Sarah and I love it when someone emails us with “Hey, can you teach a class on how to knit _______ ?” It is always the start of a new adventure. Because the answer is always “Yes!”
Our current adventure is knitting and teaching “Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks” — thanks to the terrific book by Melissa Morgan-Oakes (which is our text for the class). The 2 socks are knit side-by-side on a single 40″ circular needle. Oh, and they are knit from the toe up. So, lots to learn here!
When my grandson Owen saw me working on my socks he exclaimed, “Yzma, WHAT are you doing and WHY is that all wrapped around like that?!” Yep, Owen, that was pretty much my question too at first. But now that I am on my second pair (I did a sample pair with worsted yarn and a short foot and a short leg first to learn the techniques), I feel more comfortable with it — and much less tangled. I have just finished the toe increases and am starting on the foot — the variegated yarn I am using included a solid yarn for the toe and heel — and it looks more like something from Victoria’s Secret than a pair of socks.
When we teach a technique class like this one, I feel like a scout: exploring foreign terrain, identifying quagmires and other hazards, finding the best trails to the top of the mountain — or the sock, as it were.
So, I spent a lot of time researching and practicing these methods this week. I went through it all with Sarah last night. And today we taught the first class (in a series of 4) — me instructing and directing from a chair (with my foot up) and Sarah hopping from knitter to knitter helping them get it right. We are both kind of exhausted this afternoon! Really, when we got home we both just wanted to sit and knit on our socks for a while. And good thing too because the next class will be here before we know it and our own socks need to be at the gusset stage by then!