It's all about the gauge

When I showed my daughter what I bought at the Sheep and Wool festival, and it was all about yarn for socks, for me. It was crazy at Tony Neil's booth in NY, her shop is called "The Fold", because she had the "Socks that Rock" yarn and everyone was mad for it. I have used it and liked it as well, so I nosed over there late Sunday and they had a few colorways in the medium yarn left, so I bought one. I am lucky in that Tony's shop is in Merango, IL only about 40 minutes from me. So I can go there any time. Her booth was absolutely mobbed during the whole show, so I imagine she did very well. I also got some cashmere and some cashmere/silk blend from her to play with - beautiful stuff. It was a good price too for cashmere. I want to knit my daughter a wedding veil and am looking for the best fiber to spin yarn for it.

So anyway, I bought a lot of sock yarn because I'd love to have a drawer full of home made socks. The only problem is that the perfect knitted sock evades me. I have made 4 pair and the Socks that Rock pair is the only one I'd consider wearing. But it's still a bit too big. And the issue, I found out, is my gauge. I had the opportunity to have a knitting diva on the trip with us and she dictated a sock for me to knit. I eagerly worked on it on the long drive from Canada to New York and discovered that it was too big. I was using a size 1 needle, on a pattern that she uses a size 2 on. So I switched to a size 0 and she still pronounced it too big. I guess I get really relaxed when I knit or something. My hands are anyway. So I started knitting as tightly as I could and I think I have the gauge now. So I frogged the thing and started over, maybe twice. But I am 2/3 the way done now and I think it will fit me snugly and not feel like steel mesh on the bottom. I am very happy and grateful to my friend for helping me with this. I am looking forward to having some socks that rock of my own. Pictures to follow soon.

I also want to say thanks to the people who leave me comments. I enjoy reading them. Yes, I will most likely sell the hat pattern and maybe the yarn that it is made with on my site. I use an 85/15 Angora/Merino blend from Samson Angora's that is amazing and beautiful. It takes about 3 oz or 1 1/2 skeins of the sportweight yarn. It is warm, and light and beautiful. So stay tuned.