Yesterday Vince took off work and we took a little road trip. I always need a knitting project for the ride. I’m still working on my Simple Skyp socks but was at the heel turning part on the second sock.
Turning the heel involves counting and then picking up the stitches for the gusset so I decided I’d save that for when I’m home and not in the car looking at sites like this.
Really . . how hard is it to knit while riding down the road when the moon roof is open and the sky is so beautiful? I wasn’t driving (or obviously knitting would not have been a priority). The sky, the hills, the wild flowers . . driving through this part of Texas this time of year is so amazing.
So . . I needed a knitting project. I grabbed this one.
This project was started earlier this week when I went to see my doctor. I like him a whole lot but his fault . . he’s too darned on time. My appointment was at 9. I thought I’d get there about 8:40 and get in some knitting. There’s always too much to do at home so . . I’ll just go to the doctor and knit. Well, at 8:45 they called me back there. By 9:02 I had seen the doctor, had bloodwork done and was out the door with barely having gotten a few stitches cast on! Maybe I should change doctors! 🙂
The yarn is Lisa Souza Sock! I absolutely love the color but find the yarn splits a bit more than I like. It’s been a long time since I knitted with Lisa Souza yarn so I’ll get a bit farther along with this project before casting judgment on it.
I’m using the Simple Skyp pattern for it too and thought I remembered the pattern and besides, I couldn’t find my printed pattern and Vince was ready to leave. Once I got all the ribbing done, I questioned whether I remembered exactly what to do next. We were in a section of the trip that had no cell service so I couldn’t get to the pattern online. Thank goodness, I had a second project in my knitting bag. I’m a girl with more than one project in my bag at all times! 🙂
These are just plain jane socks. The ribbing was done and a few rows of the leg so good progress was made on this sock. It’s always nice to have a plain sock on the needles. I can do these without a pattern and without thinking or counting. This yarn is Dragonfly Fibers Djinni and the color is Peach Melba and it’s much prettier in real life than on my gold rug. This yarn is amazing! It’s another one of those 80% superwash wool, 10% nylon and 10% cashmere, which is the same content as the String Theory Caper sock yarn. The String Theory yarn is 4 oz. for 400 yards, while the Dragonfly yarn is 4 oz. for 450 yards. It isn’t a whole lot of difference but the yarns are noticeably different. The String Theory yarn is much more springy while the Dragonfly yarn seems more tightly twisted. This is the first time I’ve knitted with this yarn and I like it a lot! I would be happy to have every color in both of these yarns! But, you know me . . I’m not buying any more yarn . . probably not today anyway! 🙂
Shari says
I could knit a sweater waiting on my doctor!
Sharon M. says
Judy – I’ve recently discovered sock knitting – finishing up my second pair. I printed off the “Simple Skyp” pattern but I noticed it’s for men’s sizes. What size should I cast on for if it’s for a woman (me) who wears size 7 1/2 – 8 shoe? I don’t want them to be too big.
This is becoming about as addictive as quilting, I’m afraid.
Laurel from Iowa says
“Casting judgment” . . . great line in a story about knitting!
Becky G says
You’ve inspired me (again) so I cast on some socks…. Lorna’s lace hand-dyed Shepherd sock color ‘River’ using a pattern with lace running along the outsides (Blackrose’ by Susie Anvin…. Thinking these will be a bit cooler for warm weather! Thanks again for posting @ socks & congrats on these wonderful projects! B
Claudia Wade says
Love all the colors of these yarns. I have started teaching myself to knit socks because you make it look so fun. I can knit OK, but I have a problem when I make a mistake…I can’t figure out how to fix it short of ripping the whole thing out and starting over. So my first sock has been knit for a couple of inches and then ripped all the way out again 4 times already! I am wearing out the yarn just knitting and ripping.
I obviously need a sock class and the help of someone who can show me how to fix a mistake, or only rip out back to the ‘good part.’ Once my life calms down a little bit I am going to go to the yarn shop and get some help!
Sandy G says
Claudia, The book A to Z of Knitting has a wonderful section on fixing mistakes, including picking up dropped stitches and unravelling multiple rows or part of a row stitch by stitch. I find that the excellent photographs make it much easier to understand. Good bargain for the price.
Linda(Petey) says
Judy,
So excited here…I am almost done with my FIRST sock. And like Claudia it was restarted 4 times. Now I feel like trying to go back to where you decrease for the toe (?). It looks funny…by the time I got there, I wasn’t sure which was my first needle. 🙂 A lot of people have helped me with this and now I am stuck again! Claudia: there is some good help on youtube.
AND last night when I sat down in my recliner, opened Quiltmaker and there you were. So exciting! and a beautiful quilt. Put that on the list too!
Thank you for all the inspiration, Judy!!
Judy D in WA says
This makes me want to park myself in the recliner and knit all day.
Sandy G says
Once again, Judy, thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed update on your sock-knitting projects. I haven’t made socks for many years and I find the huge selection of sock yarn now available both exciting and overwhelming. I am finding your feedback so helpful. You obviously love String Theory Caper, and I am so eager to try it but I’m going to save it for a bit. For the time being I am going to compare a few different brands of 100% superwash merino, and then compare some of the nylon blends before trying those luscious yarns with cashmere or mohair in them! By then, I hope that my skills will have improved somewhat and I will be less likely to ruin those beautiful yarns. Your socks are so lovely, and such an inspiration for me! Thanks.
Sandra says
You certainly never knit dull socks! I love your color choices. I checked the Simply Skyp pattern on Ravelry, which showed it in men’s sizes. Are you knitting those for Vince?
Viki Kirby says
I love this stitch pattern and am ready to try my first pair of socks, adding one more 1st to my new knitting obsession. I see the socks are for men and I have tiny feet ( size 5 shoe). The pattern says you can make women’s socks, too, but doesn’t tell how to make them smaller.