Knit Along: Socks from Crafty Hands - Day 1

First Date Socks...

These HiyaHiya needles are supposed to change my life.  Umm, maybe not so much.  I can see their usefulness, however, appreciate them on an intellectual level.  If I hated using double-pointed needles (which I don’t), I’d probably think these were the greatest invention ever.  As it is, my relationship with them is sort of like a bland first date--I’m not ready to write them off, but I’d rather to be more impressed.

I cast on during my flight to Washington DC.  Starla suggests a nifty little trick of casting on to a pair of double-pointed needles the same size  (I’ll still need the dp’s later on in this pattern, so the tiny circs haven’t completely replaced dpn’s).  It’s a very wise idea to keep that cast-on nice and loose at the top of these socks.  I hate it when socks are too tight around the top.  There’s an old saying that “if you want to forget all your problems, wear too tight shoes,” and that goes for socks as far as I’m concerned, too.  As it is, with Starla’s trick, these will have a nice not-too-snug-not-too-loose top.

The truth is that the first rows with these pint-sized circs are frustrating.  I’m six feet tall, with long fingers to match, and I felt like I was knitting with Barbie’s needles.  Entirely too small.  I felt like I was knitting with toothpicks--there just isn’t that much needle to hang on to. That's a quarter in the photo, by the way, just to give you a bit of size context.   My daughter looked at me at one point and said, “Mom, stop grunting.”  After about four rows, however, I found I could hang onto the knitted fabric and the needles together, thereby giving my fingers enough to clutch.  Then, I have to admit things went smoothly and rather quickly.  I could start to see advantages.  Like I said, I’m still not in love, but I’m willing to go on another date...

The self-striping yarn is very entertaining.  Makes even seven inches of knit-2-purl-2 ribbing a good time.  I was smirking to myself in my itty-bitty economy class plane seat, watching the stripes form.  Evidently, I’m easily amused.

So, today’s verdict is...the jury’s still out.