Friday, June 08, 2007

Knitting superpowers restored

When I sat down to knit this evening, I didn't have anything particular in mind. More than likely I'd end up knitting another dishcloth, but I thought I might as well cast on for a companion to the baby sock I knitted. Look what happened.

Super Quick Baby Sock

Yarn: Dark Horse Yarns-Fantasy (50% nylon, 50% acrylic; worsted weight)
Color: 31 (baby pink)
Needles: US 7 dpns
Stitches: 24

My knitting superpowers were dormant while I worked on the first one, but tonight they returned in full force as I whipped through a second sock in about three and a half hours while listening to/watching the Reds game on TV. (The team has been worth avoiding at all costs this season, but I was curious to check out their new phenom pitcher. It's pretty bad when that's the highlight for a baseball team in early June.) I didn't intend to knit the whole thing, but there you have it.

Everything I had problems with the first time made a lot more sense this time. The wrong side/right side dilemma was clearer, maybe because the WIP was below the needles. (I'm certain it was between me and the needles previously. This is why I wondered if I needed to turn it inside out.) The heel flap knitted easily, as did the turn.

The chain selvage wasn't as loose, and I realized that I needed to pick up stitches as close to the instep as possible to avoid holes. There are a couple dodgy looking areas, and where I ssk I leave "ears", as a book calls them. Overall, though, I'm thrilled with how this sock turned out. I could feel comfortable giving it as a gift to my friends who had their baby girl on Wednesday. I suppose that means I have to do another one.

Here are photos for the sake of comparison.


Miraculously, the socks are the same size. I counted the number of rounds for the foot this time, so I know how many to knit rather than going by a measurement.

Although it doesn't pertain to this project, I found--or, rather, I didn't find--an answer for my question if there was an equivalent bind off for the long-tail cast on. I haven't located any. I meant to include that bit with yesterday's post for the dishcloth I started with the long tail.

So sock knitters, I'm less likely to abandon your precious footwear now that I feel a lot more confident in my ability to make them. It's time for socks for me, but I need the right yarn first.

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2 Comments:

At 11:39 PM, Blogger donnadb said...

Yay! Oh, this is awesome. You are one sock ahead of me again, and order is restored to the universe. For yourself, get some fun self-striping yarn and watch the patterns unfold!

 
At 7:33 PM, Blogger Jennifer said...

wow - the second sock looks really great, mark...it inspires me to grab mine and give the picking up of stitches a go, although now i'm in to the thick of packing and not really finding the energy to knit at the moment. oh well...maybe once i'm moved in to the new place. we'll see. anyway, great job!!

 

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