White Sock, Blue Sock…
(with a nod to Dr. Seuss & a Happy 50th Birthday to the Cat in the Hat!)
Right after I clicked “publish” on the last post I cast on for sock #2. While I didn’t end up knitting the whole evening I did get a good start on the leg. While on the road this week I finished up most of the leg. By Saturday morning I was onto the foot of the sock and by the time I had watched the last of my Netflix I was kitchnering the toe.
Most hand knit socks are fraternal twins – these are no exception. In fact, they may be a bit more “mismatched” than most. On Thursday evening as I started on the heel flap I realized that I had cast on too many stitches for the sock (64 instead of 60). After an initial thought about starting over with 60 stitches I decided to just move forward. As I turned the heel I was able to “get rid of” 2 of the extra stitches. The other 2 stayed until I started on the toe.
Overall I’m very pleased with how the socks turned out. They feel a bit big so I will be washing them before I wear them & hope that they tighten up a bit. Now that I’ve finished my first pair of socks I think I can ‘finally’ justify a fun pair of clogs that I’ve been wanting – they’ll be just the thing for wearing with hand knits.
As I mentioned in my previous post, the time had come to just conquer socks. Just as many Dr. Suess books were just strings of simple words (ok, and some fun ones as well), in reality these socks were just a variation on knit and purl stitches. I knew I could do it – I just needed to. To that end, it reminds me a bit of when I was learning to read. As my Mom tells it, I was ready to read on my own but just wouldn’t – that Amy stubbornness was in effect. Once I started kindergarten and saw a classmate reading I came home & started reading on my own. I haven’t looked back since then – reading has always been a favorite past time since then.
Do you remember learning to read? What stories do you remember about it? Just as I continued to practice reading by reading more and more books I’m continuing to practice socks by starting on another pair. On the needles now is the “Sassy Stripes” yarn that I purchased for last spring’s sock class. (And I have already turned the heel since this picture was taken.)
What is your favorite Dr. Seuss memory? When I moved into my dorm room my freshman year of college, that first night I remember pulling back the covers on my bed & my parents had left me a copy of “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” Indeed, the places I have gone since then!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So get on your way!
March 4, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Oh Amy, the socks are gorgeous! I love the colors and hooray for you! I just love knitting socks – so relaxing and it’s an instant gratification project for the most part! I sent my son off to college with “Oh! The Places You’ll Go” and cried my eyes out! lol I have a copy set to go with my daughter this year – it is such a wonderful book!
March 4, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Your socks are so pretty, like a summer sky! And very Project Spectrum too.
I’m laughing because one of my very first posts ever was a re-written version of Green Eggs and Ham to express how much I hated knitting socks, “I will not knit them in the rain…” etc. My dad still quotes that to me in its original version because I’m a picky eater. š
I don’t remember any particular stories about learning to read, just that my dad used to read to me from storybooks every night, and that started my lifelong love affair (ok, addiction) to the printed word. I have my library degree and used to work in a library, and one of my favorite smells is the smell of new books when you walk into Barnes and Noble. So I can definitely agree with your comment about not looking back. š
March 5, 2007 at 5:51 am
Great socks, Amy! My Dr. Seuss memory? For some reason, in our house we had Cat in the Hat Comes Back, but not Cat in the Hat. It wasn’t till I was much older that I knew there was a first one!
March 5, 2007 at 10:04 am
I loooove those socks!
March 5, 2007 at 2:58 pm
I love Dr. Suess, my favorite was mertle the Turtle. I think that was the name. I would read it over and over and beg my brother to read it to me.
Cute socks, eat some locks, and ham hocks. I’m no Dr. Suess obviously.
March 5, 2007 at 3:56 pm
I’m a big time Hoopert Humperdink (sp?) fan and I’m quite disturbed that it is no longer in print.
I remember realizing that I could read on vacation one year when I read all of the road signs….for like 400 miles. My parents were real pleased (insert sarcasm here)
Love the socks. Aren’t they fun!
March 5, 2007 at 4:49 pm
The socks look great!
I took got a copy of The Places You’ll Go when I went off to college, I love that book!
Oh! I have funny reading story. When I was applying to grad school for library science one of my essays was how I learned my love of books and reading from my Dad. I thought I would share this with my Dad when time when he and my Mom came to visit. After I was done telling them my Mom laughed and said I hated reading until my school did a program called Book It where you earned a Personal Pan Pizza from Pizza Hut for reading! I really thought it inherited from my Dad! Luckily I grad school never checked out my essay and I got in any way!
March 5, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Those look like warm and comfy socks! Dr. Seuss rocks.
March 5, 2007 at 10:06 pm
I’m right there with you on the socks. I’ve admired everyone else’s but avoided knitting my own for so long. I think I’ve finally decided its time!
