Seems I’m caught in a loop with my knitting projects lately. I completed a second set of leg warmers, a multitude of Everything November gloves and even finally completed a second set of socks!
Mind you, the second time through for all of these projects I found a huge difference in my skill level. Who knew? I made fewer mistakes – in some cases none at all. I also made use of lifelines where I drew along a scrap piece of yarn in the needles as I went and left the yarn hanging there. If I made a mistake later, it would be easy to pick up the stitches at that point to carry on.
First up: LegWarmers
The first time I knitted this pattern, it was a huge learning curve for me. They held a wee challenge still, but I was much faster and knitted with more confidence. The stitch on the back of the leg warmers is called the bamboo stitch and was a bit slower that a regular stitch, but wow, it really popped and was so worth it. The cable on the front (side?) is also quite basic and makes use of a 6-row repeat. For this pair I splurged a little and got a really nice worsted Superwash Merino from Arcane Fibre Works. The colourway is “Midnight”. I used most of a a skein for each leg warmer, so had to get 2 skeins to complete the project. I had hoped to have them done for Christmas, but missed by a few days (the bamboo stitch is still so slow going!).
More Socks!
More socks for sure. Hubby is a rather large man at 6’2″ and has feet to match (as one would expect I’m sure). However, when knitting socks for such feet they get a little silly looking. Hubby did not want a large cuff either so that at least was great. I was worried that I might not have enough wool for two socks, as required. I had these on the go for rather a long time and just picked them up between projects. After I finished the second Staghorn Legwarmers, I figured it was time to finish these too!
The fingering weight yarn also is also from Arcane Fibre Works in the Rock N Roller colourway. You would think I have them as a sponsor or something, but no, I’m just a fan of the yarn and the colours.
So one skein was enough to complete both socks! woohoo! Nothing too adventurous here. I used the vanilla sock pattern again from the ** Sock Lady with the magic loop method. The you tube tutorial is wonderful even with the continental style knitting rather than the English throwing style which is in my comfort zone.
I have been washing them in a hand soap called “soak”. Just letting them sit in the sink overnight and wringing out gently works well. Hubby has worn them constantly and says they are wonderfully soft and cozy. He even washes them himself. My work here is done.
So what do you think? Time to branch out and learn other patterns and skills. I’ve always loved the look of fair isle?
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