July Socks done!

I finished the Move Your F@nny pair officially last night. WooHoo! If I do say so myself, the Kitchener closings look great! I also finished [Kitchenered] a pair of CIC socks. I used these to practice the Kitchener technique before working on the F@nnies.

Pattern: Move Your F@nny [pattern at http://www.socktopia.net/]
Yarn: Knit Picks Memories in Redwood Forest [100% Merino]
Needles: 1.5 [US]/2.5mm dpns
Knit for: my Mother
Modifications: just the needles. Pattern calls for 2 circs. I only have a set of dpns in the size I needed.

Pattern: Top down, ribbed leg [k2, P2] 4 1/4" foot

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes [worsted] in Winter Night with a Fog stripe

Needles: Size 6 [US] dpns

Knit for: current CIC challenge for Little Kids

Kitchener Addendum and Rearranging Furniture

I have two pair of socks OTN now - but won't be ready to close the toes on either for ...days... yet. When I'm there I'll watch that video again. I also made notes on the steps & wrote them on a 4x6" file card. Then I taped it inside the lid of the little plastic box I use to tote around misc. knitting accessories - optimistic that I won't need to watch the video too many more times :-)

No knitting this a.m. I'm catching up on reading emails, but will wait till later to reply. I'm feeling rather perky this morning - and my house needs major dusting & vacuuming - so that's the project for after breakfast. DD2 & J. are nearly moved out of their apt. but need to finish the kitchen this morning. So they'll bring Sport & Buster over here while they do that. Hmm...maybe I can talk DD2 into bringing her digital camera [and whatever's needed to download photos to my computer!] While DD2 & J are here, I'm going to ask them to move the couch to another wall. It's a hide-a-bed, so I cannot [or should not, I suppose] do that by myself.

I inherited [from Mother] the gene that causes people to move furniture around frequently. One month, maybe two, is about all I can stand it before I have to rearrange again. But, my living room has been the same away since we set up the Christmas tree - ARGH - that was five months ago!! The tree was taken down three months ago but I wasn't feeling like rearranging furniture then.

BTW - I finished sleeve #1 on the CIC kid's sweater last evening while watching hockey.

Off the Needles! And Kitchenered, too!!

I've had these kids socks (for CIC project) completed for awhile excepted for closing the toes. When I got home today I decided that would be my project for the evening. I've tried the kitchener stitch several times (with light weight "sock yarn") but never have been happy with the results. I figured these socks in heavier yarn might be easier to practice on. I opened up the video from knittinghelp.com and watched it 5 or 6 times.

I'm happy to say - I'm happy with the results!!!

Yarn: Wool of the Andes worsted weight in Cranberry

Needles: size 4 [U.S] dpns

Pattern: "Swirling Confetti" Kids' Socks from a CIC list file

DPNS will be flying

It's 6 a.m. I've been awake for an hour messing around with emails & my previous post. Now it's time to get down to business!

I have about 3" to finish on sock 2 [Aran flecked, Red Heart sport, for Mother's Christmas present.] I think I could finish it this a.m. and take it along, with its partner, to the yarn shop in the next town. I'm going over there to get a Kitchener Stitch lesson. Don't have an appt., but I told the lady I'd be there today. Originally thought I'd go early. But...I'd really like to take sock 2 along. So... back to my knitting.

Kitchener Nightmares

I cannot figure out how to graft the toes closed with the Kitchener stitch. I've followed directions given with sock patterns, directions AND photo examples in a knitting encyclopedia, and directions found online and I still make a mess of it.

I finished the first five pair of socks by just drawing the end of the yarn through the last few stitches with a darning needle - snuggly - and then securing it shut. They look OK to me. But, I would like to conquer the K. stitch!

Contacted the owner of the yarn shop in the next town. She said she can help. I think I just need to see it being done. Maybe I'm having a problem because I knit the Continental way. I have this week off work, so I'll go over there mid-week. Stay tuned!