Notes and Patterns from a New and Enthusiastic Knitter
Both heels are finished, wheee! Now, it’s just a matter of knitting until I run out of yarn. Well, until I run out of yarn and both socks are more or less the same length!
The original pattern doesn’t have a cuff. That makes sense, cuz the stitch pattern is essentially a 2 x 2 rib. But an inch or so of cuff might be nice. Row 8 and row 16 of the pattern are plain 2 x 2, so it could start at either point. Let’s see what happens …
Oh, boy! I’ve been busier than a one-armed paper hanger! (That’s how it goes, right?) I spent the month of May taking in more info than I could possibly absorb about teaching English as a Second Language, thanks to an excellent training course at the Lado International College. I can’t say enough good things about this course and the three trainers there! In fact, it’s not over … I’m still working on the post-course requirements (a final exam and other work) which are all due at the end of this month. Needless to say, this has put a major damper on my knitting …
As noted a few days ago, I did finish the lovely and easy cotton wrap and I’ve already worn it several times. (It helps that the weather has been dreary and damp!) I also completed a cotton belt that I had begun last summer. Sheez, it only took a day or so to finish it. I don’t know what was taking so long! Here’s a pic:
I have now resumed the Vinnland socks. What a drama they have turned out to be! They were supposed to be a quick interim project … squeezed in before I got earnest about Christmas knitting last year. I started them last August. Yes, that’s right: August. Oy.
I LOVE the Vinnland sock pattern! I LOVE the yarn! But it seems that the short row heel was simply not going to work for me. And the attempts I made to correct the fit just didn’t do it. I like to knit two socks in parallel (on two sets of needles) and so I tried two variations of the short row heels (one on each sock). No dice. I ripped one of those back and went to a tried-and-true heel pattern: the AWESOME Toe-up Socks with a Difference by Wendy Johnson. I used it on my Prism Socks and they fit really well.
My poor Vinnlands have been sitting there waiting for me to return to them for months … Last night, I got them out and I could hardly remember what was what! But it only took a little while to get back into the swing of things. A bit of knitting last night, a bit of knitting on the train to and from Philly today, and (yay!) I have completed a heel with the new pattern and tried it on: yessss! It fits most excellently. This evening I ripped out the other heel and there should be a lovely new one sometime over the next week.
There is that pesky exam to finish, however … !
Little Arrowhead and Feather Faggotting Lace Wrap
This weighs in at 11 oz. I used Lily Sugar’n Cream Solid (color “Ecru”) and size 10 needles. It would look equally nice if I had used up all the yarn (knit one more ounce) but I didn’t. I posted the pattern in my previous post. If you’re interested!!
