Friday, October 06, 2006

Back from London and Paris!!!

The weather was beautiful and the Rowan yarns at Liberty were even more gorgeous. Although there was no Liberty sale, I still picked up a few magazines, 5 balls of KidSilkHaze (much cheaper than here) and a 5 balls of Cotton Braid for a simple top.

Photos to follow in the next post (camera still needs to down/up load 500+ travel photos!!!)...

In the meantime, here is some information about me for Soctoberfest.

* When did you start making socks?
~ July 2005, when I first arrived in Toronto and was homeless & jobless.

* Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
~ I taught myself to knit socks from a pattern: a free pattern from Patons for their Kroy socks yarn. Unfortunately, the Patons website seems to have stopped linking the pattern for free. :( (NOTE: This pattern can be found here.)

*
What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?
~ From a jacquard Confetti DGB yarn. I didn't and still don't like the jacquard pattern at all - instead I prefer stripes, blotches or just plain sock yarn. Being a rare-swatcher and insisting on substituting yarn, the sock was very loose... and I now use it to keep my feet moisurized after at-home-foot-spas.

* What would you have done differently?

~ I would either use the recommended yarn or use smaller DPNs.

* What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

~ So far, I've been cheap with sock yarns. Have only worked with Confetti DGB yarn (can't remember!), Patons Kroy (still love the colors) and Sheepjes Invicta Extra (pretty heather colors but splits easily).

* Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
~ Have only knit and used DPNs... seems too much hassle to buy 2 circulars of the same size and the method looks complicated!

* Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)

~ I like the flap heel from the Patons books. The slip stitches create a tougher fabric more suitable for a heel.

* How many pairs have you made?

~ Three. Spa socks for myself, one pair for mommy and one pair for daddy.

Many half done socks all over the place - one Baudelaire sock originally for Sister B (but too small so tossed aside), half a Sister C sock (tossed aside) and half a simple sock in the wrong color (hence, tossed aside). Now working on Sister B sock. Hopefully, first Sister B sock will be ready for the next post!

2 comments:

jacquieblackman said...

Welcome back! You must tell us all about your Rowan experience. Oh, and your trip in general. See you on Wednesday?? :-)

alltangledup said...

Interestingly you've only used sock yarns that I have never used. So you were on my side of the pond... recently? btw, The sales are July and January.