All the Way Out of the Yarn Closet -
As of last Thursday, I am an official KIP man!!! I went with the wife to BAM and sat with the knit group and KNITTED. It was not so bad. All the ladies were very pleased that I decided to join them with my knitting project, which by the way was a sock. Yep, I did a sock, the whole thing, knitting in the round with five DPS, ribbing, doing a cable pattern, the heel flap, picking up gusset stitches, gussets, toe decreases and finishing with the kitchener. For the cable pattern, I chose the Double-Wrapped Braid out of Barbara Walker’s Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns book. Now I have to admit it was a bit of a task to work the cables, and I might have expended several of my “Sailor words”, but not as many as in the past, actually once I got the hang of the front cross, the front knit cross, the back cross and back knit cross thing; it was not so hard, except for having to work with that dang little extra needle, 5 needles gets a bit much for my big fingers. Any way, I feel a total sense of freedom now that I did it, and now Debbie W. and dear sister-in-law Darlene should be happy. They were the ones who “needled” me the most about being a man about it and showing that I was secure enough in my masculinity to show up and knit with a group of ladies. I can now sleep at night knowing that task is no longer hanging over my head.
Now I am here to tell you I have a wonderful wife/knitting teacher. Bless her heart, she had the good sense to NOT inform me that I should not have picked cables as a pattern for my sock, let alone one as complex as the one I choose. It was not until it was all over that she informed me that just knitting a sock for the first time was normally challenge enough for a novice; BUT to try cables for the first time at the SAME time was just not something that is recommended, specially the one I chose, it really is true as they say, Ignorance is Bliss……
Now you may notice, the toe of the sock looks a little strange, that is because being an impatient person, I did not take the time required to knit a full length sock that would fit me. My goodness, I would have had to knit at least 6 more inches! That would have taken over 8000 more stitches, (I actually calculated out an approximate number of stitches in the whole thing, it's a guy thing, and it is staggering). Anyway, I just wanted to get to the toe decreases, do the kitchener, and move on to my next project (a cool pattern I found in one of Debbie’s mags, it is a newspaper boy hat). It is really cool looking. Now I just have to see if I can do some kind of stitch pattern of my own choosing……hummmmmm (Debbie is telling me to just follow the pattern the first time, we shall see)
So, I have been busy even though I have not posted for a while. I made another belt for Gabby to go with her other birthday stuff, knitted the sock, worked on my blanket (which may or may not ever get finished), plus working in the yard, and having to make a couple of trips over to the new house that as you know is now coming along quite well. Life is full, but good. I am a bless man, I have a wonderful wife, great kids and grandkids, terrific health and am embarking on a whole new life, it just don’t get any better…..
Until next time,
Knit on……….Joe
As of last Thursday, I am an official KIP man!!! I went with the wife to BAM and sat with the knit group and KNITTED. It was not so bad. All the ladies were very pleased that I decided to join them with my knitting project, which by the way was a sock. Yep, I did a sock, the whole thing, knitting in the round with five DPS, ribbing, doing a cable pattern, the heel flap, picking up gusset stitches, gussets, toe decreases and finishing with the kitchener. For the cable pattern, I chose the Double-Wrapped Braid out of Barbara Walker’s Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns book. Now I have to admit it was a bit of a task to work the cables, and I might have expended several of my “Sailor words”, but not as many as in the past, actually once I got the hang of the front cross, the front knit cross, the back cross and back knit cross thing; it was not so hard, except for having to work with that dang little extra needle, 5 needles gets a bit much for my big fingers. Any way, I feel a total sense of freedom now that I did it, and now Debbie W. and dear sister-in-law Darlene should be happy. They were the ones who “needled” me the most about being a man about it and showing that I was secure enough in my masculinity to show up and knit with a group of ladies. I can now sleep at night knowing that task is no longer hanging over my head.
Now I am here to tell you I have a wonderful wife/knitting teacher. Bless her heart, she had the good sense to NOT inform me that I should not have picked cables as a pattern for my sock, let alone one as complex as the one I choose. It was not until it was all over that she informed me that just knitting a sock for the first time was normally challenge enough for a novice; BUT to try cables for the first time at the SAME time was just not something that is recommended, specially the one I chose, it really is true as they say, Ignorance is Bliss……
Now you may notice, the toe of the sock looks a little strange, that is because being an impatient person, I did not take the time required to knit a full length sock that would fit me. My goodness, I would have had to knit at least 6 more inches! That would have taken over 8000 more stitches, (I actually calculated out an approximate number of stitches in the whole thing, it's a guy thing, and it is staggering). Anyway, I just wanted to get to the toe decreases, do the kitchener, and move on to my next project (a cool pattern I found in one of Debbie’s mags, it is a newspaper boy hat). It is really cool looking. Now I just have to see if I can do some kind of stitch pattern of my own choosing……hummmmmm (Debbie is telling me to just follow the pattern the first time, we shall see)
So, I have been busy even though I have not posted for a while. I made another belt for Gabby to go with her other birthday stuff, knitted the sock, worked on my blanket (which may or may not ever get finished), plus working in the yard, and having to make a couple of trips over to the new house that as you know is now coming along quite well. Life is full, but good. I am a bless man, I have a wonderful wife, great kids and grandkids, terrific health and am embarking on a whole new life, it just don’t get any better…..
Until next time,
Knit on……….Joe
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