Tuesday, June 24, 2008

What I did while waiting for the Summer of Socks to begin and Blogiversary Contest Begins

Anyone who's ever stopped by and read my little knitting blog knows that I love socks. I started knitting because I wanted to knit socks. Every now and then I knit something other than socks..... things like this hat

VELOX HAT

Velox Hat aka Fountain Hat by Katie Himmleberg from Spring 2008 Interweave Knits in ShiBuiKnits sock yarn in Blossom colorway.... or this cell phone bag

Cell Phone bag

Can you hear me now? phone bag by Kathy North from Designs by KN in Cascade Cotton Rich DK on purple..... it's so soft... now when I do a dishcloth swap I'm using this yarn..... or even a water bottle koozie

DRINK UP WATER BOTTLE COZY

Drink Up bottle koozie by Anita Moore of YarnDemonAdventures. I made it for my downstream pal in the Multitasking 9-5 swap over on Ravelry. I spoiled Britknitter... go check out her blog to see what I gave her. Nichole my hostess paired us up well. (Thanks Nichole) Britknitter is a sock knitter who loves Jaywalkers. She's knitted at least 7 pairs of them. All of which are lovely. She made me want to knit a pair Jaywalkers too.

SOS 1st Jaywalker Sock #1

I'm knitting the Jaywalkers with a Cherry tree Hill supersock in Dusk colorway..... was the 1st sock yarn I ever stashed. It's a mixture of purples. blues, greens, and reds(mauve). I need a little more yardage than what's in the skein(420 yds) so I'm using some leftover yarn I have in the same colorway to knit the heels and toes. The Jaywalkers are my 1st pair of socks for the Summer of Socks KAL competition over on Ravelry. I had planned on knitting the Muscari Socks first but I changed my mind at the least moment. I'll knit them in July.

I'm digressing from the real purpose of this post. I've been blogging for a year now. I started this blog because I wanted to participate in the Dog Days of Summer dishcloth swap and having a blog was a requirement. I'm holding a contest/drawing to thank and show my appreciation of my readers. One lucky reader will win:

BLOGIVERSARY PRIZE

Melissa Morgan-Oakes' 2 at time SOCKS: The Secret of Knitting Two at Once on One Circular Needle

US1 40" Addi Turbo Circ....

The Yarn Harlot's Things I Learned from Knitting.... whether I wanted to or not

Dream in Color Smooshy in Visual Purple colorway

Sock Blocker keychain

So you're probably wondering what you dear reader has to do to get entered into the drawing. There are 3 ways:

1. Leave me a message telling me a short sock story.... the 1st pair you knitted or what pair gave you second sock syndrome or the time you knit a pair and they didn't fit or when you tried to knit a pair of socks and got so frustrated you ripped them up, etc. (All those things have happened to me.)

2. Post a link to the socks(or ripped up yarn) you're talking about in your story.

3. Blog about this drawing on your blog and link it back to me.

The drawing will end at 2359(11:59 pm) CST June 30th. If you leave an anonymous comment, please leave me your Ravelry ID so I can find you. Thank you so much everyone and keep knitting.....

56 comments:

Nancy @ the Jersey Shore said...

Happy 1 yr Blogoversary! It is my blogoversary today, too! It is 2 years old, and I'm having a contest too. go on over and enter!
Love your projects!!!

Nancy @ the Jersey Shore said...

oh, my sock story? the story is, I don't knit socks! I do, however, adore sock yarn...

Darcys Knotty Knitter said...

I knit a pair for me and they are to long and the heels are pretty aweful my first short row heels so I havent done socks with heels since.Darcy
Here is a link to the socks
http://darcyknottyknitter.blogspot.com/2007/07/i-finished-socks-for-me.html

Anonymous said...

Well I had to come over here and "stalk" you too! and you are having a contest to boot!! So you know with all this talk abotu socks - there best be some moral support when I'm froggen' the little buggers for the upthen's time... you guys have me SO interested in these things!!

Happy Blogversary!!! Time for CAKE and WINE!!

Georgie!

Darcys Knotty Knitter said...

Okay I blogged about and linked back.http://darcyknottyknitter.blogspot.com/2008/06/knitting-wildflower-blogaversary.html

ikkinlala said...

Happy blogiversary!

