Joint Effort!

So last week I knitted a sock. That's right, not socks but a sock. A friend of mine from my knitting group asked me to do the partner to a sock she had already knitted. It had been a few years since she knitted that first sock and she was no longer sure how to do it. If you didn't know already I love knitting socks and was happy to do this for her.

I had planned to use this as a way to post some tips about how to knit ensure your socks match. However, I was so intent on ensuring these socks match that the first and only photo I took was this one. Which isn't very helpful. I was so intent on making sure they matched that I plain forgot.

Making them match when you are knitting the pair yourself is easy enough with a little concentrating. Knitting the partner to another persons work is a little trickier. For a start the yarn used is variegated. Normally I wouldn't care about starting in the same point in the colourway of the yarn as I like to see the different ways this type of yarn could knit up. This wasn't for me though. That was the easy part though. The hard part was making my tension match. I knit the same way I write. I put a lot of pressure on the needles and my knitting is tighter as a result. My friend is a more relaxed knitter and her tension is perfect!. So I had to loosen up to make it match. That took a lot of concentrating as I don't generally have to think while knitting socks.

The heel was also different. I think it's called a short row heel. I usually do this type on toe up socks and I haven't done those in a few years. Truth be told it was nice to do something that I hadn't done in a while.

It has been a long time since the basic sock has been a challenge and it made for a nice change. It has made me realise I need to try new things with socks which is why I am going to try more colour work next year. Next year I am also teaching a larger group of people than I normally teach. So that will also be a challenge. I'll also use that to blog some hints and tips that I've picked up myself. I will try to remember to take more photo's next time.