Slow Poke is Better than a Poke in the Eye

especially with a DPN.

Hi, all. Online I go by the name Poppins, but people who know me in real life like to call me either Goddess or The Source of All Joy. ;)

I want to have knit 10 pairs of socks for me as well as a few pairs for gifts over the next year or so, so this KAL is a great fit. I like my socks simple for the most part - stockingette - so that I can knit them while watching tv or when I'm out and about. Socks are usually my mellow project on the needles. But I've got an itch to try a bunch of new techniques as well, so we'll see.

Right now I've got a blue Fleece Artist yarn on the needle, working it's way to becoming a sock. It's pretty but not that facinating so I haven't gotten around to taking a picture of it yet.

Thanks for starting this KAL.

I'm not a Sasquatch.

That's probably a good thing, but after knitting another couple of inches of sock, I had to admit they were of Sasquatch-esque proportions, but girly enough with the pattern that my husband wouldn't wear them. So, I started over from scratch, this time taking seriously the fact that socks stretch.

Intro for Jen

Hi! I'm a new knitter. I started a couple of months ago, and like Tracy, I'm a wee bit OCD when it comes to hobbies. I have 3 kids: Noah (6), Griffin (just turned 2) and Quinn (3.5 months). Quinn is a girl, by the way. The name can be either. :)

I am working on my first pair of socks. I think I'm slow at the learning process ... and I'm clueless about so many things. I don't know squat about colorways or yarns or patterns. I am sort of learning as I go. The process is the good part for me - sort of like yoga without all the tight clothes. Anyway, I bought an Ann Norling pattern at my local yarn shop (I guess that's LYS? I keep telling the yarn store people that I speak scrapbooking, not knitting). And I bought some pretty yarn. And I asked if the two would work together and the yarn chick said yes. So there you go. I am using size 2 dpns, and the socks are worked from the top down. I have the first one about 75% done. I will take a picture and post it when I get a chance. I have also made a couple of baby hats, a little wrap around knit dress, a skirt for my baby girl (that is too big so I'm working on a second one in the same yarn), and a pair of knit pants that ended up too short but are still wearable.

Oh - I should also mention I'm married, right? :-) Bob is too funny. He had to go into the yarn store with me the other night because I forgot my purse at home. And he started picking up all sort of books and samples and now has a list of things he wants me to make for him. Very supportive, that one! And he overestimates my abilities.

I'm glad Traci set this up - I can't wait to see everyone's stuff!

Okay, socks for this month...

Alright, so I'm starting a fresh pair for this month. Very simple (or so I hope) garter rib stitch socks. That's it, I'm keeping it simple and hopefully I'll finish them up and gift them to someone.

Info: Opal sock yarn
CO: 64 stitches
Plan to make it to fit a woman's shoe size 7-9, depending on who the recipient will be.

I hope being apart of this KAL will make me accountable for them so I'll actually have them done by the end of the month. Seeing as how I tend to procrastinate if no one pushes me. But I need the push, I want to knit many, many socks this year. :)

heels turned, smooth sailing now.

I almost had a nervous breakdown, but the heels are finally done on my I-now-hate-them-so-much-I'll-never-want-to-wear-them socks.

Have any of you tried the short row method from SKS/MSKS? I might be missing something here, but isn't it horrible trying to purl three stitches together through their back loops? I ended up not using her method and trying the short row heel technique I linked in the "technique" sidebar...but I don't think I even did that one correctly. They've beat me, though--they're good enough and I'm pressing on. :P I can't wait to get back to my regularly scheduled top-down socks!

As for our KAL button, it's coming soon. DH got distracted with other more pressing things...like killing all the monsters in World of Warcraft.

Intro for Tracy

Hello! Not only am I a slow sock knitter, I'm slow to post to blogs when I join :) My name is Tracy and I've been knitting since the beginning of January. True to my personality and my relationship to my hobbies, I've quickly became obsessed. I've knitted 3.5 pairs of socks so far and have several more planned, although I'm beginning to think about trying to knit larger projects and the socks may be put aside.

I have two daughters, Madelyn (8) and Meredith (6) and they are the recipients of most of my knits. Madelyn and I actually learned to knit together as we took a class at our local LYS. She and her sister are working on dish clothes right now for Mother's Day presents for their grandmas. I live outside of Baltimore, Maryland and am looking forward to attending Maryland Sheep and Wool this year!

I knit socks cuff down on metal dpns. I suppose I should learn some new methods, but I don't feel like I've perfected this one yet!

The photo is my daughter Meredith modeling her Jaywalkers knit in Lornas Laces Rainbow colorway. Note the large amount of pooling and the fact that I must knit incredibly tightly as she can barely get the things on. Sigh.

Looking forward to participating here and getting to know you all!

Rachel's Intro

Hi, my name is Rachel. I'm a working Mom with a wonderful DH and two lovely daughters (ages 11 and 13). My Grandmother taught me how to knit when I was about 10 years old. I remember making a "pair" of mittens that ended up being two totally different sizes. After that, I didn't knit at all until about 2 years ago when my daughter asked me to teach her how to knit. In the process of refreshing my memory and teaching her, I became totally addicted. I have accumulated quite a lot of sock yarn, and I'm sure this KAL will be a fun way to help me use some of it up. I'd also like to try some different techniques, such as toe-up and socks on circulars. Right now I'm working on Pomatomus from Knitty, and they are turning out really nice. I'm working almost to the heel of sock #2, so I should be done soon.