Socks In The City

Pattern:  Entwined, by Susan B. Anderson

Yarn:  Barrett Wool Co., Wisconsin Woolen Spun Worsted Weight

Needles: sizes 6 & 7

Before Christmas Jessica "shopped" the Instagram feed of a knitter friend of mine and said, "Mom, I really like this hat. Think you might make me one?" So I ordered the yarn and set it aside until after the holidays. Then swoosh! When things settled down after New Year's, I made it in a hurry. She ordered a coyote fur pompom (made from recycled fur coats) to top it. I finished the hat in time to deliver it to her last weekend.

Pattern:  Tchaikovsky Hat, by Helen Stewart

Yarn:  Malabrigo Silky Merino, Ravelry Red colorway

Needles:  sizes 4 & 7

When I packed for my long weekend trip, I tossed in a nearly finished hat for Baby Girl. I knitted her a red hat when she was less than a year old. It was past time to make her a new one. I finished this hat while the girls were at school on Monday. (I stayed two nights with each daughter.) Baby Girl got a faux fur pompom to finish her slouchy hat. She's a four year old with style. 

I stayed a couple of nights with Jessica. While we were out and about in Atlanta on Saturday, we stopped by a "new to us" yarn shop (Yarning For Ewe) and she bought sock yarn and some tiny double point needles. She wanted me to teach her to knit socks. Back at her house we were getting ready to start and then I realized that it would be much easier if I started a sock at the same time so I could show her step-by-step. Thankfully, there is another yarn shop (Needle Nook) closer to her house. We dashed over there and quickly bought yarn and needles for me.

My "teaching" sock.

Jessica is a good knitter, but she mostly works with big needles and bulky yarns. She knows the stitches. She has used double point needles to finish hats. She was ready to knit a sock. But knitting with sock yarn and tiny needles probably felt like working with sewing thread and toothpicks to her. 

We finally settled down with our knitting and TV movies on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Perfect. As we looked over the pattern, we realized that with my limited time (I was leaving the next day to stay two nights with the grandchildren) we needed to work on the hardest part—the heel. Cast on, knit a few rows of ribbing and get down to business. Let's make ankle socks! 

Jessica's sock in progress.

Knitting the heel flap, turning the heel (that where the sock knitting changes direction and you move from knitting down the leg to knitting the foot—it's magic!) and working the gusset... all of that feels pretty awkward when you first learn. But Jessica hung in there. The next day after I arrived at Mommy's house, she texted me a photo of her sock WITH A HEEL! The foot is just plain knitting. We'll talk about the toe the next time I see her. If she doesn't figure it out by herself.

Her sock has a heel and is heading toward the toe.

Making this short sock was an inspired decision because she got to do all the hard parts while I was there. My own sock was just like hers. A short sock. But when I got to Mommy's house and knitted another few rounds, I knew I really wanted to make a regular pair. Maybe it's because it was cold that day and I wanted to be warm. Maybe it was because the yarn was self-patterning and I wanted to see how that played out. So while Mommy and the little girls were at church for the children's activities on Sunday night, I pulled out my perfect little ankle sock. Yep. Yanked it out quickly before I could regret my move. Then I started over. 

Pattern:  my basic plain sock recipe
Yarn:  ONline Supersocke 100, in City color way
Needles:  size 2

It took some nerve to rip the sock out, but I'm glad I did. This yarn is too much fun not to let it do its thing. As I was starting over, I was making my project notes and looked at the label of this yarn. I hadn't bothered to read it when I bought it. And the name of the color way? "City" How perfect!

Our city sock knitting lesson was successful. My tips if you are teaching someone to knit socks:

• Choose a lighter color yarn so that you can easily see the stitches.
• Make a short sock. Get to the tricky parts quickly. 
• Don't start with the smallest needles. We used size 2 needles and cast on 56 stitches. Using fewer stitches than my usual 64 makes the process go faster. 

Time will tell if Jessica will become a sock knitter, or if this pair will be a "one and done" experience. I've made over 30 pairs now. Socks wear out. There is always a need for more. Plus, I love making them. And I loved passing this skill down, mother to daughter, in an age old tradition.