What A Difference A Needle Makes
I mentioned in my last post the difference the Brittany DP needles made in finishing the sleeves of Grandson's sweater, well, I just found the difference between size 1 & size 2 sock needles.
My friend Sallee (Knitnana) uses size 1 needles for her socks so I thought I'd take my pair of Harmony needles for a spin. You can see the result on the right below.
I started out the toe with 12 stitches on each of two circular needles, knit my usual 5 row rectangle, then picked up two stitches at each end, and the stitches off the second circular for a total of 28 before I started my increases. I was working along when I realized that this toe was not going to fit my foot. I was getting 11 stitches to the inch instead of the 8 stitches Sallee gets on #1s. Now, I usually knit to gauge with the needles recommended for a pattern and I'm not a tight or a loose knitter. Just to see what would happen, I took the other skein of OnLine sock yarn and started working it on size 2 needles only using 10 stitches on each circular to start and working up to 60 stitches for the foot. What a difference as you can see on the left! I'm getting 8 stitches to the inch and the sock toe is the same size as the Marine Blue Heather pair that I just finished which means it will fit. I'll continue with this pair, frog the toe worked on 1s and maybe, just maybe, calculate out how many stitches and rows I'd need to make a sock that would fit on the #1s.
Out in the front flower bed, the forsythia is blooming along with the tulips & violets. The hostas have just broken through and look as though they doubled in size since I planted them two years ago for Mom.
Remember the little pink nubs that were just showing a couple weeks ago? They were the first sign of the perennial geranium which has now leafed out. Sometime soon, I have to get part of the back yard dug up for a vegetable garden as I want a few more tomato plants than Mom usually put in along with basil and maybe zucchini. It's still too early to plant - we had a heavy frost the other night but thankfully the perennials & the roses are tough and came through without any loses.
My friend Sallee (Knitnana) uses size 1 needles for her socks so I thought I'd take my pair of Harmony needles for a spin. You can see the result on the right below.
I started out the toe with 12 stitches on each of two circular needles, knit my usual 5 row rectangle, then picked up two stitches at each end, and the stitches off the second circular for a total of 28 before I started my increases. I was working along when I realized that this toe was not going to fit my foot. I was getting 11 stitches to the inch instead of the 8 stitches Sallee gets on #1s. Now, I usually knit to gauge with the needles recommended for a pattern and I'm not a tight or a loose knitter. Just to see what would happen, I took the other skein of OnLine sock yarn and started working it on size 2 needles only using 10 stitches on each circular to start and working up to 60 stitches for the foot. What a difference as you can see on the left! I'm getting 8 stitches to the inch and the sock toe is the same size as the Marine Blue Heather pair that I just finished which means it will fit. I'll continue with this pair, frog the toe worked on 1s and maybe, just maybe, calculate out how many stitches and rows I'd need to make a sock that would fit on the #1s.
Out in the front flower bed, the forsythia is blooming along with the tulips & violets. The hostas have just broken through and look as though they doubled in size since I planted them two years ago for Mom.
Remember the little pink nubs that were just showing a couple weeks ago? They were the first sign of the perennial geranium which has now leafed out. Sometime soon, I have to get part of the back yard dug up for a vegetable garden as I want a few more tomato plants than Mom usually put in along with basil and maybe zucchini. It's still too early to plant - we had a heavy frost the other night but thankfully the perennials & the roses are tough and came through without any loses.
posted by Plain Jane | 2:56 PM
1 Comments:
I do use 1s. But that's the joy of knitting! We use what works for each of us!!! Your "toes" show great progress...you'll be a sock knitter for life, now!
(((hugs)))
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