Finished in 2013: Rawr Socks & Striped Socks

If my math is correct, these are my 9th and 10th pair of socks I've knit this year.

That isn't too shabby! My goal was a pair a month, I'm not quite there but I'm pretty excited to have these tucked into my drawer!

I've had one of each sock done for a little while. I knit the first striped one in August/September and the first tiger one in September/October. I finished the second of each sock this week.

I'll talk about the striped socks first.

These are the socks that I first learned continental knitting with, I knit one full sock minus the heel with Signature Needles in size one. Unfortunately my pair snapped from the cord before I could knit the finish the heel. Super annoying. I've last heard from them in the end of August, they said the needles are back ordered and I'd receive a new pair. The general consensus on ravelry is that they are re-designing them. I'm not sure if that's true or not. I let this finished sock just sit in a bag but it was in the back of my mind and driving me nuts that it wasn't a full pair! This yarn is sooooo cute and a BLAST to knit with. So I cast on again, using hiya sharps in a size one, my gauge was different so the socks look different but I knit them to fit as close to each other as possible. Sadly in order to get the heel to fit properly on the second one I had to split a stripe which is kind of a bummer but it's not super noticeable. I know I could have just waited until the new needles arrived but I didn't know when that would be!

Yarn: Lollipop Yarn in Life is Beautiful. This yarn is a dream to knit with, the colors are so vivid! It's really fun watching each stripe progress.

Needles: Signature Needle Arts in size 1 and Hi-Ya Sharps in size 1

Pattern: None- it's a toe up 64 stitch sock with an after thought heel. I put the waste yarn in once the foot reaches the middle of my ankle bone and knit straight for 7 inches, then one inch of rib with a sewn bind off. The afterthought heel I've learned fits best when I knit until the heel is very snug and barely meets together, then I graft the two sides together. I think I have funny shaped heels or something, if I don't make the after thought heel fit CRAZY tight at first, through out the day the sock will twist and the heel will migrate onto the top of my foot! Awkward! ;)

The Rawr Socks are definitely a new favorite pair. I know a lot of knitters think Opal is sort of blah but I like how wool-y and durable it is. I finished this pair first and then went to the lollipops, the difference in yarn quality is incredible. Lollipop is so bright and soft, Opal is more muted and rough. Lollipop = posh fancy yarn. Opal = the working girls yarn.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned my emotional attachment to this yarn before? Chop & I had gone up to McCloud, CA one weekend when we'd first started dating and we were acting like we were just friends but we were absolutely not just friends. Inside their museums gift shop they had all these Opal yarns that would turn into animal stripes. That's kind of random right? Yarn in a museums gift shop?! Whatever, I thought it was neat! I had wanted to knit a shawl from it but I could never figure out the pattern (Clapotis). I was a relatively new knitter with not too much confidence but Chop bought it for me anyways. He's always been a big yarn supporter. I got about 5 rows in to the shawl and gave up. It sat in a rubbermaid in our garage since 2006 in a random box of books until I found it this summer. With the needles still in it. Ha! So this was literally my FIRST skein of sock yarn ever!!! l started knitting the first sock during opening weekend of dove season with Chop and then finished the second sock while playing New Leaf with him.

Yarn: I know it's Opal and I know it's tiger stripes, the label is long gone.

Needles: Hi-Ya Sharps in a size one.

Pattern: My very favorite sock pattern- Gusset Heel Basic Socks by Wendy Johnson. Basically, this sock fits my foot perfectly. It's so easy and comfortable!

I have to admit, I *love* the sharps! They are becoming my favorite needle since learning continental knitting. I find I need a really point-y needle when I knit that way and I love how incredibly lightweight they are. I honestly don't have a single bad thing to say about them. I sort of wish I didn't invest in an Addi Lace Click Set because these are much sharper. They aren't quite as sharp as the Signature's but they haven't fallen apart either. (I'm trying not to be grumpy but this is my second pair of broken Signatures.)

One thing I've been sort of flirting with the idea of is trying toe up socks on DPNs. I've been talking to a lot of prolific sock knitting friends and they've said that DPNs are much faster because you don't have to adjust the cord and the knitting like you do when you use a magic loop. You just speedily go around and around and around. I knit my very first sock, top down on DPNs and HATED the experience, lol. BUT! That was a while ago! So I might try DPNs again. The only problem is, I have no clue what to look for in DPNs! Sharp, length, material?! I'm at a loss. I'm sure I'll research it to death. I have heard Signatures are the best but I'm a little hesitant to spend that much money in case I don't love them!

My new goal is to knit two pairs of Christmas socks this year but I'll talk more about that in another post. This one is already giant sized. ;)