Sock-pic-free blog

The socks have slowed a bit, due to the holidays and the fact that my anxiety over the other things I'm neglecting has picked up. I DID finish the sunset-coloured mate to the sock in the last post, and having re-started Adam's next sock AGAIN - I'm now almost done the leg and am trying to find a set of GOOD (as in, comprehensible to me) instructions for an alternate heel.

I've finished one of the two overdue baby quilts, which ended up being an Xmas present for the now 8-months-old neice. The one for my friends now-6-month-old preemie is still frustrating me. I think I chose the wrong mix of fabrics and thread, as I can't seem to get the free-motioning really going - thread keeps breaking despite all the tuning I'm trying to do.

I'm a month past my start date for my AthabascaU correspondence course, and while I've done some reading and the mandatory "say hello on the class chat room" post, that's about it. I printed the exercise sheet for unit 1, I suppose.

Neither my "day" job nor the gym job (occasional aerobics instructor, if you didn't know that)takes a holiday break, so I've been at both of those so far today.

I'd really rather be knitting.

Blog sock at sunset

Here is sock #5. It's mate, #6, as well as #7, are on the needles now, though #7 is giving me no end of trouble getting started and I keep re-starting it.

Things I have learned so far, as a sock newbie:
1. "Cast on Loosely" is very important. Use needles a size or two larger than called for to cast on, or you'll have a perfectly fit sock with an opening too tight for a foot to go through.
2. Rib tightly. Use needles a size or two SMALLER than the pattern to k1, p1 rib stitch the cuff. Unless you want a slouchy sock, which is not always a good thing.
3. If I drop a stitch in the first 3 rows of ribbing, it's not worth the tangling and eyestrain to try and fix it - start over. It seems after the first three rows, me and my crochet hook can usually sort it out.
3. a) A crochet hook or two are vital to knitting - picking up stitches is much easier with them.

Things I still need to figure out:
1. A better heel than the one in the pattern I have. Don't like the flap-and-turn one, it's hard to pick up the right number of stitches exactly evenly or turn with completely neat stitches.

2. How to make a Kitchener graft not look lumpy.

3. Lots more pattern stitch variations.

In non-sock news of late, I'm at the end of my second day off sick. Or, almost two full days - I made it to work yesterday but was on a fast downhill slide so came home mid-morning. Today, I had to teach at the gym in the morning, but came home and took my aches and slight fever back to bed. I'm up again with a mug of neo citran about to go out to an appointment I had (long booked, before I got sick) but after a bout of sweats and chills after taking an Advil, the fever seems down. I'll see how I feel in an hour as to whether or not I go to Yoga.