I finished the Jaywalker socks this morning. This is the second pair I've made. (The first pair was back in 2006.) My gauge has gotten looser since then, because I see I did those on size 2 needles (and they were quite tight) and this pair was done on size 1s and fits nicely.
The right-hand sock in that photo has a difference in the patterning of the yarn on the toe. This came about because of what I call the "Knitter's 'Aw, MAN!'" - finding a knot in a self-striping or self-patterning yarn:
("Aw, MAN!" because that's what you say (or at least, what I say) after coming upon the knot)
And the yarn AFTER the knot being from somewhere else in the color sequence. I know, I know, those big manufacturing concerns can't devote that much effort to quality control, but I always imagine a couple dudes in the factory:
Dude 1: "Oh, shoot, I'm at the end of the big spool of yarn and I haven't finished the put-up for this skein yet."
Dude 2: "Just grab a new spool and tie it on."
Dude 1: "But what if it interrupts the color sequence?"
Dude 2: "You new here or something? No one's gonna notice; it'll be on the INSIDE of the skein. Once it's shipped, not our problem."
The yarn I used was the Red Heart "Heart and Sole" sockyarn. With the exception of the "Aw, MAN!" knot, this yarn actually has a lot of positives:
1. It's got aloe in it, so it's nice to your hands as you knit. I noticed the dishydrosis or whatever hand problems I get when my allergies are bad (monster itching and hives) were almost nonexistent while working with this yarn (which suggests to me I need to get some aloe based hand lotion). It also feels nice on your feet, at least until the aloe stuff washes out. (It stays for a certain number of launderings, not sure how many. I suppose hand washing might prolong its life)
2. It's not very expensive.
3. It's machine washable. Even though there are some very wonderful yarns out there that are hand-wash only - I admit I'm less likely to wear socks knit of them than I am to wear socks that I can machine wash on "gentle."
4. It's widely available. Until just recently (still doing happy dance over quiltshop carrying some yarn now), my sources for yarn-bought-in-person tended to be Hobby Lobby or JoAnn Fabrics - both of which carry this yarn (And I can't help but think that having sock yarn in the "general" stores might turn more people onto using sock yarn...which then feeds back with more sock yarn being available)
5. The colors are interesting. By "interesting," I mean bright. I like brightly colored socks. The black colorway I used (called "blackjack") is one of my favorites. I also like the "weird green" colorway - sort of a yellowish green with red and yellow. I have a couple skeins of that on hand for socks, and a couple more for fingerless mitts that I haven't gotten 'round to making yet.
I suppose some of my positives could be negatives for other people. Not everyone likes bright weird color combinations in sockyarn like I do. And the yarn definitely would make the yarn snobs roll their eyes, seeing as it's made by Red Heart, the company so many yarn snobs love to hate, and also considering that even relative peons can get this yarn (and you don't have to have the free time to sit by your computer or go to the yarn shop daily to see if the new shipment of spun-from-froghair, dyed with organically-grown biodynamic lichens yarn has come in yet). And I suppose some people might dislike the aloe, but as I said - anything that keeps my hands from swelling and itching during pollen season is welcome.
It feels good to get something else done.
I decided to take this weekend mostly off (I still had to do a Sunday school lesson, and I still have piano practice). I really pushed last week - yesterday I was up on campus until about 5 pm even though my classes ended at 1 (and I was the last person to leave the building on a Friday). I got all my accumulated grading done, and I wrote and typed the exam for next week (thank goodness, this is my small class, and the students automatically seat themselves in alternating chairs on exam day, so I don't need to makeup forms A and B) and I ran the muffle furnace to char the soil of a student who didn't get that lab done the first go-round, and I submitted this year's book requests to the library. So I think I've earned a little time off.
Also, Mrs. K.'s funeral is at 2 pm and I'm helping with the reception afterwards...so I need to be there for that.
3 comments:
>>go to the yarn shop daily to see if the new shipment of spun-from-froghair, dyed with organically-grown biodynamic lichens yarn<<
BWAHAHAHA!!!
Redheart user here. I don't care what the yarn snobs think, Redheart makes a good, basic yarn, especially if you're a beginner, or coming back to craft after a long absence and have a learning curve. If I'm trying something new, I don't want to have a $10 skein of panda butt hair harvested on the new moon to worry about.
As for froghair yarn...hands off Kermit, snobs!
The socks are lovely, even with the KAM. Thanks also for describing the yarn in such detail.
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