The first sock I knitted never became part of a pair. It was made with bright pink acrylic, and I intended it from the beginning to be a practice sock, but I still thought I'd make another to practice matching them. But I cast on way too many stitches, so I don't think that sock will fit anyone's foot - it looks more like a Christmas stocking. I still have the sock, but unfortunately I don't have a camera so I can't share a picture. I did end up making another pair of practice socks with the same yarn (my mom is still wearing them).

Beth said...

Well HAPPY HAPPY Blogoversary to you!!

Someday I will become diligent enough to do the same, ( or at least blog REGULARLY lol)

Sockstory? Geesh. I have been on the same pair of socks for at least 3 months now. Oh , I can get the cuff done and zoom on down to the heel. After that? I am so totally LOST. I am having such a time at it, that i put it down for a while and hopefully can get over this 'knitters bump' soon. I think I am having a hard time trying to concentrate onthe heel AND my kids being home for the summer . Come on September!! Anyhoo, I have blogged and linked back to you. As per your instructions. Now off to look at more of the knitpick sock books that are currently 40% off and dream. Oh, btw. I am dangerouscrochet on Ravelry.

Unknown said...

I've made my way to your contest via Darcy's great site- http://darcyknottyknitter.blogspot.com/2008/06/knitting-wildflower-blogaversary.html
(By the way, Darcy is the queen of contests!)
I'm about to finish my first pair of 2-at-a-time socks! This is a great way to knit since I have a problem with the second sock syndrome.
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/sockit2me/magic-loop-sock
Oh, and HaPpY BloGoVeRsArY!!

vegasangelbrat said...

HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY!!!!

Oh my! Does crochet socks counts...lol I did start a pair a ways back, they were called Cable socks, but had put them down and my sticky note came off so I was lost in the pattern so bad I had to frog em :( Haven't restarted again yet but do plan too. I love sock yarn.
I will have to send you money as I want a couple of them little sockie kits...lol

Good luck to all the contesters :)

Also Thanks for the cotton pick, didn't know Cascade made a cotton

Unknown said...

Happy Blogoversary! (I had mine recently and will be holding a contest very soon as well.)
I haven't knit any socks, YET, so I don't have any good stories. But, I will post your contest on my blog.
Happy First Blogoversary!
Rav: Ponyknit

Turtle said...

happy blogiversary! I also love knitting socks but have had a few adventures. One that comes to mind was a basic pair that did not really thrill me by the time i got to knitting the second one. I ended up rushing things along and made them quite short in the foot. Well, it ended up that a good friend of my daughters had endured years on a bad kidney( now a new kidney and thriving) but due to this all happening through her adolescent years she is quite small, they fit her perfect and she loved them! So sadly i cannot post a pic but will link back to you! Have you tried the two sock at a time knitting? what do you think? i so need to try this.

Lapdog Creations said...

Happy Blogiversary!

My 1st pair was using Lion Brand sock yarn and the pattern on their label... if I was going to mess them up, I wasn't using $20 sock yarn, that's for sure!

Unknown said...

Happy Blogoversary! Okay - the very, very first socks I knit? I was visiting my sister and her young'uns in California when she said to me - you can't knit socks they are too hard! So I made me husband take me to the LYS and I bought all the stuff to make a pair of socks. They aren't hard! I turned the first heel by myself on an airplane. I finished the second sock and mailed the pair to my sister - Thank You Very Much! I love socks - they are so portable. I've since gone down to smaller yarns and needles. g

Anonymous said...

HAPPY Blogoversary!!
One of the reasons I wanted to knit was so I could do socks also. I learned to make socks just a few months after learning to knit.

