I was going to try to quickly record the latest episode of Pointy Sticks so it would be out today. I realized something though - it is after midnight, and I still have to pack - for a flight at 6:50 am. Meaning I’m leaving the house in about 5 hours. Last time I tried to rush through a podcast, I sounded like a crazypants person. I felt that way too.
Instead, I’ll work on getting together the Podcastiversary episode. Maybe there will be a Part I & a Part II, both published next week? We’ll see. I already have a good chunk of the show content ready, so it may work out that way. (Winners of the Podcastiversary contest will still be announced in the show on February 8th, and the deadline is still February 6th at midnight. Make sure you comment here or send a trackback ping if you post on your blog so I find your post, m’kay?)
Plus, this will give me time to gather my thoughts so I can gush appropriately about the newly found appreciation that I have for knitting vintage patterns.
While I wasn’t recording today, thanks to the sexy “I can’t breathe” voice, I worked instead on creating designs for t-shirts and other goodies that I will link to soon. (I know, I’m such a tease.)
Since there isn’t going to be a show today, this will give you more time instead to think about Project Spectrum II! Are you participating? What are you going to make for the first two months? I’m going to bring my other sweater’s worth of Brooks Farm FourPlay out of “time out” and start knitting it up. I have the pattern and everything already, so I am psyched! The yarn is the perfect colors too - blue, gray & white! (It sort of matches the Fresh Photography site!)
Off to pack, and maybe sleep. I’m still taking Dayquil, so I may be awake for days. We’ll see. Hopefully my head won’t explode during the flight - that could be messy.
OH! FIRST! PODCASTIVERSARY Contest updates! (Have YOU entered? Share your sock story, win a prize!)
- NEW! Yarn 4 Socks is donating one skein of sock yarn, winner’s choice!
- NEW! I am donating an 8×10 print of the angora goat.
- A Lyra mp3 player
- A skein of Scout’s Swag fingering weight yarn, color your choice from the color gallery.
- A skein of Brooks Farm Solana yarn.
- A sockfish bag pattern from The Giving Flower
35 responses so far ↓
1 Elemmaciltur // Feb 1, 2007 at 6:51 am
Christine,
the link for Brooks Farm Yarn is incorrect….here’s the correct link: Brooks Farm Yarn.
Have a safe flight and hope you feel better!
2 Beth // Feb 1, 2007 at 8:39 am
Christine,
I have a blog entry about why I knit socks
http://baseballknitter.blogspot.com/2007/01/i-love-socks.html
Beth
3 Lynne aka Witchypoo // Feb 1, 2007 at 9:50 am
The first time I knit socks on dpns was interesting. It took some getting used to the multiple points, dropped stitches, ladders, but I finally got the hang of it. This was also the first knitting project I had picked up in quite a few years, so my tension was, shall we say, not quite uniform.
I persevered and refused to be bitten by the infamous second sock syndrome and I actually managed to finish two socks. I couldn’t really call them a pair, since the only resemblance was that they were knit from the same yarn. They were more fraternal twins.
Then I heard about knitting both socks at the same time, and thought that this might just be the answer I was searching for. Now I had to learn to wrestle with two circulars which were like wrestling with a metal octopus. But once I finished that pair of socks, I was hooked. Since then I’ve even tackled the magic loop with some success.
I love the construction of the sock, the magic of turning the heel. I love the instant gratification of reaching different points along the way. I even learned to love the Kitchener Stitch.
Lately I’m back knitting socks on DPNs and they actually come out looking the same now.
I love knitting socks; I love all the different yarns for sock knitting, self-striping, hand painted. I love watching the colors change and how they pool in different spots. I love the various wools, blends, and luxury yarns that are available to knit socks from.
Knitting socks is just so satisfying on so many levels, not to mention that you get to wear them. And there is nothing like wearing hand knit socks.
4 Valerie // Feb 1, 2007 at 12:43 pm
I’ve updated my blog with my sock story. I will add here that I am hooked on sock yarn. I love sock yarn and I love to buy sock yarn. Thankfully I restrain myself so I don’t have a huge stash, just a fairly normal stash!
5 Rhyannon // Feb 1, 2007 at 2:23 pm
I was taught to knit at a very young age, growing up on a small island off the coast of Maine, well…you had to use your imagination to stay occupied. Grand Manan Island was my home for 20 odd years, my Grand Father, the late Frank Daggett, was the sock knitter in my family. He was also a lighthouse keeper, it took him away from home month on and month off for many years. I have very vivid memories of him coming home after his month away tending the light & just sitting in the rocker in the kitchen knitting his socks. He knit so tightly that water couldn’t penetrate them, better than any store brand for certain. 20 years later, I’ve become the family knitter, I was even left with his metal knitting needles, bent at the tips from knitting so tightly with the 100% wool that he would have shipped from the mainland. Everyone in my family loves & appreciates the gifts of wool socks here in Canada, our winters are very, very cold…and as I sit and knit in my rocker, in my kitchen, wood stove crackin’, I imagine my ‘Bompa’(we kids called him this)standing over my shoulder, smiling with approval…We are connected…not only by blood, love and wonderful memories…but grafted together like the toe of my socks, with yarn & the love of knitting socks.
