In the lead-up to the Southern Summer of Socks, Rose Red has suggested we set ourselves a list of goals we would like to achieve over the course of the Knitalong. I think it’s a brilliant idea, so here’s my list:
1. I am shooting for a dozen pairs of socks this summer. The KAL lasts six months, so this is a reasonable target, at roughly a sock a week. If the Harlot could manage a sock a day, I think I can do this.
2. I have Christmas socks to knit, but I would also like to set myself up with a full week’s worth of hand knit socks. At present I have three pairs, two I knit for myself, and the pair of Bayerisch that my fabulous Sockpal Becky made me for Sockapalooza. The rest of the time I’m wearing store-bought socks! It’s just not right!
3. I want to try knitting two socks at once, either Magic Loop or two circs.
4. I want to learn how to knit Continental, to facilitate Goal #5.
5. I want to try Fair Isle, specifically these.
6. I have joined the Sock Knitters Anonymous group on Ravelry, and I’m going to be working my way through the Sockdown: Ravelry! schedule while I do this. It’s twelve months of challenges designed to broaden one’s sock-knitting horizons, including (every odd-numbered month) the Magical Mystery Sock Tour.
Also at Rose Red’s suggestion (and assuming I square away a respectable amount of the above), I will be rewarding myself for success. I think an on-going reward is the way to go, so I will either be subscribing to Interweave Knits, or joining a sock club. I’ll make up my mind at the end of the summer.
How good are those fair aisle socks?? Man I wanna make those! I found learning to knit continental quite ok, as long as it’s just stockinette. I can’t yet purl. Too hard.
That’s a great list. Very ambitious!
Wow! You are one committed woman…or is that woman to be committed??? Hee hee. Like Bells, I can only knit continental…the purling ties my fingers in knots. However, when I do knit that way…it FLIES! Anyway, YOU GO GIRL!!!
Sounds very ambitious, but you will learn so much if you pull it all off! Those fair isle socks are gorgeous! The only goal that freaks me out is the two socks at once – just the thought makes me a little dizzy.
Oh, definitely go for Interweave Knits. I’m so happy every time it lands in my mailbox. But I’m considering a sock-of-the-month club for myself for next year. A Christmas present to myself, perhaps?
Oooh, Amy, sock club for Christmas…what a great idea! (STR Rockin’ Sock Club here I come!!!)
Great list – you can totally do it!!
PS: I can’t seem to get a direct link to the purl video (it’s a flash embed) but you can find the video for purling in the continental style here
Jess (from The Priapistic Press/The Mobile Blog) sent the following comment, but in my early morning caffeine-deprived state, I managed to delete it. This is what she sent:
“awww, where’d my first comment go? grr.
ahem. thank you for your comment. I do, in fact, have a mom who is lovely enough to mail me string to play with. however, she just sent a HUGE box full of yarn and tunisian crochet hooks and goodies for us and I cannot bear to ask her to shop, fill out all those forms in triplicate and wait in line and everything else again so soon. so my hand filed DPNs will have to do for now.
please check out *this video* [ http://www.knittinghelp.com ] for how to knit in the continental style. I used it to teach myself a few months ago, and it’s a really great tutorial (I downloaded it to my harddrive so I could watch it over and over a few times to get the hang of it).”