Brace yourselves for actual knitting

Although I claim to be a knitter and crocheter, lately this has turned into a complete spinning blog. (Actually, I'm not sure I've ever blogged about crocheting, except for my infamous knitting vs. crochet yarn consumption experiment. Hmm, maybe I need to start a crochet project...) Apparently I'm not much of a multi-tasker.

In any case, I come to you today with actual proof that I do still knit. I give you Exhibit A:

Pattern: Undulating Rib Socks by Ann Budd (from IK's Favorite Socks)
Yarn: my own handspun (100% merino)
Needles: 1.50 mm DPNs (US 000)

Even though I've spun approximately 35 skeins of yarn, this is only the second time I've actually knit with my own handspun. I really need to slow down with the spinning slightly, because knitting with handspun is just plain awesome. Awesome, I tell you!

And yes, I did knit these on 1.5 mm needles at approximately 11 stitches per inch. Why? Well, the yarn was fairly fine to begin with, although still very much a fingering weight. Also, this wool is not superwash, and I figure tightly knit socks are less likely to felt than loosely knit socks. Most importantly, though, is that I want these socks to last. After all, I took all the trouble to spin and knit them, so I want the Professor to get lots of good wear out of them. (I've warned him repeatedly about the washing machine too.)

This is actually the second time I've knit this pattern (well, sort of), but I think this pattern is really fantastic for self-striping handspun yarns. My friend Angeluna knitted a pair from Sock Hop last year, and I have admired them ever since. So when I was trying to decide on a suitable sock pattern for handspun, this one immediately came to mind.

The other thing I like about this pattern? It looks good on both sides. The photo above shows the wrong side, and the following photo gives a side-by-side view of the right and wrong sides. Both look great, and it's a good thing too. The Professor sometimes can't tell whether his handknit socks are inside out.

With this project complete, I've been fantasizing about bigger knitting projects—namely, sweaters. Even though I haven't knit many sweaters, I do have sweater quantities of yarn in the stash. Time to dig in, I think.