July is Sock Month

I almost made it. I only have eight more rows to go in my June lace project, laminaria, but they are very long rows after all. I intend to have it finished by the end of the day, however (we'll see how that turns out) I hope that everyone participating enjoyed (or is still enjoying) their lace projects from June. Mine was a blast, and has given me the confidence I needed to tackle larger and more complex lace projects! If you are finished your lace for June we'd love to see it. Even if you're not finished, I'd really like to see your progress! So pop by the store when you get a chance; I'd love to put pictures of your projects up on the blog!

Luckily we have two more months to go in our summer knitting club, and that means two more sets of projects to go along with them. As you may already know, July is sock month, and we've got some great sock projects lined up for you...

Beginner: Basic sock Pattern by Kate Atherly. This pattern in perfect for first-time sock knitters. Its a basic top down sock construction, nothing fancy! The pattern is available at the Naked Sheep for $5.

Intermediate: Froot Loops by Kristi Geraci. From Knitty.com (Spring 2008). A traditional sock construction again, but this time with a fun and simple stitch pattern throughout! A great pattern for anyone looking to move away from stocking stitch socks. The stitch pattern is easy to memorize and fun to knit, also a good first sock for the more adventurous knitter. You may have seen me working on mine in the store (I knit them in Kureyon sock). These socks do fit tight, so I would recommend doing a stretch test as soon as you have completed a few repeats of the pattern. I didn't do this and had to rip out half a sock after I realized how tight they were!










Advanced: Ocean Toes by Cat Bohrdi, From the Book New Pathways for Sock Knitters. For those looking to knit something a little bit out of the ordinary, this is the sock for you. Knit from the top down, instep shaping occurs in the leg, as a "funnel" is knit down around the entire ankle to the base of the heel. From there, the heel turn is worked along the bottom of the heel and knitting of the foot is resumed with only a few inches to go before the toe. A very interesting sock to knit, and a good looking sock at that. I have already spoken about my exploits with Ocean Toes (and I did decide to frog the sock) but I'll be knitting it again, and this time it will fit like a glove! This book will be available at the Naked Sheep in just a short amount of time (we're currently out of stock).

At the end of the summer we will be having a prize draw for all Summer Knitting Club members, so don't forget to pop in and sign up!