Our pattern is the “Fine Sock Pattern by Briggs and Little”, and our favortie sock yarn is the 100% wool made by the same company….
Thanks for listening.
6 Tracy // Feb 2, 2007 at 10:35 am
I’ve posted my own sock knitting confessional on my blog here: http://starsongky.livejournal.com/162824.html
7 Jessica // Feb 2, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Socks. I do not know how to knit socks. I have no completed socks. I do, however, I have a huge stash of sock yarn and all of the appropriate DPNs. uh huh. So, I have tried knitting socks. I tried knitting a pair of socks bookmark which was essentially two really tiny socks connected with some i cord. I got a little bit past halfway through one of those. my cuff was gorgeous. my heel….not so much. It was a short rows heel and while I do know how to do short rows, I could not figure out that heel. The pattern did not tell me what exactly to do each row, it instead said “continue on in this manner until you have x stitches left”…yeah, I thought I had it figured out. I didn’t. I frogged the whole project and have yet to start another pair. I did crochet a pair of socks. sort of. I finished the first sock and it was too small for me but it probably would have fit my girlfriend. I was halfway through the second sock when I ran out of yarn. I went to the store to buy more and realized it was $7/skein sock yarn and i didn’t like the colorway that much and socks were kind of tight anyways…yeah, not worth it. so, i frogged both socks and wound the yarn back into a ball and stuck it back in my stash. i have no socks. i want to knit socks. but alas, i’m just not there yet.
8 Jessica // Feb 2, 2007 at 1:07 pm
I’m still listening to your episode so comments just keep flowing… I live in Worcester, MA which is not so far from Lowell (about an hour). If you’d like some company for your trip, let me know!
9 Holly // Feb 2, 2007 at 7:18 pm
I started knitting socks at work as a way to keep my hands warm in a cold building and have something to do in the winter when appointments are few and far between. My co-workers, however were perplexed. It’s not their fault. They’ve seen me indulge in silliness ranging from making homemade marshmallow peeps and fortune cookies to handsewing a 14th century gothic fitted gown to making mead, butter, and other odd comestibles. Still, the bamboo hedgehog sticking out of a nest of lorna’s laces yarn intrigued them. I explained. The response: *blink, blink* “You know you can buy socks at the store, right?”
*sigh* Actually, this has become a running gag. WhenEVER they see my sock needles out, one of the will yell..”You can BUY socks, you know!” Whilst they angle to be recipients of a pair.
10 Anna // Feb 2, 2007 at 10:22 pm
I learned how to knit about a year ago at my local yarn shop. I started with double pointed needles, and moved on to create my first pair of socks as a Christmas gift. BIG MISTAKE! I forgot to decrease after the gussets and knit socks that were big enough to fit Sasquatches feet! :-p
After that, I learned how to follow a pattern MUCH more closely. I also taught myself how to magic loop one sock at a time via an online tutorial. I was so proud of myself!
Now, I can knit a pair of socks toe up or cuff down. Either way, I always knit two socks on one circular so that I won’t have to deal with Second Sock Syndrome.
No extra big feet socks for me anymore! But I do have a slight problem with Cherry Tree Hill, Socks that Rock, Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock, and Trekking XXL. YIKES!
11 Knitting Bandit // Feb 3, 2007 at 9:01 am
My sock story is on my blog–along with a some finished sock photos and stash flash! However, I don’t know how to “ping” you, YET. My sock love and blog love occurred almost simultaneously this fall, so they’re both a work in progress! I am an avid listener of Lime and Violet and can pretty much trace my addiction to when I started listening to their podcast. I have not really explored many others and honestly, have not heard of yous. I’ll download it today! I’m sure I’ll love it if you love socks and Nancy Bush and socks and socks…
12 janna // Feb 3, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Socks! I like knitting socks - I love the miracle of turning the heel - but I haven’t been very successful making any that fit me well. My first pair are huge and floppy, good for wearing to bed, and my second pair only fits under my clogs, although I think they’re beautiful. I’m not sure about the 3 pairs I’ve made for others — would they tell me if they couldn’t wear them? I think I need to further explore the concept of negative ease in socks….. (Hope you’re feeling better!)
