; I love learning new things.
There are two other things I learned during this class that I would like to share with you. First, I learned the Twisted German Cast On which is very stretchy and I would like to try this again on a few pairs of socks. If this is something you are interested in, an online search provides you with LOTS of information. Go for it! I also learned about a new gadget to fix my boo boo's. What boo boo's you ask? The ones when I am tired and knitting at night with dark yarn and too lazy to go get the Ott Light. The next morning, they kind of humble you by smacking you right in the face like DUH!! :-D Here was a nifty little gadget called the Seed Stitcher: (Heads up! Lea-ann might be changing the name.) However, you can check it out here and see how it works.
http://www.knittingtoday.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=KT&Product_Code=20011&Product_Count=&Category_Code=
I have to admit, I am a gadget and gizmo gal. This little gizmo is a nifty little handknitter's helper. How does it work? Well, in a nutshell, it reminds me of a Push You Pull Me (the two headed llama on Dr. Doolittle) What?? You also don't remember the giant pink sea snail?? Ok, ok...I know...I need some more sleep! Haha.
Anyway, when dropping a stitch off the needle to knit or purl back up into place, you insert this two headed hook into the stitch below the one you want to fix. Then working up the ladders of yarn, if you pull the head thru, you make a knit stitch. If you push the other head thru, you make a purl stitch. It is very cool, very simple and will work on different gauges of yarn without splitting the yarn. I tried it on fingering weight. Also, you don't have to stop and figure out which way the crochet hook or knitting needle has to go into the stitch to get the stitch you want. It takes a bit to get the hang of it but this will be a staple in my knitting tools bag.
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