the Akamai Knitter

I have joined the legions of Socktoberfests Meme participants! Thanks to Lolly for her wonderful questions.

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?

I started making socks in the late 90’s. I taught myself from the pattern and I used DPN’s.

What was your first pair? How have they “held up” over time?

My very first pair of socks were knit in Lion Brand Wool-Ease using Joan’s Sock pattern back when it was available through The Original Knit List. They were sloppy and they were slouchy and barely wearable but wear them I did until I finally had to throw them out.

What would you have done differently?

I would have used smaller needles to get a tighter fabric. My first socks were very loosey goosey which made them wear out much sooner. I also would have tried them on while I was working on them as I later started to do so that they would have fit better.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

I have only recently gotten back into sock knitting so I haven’t tried all there is out there, but I have particularly enjoyed Koigu KPPPM and Opal yarns. I really like the Trekking XXL that I’m working with now as well. I think it’s just to hard to choose a single sock yarn that I love because there are so many good yarns out there.

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?

I’ve never crocheted socks and I don’t think I ever will. I think the resulting fabric would be too thick for my liking. I do prefer to use 2 circular needles when knitting socks. I would like to try the Magic Loop one day though. I’m not in a particular rush though as the 2 circulars works really well for me.

I used to adore DPN’s but when I started knitting on the bus it became too much of an ordeal to hunt down the dropped DPN as it rolled around. It’s really embarrassing running up and down a moving bus trying to get that one needle!

Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)

I prefer the fit of a flap but I do like knitting the short row. I’m not really a fan of picking up gusset stitches, but I do it anyway since I enjoy the fit so much better.

How many pairs have you made?

I honestly don’t know. If I were to count from this year alone I have 3 completed pairs, but I can’t remember how many I finished before this year. I would definitely say under 10 though. It wasn’t until this year that I became a really prolific knitter.