Tag Archives: knitting

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DOPPELGANGER

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So this happened. I was doing this:

photo 1

And watching this:

marge knitting

It was like looking into a cartoon mirror.

So secretly, if I ever wanted to be famous, my own standard to really ‘making it’ would be to guest star on the Simpsons. I think ideally it would be as myself, so that I could achieve a form of immortality, but I can also see a lot of appeal in voicing a new character. Who am I kidding? I gotta play me.

I’ve been watching The Simpsons for about 20 years now. It’s one of the few things in my life that I don’t feel jaded about. That and knitting, pure, pure knitting. I’m kinda determined to never sell knitting, because I did that with sewing and I turned it into a job, which honestly trades some of that creativity and excitement for efficiency and tons of practice. I still really enjoy sewing, but it is so not a hobby anymore, and I want to keep knitting as a pure refuge from the whole ‘needle for hire’ lifestyle.

My husband’s been out of town for a few days, and I work from home, so I always get really chatting and confessional when I do get a chance to talk to someone. And yet I still can’t manage to get my act together for some good blogging! There I go again.

You can watch the episode on Hulu  (Pay Pal, season 25, episode 21).

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FRIENDSHIP SOCKS

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As soon I saw these orange and fuchsia skeins of yarn, I knew they were destined for greatness and friendship. Coordinating socks, one pair for me, and the other for my truly lovely friend Gigi. Gigi and I once had coordinating purple pants, bought at H&M when we were living in rural France, so there is a precedent for these socks. The fuchsia pair is for my friend, and the orange pair is for me.

worsted weight socks, made by Julianne

Here are Gigi’s footsies:

friendship socks, made by Julianne

And mine:

friendship socks, made by Julianne

Oh dear, they really do look tight. Perhaps I should re-knit the heel, working 3-4 rounds before starting the decreases.

These are my first worsted weight socks, which are obviously much faster than fingering weight! I used Cascade 220 superwash, one ball of each color to make both socks (and the tiniest bit left over). Cascade was easy to work with, the colors are deliciously vibrant, and affordable at $12 each, but there were about 4 snags in each skein.

Once again I used Liat Gatt’s tutorial for socks, but these socks were knit two at a time. I really loved this technique, and will be using it for all socks from now on! I remembered this tip on keeping simultaneous balls from getting tangled, which I added onto by lining the yarn opening with painter’s tape (this let the yarn slide smoothly across the zipper lip).

I tried short row heel, but after three attempts and increasing frustration I returned to the afterthought heel. My main reason for avoiding afterthought in the first place was Kitchener grafting. This stitch gets a lot of grief, and I’d struggled with it before. With a sigh, I threaded my tapestry needle and prepared for 20 minutes of annoyance. And then… I remembered all the steps without looking up a tutorial, and it turned out perfect. Kitchener and I are friends now.

worsted weight socks, made by Julianne

So it looks like afterthought heels will be my go-to, as I simply love the contrasting heels. I still need to perfect my corners, but that will be an easy adjustment. Also, I think I should have created a wider opening for the heel (I did 5/9 opening, a little less than 2/3). Next time!

The twisted ribbing is knit 1 through the back loop, purl 1, which creates a very neat ribbing. I bound off with Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off, because it’s easy and works great, and I really don’t care about binding off in the rib pattern.

worsted weight socks, made by Julianne

Gigi has tiny feet, so I hope these will fit! And they were only a few days late for her birthday.

worsted weight socks, made by Julianne

Any readers have any tips or preferences for heels they’d like to share?

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