So, much as I cannot keep from buying books on writing right now...although I do seem to have reached my limit on those books for now--even though I am really loving the Eric Maisel books--he is the exception to my no more writing books rule...I cannot stop myself from buying knitting books right now.
It started so innocently.
I am not even sure what made me do it.
I was thinking about the coming holidays, maybe. How E and I love to make something for people rather than buying things. How much our holiday gift list has grown of late. For some reason, I bought two books on knitting scarves. Books I have wanted for a long time. I bought the one because used it was a single cent, but that was book two, so I had to go find book one to keep everything even and balanced, right?
Celebrity Scarves One and Two.
That wasn't too bad. Two books for roughly eight dollars for the pair. Seems fair to me.
Remember the doll pattern I have been whining about? The one with the Turkish cast on? http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/venus-de-merino
I have reached her neck...and I am proud to say there are no jogs. I am really too proud of myself.
Years ago, I threatened to knit my then best friend and now boyfriend a pair of kilt hose. I've always had that in the back of my mind ever since.
Kilt hose can come later; he needs something else now.
He wants ski socks.
Oh, talk about the joys of an obsession hitting one full bore in the chest and just EXPLODING.
Yes, I still owe him a sweater, after I knit N his Captain America sweater (which I am currently planning to do after I finish this doll...after a quick cloche for the girl is done too...and a set of fried egg ear muffs for a friend--both things I can do in one day--I can do both projects on the same day--they're easy--just need the right yarn), but socks are so much...smaller. :-) I won't say faster, as I have never finished a pair of socks...although I have knit sweaters before. I keep forgetting. I did make E a sweater eons ago when we were in MD.
I am having the urge to go through all my current knitting books and find a different pattern for the bf now...but I am waiting on that.
I have the necessary criteria, minus a few measurements yet as he hasn't been here since I started my rampage, to knit him up his socks.
Ultra warm. Ultra wicking. Ultra thin. Need to go so far up his shin. Above his boot. Nothing a tape measurer won't take care of.
But, I don't have that many sock knitting books on my shelves. And none that are specifically toe up socks.
So, amazon here we go.
No sock knitting book worth its salt that I looked at yesterday was cheaper used than new. In fact, several of them were far more expensive used than new. Imagine that.
I had to buy some books.
My desire is for toe up socks, as well as knitting two socks at a time.
Here's what I ordered, to start with:
Socks From The Toe Up by Wendy Johnson
Toe Up! by Chrissy Gardiner
Teach Yourself Visually Sock Knitting by Laura Chau
Knitting Circles Around Socks by Antje Gillingham
I thought this would be enough to start me off. Until I have a better feel for what I am doing, what I am missing, and what else I might want.
There are my books and patterns and all sorts of tips taken care of, for the moment.
The problem then became--I don't actually own any sock yarn. And I was a bit iffy on whether or not I had the right needles as well. I have a set of metal dpns specifically for knitting socks, somewhere, down to the 000 size, if not smaller. I do not do not want to knit socks on metal dpns...the stitches will fall right off, the needles will slip right out, and I know they will, because it happens to me too often. I know me. There is no way to avoid that, unless the needles are a good foot or so long...and that to me is overkill when making a sock.
Online research, here we come. At least I am a member of enough groups that are full of sock knitters, so I have alot of information already stuffed in my brain about things.
Knitpicks.com is deadly. I haven't ordered from them in a long time. I haven't really needed to. I have stash galore, trust me. Nothing for 'real' socks though.
I went through several sites, compared things in my brain to what I was seeing, then spent way too much money on sock yarn, and three circular needles so I can work two socks at once. I low-balled the estimate to the boyfriend as ten, maybe fifteen pairs of socks. I will stick with that estimate in public. Having never made a pair of socks with sock yarn, only worsted weight acrylic, I have no clue how much yarn it takes to make a pair of socks, other than my guessing after reviewing several patterns and sites. Add in the whole, how far up his shin does the sock need to go thing, and there we go. Estimation set and left as is.
I bought mostly wool sock yarn. But I splurged on one yarn that was a wool/alpaca blend, just to see if I could make him a sock so light and so warm that he loves it...we'll see. I am really looking forward to doing this for him though.
I can see myself, getting so good at this I don't really need a pattern, dragging my socks around with me wherever I go, always working on them. A pair of socks in every crevice, waiting to be worked on.
What's really bad now is I have some new ideas for a willie warmer pattern. I need to work on some socks to get the gussets right, but I can now see the pattern developing in my mind about the willie warmer. I knitted him one once by following a pattern, but there was alot of other things there. I told him I would knit him a new one, but I was so stuck on other things and staying away from my knitting that I ordered one via etsy instead because I was afraid I wouldn't get to it and I wanted him to have it. It turned out to be VERY cool. But the idea swarming thorugh my head now looks great--and if it turns out once I begin to translate it into yarn, I may end up having way too much fun with it.
Starting at the tip (excuse me) with a Turkish cast on, working the length in a 2x2 ribbing or something, opening into a gusset and then working the sack. Hmm. I can so see that.
I know. I'm weird. The things that amuse me to no end. But hey. Someone has to be that out there. It might as well be me. :-)
Now that I have ordered all these books, I went to ravelry.com and looked around at the free socks patterns, toe up. I have yet to find one that starts with a Turkish cast on. They all seem to start with a provisional cast on. I am all for learning new techniques, but my whole point is, I don't want to seam or graft or kitchener anything if I don't have to. I am hoping I have enough information on hand that I will be able to take what I want and turn it into what I need.
There is one other book I am still contemplating getting in regards to sock knitting:
Socks A La Carte by Jonelle Raffino.
I am waiting to see what I ordered first because ordering anything else. One of Cat Bordhi's sock knitting books is on my list as well. Socks Soar On Two Circular Needles.
We'll see. We shall see.