13 Vielka // Feb 3, 2007 at 5:29 pm
Hi Christine! Here’s my take on socks. I suck at socks, not that I’ve attempted too many pairs (only two), but they both were pure misery for me. My first attempt looked wonderful but wouldn’t fit past the arch of a 10yo girls petite foot (uugh). And the second attempt (different pattern) has not been much better (I’ve tink’d & frogged this particular project several times already). Socks it appears are my nemisis. I’ll attempt them again…later. As for other people who knit socks, I totally admire them, I would love to be able to knit socks too!
Thanks for your podcast, I love it!
Feel better soon!
14 chrispy // Feb 3, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Hi Christine,
I posted about Pointy Sticks on my blog. I hope to post your buttons soon.
http://pursuitoffiber.blogspot.com/2007/02/pointy-sticks-podcast.html
15 Deb // Feb 4, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Hi Christine! I think I’ve said this before, but I love your podcast! As for socks, my method of choice is two socks on two circs, which I learned from Cat Bordhi’s book “Socks Soar on Circular Needles”. I love the two circs method for doing anything (socks, tops of hats, wristwarmers, sleeves, etc) that requires two circs. My favorite sock that I’ve made was a Christmas stocking which incorporated a gansey pattern — it turned out bigger than I anticipated, so I felted it a wee bit, and it was perfect! Thanks for the podcast and for the contest! = } Deb
16 Holly // Feb 4, 2007 at 9:20 pm
And now, linked into my latest blog entry. Thanks again for the podcasts!
17 Why I Love Knitting Socks « Tangled and Warped // Feb 5, 2007 at 1:35 pm
[…] Another contest Check out over at Pointy Sticks podcast site. You enter by commenting on why you love sock knitting.Here’s what I wrote. […]
18 Gwyndolyn O'Shaughnessy // Feb 5, 2007 at 5:00 pm
I’m currently knitting my first sock … for my honey’s ipod. I’m still nibbling around the edges of socks-for-human-feet.
19 angela // Feb 5, 2007 at 7:55 pm
I just finished my first socks at the end of January. I have been trying to knit socks for over a year, and it finally clicked… I will write something up on my blog.
20 Lauren // Feb 5, 2007 at 11:42 pm
I started knitting when I was 13, and in three years I had not finished anything but scarves. Sure, of course, I started sweaters and mittens and baby booties and all of that, but it never got past the beginning stages. And then, I read about sock knitting online, and thought, hey, why not give it a try?
Socks have so many different sections that it’s impossible to get bored. Every part has charm. Turning the heel, picking up the gusset stitches, grafting closed the toe. It’s rediculous, but the first garment I ever completed was a pair of socks for my best friend. There was no turning back!
I’ve been knitting socks ever since then — everyone I know wants a pair (apparently hand-knit socks are all the rage for the seventeen-year-old crowd nowadays, who knew?). But the reason I really love sock knitting is that it gives me the confidence to know that I CAN finish projects, and pretty neat ones too. I try out most of my new techniques on socks because they’re so small and portable and easy. DPNs are so lovely and delicate looking, and I always love sitting out and knitting socks in public (or in class!) because of the response they garner. It’s hard to imagine a time when I didn’t drool over sock yarns online now. I am so glad that I learned.
21 Christa Giles // Feb 6, 2007 at 5:38 am
Hiya
New knitting podcaster AND a Canadian listener chiming in here for the first time, though I’ve been listening for a couple months (sorry for the delay in commenting!)
My sock stories: First pair I knit for a friend suffered from the too-tight cast-on. He had to break it to pull the sock over his heel. (I was a pretty new knitter at the time, and I didn’t realize this could be fixed before breaking..) Multiple pairs since have been knit in various ways to avoid knitting two socks on DPNs: that fold-over-and-seam garter sock that was in… Interweave? .. years back, and my current favourite method of creating two socks at once, which will probably be highlighted on my podcast in an upcoming episode as I haven’t read or heard of anyone else using this particular approach (most likely because it isn’t the most EFFICIENT approach.. but it includes lots of techniques that I like!)
Love your podcast, and the interview in this one was great fun to listen to, thanks!
22 Elizabeth // Feb 6, 2007 at 6:02 am
Sock story:
I learned to knit socks in order to keep my hands busy when I was on a diet..can’t eat and manipulate dps at the same time! I now try to keep a pair-in-progress at work so that I can knit during my lunch 30 minutes (I work for the government…no lunch hour for me !)I just got a copy of Nancy Bush’s vintage socks…now I need some yarn to work with!
23 Yarngineer // Feb 6, 2007 at 9:18 am
Hey, I linked to you from my blog (finally) and answered some questions. So enter me already! And yes, most people who live in Houston are not from there. I used to live there.
24 The Purloined Letter // Feb 6, 2007 at 2:14 pm
I am having trouble commenting, so please forgive me if you get several messages like this all at one moment.
