Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Tip toe...through the toe ups or downs............







Ok, ok, ok, now I know I was all about trying a new technique. I know I was all about "I'm not hatin' the toe up thing". I was so totally about trying a new way and liking it. Well, I kind of have some issues with that now :)

I DID try it. I even gave it WAY more of a chance than I normally would. I just couldn't groove on it. I mean, it just wasn't working. The fit bothered me. It continually felt like it was gonna fall off. I couldn't get used to the feel of the sides around my toes. I have VERY sensitive feet and I could feel the short row shaping like nobodies business. It all happened so fast. I at first wanted to just rip back to a spot that looked a bit off to me.....Then it happened, before I knew it, THIS is what was left.
So after that fiasco, I felt REALLY bad about what happened to this poor yarn and well, to be honest, it kind of left a nasty little feel in my hands and to make me feel differently, I knew the only way was to re-skein it, wash it and give it back it's old life. In the meantime, I needed SOMETHING to restore my sock knitting faith. SOMETHING to lead me back to the path of righteousness, the path of certainty, the path of old faithful/familiar so to speak........ladies and gents, meet old faithful *wink*

Not only was the yarn to die for. A luscious blend of merino and bamboo, but it almost knit itself. I soooo wish I knew the brand of this yarn. It came from someone who gave it to me but they lost the ballband and couldn't remember where she got it. She only knew the fiber content because it struck her as odd with the bamboo in the sock yarn. This was also a difficult concept for me to grasp too, I must be honest, BUT, after I got halfway through knitting it, I GET it!!

The mate to it is well on it's way, I am just past the ribbed cuff top and starting the stockinette stitch....................

This sock set was JUST what I needed to make me feel all better. These socks fit like a glove.And well, to be point blank, they make me smile each time I touch them. I can barely knit the mate fast enough. I even put off the Sizzle for just a teeny bit.................a WEE TEENY bit;)


I started knitting the Sizzle...available at http://www.thegarterbelt.com/ and trust me, I am loving each and every stitch, but I HAD to finish or at least get heavily moving on the mate to my little bamboo rendezvous partner!! So, in between knits and purls........... I have been sneaking in this little beauties knits here and a knit2together there:)


I just have to say.............I was a bit up in air about what yarn to use for this. I REALLY wanted to use a yarn I had in my stash. I just did NOT want to go out and buy more yarn for a sweater. I know it sounds silly but sometimes I get to that little point where I look around and say...no way, I cannot buy ANYMORE yarn, I am swimming in it. Well, here it turns out that once I swatched, I had the PERFECT yarn for it. I had some Ella Rae Silkience that I had bought for another pattern that I decided not to knit, well, it was PERRRRFECT. This yarn is so nice to work with. Try it, I highly recommend it. It has a GORGEOUS drape to it, a soft and sexy feel to it and all around beauty!!

Well, that's all for now. I have more in the works but am kind of at a boring stand still as far as photographing it. Hopefully, I'll have more at the start at the weekend.

Please, remember......................APRIL IS AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH............PLEASE................BE AWARE.

7 comments:

SpindleKnits said...

Great looking socks. I was thinking maybe Regia Bamboo? They have a colorway called Africa in that yarn that looks very similar.
The sizzle looks great also!

Danielle said...

Now that you had that kind of luck with the toe up socks, I'm not even gonna give it a go and ruin my new found sock knitting. You know how awesome Anne's sock pattern is.... The new socks you've knit should definitely renew your faith! They look wonderful, as usual. And I love that color you're using for sizzle, it's great to find just the right yarn in your stash.

Rhonda the Stitchingnut said...

I think I have an advantage ... I learned to knit socks on two circular needles toe up. And because I learned it that way, it was easy by the time I got to the second pair of socks. I still have the first pair ... I just don't wear them ;-) ... too tight in the cuff bind off.

I can now do cuff down on dpns and that was easy to learn. Don't give up, Debbie. And Danielle, you shouldn't say you won't even try, dear. It's a learning process ... have fun in the learning. Good luck.

Anonymous said...

I tried the toe up socks and didn't really like it either. It just felt wrong. The new sock looks great!

knitspot anne said...

aw, poor red yarn! and it's so pretty too. i hope you'll still knit socks with it.
should we pass my toe-up pattern to danielle and see if she likes it?

Anonymous said...

You know, I've got this weird thing about the toe-up sock too. For some reason knitting one just doesn't appeal to me. I talked to a girl who teaches the class at my local LYS because I thought the bind-off might be too tight, but she said she uses a different kind of bind off. Still, I just don't want to do this sock. I don't like to be so set in my ways, but there's just something about doing it toe up that I'm not crazy about and now you've given me another excuse to not make it :)

Terry

Sara said...

Great looking socks...BTW, I tried to e-mail you the other day and it bounced back saying you don't exist???? What's up with that????