What I did on my summer vacation, vol. 1
September 21, 2017
Oh, September. It seems like you just started. I had good intentions to be back in this space weeks ago, because in my mind, Labor Day marks the end of summer. Never mind that summer officially ends tomorrow or that, for us, it ended mid-August when the girls started back to school (a sophomore and a senior!). It always takes me a few weeks to adjust to the new normal and I think that I am just about as adjusted as I will get this year. Or so it seems.
Our summer was full and good and productive. I read a LOT, I made some quilts, I made some gifts (that I can't show yet), I knitted a TON. I thought I'd dip my toes back into blogging by sharing these things with you all over the next few posts.
First up, some socks.
I still find it somewhat unbelievable that I like to knit socks. This pair was a complete delight. The yarn, Woodstock by Must Stash Yarns, is self-striping and I just love, love, love how it knits up. It's super soft and the colors are so beautiful. Not to mention that I kept knitting to see what stripe came next! Stacie packages the yarn in two identical skeins so that your socks will be exact matches - love that! I started these as a pair for myself, but as the stripes showed themselves, I decided that I would give them to Kate.
Having two matching skeins was a prefect opportunity for me to try something new: two-at-a-time magic loop. I started off strong, but ended up having to separate them after about three inches as I had a knot in my yarn that I could not figure out how to fix with both socks on one needle. Oh well. I am not sure that two-at-a-time is for me yet - I found it kind of fiddly dealing with two yarn cakes. I am not saying I won't try it again, but for now, one sock magic loop knitting seems to be the best and fastest method for me.
I used Susan Anderson's Smooth Operator Sock with an afterthought heel. I have knit this pattern four times now and I love it for self-striping and self-patterning yarns. The heel is a bit of a challenge the first time, but Susan's pattern is extremely detailed and has tons of photos which help a lot. I also find that the afterthought heel feels a tad tight for me when I try the socks on. Once blocked, it fits like a dream - not tight at all.
I like having a sock on the needles at all times. It makes for the perfect knitting in the carpool line, waiting room, or if I have five spare minutes to kill. I am knitting a pair for Jane at the moment. She chose this happy, cheery yarn by Stitch Together Studio while we were on vacation in Michigan this summer. The color is "Bertie Botts", which we noticed after we had left the store. Perfect for my Harry Potter fan and fun for me to knit! When this pair is finished, I am going to cast on these for me!
Beautiful socks. I will have to try these methods. Would love to hear about you books you read. Happy Fall Erin!
Posted by: Teri | September 21, 2017 at 10:40 AM
I never thought I would love knitting socks so much, either. But they are the perfect project. I LOVE your finished socks, they are gorgeous. I have a mustash yarn set aside to tbe y 2 at a time knitting (eeek).
I'm happy to hear you will be blogging more often.
Posted by: Sandy | September 21, 2017 at 07:00 PM
Have you checked out knit purl hunter ? She does mystery socks - among other things. Plus she has wonderful video on a wide variety of technique
Posted by: mary jo | September 22, 2017 at 09:31 AM
Do you have a particular pattern you prefer and that you can share? I have tried toe up but think I would like to try top down as you are doing. I have made about 4 pair of toe up but daughter had to help casting on the toe stitches.
Posted by: Carolyn Stewart | September 22, 2017 at 11:07 AM
Hi Carolyn - For top down, I almost always use Susan B Anderson’s pattern.
http://susanbanderson.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-i-make-socks.html
Posted by: Erin | house on hill road | September 24, 2017 at 09:57 AM
Hi Erin,
I reached your site by trying to track down your Tidal Wave quilt pattern. Is it available? If so, how do I get it?
Thanks!
Colleen
Posted by: Colleen E Saxton | October 23, 2017 at 09:25 PM
Is the Tidal Wave quilt pattern available?
[email protected]
Posted by: Juneau Embry | November 14, 2017 at 05:39 PM