Filling Time

Thanks for all the kind comments about my Creatures shawl.

Back to Socks

*sigh* What can I say about Noro Socks? There’s been quite a love-hate thing going on between us, and I’m more than a little concerned that they’ve stolen my sock-knitting mojo (see below). I’m so pleased with how they’ve turned out, and even more pleased that, future darning aside, I need never work with this hateful yarn again.

I started off wondering what other people were whingeing about, began to have my own complaints as I approached the heel, and ended up thinking they were all being way too kind in their assessments of how difficult Kureyon Sock is to work with. I used regular Kureyon for my Booga bag, and was more than happy with it. I put this down to its being 100% wool, and knitted at a loose gauge for felting.

After all my previous misgivings, I managed to get the feet to pretty well match each other. You can’t imagine the number of joins I had to make to get that though. I had thought I’d be okay with mismatching, but an OCD flare-up put paid to that one. It really would have been much simpler had I paid attention and knitted #2 from the other end of the ball.

Specs:

• Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock
• Pattern: Harris Tweed by me
• Needles: 2.5 mm circular and DPNs
• Mods: 64 sts on leg, down to 60 for foot; left off the garter edging on heel flap.

The Next Pair?

I’ve been messing about since finishing the above because, although I really want to start another pair of socks, I haven’t been able to get going on any.

To get another fix of lace without shelling out for more yarn, I thought a pair of Wheat Stalkings would work. Well, I did the first toe, but didn’t fancy knitting any more. That’s okay—I like Knit Picks Palette, but it’s not exactly a yarn to get excited over, is it?

So next up was Koigu KPPPM. If anything’s going to make me want to knit socks, it’s this, right? Wrong! I spent a couple of hours on a swatch of various stitch patterns before ditching that too.

Well, I needed something to keep my hands busy, so out came a couple of balls of that cotton I found the other day. Okay, I’ll knit a dishcloth.

According to Ravelry, about fifty-two billion people have made some variant of the Mason-Dixon Ballband Dishcloth, so I figured that would do.

I don’t have the Mason-Dixon book, and I hadn’t noticed the pattern is available for free, so I flipped through my trusty Harmony Stitch Guides until I found it, and cast on.

Specs:

• Yarn: Schachenmayr Nomotta Cherie
• Pattern: Brick Pattern I from The Harmony Guides Volume 3: 440 More Knitting Stitches
• Needles: 3.5 mm

It looks fine, it’s used up some stash, and it’s functional, but it got me thinking. People actually buy cotton with the sole intention of knitting dishcloths! Is it just me, or is life too short?

Then it dawned on me that this must be what people are getting at asking why I choose to knit socks when they can be had for a fraction of the cost at some Wal-Mart type of shop. I’m not sure it’s quite the same thing, but then, I’m biased.

Still, I’ll probably knock out a few more dishcloths myself, and hope that the Spirit of the Sock returns soon.