My socks story is probably a novel-
In March,I decided to make my brother, who is a size 12 feet, a pair of socks for Christmas. I had this gorgeous yarn called Rainbow trout colorway, which is perfect for him because he fishes for trout all the time and in fact his vanity plates are "Big Trout". So the rainbow trout socks were underway. I was down to the gusset and onto to the foot and started really looking at these socks and wondering if they would fit. I had my uncle, who is a size 11 try them on and his comment was, "well, if you want an ankle brace, these are great". :-(. I had to rip beyond the gusset. So out they go. I used a larger needle and tried again. Well this time around you could tell where I had ripped and it looked misshapen. I ripped again. I'm now beginning to say some really ugly things to these socks, not nice mojo was being knitted into the beloved Rainbow trout socks. Finally, I accepted the fact that I would have to rip back way past the heel. This took hours to get all those little dark stitches back on those little tiny needles. I put them on 2.50mm and started again. Finally I got past the gusset and onto the heel and was getting ready to do the toe and I looked at the rest of the ball of yarn. I realized I wouldn't have enough yarn to make the second sock if I made the toe out of the same yarn. This lovely rainbow trout yarn was from Cider Moon and from what I know the Cider Moon girls aren't dying any more yarn, so there was no way to get more. I dug around and found some green yarn that worked perfectly, ripped out part of the toe I had made and remade the final toe with the green.
So, first sock finished! Second sock was put into Time out while still in the skein, until a time I could face the Rainbow trout socks and actually knit some good positive mojo into them. I was beginning to wonder if he wore them if something bad would happen because of all the bad words that had been said over them. ha.
Anyway, several weeks later, I have now cast on for the second sock but its going slowly because I'm making my socks that will count for Summer of Socks.

Sorry for the novel, but that's my sock story and here's the link to the first sock
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/TeresaNC/basic-sock-recipe-3
I don't have a blog because I love ready other people's so much I have no time to actually post one of my own.

TeresaNC (ravelry ID).

OhAmyKP said...

***Happy Blogaversary***

1. Well my first sock attempt was on dpns and it didnt even make it to 2nd sock syndrome (dont have any pics of the poor thing). once I got over the shortrow heel I couldnt continue to the toe...

2. I have dubbed this year "Rockstar of the Sox" so I've already half way knitted 2 pairs on the two toe-up sox two circ at a time method. I've found again that after the shortrow heel I'm dragging my feet on doing the cuff. I dont really have to finish them cause they're my test socks but I will. I'm suppose to crank out 4 adult pairs & at least 3 child pairs.

3. My Jaywalker sock i had to frog 2x. because I kept starting the toe with too many sts. this had to do with me not knowing how or wanting to do a swatch for the sock/pattern and using a size 3ndl. on another sock...again because of no swatch for the size 2ndl I had to frog 2x cause I put to little sts to start the toe.

*** I'm Ohamy on ravelry so you can see my sock pictures there. Thanks for the contest.

Dianne said...

I was reading your blog, scrolling down, and said "Hey, that's my water bottle cozy!" Happy First Blogiversary! Don't enter me in your contest, since you already spoiled me with way too many wonderful things in the Multitasking Swap, but I do have a sock story.

When I was knitting my first sock, I had a terrible time with the kitchener stitch. I thought that whoever invented the stupid thing must have been on drugs or something! It was torture! I loved everything else about socks, so I went ahead and cast on for the second sock. I kept going until I got to the toe, and then just left it on two needles. Instead of tackling the dreaded kitchener and finishing the sock, I went out and bought more needles, and cast on for another sock. And another, and another and another. I bought a whole bunch of needles on ebay, and before I knew it I had eleven socks waiting for the kitchener stitch. I finally worked up the nerve to try it again. After doing it eleven times in a row, the kitchener stitch is now burned into my brain!

Anonymous said...

The first pair of socks I knit were tiny ones. A friend owns a knitting store in Florida and was collecting socks and hats for preemies at a local hospital. The socks were fast to knit and put a smile on my face knowing they were going to warm tiny toes.
Thanks for the contest!
I am Colleenmarie on ravelry.

Robin said...

Happy Blogiversary!! My sock story...well, I SWORE I was NEVER going to knit something that I put on my foot which was hidden in a shoe~~that didn't last long! I soon cast on for my first Jaywalker and the rest is history! I don't suffer from SSS(second sock syndrome), instead I'm really slow with the first one then the second was is done before I know it! I LOVE knitting socks though this year I seem to have lost my Sock Mojo...too many other projects going on the needles!
(Rav-spinnerknitter)

Miss Me said...

happy blogiversary!
i've been knitting socks for quite a while... it goes back at least 20 years although the first pair might have maide good pot scrubbers. think acrylic. think to tighet of a gauge. they could have stood up on their own! first husband had montstrous feet (size 13) and i knit him many pairs of socks over the 5 years that we were married...
i am fortunate that i don't appear to suffer from second sock syndrome, i do however have problem with the following:
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/PATTreptilianlace.html
yup. sivia harding's repilitian lace socks. lace and beads - what's not to love? i have cast them on 3 times with 3 different sizes and types of needles. they do not want me to knit them. i MUST conquer them because they are beatiful! (victory will be mine...)
off to post about your contest. may you have many happy blogging years in front of you!

