The sock project.
My review of Summer Lee’s latest book...
INSIDE: Socks, socks and more socks, yarn tastings, knitting chart shenanigans, lessons learned + a beautiful dishcloth project.
I received an email from Stephanie at Abrams Books with subject line: ”This Book Will Knock Your Socks Off! The Sock Project out 2.13.24.”
It was so cool a publisher emailed me to see if I was interested in an advanced copy! Of course, I said yes!
I’ve knitted one of Summer Lee’s sock designs: Mermaid Avenue Socks. I was drawn to the lovely scale-like cables over the top of the foot and the leg. Summer used a variegated pink-green yarn, and a solid cream yarn for the heel and toe.
I loved Fiber Lily’s Yarn when I created my Pomatomus socks. I searched her petit bundles to see if there were yarns my Mum would love.
I found a pale apricot called Tang and a turquoise/pink/yellow variegated yarn called Polly. Tang is an apt name for the pale apricot!
I loved Tang as a kid. It’s a powder you add to water to get a super sweet orange drink. It’s like a non-carbonated soft drink, so I was only allowed to have it as a treat. Amazingly, it’s still being made!
Back to the Mermaid Avenue Socks. With the amount of yarns I had, I needed to use them both, so I used them alternately in blocks.
They look so pretty and my Mum loves them. She wears them as bed socks because I knitted them on larger needles, US4 (3.5mm), to create a loose fit.
The only thing is, that because of friction and lots of use, they pill a lot!
Not that long ago, my Mum asked me to tidy them up. With a small pair of scissors and hours later, the socks looked gorgeous again!
I enjoyed knitting with Summer Lee’s pattern. It used an easy-to-read font; the photos included helped with understanding different techniques. Summer’s videos were also super helpful. Overall, a fabulous knit!
I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of The Sock Project. It’s a gorgeous book full of bright and colorful sock patterns
Here’s a flip-through I did.
Summer is a proud member of the Muscogee-Creek Nation and is from Oklahoma. The beautiful landscapes around her inspire her patterns.
There are many sock shapes and sizes! Each pattern builds your skills. There are 12 levels so she suggests trying one pattern a month.
If you’re new to sock knitting, this is excellent! Summer guides you through the materials you need, what you need to understand regarding sizing and fit.
There are 5 basic sock patterns covering different heel options like Heel Flap & Gusset, the Afterthought Heel, the Forethought heel, the German Short Row heel and a toe up recipe with a Fleegle Heel.
The other chapters build on your skills to create some wonderful sock designs. There are patterns for all knitting skill levels: Lace, Colorwork, Ribbed, Stripes, Zig Zags, Dots and Fair Isle.
The Sock Project is a joy to read through, and the photography is fabulous! The colors Summer uses speak to me. I love pinks and yellows together.
I’m excited to try the Scandiland Sock pattern with Norwegian Star motifs, stripes, zigzags and crosses. Also, her ribbed socks.
This week’s yarn tasting covered some Knit Picks Bare worsted weight yarns: Twill (100% Superwash Merino) and Simply Cotton.
10g of each is just enough to knit up a little swatch.
Twill is an Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified product made in Peru. The Twill is super bouncy and lofty. The Merino wool fabric feels so good!
The Simply Cotton is a worsted weight in 100% organic cotton.
It’s one of the softest cottons I’ve ever knitted with. My Flow Tee, made with Alma Organic Cotton, had a finer strand, but it wasn't very soft to knit with.
I also tried the CotLin DK weight in the colorway Carrara. It reminds me of gray stones from a river. It’s 70% Tangius Cotton and 30% Linen.
It’s lovely, soft, and has a slight sheen. This is what Knit Picks says about it:
“Tanguis (tan-gwiss) cotton has a very soft hand, excellent absorption, and, because it is a naturally white fiber, a high affinity for dyes. The Belgian linen adds characteristic flecks and additional absorbency with low elasticity - helping to alleviate stretching in the finished knit.”
