As I type, I'm sitting next to my beloved, and Pete's there, too! My Beatles/Abbey Road knitting bag is looking at me grumpily, as there's two WIPs in there; one being as I mentioned, my mother-in-law's Christmas gift.
I'm really liking this pattern too, it's a round dishcloth (I call them and use them as face washers - I can't imagine using such lovely knitted things to scrub dirty pots and pans!) that I'm knitting with Peaches 'n' Creme Ombres in a colour called... um..."Raspberry Swirl". Here's a knit-in-progress shot; I think I should get it finished tomorrow without too much trouble (but, as we know, Trouble may yet find me!)
And now, without further ado - a drumroll, please!!
Here is... my very first... knitted socks! That's right, I got my First Sock Mojo* working!I am so exceedingly proud of my work here. I have never undertaken the magical process that is turning a heel, but managed to figure it out (hey, it's really not so hard!) and sort-of figured out Kitchener Stitch... Well, I followed Knitty's step-by-step, very slowly, for both socks.
I couldn't believe how big they needed to be for felting! I tried them on several times while knitting, and again when they were done to demonstrate just how baggy these buggers are:
The only thing I was a bit concerned about by the time I had finished the second sock was these seemingly quite huge gaping holes along the sides of the heel flap where I had picked up the stitches for the heel. I think I'd forgotten to knit these through the back of the stitch (and even now, I can only vaguely remember that being the trick to closing those holes), and so when I chucked them into the washing machine to felt, I had all available appendages crossed that these holes would close in the felting process...
...Well, that and that the washing machine wouldn't clog like buggery. I kept pulling them out of the machine every five minutes or so (but I'm pretty sure it was actually every forty seconds or thereabouts), since I wanted to be sure that they were felting, but not 'too much'. Eventually (probably after six or seven checks - my attention span isn't fabulous), I came to the decision that the lingerie bag that I'd popped them into was slowing up the process (why? I dunno!) and emptied it of socks which, left to their own devices and not being stopped and checked every three minutes, promptly felted like the good socks they are!
I even got them shaped, dried and wrapped in time to give them to our dear, dear friend Sam who has cold, cold feet. She loves them and I hope they're doing a lovely job of warming her feet!
And it's back to the washcloth again!
*First Sock Mojo, a wonderful phrase trademarked to the Yarn Harlot. All rights reserved to her for her incomparable wit and wisdom, in all perpetuity. Amen.
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