Knitting Saga

The picture really says it all. The red yarn is a baby fingering yarn. The multi-colored is a sock fingering yarn. I could not get 8 stitches to an inch in the red yarn with a #0 needle. So I checked out the the size of the two yarns and the sock yarn was absolutely thinner. Not by a lot, but thinner.

I'm not really happy with the local yarn shop. Frankly I was clear that I was a beginner as far as socks went and they should have spent some time on me.There had been a class going, but the class was finished even if most of them hadn't left yet. They had opened the door to regular customers. That was last Tuesday. Then they were closed on Wednesday because they were running another class. And we have been having weather, or life got involved. Or I just couldn't get there when they were open.

Meanwhile I tried to take a Craftsy sock class and it was too advanced for me. They exchanged it for the beginner's class, but that turned out to be a toe up class as well. I already know I'm not ready for a toe up sock.

I did a bunch of practicing with that red yarn, and I really am ready to make a real pair of socks. I located another class on the web. I've downloaded it and it looks like it might work for me. It is a top down sock, for one thing. For another they are calling for 7 stitches to an inch and not 8. There is a hope that I could manage that between the thinner yarn and the one stitch less guage.

I went to site KnitPicks and very much liked what I saw there. The prices look good. Not cheap. Just reasonable. They seem to have everything I would need. And I don't have to fight parking.

But I wanted to start the project today and I had one ball of yarn. The pattern that came with the class said TWO balls of yarn. So I went back to the local yarn store. I fought the parking fight. Parking is not good at the triangle in Emmaus, PA. I figured that maybe they would have a #00 needle so I'd have one smaller than the one I've got. They don't. I did buy a #1 however. Just in case I need to go one size up. Everyone else in the world is knitting this yarn on a size #2 or even a #3.

They didn't have another ball of the yarn I bought last week, but they were willing to exchange it for one in the store. I found the same brand in a different colorway that I liked and there were two of them.

KnitPicks doesn't have #00 needles either. But I might find one through Amazon. I am very unlikely to be going to the local store again. They did try to help me, but I have standing issues, and I really can't shop there anyway. I'm better off with mail order for a lot of things. I might just order something from KnitPicks just to begin to have a stash. I like having stashes.

I will be putting the new yarn on the needle later today.