It’d be a lovely yarn to create a baby blanket with. The color palette is extensive!
I had a flick through the patterns they recommend for this yarn. I loved nearly all of the Knitted Tee Designs.
I’m using the CotLin to make facecloths with a free Knit Picks pattern.
I thought I had a handle on reading charts, but I realized after knitting the first 10 rows that my fabric looked nothing like the fabric in the picture. There was no seed stitch inside the cable twists. Instead, I had ribbing.
I ripped out and started again. This time going more slowly, perhaps I’d not being doing alternate knit and purls? Still ribbbing, no seed stitch.
Again I ripped out and started again thinking surely I’ll get it right this time! Sadly, no seed stitch pattern appeared.
Then I tried winging it to see if I could create the seed stitch by purling the knits and knitting the purls on what I believed to be the wrong side row. After a few rows I certainly had some sections of seed stitch but… now, no cables!
I said to my husband in desperation: “I’ve tried knitting this pattern all sorts of ways and still I haven’t got it right!”
His reply?
“What ways have you tried? Standing on your head and knitting? One foot off the ground and knitting, then the other foot off the ground and knitting?”
There were peals of laughter from my eldest son!
Obviously not, I told him.
The good news is I finally figured out I wasn’t reading the chart correctly. I was reading from right to left for every row.
When I tried reading the WS (wrong side rows) from left to right, the seed stitch was appearing where it was meant to.
Now, nowhere on the pattern are instructions on how to read the chart.
My last memory of reading a chart was it was read from right to left in every row.
Years ago I’d worked from charts for dishcloths but I hadn’t remembered these rules:
Right side rows = read right to left
Wrong side rows = read left to right
I looked up different articles on how to read knitting charts and indeed when knitting flat, WS rows are knitted from left to right!
I also found the reason I was so used to reading charts only from right to left…
I was knitting in the round. So the right side is always facing!
I feel uncomfortable writing this down because I feel I should’ve remembered this about knitting charts when knitting flat.
Again, there’s that unhelpful word “should”. So this was another opportunity to sit in the discomfort I’d created for myself and eventually return to calm and ease. 😊
Talking about “shoulds”,
discussed why you shouldn’t care about the “shoulds”, and shared wonderful insight into the freedom of “should”.This made me think about “shoulds” in a different way. It hadn’t occurred to me there’s any kind of freedom in ‘should’! It’s an excellent read.
In less judgmental moments of myself, I’m grateful for my perseverance and for remembering to be kind to myself.
The ‘negative voice’ never has a good word to say! So I say back to it, “Pipe down, I’m busy knitting, and you’re interrupting!” 🤣
And another question for you: what’s your favorite heel method?
Press reply or leave a comment!
Mystery Quote Of The Week
“Sometimes the biggest project you're working on is yourself!”
Who said this? Comment or press reply! No cheating! 😊
(You’ll find out if you were correct next week.)
Last week’s answer was… Patty Lyons!
Comment below if you got it right.
Crafting Trivia Question Of The Week
Which snail is used to produce purple dye in Mexican fiber arts?
What’s the answer? Leave a comment or press reply! No cheating! 😊
(You’ll find out if you were correct next week.)
Last week’s answer to: which celebrity wore a crochet cardigan that went viral??
Was… Harry Styles! Did you get it right? Leave a comment if you did!
So may you continue doing what brings you joy in your own crafting projects. I’d love to hear about them.
Leave a comment or press reply.
P.S. Be here the same time on Sunday for the goodies Coco & Pepper have for you!
(Disclosure: Any purchases made through links may earn me a commission.)
Before you go…
Jodie, I enjoy a shadow wrap heel for the speed of it so I use it in about 80% of my socks. Just so you know, I very likely would have forgotten how to read a flat chart myself. Thanks for the reminder...hope I remember it! 😂
Do you have the pattern for the face cloth?
I’m using the CotLin to make facecloths with a free Knit Picks pattern.
It is a beautiful stitch that I would like to try
regards
Irene