Anonymous said...

thanks for hosting this contest!

I love to knit socks too!

with my groom having a wreck in his truck, my losing my job, and him going to college & working full time....there's really no room for purchasing yarn........

so this led to desperation on my part to try & get to knit some socks (I was out of sock yarn at this time, and you can imagine how I was jones'n.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v718/aprayerpartner4u/even%20more%20pics/frogged002-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v718/aprayerpartner4u/even%20more%20pics/frogged001-1.jpg

these socks ended up being big enough to fit Andre' the Giant. the yarn was all wrong *tear* and it was pittiful!

my rav name is Castrated Bean

and my blog is The Dustbunnies Will Wait

http://bruisinraincloud.wordpress.com/

KnittySue said...

My first adventure with socks came a year ago. I cast onto DPN's and after learning to use them proceeded to knit, frog, knit, frog until I finally was finished the first. I was so excited I started the 2nd right away. I loved wearing them but then they got caught up in the laundry and being 100% wool they are now just a show piece.
I used Patons Classic Merino so that I didn't spend much to try it and they would be warm around the house.
Here's the link http://herrschners.com/products/sku-710077__id-1780__gclid-CPqrzemEkpQCFQOeFQod2RRVuA.html

Carrie Penny said...

I had been knitting socks almost from the start of learning how to knit and my first few pairs went just fine. Well, it took a little of fiddle here for the holes on the gusset and a little here on the toes, but really it wasn't a bad result.

My first attempt at knees socks however was horrible!!! I have huge calves and my first pass I tried on about 1/3 the way up the leg and couldn't get it to stretch enough to be comfortable, so I rewrote the pattern for about an extra inch or so. I got 2/3 the way up and the top of the calf was just way too big. At that point I was looking at the socks with a dejected misery that only comes from hard work that just isn't paying off... I frogged one last time and told myself I would come back to them... Yeah, it has been about a year now and I still haven't gone back to them, I don't know if I will this year either...

There are pictures on my ravelry site, my name is carriepenny go and take a looksie!!

Anonymous said...

I joined the first Sock it to Me swap because I wanted to learn to knit socks. My first pair turned out pretty good - they actually fit my partner so for a first pair of socks what more can you ask for? You can see the progression of that first pair here: http://tangledupinknots.blogspot.com/search/label/sock%20swap. My ravelry ID is meganlynn.

Jenny Girl said...

Happy Blogaversary!

My girlfriend and I decided to tackle our first socks last summer. We were so nervous about it too. We did all this research, compared notes every morning at work. We became a bit obsessive.

We acted like we couldn't make a mistake. It's only yarn! It's not as if our lives depended on it. We obviously figured it out and haven't looked back. Now we laugh about it while making our newest pair of socks.

Unknown said...

I am new to the sock knitting world. I am trying to knit my first pair now. I love the look of knit socks. The yarn is green and blue. its sock yarn, and has no lable. I got it second hand so no telling what the yarn really is. I am excited to try.

km said...

I saw this link at Nancy's.

My sock story...well, I've only knit a few. I started with some DK socks on #5's. Good first socks. Then decided to make socks for my kids for Christmas. I have 3 kids, so there should be 6 socks, however there is only one. I tried to knit for my oldest, and came up with a sock that fit my youngest. I was knitting SO TIGHT on DPN's. I tried the magic loop after that...and now I'm on the right track.

Elaine said...

I invented the 3-sock-2-yarn pair. You can see a photo:


http://elaine-knitting.blogspot.com/2007/07/3-sock-pair.html

The story behind it is that my DH stopped by my LYS and surprised me with some yarn from the sale bin. He didn't realize that the reason these yarns were in there were that they were orphans and that you needed 2 50 gr balls for a pair, not one. Hence the 2 yarn sock was developed. When I had finished the first 2 socks of the "pair" I realized that I probably had enough left for a third.

I'll post a pointer to your contest on my blog.

Jody said...

So far the Pomatomus socks have given me second sock syndrome. I love them, but they've given me fits because I don't like starting a needle with a purl stitch-too many gaps. I would like to finish them someday though...they look so cool.

