Back to Knitting

Now that Easter is over, I'm back to posts about things like knitting and cooking. (Did I just hear the Internets breathe a sigh of relief?) We made a new salad for Easter, and it was received surprisingly well considering it contained a) edamame and b) no ham. I'll share more about that tomorrow. Today we talk about knitting.

I finished a pair of socks on Sunday.

They're prettier than this, but this is what you get when you decide to photograph blue socks at night. Here's a closeup of the heel which should give you a better idea.

Saguaro socks (Ravelry link)

Knitpicks Stroll Kettle Dyed Yarn in Jay

I got a little bit bored with these, but I think that was more a problem with the plain blue color than with the pattern. I have found that I enjoy knitting socks more than I enjoy wearing them. I think I'm going to have to start framing them and using them as art. Although I love socks like my Olympic Socks, there is a limit to what they can be worn with--even by someone who has no interest in fashion. I'm hopeful that these will get a lot of wear owing to their plain color.

Last night I started a new pair. These are the January socks from the 2010 sock club. This year, the sock club comes with two patterns so you can pick the one you like the best. I liked both the January patterns, so I attempted to knit one of them with the blue yarn you saw above. The yarn decided it didn't want to be knitted into that pattern*, so I gave up and did the Saguaro pattern. I started the second January pattern last night.

I knew I was in trouble when the first instruction was, "Using your chosen toe-up CO (cast on) method, CO 22 sts..." Crap. I don't have a chosen toe-up cast on. I don't even like to knit socks toe-up. I've done a pair that way--just so I could say I'd tried it--but I find increasing much fiddlier than decreasing, so I usually go cuff-down.

I consulted my friend, the Internets, and found a cast-on that had Magic in the title. Deciding that was probably my best bet, that's what I used.

I cast on carefully, struggled for a few rows, and realized I had giant holes.

Frog.

I cast on again, trying to be optimistic about how much practice I was getting with this new cast-on technique, and started again. This one went pretty well, but much, much later I realized there were two separate sets of instructions--one for the top of the toe and one for the bottom. I cursed quite a bit, and then...

Frog.

I didn't frog all the way back this time, but I ripped out a bunch of rows. I started again, knit happily, and then realized I was following the instructions for size small instead of size medium.

At this point I flipped off my knitting.

Frog.

Andrew was sitting on the couch with me, and he turned to me and gently said, "Bonnie, you have to stop. You can't expect to do this on OPENING DAY."

He was right. We were watching our beloved Reds get trounced upon by The Team Who Hangs Around With Albert Pujols.**

So, this is the result of hours and hours of knitting last night:

Someday, perhaps, it will be a sock.

Happy baseball season, everyone!

*Splitty yarn + Bobbles = Crazy Town

**That man is a delight to watch play, even as he's destroying the confidence of your pitcher.