Happy Anniversary! I linked to you:
http://thepurloinedletter.blogspot.com/2007/02/socks-to-save-us.html
25 Katy // Feb 6, 2007 at 3:53 pm
You know, I don’t know what it is about knitting socks because I really don’t like wearing them that much. I guess it must be the pretty yarn. Plus, non-knitters are so impressed when they see me going around and around on 5 little tiny chopsticks.
But I am wearing my brand new Trekking socks today even though it isn’t cold. It’s all about the colors!
26 natasha // Feb 6, 2007 at 6:57 pm
hey! i finally made my way over to your podcast and i really enjoyed it! i was working on a collage all day and flipping through podcasts and lasted about 3 minutes or less on each. i listened to this one all the way through! yay you!
i use magic loop for socks, i do them top down and really enjoy them. i promised my dad a pair of custom made socks, which he has never had and didn’t get what was such a big deal about handmade socks, so i need to get on it, his birthday was earlier last week, bad bad me!
the sock yarn i enjoy most is my own handpainted superwash sock yarn. is that obnoxious to say? well! send me your addy and whether you prefer sportweight or fingering and pick a colorway that you like, or i can do a little batch just for your site if you like. think about it and tell me either 2-3 colors you would like or 1 color you love and would like varied shades of…
n.
27 lain // Feb 6, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Left a post at my site with a link back!!!!
xoxox
Lain
28 Knitika // Feb 6, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Hey, lady, I’ve been too busy knitting on socks, yes I have, to learn how to use that odeo-thing. I was going to! Actually, that plus I was too embarrassed because my family would never give me enough space for me to ramble at my computer about knitting socks without them buggin’ me. But I gave you a contest link on my blog! Happy podversary!
29 Courtney // Feb 6, 2007 at 11:29 pm
Hi Christine, Happy Podiversary. I really enjoy your podcast and I look forward to new episodes. I was surprised when I saw the picture of the Faith Jacket because for some reason, I was picturing it all multi colored as though it had been knit with Noro. I don’t know why. Anyhow, I just wrote a blog post about sock knitting and I linked it to this blog. If I should happen to win the Grand Prize, please choose someone else. I just got a new iPod and I don’t need another MP3 player. Yarn, on the other hand, is always welcome.
30 Trine // Feb 7, 2007 at 6:05 am
Hi Christine!
I recently subscribed to your podcast.
I think it’s great!
However, unless my memory’s gone on vacation, all of your episodes were listed for download, right? Right now, only episode 13 is up. I double-checked to make sure it wasn’t just me seeing things. I hope the previous episodes will be listed again some time soon.
Have a nice trip!
Trine xx (Denmark)
31 Kym (aka Boop) // Feb 7, 2007 at 7:52 am
Ode to Socks
Socks how I love thee,
I can never get enough.
From the tips of your toes to the top of your cuffs.
You are my foundation, my past-time, my love.
If I mess you up,
you can always be a glove.
You’re cheery & warm, comforting & true,
Whether solid or stripes, variegated or blue.
How subtle & mysterious or outrageous you can be.
Oh socks I just can’t get enough for you so captivate me.
There are so many ways that we work this land,
Whether on sticks: straight or double, circular, machine or hand.
You are a portable, compact: the perfect travelling buddy.
Plain, textured, bulky, fine or a bit nubby.
How can I express how much you mean to me,
For I just can’t get enough or stop making thee.
by Kym Ranger (aka Boop) Jan.3, 2007.
32 gale (she shoots sheep shots) // Feb 8, 2007 at 7:11 am
Hi Christine,
I need to get some expert opinions on Texas fiber farms and can’t find your email address, even though I know we wrote back & forth about Red Scarf a couple of months ago. Please contact me as soon as you can! Appreciated mucho!!
33 ellen // Feb 10, 2007 at 11:01 pm
The first pair of socks that I knit were in a lovely spicy/autumn colorway made from yarn that I spun myself. Unfortunately, they were a little large. A friend suggested that I felt them to make them more of a slipper sock. That was when I discovered that the yarn processing that I learned was meant only for yarn to be used in weaving (as in the book I learned from “Spinning and weaving with wool”) because I had preshrunk it when I “set the twist.” The socks didn’t felt and I still have the huge things. After teaching myself the whole sock making process, there’s no way I’m going to get rid of them! Although, I am almost afraid to knit anything else with that homespun for fear of finding out that I’ve preshrunk everything I’ve ever spun. Needless to say, I’ve taken to washing my wool in a different fashion. And no presetting the twist! Still making socks, though!
34 Mandy // Feb 13, 2007 at 10:05 am
I am a sock beginner. I have only finished one sock, but I loved it. I like using dpns because of the reaction I get from non-knitters. “Five needles! You are crazy!”
I also love the options of colors you have with socks. Maybe I wouldn’t wear a red and green self-striping sweater, but socks are totally open!
35 Homer Murphy // Nov 12, 2008 at 9:53 pm
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