SissySees said...

What a great contest! Happy blogiversary!

I love socks, but my favorite pair I've made are the ones in this post - http://chanknits.wordpress.com/2007/11/10/second-wind/

Special yarn from a dear friend, socks for hubby, first man socks... What's not to love?

I also blogged about your contest on a post today, just about contests.

Chris said...

Hi there. I found this contest at Knitty Sue's Blog.http://www.knittingasfastasican.blogspot.com/ My sock story. I hahad been knitting about 36 years when I decided I wanted to learn to knit socks. I sent to the Socks 101 link at http://www.royea.net/ and in Nov. of 2006 sat down and started. I ripped the socks out at least 4 times and said "I am not going to torture myself like this. The very next day I got the book A Good Yarn by Debbie Macomber and the first few pages are sock patterns. I figured God was trying to tell me not to give up and I nave been knitting socks every since. I have made about 30 pairs since then besides the other things I have knit or crocheted. I am running to post this on my blog now. By the way, I love your blog--I will be back.

taelixev said...

Happy blogiversary.

My sock story is for the first pair of socks I made for myself. I completed them, and the second sock was an inch and a half shorter than the first.

http://dragonknit.wordpress.com/2008/05/22/now-you-see-it-now-you-dont/

Needless to say I frogged them and re-knit them

Wendy said...

Congratualtions on a full year of knitblogging! I'm just over a year myself but wasn't together enough to hold a contest. A few months ago I posted my most frustrating sock experience. You can read all about it here:

http://knuckleheadmusings.blogspot.com/2008/03/lifes-whirl-wind-with-fo.html

BTW I made my way here via Chan. But I'm thinking I'll linger around for a little while.

Bubblesknits said...

Congratulations on the blogiversary!

My sock story:
My mother is one of those that can't sit still, no matter what. So, when she visits, she'll typically reorganize something, clean something, straighten something up, (sounds good so far, huh?) or *gulp* put a load of clothes in the washer. Well, she has an uncanny knack for finding the few hand-knit items in our house that will felt.
Exhibit A: http://alabamafiberdreams.wordpress.com/2007/10/09/the-phantom-felter-strikes-again/
Blog post to follow. :-)

Anonymous said...

My first pair of socks were so exciting, I measured, I knit, I tried on, knit more...and the end result was a sock that flapped and bunched as I walked. I was sure the second sock would be better, sigh, nope, so I ended up with a pair of flapping duck feet socks! but I love them, and kept them. I've since successfully made 10 pairs of socks, they fill me with a ridiculous amount of satisfaction and joy.

Congratulations on your blog!

Sharon

Mollie said...

Happy blogiversary!

My sock story:
The adventure began about a year ago when I cast on for a sock, presumably to be one of a pair, for me in a beautiful cranberry. Slow progress, turned the heel, down the instep. I have about an inch to go before decreasing for the toe. My refusal to finish is simple: I don't want to ever knit another one. At least with my near finished sock, it feels like I'm almost done - but if I finish it, I'll have another whole sock to knit!

www.nightshiftknitter.blogspot.com

ScrapbookGallery said...

I knit my first pair of socks with some moda dea sassy stripes yarn and a free leaflet from a craft store...I had THE HARDEST TIME with dpns (I hadn't been knitting long when I decided to try this sock challenge...) so the dpns frustrated me to no end. BUT. I did manage to eeke out one sock...and then you know what set in: second sock syndrome! It was almost like just the challenge of knitting that first sock was all I wanted, and then when I finished the sock and realized I could do it, it lost it's appeal and I never could cast on for that second sock. I ended up ripping it all out and using the yarn for a baby sweater.

Of course then I started reading about Magic Loop and using US1 addis (gasp) to knit socks and it was the challenge that attracted me. I did finish a pair this time though, and I still wear the socks to this day (they're not but maybe a year old I guess) and i did them toe-up (I totally impressed myself with all the new skills I learned while knitting this pair of socks). Of course, I have an abandoned pair of socks (tried doing two at a time) but that got tedious and it's been languishing...but anyway, that's my story. =)

Anonymous said...

