Retro Rib – This Tangled Skein

FO Friday: Socks for K

January 18, 2008

2:21 pm

Baby, Baby Knitting, Family, Favorite Socks, Finished, FO, Gift Knitting, Hooded Jacket, In Progress, Interweave, Knitting, Lime & Violet, Loopy Ewe, Retro Rib, Socks, WIP

I was catching up on one of my mailing lists yesterday, and I realized that I’ve pretty much managed to avoid a problem that seems to plague knitters everywhere.

Unappreciated Gift Giver Syndrome.

Those of you who have experienced the UGGS know the symptoms all too well. Aching hands and tired eyes (from hours of knitting), only to have your beautiful gift insulted, abused, or sent off to the local thrift shop, leading to sore throats (from screaming about the unfairness of it all) and strange bruises (from kicking walls, curbs, or other stationary objects in an effort to relieve the frustration).

In these post-holiday weeks, scores of tales of knitters (and crocheters) suffering from the UGGS have appeared on mailing lists and blogs and Ravelry boards.

I have avoided this by protecting myself from the sole disease vector: I very rarely knit for other people. I knit for myself, and if I don’t like it when it’s done, well, I’m not insulted. And I knit for the Little Miss, who, being pre-verbal, can’t complain about what I give her. From time to time, I’ve knit for K, who reminded me several times before the holidays that I still hadn’t knit her a pair of socks.

How could I refuse a wish for handknit socks, I ask you?

So, I cast on in mid-December, and before midnight on New Year’s Eve I was able to present these to K:

Pattern: Retro Rib socks, from Favorite Socks
Yarn: Lime & Violet Sasquatch Superwash in Connect 4, from the Loopy Ewe
Needles: Set of 5 Brittany Birch size US1.5 dpns, one of which snapped just rows from the end of the toe of the second sock. They’re sending a replacement, because they are spiffy that way.
Comments: I really liked this yarn, and I really liked this pattern, although I always wonder if ribbing is easier for those who knit Continental. I’ll have to try it sometime. I liked the yarn and the pattern so much that I’m working up a matching scarf for K, using the pattern from the ribbing at the cuff, on US3 needles. That may be ready for next winter.

I haven’t cast on a new pair of socks yet. I’m still hard at work on the Hooded Jacket – all the way up to the beginning of the hood now.

Knit a Little

by beth

September 11, 2006

3:29 pm

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Yarn

Baby, Baby Knitting, Gift Knitting, In Progress, Knitting, Knitty, Project Ideas, Retro Rib, Socks, WIP

Hey, yeah, remember knitting?

I remember it, too! I’ve even been doing some of it. I started working on a sweater for the baby while we were in Alaska, which then got pushed aside when I started working on a Secret Gift-Type Project. And those Retro Rib Socks are still in my bag, waiting for me to work on them now that I have a second set of the needles.

Maybe for my next entry, I’ll even have pictures.

In the meantime, let’s go look at some pretty pictures in the new Knitty, shall we?

Let us start with Sherwood, which is so darn cute. And then let us contemplate Serrano, which is lovely. And, really, lacy cardigans might just be one of the few practical knitting items here in sunny Southern California. And Diamante intrigues me with its promise of a heel turn that doesn’t result in a hole in the knitting.

There we go, three new projects to ponder until I manage to get some actual pictures of actual knitting progress up here.

Needle, Needle, Who’s Got the Needle?

by beth

May 23, 2006

5:51 pm

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Yarn

Gift Knitting, In Progress, Knitting, Mishaps, Retro Rib, Socks, WIP

Last Friday, we had tickets to see The Da Vinci Code. Despite the fact that I was sick, I headed over to theater extra early to get us some good seats, since K would be cutting it close getting there.

I brought the Retro Rib sock, tucked in my small knitting bag, tucked in my Kitchensink bag.

I found great seats. Up high, right in the center. I pulled out the sock.

Why, exactly, must they keep the lights so low before the previews even start? And have you ever tried knitting a navy blue sock in the dark?

I did one round, then stashed the sock in the bag.

Can you see where this is going?

I did not manage to stash it in the knitting bag. I stashed it in the Kitchensink bag, which is an expandable mesh pattern.

A couple of nights ago, I pulled out the sock to work on during the Desperate Housewives finale, and I discovered my fifth needle is missing.

Grrr.

Socks, More Socks!

by beth

May 15, 2006

9:11 pm

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Yarn

In Progress, Interweave, Knitting, Project Ideas, Retro Rib, Socks

Having finished the Jaywalkers, what should I work on next?

More socks, of course!

I have two skeins of Bernat Sox in Navy Blue and a pattern for Retro Rib Socks from a back issue of Interweave Knits, and that works out just great.

Speaking of IK, the newest issue showed up at my house recently. Did y’all notice the “Ravelings” from Amy? And there are some mighty fine projects in there… made from some might pricey yarns. Anybody got a good substitute for Goddess Yarns Phoebe? Or for Gedifra Cotton Merino?