March 6, 2007 at 12:20 am
The socks are awsome!
March 6, 2007 at 8:34 am
Tucking “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” under your pillow that day was somewhat of a rite of passage – from guiding you on your trips to watching you set out on your own. Being on this side has been just as exciting and as much fun as before. It is almost mind-boggling to think about the places you’ve gone – not only have you had to drive through some pretty bad weather to get there but you’ve also been able to watch the sunset from the deck of a ferry between Italy and Greece.
It’s too bad that there isn’t a sequel titled “Oh, The Places You’ll Still Go!” I’m sure that would be even more exciting for you!
March 6, 2007 at 8:42 am
Your socks came out beautifully and I love all the different photos. Nice work!
March 6, 2007 at 3:03 pm
The socks are beautiful. I definately have a thing for blue socks.
Oh, the Places you’ll go is one of my favorite books. Our year coulselor read it at out High School graduation and I take every opportunity to read it to kids that may have not heard it before.
March 6, 2007 at 4:12 pm
YEA!!! I am so happy that your socks turned out so well! I love them. Now you can do Socktoberfest too š Love the colors in that yarn, Amy!
March 7, 2007 at 8:00 am
My favy book as a child was not dr.seuss although the Grinch is downright GENIUS…it was a series titled “Babar” written in French originally, translated into English using handwriting…that is how I learned to read cursive….love the books and they bring a delicious happy feeling when I see them…OH and also Richard Scarrys books…LOVE LOVE them…
Much Love Amy!!!!
March 7, 2007 at 9:17 am
Oh the things you have accomplished and the places you have gone since your entrance into the world! Late, but on your time, as you have always done! From walking across the room at 8 months then deciding no, not yet…to waiting to ride a bike.. to oh so many other things! So nice to see the beautiful socks finished…and the knitting adventure continuing…Proud as always, and blessed because of you!
March 7, 2007 at 9:40 am
I came across your blog from a comment you left on my blog….
I love your first pair of socks! From the pictures, they do not looked mismatched or ill-fitting. They look perfect. I cannot wait to try knitting my own socks. I have just one more knit gift to finish, then I can cast on for my first sock (keeping my fingers crossed).
I still have my childhood The Cat in the Hat book, including my younger brother’s recoloring of all the illustrations. š
March 8, 2007 at 5:44 am
Your socks are pretty. When I first starting making socks I had a similar problem with casting on too many stitches on the second sock. I kept that pair for myself and every time I dig them out of the back of the drawer and slip them on I remember the slip up. If only I could get over this need for perfection!
March 9, 2007 at 4:46 am
There is something quite satisfying about conquering socks, I think because “turning the heel” has ominous and terrible overtones, like “slaying the dragon.” My own grandmother, who could knit Aran sweaters with just a page of handwritten notes, and who probably knit more miles of stitches than any living blogger today, never knit a pair of socks. “Oh, no,” she’d say with her eyes wide, “You have to Turn the Heel.”
Good for you. They look wonderful. Now you can slay a dragon.
March 10, 2007 at 6:59 am
Wonderful! I love the color of them! Great job and the next pair looks so much fun!
March 11, 2007 at 12:15 am
I love this post Amy! What I remember about learning to read… is that I could read before I started kindergarten. And when the teachers discovered it they thought I was some kind of freakish child prodigy or something. I was taken straight to the principal’s office and sat on his lap to read a book. Then I was reading to the class. I thought it was strange! heh Before I started K I was reading everything in sight – billboards, street signs, everything. It just always came easy to me through school too – thank goodness – because nothing else did.
Dr. Seuss… Go Car Go… One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish… Green Eggs and Ham. Those are some of my favorites because my Papa used to read them to us when we would visit my grandparents house and have to wait for dinner, or we were bored or whatever. Some of the best memories of my life. š
Beautiful socks! What yarn is it?
March 11, 2007 at 12:17 am
Oops, sorry. I see there on your last post that it’s Koigu. What a really great colorway!!
March 11, 2007 at 10:37 am
Your socks are fantastic. They look like a favorite well-worn denim jeans – you know, like the kind you can’t wait to put on at the end of your work day because they are so comfy and relaxing. Ahhh, just right!
Recently I made the change after many years with my team to become a freelancer for my company rather than a full-time employee. My boss gave me a copy of “Oh the Places…” in my farewell package. I cried like a school girl with a skinned knee! It is such a great book. However, my favorite is the seldom-seen title “Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are”? And I love “Horton Hears a Who” although I didn’t discover it until a few months ago. They are making a new movie about Horton – details here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0451079/
Amy, have you tried the new “watch it now” feature on Netflix? It’s great – and a super way to see many classics! Plus, it’s in-sto-matic!