Sock knitting epiphany

With several projects going on, I'm not progressing quickly on any of them, but that's OK.  After charging through the disappointing Ruched Yoke Tee (which will be frogged and the yarn used for another project), I'm just enjoying the different knitting processes for each one.

The Eggstra-Special sock was driving me batty.  I ripped out several rows several times as I worked with 5 double pointed needles, as I always have, plus a cable needle (actually another DPN) for all the little cables.  Stitches were disappearing off the ends of needles.  It had to go in time out for a while so I could clear my head.  Then came the epiphany part- why not use two 16 inch circs, which fortunately were in the stash, which would give me more room to slide out the stitches, less chance of dropping them off the ends, and fewer 'ladders'?  I know this is common practice for many sock knitters, but it hadn't occurred to me, and as I tried it out with happy results, thought, 'Ohhh, this is what they mean by knitting socks with 2 circs'.  I may even grow to like sock knitting using this method.

Another problem cropped up as I came to the rows where you had to place a bead (for the little eggs!).  The directions, using the crochet hook method, were not clear in the pattern, but this website was very helpful.  The pattern called for a size 16 crochet hook for attaching the beads.  The smallest I had, (from who knows where, maybe among my mom's craft stuff), was a size 12 steel hook.  Though the hook looks microscopic, it was still too big to go through the bitty bead holes.  Checking online, the smallest hooks I saw were size 14.  So I took a trip to The Mermaid's Purl yarn and bead shop in search of a smaller hook or larger-eyed beads.  No smaller hooks were available so I went for the beads.  

A bead that came with the pattern is at top, and one from Mermaid's Purl below.

In the above fuzzy photo you can see just how tiny (but apparently not tiny enough) a size 12 crochet hook is.  It is doing the job, but it's difficult to catch the Trekking yarn to pull it through the bead without splitting it.  

Can you see the little uteri in the top photo?!

If I can only get through this first sock, maybe the second will be a piece of cake.

For some reason, as the days are getting shorter, the chickens have been laying eggs again.  They're supposed to be more prolific when the days are longer.  There is usually an egg a day now, sometimes two.  (We're down to 5 chickens.)  Lately they've been making themselves at home on the deck, walking up one staircase en masse, strolling across at their leisure before heading down the other staircase.

 

Comments

[Debbie R.]

Have you tried the dental floss method for applying beads? I haven't used it yet, myself, but heard it's a super easy way to get the tiniest bead in place.

[Dorothy]

I switched to 2 circs a couple of years ago and have never looked back. It surprised me because I loved my dpn's. If you have beads that are too small for a crochet hook, you can also use dental floss. Here's a video showing both methods. I prefer the crochet hook, but the floss works pretty slick too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g792Zecn8-k

[2paw]

Oh that looks so tricky. Well done for persevering. The sock is looking great!!
Those hens are funny chooks, aren't they? They are beautifully coloured.

[Debby]

I've only done the beading when the beads were pre-strung on to the yarn, so I'm not going to be much help here. But I'm glad you've figured out a technique that works -- the pattern is very pretty!

How funny that the chickens are laying again. Would it have something to do with the temperature? And I was wondering, since the chickens come up on your deck, can you pet them? :)

[li_b]

Those chickies are so cute going out fort their stroll.

I'll leave the sock knitting to you.

[li_b]

That's my 3:00 a.m. typing, should have read "for" their stroll.