Stripey Goodness

I'd like to thank everyone for their kind comments on the pink sweater. I don't think I'll go around calling myself a designer until I'm more comfortable with what I'm doing, especially with sleeves. But I'm on my way. And I don't mind if you guys call me a designer. *wink-wink* *giggle-giggle*

Now onto the parade. Next are the Sweet Tart stipey socks, and their friend "Mini-me" (FO's #3 & 4). Forgive the photos. It's hard to take pictures of your own feet!



Pattern: None, just me playing with some yarn

Yarn: Knit Picks Simply Stripes in Sweet Tarts, 3 skeins for all four socks

Needles: 2 size 0 Addi Turbos

Review: What could be better than having a matching pair of socks with Pork Chop? I made the socks for myself first, and for a pair of stockingnette socks they were a real learning experience. I tried making a 2 st border of garter stitch on the heel. Elizabeth Zimmerman promised it was much prettier this way.



Elizabeth Zimmerman lied. My sock is on the left, Pork Chop on the right. I prefer the traditional sl1, k1 all the way across heel. I also take issue with her theory on the infinite superiority of knitting all things in the round, but that is a different dissertation. Next time I'll just chuck it all and try an after-thought heel, so the stripe pattern isn't disrupted.

I also tried decreasing for the toe every other round instead of every round. That didn't really work out either. My feet are Fred Flintstone feet. They are very square. I can never comfortably wear a pointed toe shoe. Rounded shoes are pushing it. Decreasing every other row makes a too pointy sock.



Again, I'm on the left, Pork Chop on the right. I much prefer the look and feel of the round toe you get from decreasing every row. Hey, live and learn.

I also learned a very important lesson on gauge. I've learned a lot about gauge swatches. I've learned the importance of making them, and the importance of washing them. Last week I learned an important lesson on stress and it's effect on gauge. I knit my gauge swatch while Big Booty Knits was at my house. I have the most fun with her. We knit, and fondle one another's yarn, and say outrageous things. I'm very relaxed with her when we are together laughing. My gauge swatch created with her was 7 st per inch. I cast on accordingly. Evidentially there is a lot of stress in my life that I can ignore with her, but not in my normal life. My gauge for the actual socks turned out to be 9 stitches per inch. That's a huge difference. What can I do but laugh at myself and enjoy my very snug socks, lesson learned. If I weren't so lazy I suppose I could rip them out and re-knit them. But that's too much work. I will wear my slightly tight socks as a constant reminder of these important lessons.

So Pork Chops socks were knit with the nine inch gauge, with a traditional heel and rounded toes. I knit them slightly larger for her feet. I'd like her to wear them longer than a week. She loves them. She's worn them around the house for a week straight. She even sleeps in them. It's nice to have my hand knits so deeply loved. Not like that ungrateful Bird. I'm going to order one more ball to make her a matching pair of socks, and she's going to wear them, and she's going to like it!