(I started knitting these socks in, like, November. Bad, Nora, for not finishing them sooner.)In the interest of transporting as few UFOs (unfinished objects) half way across the country, I manged to find the little bit of time over the weekend that I needed to finish my languishing Magic socks! Why are they magic, you ask? Well I'll tell you. They are magic for oh so many reasons.
Reason 1: Harry Potter Sock Yarn!
The company Opal, who's known for making brightly colored, self-striping sock yarns, put out a line of Harry Potter color ways a couple of years ago. They're kind of pricey ($18/ball!) so I had put off buying one for a long time. But in the end, let's be honest, I'm a sucker for anything knitting AND Harry Potter related. (The line is no longer being manufactured but you- and by you I mean I- might still be able to find some at local yarn stores.) I chose the colorway for Ron Weasley but I'm choosing to think of these socks as Ginny Weasley socks because, hey, she's way hotter than Ron.Reason 2: Self Striping Sock Yarn!
It was my first time knitting with self-striping yarn. The pre-measured and dyed colors allow the pattern to emerge with no effort by the knitter! (Don't think about it too hard- I just trust that the Opal company knows what they're doing. And they do.) Magic!
Reason 3: The Magic loop!
That's right: I knit these socks AT THE SAME TIME on ONE PAIR of circular needles. SOOO COOOL.
It's a little confusing at first, but once you get into the rhythm of it- and learn to mark which sock you started on originally so you're always knitting the same number of rows of each- it's pretty simple. It's great for people who have a tendency to knit one sock and somehow never get around to knitting the second. (Ooops.) Also, it's handy because you're not gotta accidentally use more than half of your yarn on the first sock, run out before finishing your second and not be able to find more. (Ooops, again...)
Reason 4: Toe Grafting!
Yeah, that sounds a little dirty, doesn't it? Anyway, grafting (also known as the Kirchner Stitch) is a method of casting of that creates a new line of knitting which is indistinguishable from the rest of the rows. Hence: magic!
So FINALLY- after months of these socks sitting around my house mocking me for not working on them.. they're done! And awesome! I can't wait to wear them around the house in my first cold cold Chicago winter.
.JPG)
