In my last post, I mentioned working on a pair of socks for my mother-in-law. That came about when she was here visiting and some of my sock yarn caught her eye. She said she would very much like a pair of socks out of this yarn:
I love to knit for someone if I know it's going to be appreciated. And I love it when someone picks out some yarn and asks me to knit something specific for them. Who would have thought that the stripey looking skein of yarn would make such a pretty sock? But I'm not happy with it. It's a basic stockinette sock, but I wanted to follow the directions exactly to get a feel for basic sock construction, and I don't like how pointy the toe turned out. I could live with that, but look at this:
Can you see that ladder running down the entire side of the sock? It's on both sides. I'm sure it's from where the needles joined. I guess I needed to pull a little tighter when changing needles, but this is my 5th pair of socks and the first time this has been an issue. Since these socks are for my mother-in-law, I'm pretty disappointed. I'm sure she would love anything I made, but I KNOW I can do better than that. *pouts* Ah, well.
Look at this beautiful confection of yarn:
This is Koigu KPPPM--something, and it's going to be made into something for my lovely niece Stephanie's birthday. Shhh...it's a secret. Here's a closer look:
Isn't it gorgeous?
And now for the Sock Wars Update:
As of this writing, 5+ weeks in, there are 147 out of 772 participants still in the game.
In my last post I told you that I heard from the next person up the sock wars chain assigned to eliminate me, so my days are numbered. I was hoping to get one more "kill" in before being taken out of the competition, so it was a waiting game to see what I would get in the mail first: a pair of socks from my latest victim for me to finish or my own socks of doom, signalling my demise. Well, on Friday afternoon, a squishy package did indeed arrive. This is what was inside:
Yes, my friends, an almost completed pair of socks for me to finish! (yarn and fiber content unknown). So I survived another day to take out another victim:
This time the socks are for Moa, and there really wasn't much left to do to finish these. You can see by the red and purple waste yarn that all I had to finish on the first sock was the toe. The heel flap was already completed on the second sock, so I just had to finish the foot. Less than 24 hours after receiving them, I was able to drop my third (and probably final) Socks of Doom in the mail to my third target.
RIP Moa.
And Hat Lady.
And Mamie.
A moment of silence for my worthy opponents, if you please.
6 comments:
Oh, those socks will be so pretty! Are you going to rip them and restart.
Congrats on making it this far! I love the Koigu!
Oh, I am so sad about the ladders down your MIL's socks. :( I HATE getting ladders--which is why I switched to Magic Loop. However, I know you knit magic loop, too, so I am curious as to how that happened. . . . Weird. If you're close to being done, maybe try finishing them and washing them and see if the stitches even out? *crosses fingers*
I have only ever gotten ladders on Cascade Fixation yarn. I have no idea whatsoever how I got them. My very first pair of socks didn't have them! It's no boast, though. I am a VERY tight knitter and I always pull very tight between my needles, instinctively. That's great for ladders but makes an insanely stiff and dense sock if I'm not careful to use a big enough needle!
I would be cautiously optimistic that the ladders would wash out. I've never tried it with wool. If it was me I'd have to at least try. I'd hate to rip out a whole sock just because of ladders but with wool, as sticky as it is, there is a good chance that they won't wash out, unfortunately.
I'm glad you are feeling better and congrats on your excellent "kills". I am the slowest knitter in the history of the universe so I would have been DOA during the first round!
Hugs!
Hooray for one more kill in Sock Wars! You've really turned into a sock master, haven't you?
I love the MIL socks, too. You know, I knit socks exclusively on DPN's. Not because I love them, but because I haven't learned any other method, and to do so would mean buying more needles, which my thrifty "you've already got needles that will do that" self balks at. Despite everyone's warnings about ladders and twisting my work, I've never had a problem with either, and have put no extra effort towards avoiding them. Call it beginners luck, but I think I'll sit down and cry the first time it happens. :)
That yarn for the niece looks delicious. Raspberry, almost. I can't wait to see what it becomes.
And glad that you are better. Illness of any kind is no fun, but the achy flu really stinks.
I love the MIL socks! you are an awesome sock assassin. the stats are incredible and to think your one of the ones left standing! You rock!
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