Last Week It Was a Ball of Yarn, This Week It’s a Sock

Posted on September 28, 2014 by MakerKnit
my daughter's socks

My daughter’s (very colorful) mid-calf wool socks.

A little over a week ago, my daughter was getting ready for bed and put on some summer pajamas along with the mid-calf wool socks I knitted for her.  Given that it was about 75 degrees in our house at the time, I thought she’d be way too warm in those socks.  I asked her if she’d like me to make her another pair of bed socks (the short, footie-like socks, which she has long outgrown) and she said she’d rather have socks that come up a little higher.  So I started thinking about what I might make for her that are more traditional socks but also better suited for warmer weather.

Turkish Bed Socks Adult & Child

In our matching bed socks, back when they still fit my daughter.

I went to my stash and looked at what sock yarn I had on hand.  Seeing the Cascade Fixation yarn reminded me of the pair of socks that I knitted for myself in a somewhat open, lacy pattern using that yarn, which is mostly cotton with just a bit of elastic.  The Fixation yarn with the lacy-ish pattern would make great warmer-weather socks for my daughter, and back when I originally ordered that yarn, along with the green for myself I ordered some teal, which is now one of my daughter’s favorite colors.  Hurrah!

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My daughter’s newly-finished sock, with its companion on the needles.

So last weekend I started on the new socks for my daughter, and this weekend I finished her first sock (and started on the other).  Even after all these years of knitting, I still find it amazing that in one week I can go from having a ball of yarn, which is pretty and full of potential, but not very useful in its ball form, to having a sock, which will lovingly cover my daughter’s foot and keep it warm. The sense of accomplishment from making something, especially something useful, is one of the many things I love about knitting.

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A close-up of the lovely herringbone lace pattern, which also happens to naturally create that pretty, rippled edge at the sock’s top.

The pattern I’m using is called “Herringbone Lace Socks” and the lace repeat is simple and easy to remember, but not boring.  And it produces a really lovely sock.  The pattern is by Ann Budd from her Getting Started Knitting Socks book.  This is a fantastic book for beginner sock knitters; it has step-by-step instructions for each and every part of a sock, with detailed written instructions and photographs for each step.  Plus there are patterns for socks at various gauges–from 8 stitches per inch using fingering yarn, to 4 stitches per inch using bulky yarn–and for sizes ranging from a kid’s medium (shoe size 9 to 12) to an adult’s large (women’s shoe size 11 to 14; men’s shoe size 10 to 13).  If you want to start knitting socks and buy only one book, I highly recommend Ann Budd’s Getting Started Knitting Socks.

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The Excruciatingly-Long Birthing Process of a Babybot

Posted on May 3, 2014 by MakerKnit

As you may already know, my husband really likes robots.1 We have quite a few that share our house, but they are of the 3D-printing kind rather than the anthropomorphic kind one may tend to think of when hearing the word “robot.”2

IMG_9000I came across this book, Crobots: 20 Amigurumi Robots to Make by Nelly Pailloux, and immediately bought it, just knowing that my husband so obviously “needed” a more traditional, human-looking robot. He could put it on his desk, or it could hang out with our other robots. My husband looked through the book and picked the “Babybot” for me to make for him.

The crocheting didn’t take long; it’s a small robot,3 only 5.25″ tall when finished. But the finishing work is extensive for such a diminutive item: there are 6 pieces for the head, 4 pieces for the body, and the 2 arms and 2 legs. Then there’s the embroidery work, on both the face (13 details) and body (4 details).4

I’m embarrassed to admit that it was well over a year ago that I completed the crocheting part. Sometime between then and now I did start the embroidery, but I didn’t get past the four French knots on the face. Pitiful, I know.

IMG_9010I finally resolved to finish this adorable little guy, and to keep the task manageable, I just did a little bit each day over the course of a week. And I let go of it having to be perfect and instead settled for it being cute, and done.

The Babybot’s head is a little crooked, the control panel on the body doesn’t look square, and its legs aren’t even, but does it really matter? I could have spent yet more time resewing and fixing these imperfections, but I chose to accept and embrace these flaws as a testament to the fact that it was handmade, and so that I could finally say I was done and give it to my husband, who is the least-honored but most-deserving recipient of my knitting and crocheting endeavors.

  1. More accurately, he really likes what robots can do and make. [↩]
  2. Like Rosie from The Jetsons or those in the movie I, Robot. [↩]
  3. As its name would imply. [↩]
  4. Don’t be put off though by how very time-consuming the finishing work is; the completed robot is ridiculously cute and worth the effort. Just look at how the Babybot seems to be smiling in the bottom photo! [↩]
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Dreaming of and Knitting for Summer

Posted on March 27, 2014 by MakerKnit

I started some “summery” projects recently. They are both for my daughter, and they are both from Berroco’s Lake House pattern booklet (#341).

IMG_8640The first is a simple stockinette stitch tank top (named Montauk) with some subtle but sweet details like a one-row ridge near the hem and a left shoulder strap that you tie into a bow. My daughter chose the color cerulean for her tank, and it’s just beautiful, and so bright and summery.

IMG_8633The second project is a purse that looks like a slice of watermelon (named Pepo). And what is more summery than watermelon? Or if you prefer, you can make it into a pillow by just stuffing it and not adding the zipper. I’m not sure which my daughter will choose. Either way it will be super-cute and especially fun for summer.

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I also bought yarn for another project from the Lake House pattern booklet, but haven’t started it yet. It is a crocheted decorative bowl (named Ninigret), like for fruit as displayed in the photo. I’m going to use a little different color scheme than shown, substituting a more vibrant blue for the blue in the original and a bright green for the small yellow flecks within the blue band. It should be a nice “summery” addition to our dining table and a great receptacle for fresh summer fruits and garden vegetables.

All this talk of summer has me wishing for warm, bright sunny weather. I know I should be happy that spring is officially here (and I am)–the trees are budding, the tulips are blooming, and our weather is warmer–but I can’t help but be a little anxious for summer, especially with all these summery knits in progress. Wherever you are, I hope you, too, are enjoying the signs of spring and that you have some fun summer projects in your knitting queue.

Posted in Book Review, Crocheting, Knitting | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments