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Baa baa Black Sheep

Unable to knit today - the latex gloves are a big help for my fingers but don't permit the knit - I kept my future projects on the brain by asking sock advice of good friend and sock extraordinaire TheBlackSheep. I offer her response below for the greater good of the knitting community.

When asked "What exactly other than flexibility are the criteria for good sock yarn?" she responded:

Oh lord. That depends on what you want from the sock. If you really want to wear it like a normal sock, I would suggest Superwash (which is always wool). Superwash wool doesn't shrink and can be washed in the machine. It's also harder wearing. Most standard sock yarns are automatically superwash and are usually 65-76% superwash wool and the rest is nylon or something. There are some non-superwash yarns people use for socks, but imho these are more for pretty than everyday wear. Tara gave me a pair or merino wool socks and I use those around the house or just for work. I don't trust them to dog walking. They're too pretty for that anyway.

Most sock yarn is also fingering weight. Cottons are the thinnest, as there's no need for warmth really. Then there's the normal fingering weight sock yarn (bog standard sock yarn), which is 4 ply here. Then you can get the thicker yarns 5, 6, and 8 ply for extra warmth and quicker knitting.

Now the sock yarn I got for my grandmother is Sooper Dooper sock yarn. It's snow and water resistant, 8 ply, totally unshrinkable superwash. It's very thick and luxurious. It also comes with reinforcement yarn for the heels and toes. This is basically a thick thread in the same colour that you just knit with the yarn, so you're knitting 2 strands and not just one. It makes the socks harder wearing. I will make sure I get the reinforcement yarn for the Aran Sandal Socks because the pattern is complicated and I want them to last a very long time. Normal socks I can knit when on the phone, these require concentration, which make it all the more important that they last.

Anyway, beware of hand knit socks. Once you have a pair, you won't want to wear anything else, especially in winter. They are some of the warmest socks I've ever owned, even if not the thickest or wooliest.

You can find more of TheBlackSheep's purls of knowledge on her blog Misadventures in knitting.

Cruising continental

I'm not really able to knit - not with my flaming fingers. That didn't stop me from taking the scarf to the hospital today and a good thing I did. My roommate watched me scoot through a row and commented on how I should learn how to knit without dropping my yarn with each stitch. Oh boy here it comes I thought to myself as she left her bed and approached mine. Without even taking the scarf out of my hands she told me what to do and coaxed me through it. The first few stitches were awkward but then it became second nature! And it's sooooooo much easier. I only did the two rows though before my fingers started really hurting. The doc prescribed a new special cream - I hope it helps. *sips some heavenly mandarin white and relaxes back on the couch*

Swiss needle tea

Sounds like a new blend and it is of sorts! Froggy brought in the post this evening and handed me a nice big padded envelope full of goodies. I had to wash the oil off my hands before opening it. 100% pure woot-squee-woot! Thank you muchly Theblacksheep! xoxo

What a beautiful card. The needles are really cool - I've never seen anything quite like them before. They remind me of the old-fashioned toys we played with as kids - in wood quality and colour that is. And well the Mandarin white: woot-squee-woot! We can't get that here, well not at my local that's for sure. I'll enjoy a cuppa when I get home from the hospital tomorrow afternoon. For now I'm going to stop touching the keyboard and call it a night. (The jojoba oil helps a lot but it's impossible to do anything with it on - even scratching one's nose is a pain.)

The first stitch

So I've taken the leap and created a knitting blog despite my woefully poor workmanship to date. I have so much to learn but then I imagine that the most avid knitters would still say that about some intricately impossible design they would like to master.

For me though this is the honest truth. I'm more the artistic butterfly, tasting various projects and landing gently for a while here and there - whether that be writing, gardening, cooking, drawing and painting, or web design (or anything else that catches my fancy). I love learning. I don't have to be the best. So, born of the SPEW thread on Immeritus, I became interested in knitting. Of course it wasn't until I got the Tea Swap up and running that knitting became a project and not just an abstract idea. Ah yes, the tea mug cosie. TheBlackSheep's version was much prettier but I am proud of that first knit. Adding extra stitches was obviously a natural tendency chez moi and I hope it comes in handy in the future when I take on the sock.

At the moment I have two projects on the go. One, the scarf, I've been working on for months (don't laugh) and the other, Amélie's blanket, is still in the concept stage.

I've frogged the scarf (recognise the yarn? - yes I do have a lot of it) more times than I care to remember. My problem is clearly not knowing the difference between a purl and a knit stitch. Finally, at the hospital the other day, a fellow patient gave me a tip which has saved me from an immeasurable amount future frogging and has possible given me the will to keep knitting: when you finish a row and are planning on taking a break, poke the free needle through the yarn ball in the direction that you should start knitting again (needle forward versus needle backward). Experienced knitters will find this silly but believe me it has made me sane again. I still have a way to go to get the scarf finished but at least I'm progressing and not regressing each time I pick up my needles. (BTW. Frogging for me meant going all the way back to the beginning, not just back a row or two. I'm pleased to say that I have since mastered frogging and can take it back as far as I need to without having to start all over again.)

The second project is a blanket for my preemie niece, Amélie. So far I've got the yarn (100% cotton: 50% normal cotton and 50% modal). I'd like to send it over to the States by Christmas though we're planning on visiting (with the doc's ok) in February at which point I could just take it with me. I like the second idea because it gives me more time to learn how to change colours but then sending it for Christmas.... It's a tough call but something tells me that my ability will dictate when it gets sent or taken. (I can see myself now furiously knitting away on the flight over.)

All this is difficult - knitting, typing, touching anything. I can't even sculpt at the moment. My fingers are a complete peeling mess. The joy of side-effects. I managed to knit a bit yesterday but today it's worse. No matter what creams I coat my fingers in nothing sees to work. The ends are even starting to crack. *sighs* I've got some jojoba oil which I think I'll end up resorting to this afternoon. Unfortunately it means that I'll be a true couch potato as I won't be able to touch anything with my greasy l'il paws.