We just love this fun song by Bill Oddie, featuring the lyrics “I just sit down and knit” and “…knit me something warm and clingy!”

Bill Oddie is an actor, artist, author, comedian, musician, naturalist, and ornithologist! I think it’s safe to say that he is also a Knitter with a capital “K,” given statements like, “If I’m feelin’ low, I knit a row!”

All of us Knitters can relate to his sentiments, presented in such a fun way of combining his musicality and love of knitting.

To start, I made a lone baby sock for practice using Colleen’s Lots O’ Socks pattern and Fine in Lizard #7812 (which I discovered is a totally adorbs color for baby socks, as is Bumble Bee #7811!). After bravely and adeptly conquering the baby sock, I was ready to try a pair of grown-up socks! Using Popsicle Socks as a guide and trusty Fine as my yarn again, I made some sporty-looking socks for me in Sidewalk #7822 and Glow Worm #7801. However, though they started out as Popsicle Socks… they didn’t exactly end up as Popsicle Socks, as you can see.

Glow Worm and Sidewalk Sock

Things changed when I accidentally made the cuff too long (I got into a groove with the rib pattern and forgot to stop!), so I had to make some decisions about where to end the cuff and how to work in the colors. First, I decided to make the cuff three times as long, striping Sidewalk and Glow Worm as I went, trying to make it look like it had been my plan all along to make the cuff that prominent. Given the totally different look the sock had after these changes, I then decided to use only little accents of Glow Worm with a Sidewalk base instead of striping them both repeatedly throughout the remainder of the sock. The result is that I used the Popsicle Socks pattern as a guideline for how to make each part of the sock, but chose totally different methods for coloring and the cuff—a “mistake” turned design element!

These socks were a lesson in improvisation and in trusting myself and my instincts, which is something every yarn crafter, much like any chef, musician, artist, or other creative person, must do at times. Instead of getting discouraged with my early mistakes on only my second attempt at socks, I decided to make this into an opportunity to work outside the box and make a pair of spiffy socks by winging it! Now I am a bit obsessed with socks, stashing masses of sock yarn that I probably will never use in a lifetime, with plans to fill both my and my husband’s sock drawers with only homemade socks. (I am sure that will totally happen, but it’s good to have goals…)

Blocked and finished!

Anyway, the point of all this is to encourage you, dear readers, to just go for it if you want to make a pair of socks but find them intimidating. (Trust me, if I can do it, you can do it!) To help, I thought I might break things down a bit as a little introduction. As with anything, once we understand it, it is far less scary. What I’ve learned is that, though there are lots of parts to a sock, they all serve a purpose. Once I understood how all these parts fit together and that the shaping of top-down socks is just a bunch of decreasing, socks started to “make sense.” They are like Frankenstein’s monster, except you can put them together without lightning or reanimation of any kind. (Whew!)

Ready? Let’s go!

Anatomy of a Sock

This is what happens when you make a sock from the top-down (I have not made toe-up socks yet!), and most sock instructions will be laid out in this order with these general concepts applied:

1. The cuff, generally done in a rib pattern for half an inch to an inch or so (but not always, as exemplified by my Glow Gray socks), helps to keep the wearer’s sock from slumping like a deflated balloon while it’s being worn.

2. The leg bit spans the space between the cuff and the top of the foot, the length of which depends on the style of sock and how long the wearer’s calf is.

3. The heel flap is just that—a flap that spans the heel from top to bottom. It is done across only half the round, leaving the other half to languish in wait until Step 5.

4. The heel turn is a decrease (commonly done using short rows) that creates a “cup” so that your heel has somewhere to sit.

5. The gusset kind of has two parts: a) pick up the stitches from the sides of the heel flap, then connect them to the languishing half from Step 3, rejoining in the round as you go and then b) perform a series of decreases to get back to the original number of cast-on stitches.

6. Then it’s time to create the foot (also sometimes called the instep), which spans the area to the top of the toe.

7. Finally, perform another set of decreases to create the bit for your toes to sit in.

If you cannot see the video, please click here.

In Canada every February 7th, people celebrate National Sweater Day. The purpose of this holiday is to wear warmer clothing (sweaters) and turn down the heat in your home, saving energy and doing your part to help the environment.

The people of Turkey, also wanting to celebrate this holiday and make people aware of climate change, got the attention of citizens in a really, REALLY big way!

Measuring in at 154 feet long and 59 feet wide, they produced the world’s largest sweater in a month with the help of 90,000 people! Hand knit sweaters, a fashion statement and good for the environment!

UNRAVEL. Knitwear in Fashion – Phat Knits from MoMuAntwerp on Vimeo.

Three thoughts:

1. That’s one way to turn knitting into a workout!

2. I wish I had some of that “yarn”!

3. Don’t drop a stitch!

What are your thoughts? Was anyone lucky enough to see this installation in person?

Having problems seeing the video? Click here.

I love this video, it is all the things knitting is!

If you’re interested in making something you saw in the video, Loop made a list. We’ve got a lot of love for Magic Slippers, Hop, Hoot Hat, Worsted Weight Baby Hats (a Loop exclusive), Goldfish Hat, Molly’s Blanket, and Jelly Bean Baby Socks. Whew!

Thanks to Loop for a beautiful video that clearly expresses why we knit: for love.

Can’t see the video? Click here.

Textile people are an intrepid and problem-solving group of people, and Alice Masters is no exception! During her residency, she looked at her sandwich toaster and thought, “Why don’t I throw some wool in there and see what happens…”

What happened was starch bound wool (SBW), an affordable material made from reclaimed waste, produced by the wool rug industry that can be used for making furniture and other common items that are currently made with plastics. It would be wonderful to see SBW become viable enough to replace “disposable” plastic goods!

Het Verzameld Breiwerk van Loes Veenstra from Christien Meindertsma on Vimeo.

Well, in fifty-seven years, Loes Veenstra has knit and designed 500 sweaters! That is between eight and nine sweaters every.single.year! I love that the community put together this amazing flash mob so the world could finally see Loes’s sweaters.

How many sweaters do you make per year? Two? One? None?

This video was released about two months ago; there is no doubt though, it is sure to be a classic.

As a yarn lover, how could you not relate? Certainly even our friends and family can relate, they have heard all of those, ahem, things knitters say a thousand times over!

If this is your first time watching this video, we hope you thought it was funny. If this is your thousandth time watching this video…we know you *still* think it’s funny!

Happy Friday Spud & Chloë Pals!

Photo copyright Jennie Gee (Etsy storefront jenniegee)

As knitters and crocheters, yarn seems to permeate every part of our lives. From yarn storage solutions to the way we decorate our homes. “Keep Calm and Carry Yarn” is a personal favorite motto and seems like a must have piece of inspiration for my work and knitting areas.

Keeping Calm seems to be every where these days. It starts a person wondering, where did such a perfect little idea come from:

This concept, of Keep Calm and Carry On does resonate. From the classic World War II poster to every modern update and twist for people’s favorite things.

Of course, if carrying yarn isn’t helping that day, there’s always my personal standby:

Photo copyright Kat Ammann (Etsy storefront CheshireKat)

Take care Spud & Chloë Pals