I've been knitting sweaters all my life, and couldn't understand the appeal of knitting socks. Everyone was doing it and it seemed really dumb to me - what a stupid waste of beautiful, expensive yarn - after all, most of it is inside your shoe or boot where no one can see it. So, I came up with an alternative that requires only one 50 gm ball to knit, it's just the tops, and it is trivial to knit - no heel to turn, no increases or decreases - just a simple ribbed tube. I mostly wear bootlets (ankle boots) and so the socktops get tucked inside the top, and look to everyone like real socks but they aren't. Now everyone knows my secret :-)

I'm purple on Ravelry

Kitten With a Whiplash said...

Happy Blogiversary! I'm not a sock knitter - yet. When I switched from crochet to knit a few years ago, I started with only a couple pairs of straight needles. I found a book of sock patterns from 1950. Imagine my surprise when I learned sox weren't knit on size 8 straight needles back then. Then I got the Denise needle set, which goes down to a size 5. Surprise again, still too big! I've just started working with some size 3 dpns I got at a thrift shop and hope to gain the dexterity in my sausage fingers soon to try some sox. I've posted about your contest, and a picture of some sox I haven't knit on my blog, and linked back.

Kitten With a Whiplash said...

Sorry, forgot to mention I'm here from WiKnit's contest blog.

Anonymous said...

Happy Blogiversary! My first socks were for premature babies in Florida. My friend owns a knitting store and was collecting hats and socks for the premies at a local hospital so I learned how to make some very tiny socks.

I'm colleenmarie on ravelry.

Turtle said...

happy blogiversary! The first actual knitting class i took were to knit socks, turning the heel self taught was kicking me in the butt and i gave in to a class, smile! I was knitting maybe my third pair ever and did not enjoy the yarn and was kind of bored. But being persistant i kept plugging away. Finished them but they were too small in the foot length. My daughters good friend is very petite having had kidney issues through adolescence. They fit her perfect and she happily took them home. So sadly no pic to show but they were in a autumn watercolor style yarn with a basic sock. I did link back to you though! Smile. Am working on my first toe up sock....it looks good but i'm still not yet if i'm doing it right! Happy blogiversary!!

Anonymous said...

I rarely knit socks because ... well I just don't enjoy knitting them BUT, I am a very big fan of sock yarn and use it all the time. My first sock knitting experience was awful - it came out too wide and too saggy. Maybe if I win I'll go back and try again!

jerseyjessie AT gmail

erasmus (aka jiva) said...

hellooooo, I knitted a beautiful pair of red in Araucania Ranco Solid. They were stunning with a cascade of hearts all in red. I washed them when I was finished and they felted! They started out a UK 6 to 7 and ended up a 4 to 5. I was gutted. I donated them as winter bed socks to a friend who was very deserving. I miss them!

rainberry said...

Happy Blogoversary!

Right now I'm knitting my first pair of Monkey socks. I'm using Opal Feelings which is an awesome yarn because it has wide rainbow stripes. I started it on size 1 needles, got 1 inch of ribbing done, and did 1 repeat of the pattern. Then I tried it on and it barely went over my foot, so I had to frog it and start on twos. I just turned the heel yesterday.

I posted about it here:
http://rainberryknits.blogspot.com/2008/06/monkey-sock.html

I'll also post about the contest on my blog.
http://rainberryknits.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

My first sock knitting experience was a complete disaster - I must have ripped them a dozen times. They were too loose, they were too tight, they were too long, they were too short, I messed up the heels, I messed up the toes. They were cursed.

I'm going to try again ... soon.

bloglessinnj AT gmail dot COM

Unknown said...

I am a self-taught knitter (about 5 years ago now) and wanted to try something new. I'll knit socks and tried with no success. I took a class, picked out my perfect yarn color, knit and knit until they were finished. Too big for my big feet. Not too big for my hubby's feet. He claimed them. :0( My only consolation is that he absolutely LOVES them. :0)

knitmomma said...

I'm knitting my first ever pair of full sized socks - I've only ever knit sock like booties before. ( http://flickr.com/photos/10810086@N03/973517324/ )So far it has taken me about a year and a half to knit these things - after well over a year I had about 1 inch of ribbing done. I thought maybe I hated knitting socks! ( http://flickr.com/photos/10810086@N03/2372407794/ )

Not true, luckily. Turns out I hate knitting RIBBING on socks! It may also have something to do with the yarn - I think it is a cotton blend, and so NOT smooshy. I like smooshy. ( http://flickr.com/photos/10810086@N03/2572341186/ )

I have now done a bit more on these socks - about 1/2 of the heels are completed.

