SOCKIT2ME

Well, I have officially decided to re-think my Christmas To Knit List until I have more practice knitting socks. I have come to the realization that right now is just not the right time to make socks for everyone on my list, even if they want them or not...at least if they all want their gifts by Christmas this year instead of a few years down the road.

It all started with a sock pattern I was going to test knit, which in turn was going to be a gift for my mother. I ripped that sock out so many times that I lost count, because something would always seem to distract me as I was doing the short rows and then things would get lop-sided. I decided that maybe that project should wait for a bit and I would work on another pattern (since I had 6 pairs of socks on my list of items to knit), Eugene's Comfy Brown Socks. I knit up a swatch to see what my gauge was, and then I used that to decide how many stitches to cast on to give the width I needed. The problem here was that when I actually started knitting up the sock, my gauge changed...I now had more stitches per inch than I did with my swatch.

I have not given up on sock knitting. I'm merely changing a gift list for now so that I can have enough time to practice knitting socks before I make them for others, since I am a perfectionist when it comes to my crafting. So after Christmas, except to see a lot of sock knitting on the blog.

Until then, I need some help from all of you. I have got to come up with some great gifts to make for my loved ones, and all of them have to be gifts for men. I have a hard enough time thinking of what to give guys, and now that I have to re-think my gifts I'm at a complete loss. So if you have any great gift ideas for any of the following, let me know (preferably knitted or crocheted items, since I have plenty of supplies for these types of gifts):

1. Poppa Bear - Local author and book lover.
2. Eugene (Uncle's father) - He likes the color brown.
3. Josh (boyfriend) - Gamer and gadget lover. I would design another game-inspired gift, but I'm running out of time.
4. Russell (Josh's father) - He likes FPS games and motorcycles.

I was going to make a pair of socks for my mom as well, but I've got plenty of ideas for her...and she's also been emailing me patterns, hinting at things she wants me to make her (crocheted dachshund since my dad won't let her have a dog right now).

Well, I'm off to knit on the non-sock gifts until I can come up with some great replacements.

Once upon a sock...

Once upon a sock, there was a knitter who struggled with some of the basic techniques. Her first ever hand-knitted sock wasn't a disaster, but there was a long vacation of sock knitting after that attempt. Now she has many loved ones that have hinted at wanting a pair of hand-knit socks, so she must be brave and get rid of the monster that stands between her and a finished sock she is happy with.

Ok, I will admit that I'm not a lover of socks for myself (I just have a hard time with that sock-feet feeling) and that could be why sock knitting is becoming a challenge right now. In my latest attempts at sock knitting, I've had to do many froggings and don't even have a finished pair to present to you guys. It can be frustrating at times, so I'm working on just knitting on the socks when I'm in "the zone". Hopefully this new sock knitting schedule will produce some results I can be proud of.

With a majority of my Christmas gift To Knit list being socks, this could be a challenge getting everything completed in time for gift giving...but I'm going to do my best! Maybe visual progress reports of my sock knitting adventures will help me stay motivated....so for the first visual progress report, I present you with Eugene's comfy brown socks that I casted on last Thursday:

I'm doing a very simple sock pattern and knitting it from the cuff down. I've had issues with getting my kitchener stitch to be absolutely flawless, but I'm so determined to not let a tiny technique get the best of me.

Well, I've got the sock knitting bug at the moment so I better get back to the socks while I'm in "the zone".