Knitter in the Kitchen

Yarn: Yarntini Vintage, 1 skein
Pattern: My generic 56 stitch top-down sock with slip stitch heel
Needles: US # 1 / 32” Addi Turbos for Magic Loop

Yarn: Claudia Hand Painted Yarn, Jungle, 2 skeins
Pattern: My generic 56 stitch top-down sock with short row heels
Needles: US # 1 / 32” Addi Turbos for Magic Loop
Thoughts: I don’t wear green very often. A quick peek in my closet reveals that I own only one solid green top. It’s just not a favorite color of mine. So it was a surprise even to me that I selected this colorway. I saw it several times in person before I succumbed to it; I think the beautifully saturated colors finally won me over. Plus I love Claudia Hand Painted Yarn. Unfortunately the two skeins I purchased ended up having slightly different tones (even though they came from the same dyelot). I loved the first sock. When I got to the second one, I found that I was pushing myself to finish it as soon as possible. At first I thought maybe I was sick of green, but then I realized that the second skein has much more of a yellowish tint to it. I think it shows up in my second photo — the sock on the right is the more yellow one. While the first sock was vibrantly green and fit the name of the colorway, the second sock just made me think of wilted grass. But no worries — I am still totally thrilled to add another pair of handknit socks to my collection.

Dear Scil,

When I saw you on Christmas Eve, I was wearing handknit socks. I pointed them out to you because I was super excited about them. I had just begun my sock knitting frenzy, and these were the first ones that I knit two-at-a-time from the toe up to the cuff. And they fit me really well.

After I told you about the socks, you asked if we could put our feet up against each other to compare foot sizes. I was perplexed. I mean, I wear a size 5 and you’re a 6, so it wouldn’t exactly be a huge surprise if your foot is slightly bigger, right? But frankly, I said no because your socks didn’t look so clean to me. I didn’t want your questionable socks giving yucky cooties to my nice handknit ones. Don’t roll your eyes at me — you already know I’m a tad obsessive about cleanliness.

You brought up the foot comparison thing again. Finally, a little light bulb came on in my head and I asked if you just wanted to try on my socks. You answered “Yes!” In a tone of voice that implied “it sure took you long enough to get my drift.” O-kay, I guess I was a little slow on the uptake. Amazingly, the socks fit. You seemed really interested in them. We talked about the colors, and you thought they were good but maybe something brighter would be nice too. We pretty much left it at that — I didn’t say I would knit socks for you, and you didn’t ask. But I was already scheming.

A week later, I ordered the yarn for your socks. I’m kind of a slacker, so I didn’t start knitting them until Super Bowl Sunday. I’m not sure if this colorway is what you meant by brighter, but there is more definitely purple in it and I know you like purple. Here is a comparison:

Your sock is on the left side of the photo

I was actually trying to finish them while we were chatting on the phone the other night. You know, the night when you were tearing your way through a massive pile of junk mail while talking with me? During our conversation about your most frequently used handknit items, you said jokingly that I could feel free to knit socks for you. I smiled and managed to keep quiet even though I was bursting to tell you aobut my project.

So finally, here are your socks. They aren’t perfect, but hopefully they will fit you well and last for several winters. It’s best to handwash them, but I don’t even do that and I have way more free time than you do. So we’ll settle for the care instructions on the label, okay? Whatever you do, do not wash them in hot water! They’ll end up looking like the little felted purple purse.

I really enjoyed knitting these socks for you. I hope your feet feel warm and happy in them.

Much love,
me

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Hand Painted Supersock, Sergenti, 1 skein
Pattern: My generic 56 stitch top-down sock with slip stitch heel
Needles: US # 1 / 32” Addi Turbos for Magic Loop
Thoughts: The Sergenti colorway wasn’t what I was expecting at all. I guess this is a major disadvantage of purchasing yarn online. The photo I saw showed lots of brown and magenta with mere hints of rusty orange and blue-ish gray. As you can see from my photos, there is a lot of navy blue and burgundy in this skein. Navy blue is one of my least favorite colors, especially when it is next to burgundy. Overall, this colorway was just a more masculine-looking than I anticipated. This was my first time knitting with Cherry Tree Hill, and I would definitely buy it again. Of course, I haven’t found a hand dyed/ hand painted yarn that I wouldn’t use again, so perhaps I’m just partial to the hand-dyed stuff!

Thank you so much for the get-well wishes! My stomach muscles got lots of exercise this week from the constant coughing, but I am finally feeling better. Here are the promised sock photos:

Pattern: My generic 56 stitch toe-up sock with short-row heels
Yarn: Claudia Hand Painted Yarn, Plumicious, 2 skeins
Needles: US #1 / 40″ Addi Turbo for Magic Loop
Thoughts: Still had difficulty closing the gaps between the live stitches on the short row heel and the ones on the instep, but oh well. This project confirmed my prior feeling that knitting two socks at once really isn’t my thing, so if I do toe-ups again I will do them individually. Love the Claudia yarn!

I also managed to knit a hat.

Pattern: Sparkle Hat from Stitch ‘N Bitch
Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Bulky, M-34 Victorian Pink, less than 1 skein
Needles: US #11 / 16″ Addi Turbo and US #10 Brittany DPNs
Thoughts: About time that I knit this because I bought the large sequins two years ago! A little too much sparkle, but definitely fun!