Anonymous said...

And lucky us that you wanted to join the swap! =) Congratulations - I can't believe it's already been a year since that swap!

Sock tales of woe? I have them in spades! My favorite socks I ever finished (of the what? 2 pairs that made it past one sock?) were the pair I gave my mom last Christmas. Why? Simple! I started and knit the first on my own in a sock class, with yarn that had been gifted by a friend - the second, my dear friend Chan cast on for me so I could get the silly things finished. What better than a good knitting friend to help you along?!

Alaina said...

Happy Blogoversary!

My sock story...I was knitting my second pair of socks...feeling pretty proud of myself for doing the first pair...Since I have little feet, I didn't want the sock to be too long...so, I stopped the body of the sock way too soon...consequently I have this sock that looks like it belongs to some deformed person...way too short (and stubby)...I never made a mate to it...it is just laying there in my bin...looking pitiful...

I didn't take a picture or blog about it...

Such a sad looking sock...

Anonymous said...

Happy Blogiversary.

My sock story - I have socker's block. I start the cuffs and knit them fine, then I get to the heel and think to myself: I'll do these later. Then I start a new one and ... I have a large number of cuffs now waiting for heels and feet. Sigh.

I just read purple's story and that may just have solved my problem. Now all I need is to bind off and short boots to wear them with.

Janice said...

Hi and thanks for this contest. What great prizes!

I started fooling around with patterns to find the perfect formula for my wide feet, normal ankles, and largish calves. I had quite a few trials, but this pair (http://thevikingprincess.blogspot.com/2008/01/tofutsies-socks.html) is too loose, and don't match each other. But I don't care. They are comfortable and pink.

However, I was at Carolina Homespun, where I bought the yarn, a few weeks ago. I was talking to Morgaine, the accomplished spinner and knitter. I mentioned that I got the yarn there, she remembered, and noticed my sock was loose. Embarrassing! I didn't bother to explain I was tweaking patterns, etc. etc. Then she helped with my pathetic first spinning.

I put up a post about your contest on my blog here:
http://thevikingprincess.blogspot.com/2008/06/socks.html

I'm Pinkviking on Ravelry.

Happy Blogiversary!

AllyB said...

As you can see I have a difficult time following directions, lol Here's the link to my post...
http://allybthatsme.blogspot.com/2008/06/wildflowers-havin-contest-go-see-and.html

5elementknitr said...

Here's the farthest I've gotten on any sock:
http://5elementknitr.blogspot.com/2007/07/funyuns-and-chicken.html

I have enough hand-dyed sock yarn to make roughly 30 pairs. I should really finish one.

That link is the last attempt. It was for the Tour De France KAL in 2007. I was going like gangbusters and then I got to the part where you have to do the increases and I couldn't figure them out so they got thrown in the Closet Of No Return.

Considering pulling them out and giving it a go to finish them for this year's TDF KAL.

Great contest!

Linking now....

Cornellian said...

I have multiple stories but since you talked about not having enough yardage of your yarn I'm going to talk about this pair.

See, I had got this gorgeous Koigu from a swap, but I have BIG feet so I didn't have nearly enough to make a full pair of socks- PLUS, it was so bright I thought I needed to tone it down. SO, I got some cheap black yarn and did a spiral pattern based on the Stashbuster Spiral pattern- and it came out great! I eked by with just ONE skein of Koigu, and I had a tiny amount of yarn leftover. It was great.

Cornellian said...

PS: I know I missed the deadline for the contest- wanted you to know I knew that so you didn't think I was trying to enter. Just wanted to tell my story XD

Anonymous said...

I have been on the same pair of socks for at least 3 months now. Oh , I can get the cuff done and zoom on down to the heel. After that? I am so totally LOST. I am having such a time at it, that i put it down for a while and hopefully can get over this 'knitters bump' soon. I think I am having a hard time trying to concentrate onthe heel AND my kids being home for the summer . Come on September!! Anyhoo, I have blogged and linked back to you. As per your instructions. Now off to look at more of the knitpick sock books that are currently 40% off and dream. Oh, btw. I am dangerouscrochet on Ravelry