i don’t know what i’d do if i had to go nine months without eating sushi. pregnant women do it all the time now, but nan, for one, was quite ready by the other night to have a nice sushi dinner once again (and we readily agreed, mmm).
you can tell when a new mom is getting her energy back—all sorts of things she wasn’t interested before are suddenly appealing.
nan learned to knit back in grade school, but was completely uninterested in continuing it into her teens and adulthood. she grew up wearing handknit socks from grandma, which she says she didn’t appreciate as a youngster, but later loved quite a lot.
we emailed a bit about getting her back on the needles and when she saw amad’s socks materialize so quickly, decided she’d give it a go (yay, nan). yesterday, while the baby slept (and slept—he’s very good at it!), we got her started.
actually, she remembered quite a lot about making stitches and reading her fabric—i didn’t have to show her too much in the way of technique at all. she’s trying to learn the sock pattern by formula so as not to have to deal with the written instructions. that makes things a little harder, but in the end it will be helpful to her in making any size of basic socks.
we started with tiny socks, using the oh, baby pattern as a guide, so she could work through all the steps quickly and make a duplicate one to reinforce the pattern. by early evening the first one was complete
(i know it looks huge, but we are talking about whitfield feet).
it looks beautiful, right? nan is using the leftover grandma’s blessing from the nate socks i knit at summit.
by the time we headed for bed last night, the second sock was almost done; the toe had to wait til morning—she was a bit too bleary-eyed to finish it up and we all know it’s better to just walk away at that point . . .
right now, she’s downstairs starting another pair, hee-hee. i think we have a reclaimed knitter in the family, now.
while nan knitted yesterday, i sat nearby working away on the glitter socks and another important task
spiderman had sprung a leak in several different important areas of his body and needed some mending. this gave us a chance to take out my emergency sewing kit once again (another favorite of amad’s, along with the knit kit)
he has a good eye for photos, i think—once he remembers to hold the camera really still, he’s able to capture some very fine shots of his favorite things
oh that reminds him . . . the scissors are here and the yarn is nearby (attached to my sock).
maybe it just needs a little cutting? they move awfully fast when they get a bad idea, don’t they? oh well, not much lost—the yarn was quickly reattached and progress moved forward. soon we had a second new pair of socks off the needles
with this pair, we went with a classic 2 x 2 rib as a counterpoint to the glitter—i knit these a little bigger and a little longer than the first pair in the hopes that he won’t outgrow them by next week, heh.
the yarn is a lot scratchier than the handspun, but not terrible enough to pass up the allure of tinsel. the yarn creates a sort of “galaxy” effect—it’s not bad-looking at all.
for the next pair to go on the needles, amad picked a skein of blue (what other color is there?) cascade heritage sock, which i had not knit with before (though i have often admired it in the yarn shop and in classes).
wow, i really like this yarn; it’s a pleasure to knit with—it feels good in my hands and makes a nice, soft fabric that feels sturdy at the same time. the 4-ply yarn will resist pilling and wear well, due to the nylon content. and it’s a very reasonable deal at about $12-$13 per skein with enough yardage for a couple of pairs of kid’s socks or one adult pair.
plus, it comes in an extensive array of solid and handpaint colors (amad chose the marine colorway for his socks).
i decided on the tesserae pattern for this pair—he liked the texture and the stitch count works well for a smaller sock. now we have one sock done and one to go before i leave on wednesday morning.
of course, i’ve gotten practically no other knitting done since we got on the sock kick here, but that’s ok—i think i can finish my sleeve on the way home, heh. and some things are just too important to let work get in the way . . .
45 thoughts on “finally, sushi”
Hooray for kid socks! Don’t they go quickly? I love all of the colors that he’s chosen (you can tell him from me that he has excellent taste). And congratulations on reclaiming a knitter for the cause — welcome back, Nan 🙂
Now I want sushi…
Yay for Nan, the knitter! Are those cut-out socks Amad’s wish list? Good thing you have a little practice w/ sock knitting ;-), as it looks like he’s going to keep you busy!
MMM, sushi. January can’t come soon enough…
What a sweet family you have, and I’m so glad you were able to re-acquaint Nan with the knitting needles. 🙂
Those socks look fantastic. I cant believe how quickly you knit them too. I love knitting with the Cascade sock yarn, beautiful feel to it and it has some lovely shades too. The blue patterned ones look so nice.
I have fallen in love with amad. Please give him a hug for me and tell him to have a great year at school. YOu are a great auntie, Blessings Joan 🙂
will amad fall head over heels in love with matching caps for his socks?
You are so sweet (and fast) to make Amad three pairs of socks. He will have great mementos of your visit. Sometimes it is fun to put the “work” to the side and just go with the flow. And way to go Nan! Great looking baby socks.
Oohh….I lurve the tessare socks…that is my most favorite sock pattern to knit! What is the stitch count that you used for them?
Please tell Amad “Gruezi” from me. We spent a year living in Basel and loved it. However, my kids had a hard time readjusting to school here. Children are much more independent in Switzerland, and my then first-grader got into trouble several times for resolving issues on his own, which is what he had been taught to do, rather than let his teacher resolve disputes. It made him a fearsome soccer player though!
Wow! Nan’s socks are beautiful. The stitches are so nice and even. I love Cascade Heritage yarn because it’s a good deal–especially when Gail Knits has 30% off on the yarn. 🙂
Spider Man needs a pair of socks to match.
Knitting Amad all these beautiful socks is something he will remember the rest of his life. When I was around 5, my grandmother came from afar for a long visit. While she was with us, she crocheted a blanket for my dolls. I still have it, displayed folded in a shadow box with her passport opened to the page with the photo of my grandmother and mother & aunt when they were children. I also still have the afghan she made during that time. All are treasures.
Amad is a lucky boy and you’re the best auntie!
You are a very nice aunt and he will remember these things for a long time. I still remember my aunt taking me to the Milwaukee Public Museum 46 years ago and enjoying every minute of it as a little girl.
What a wonderful auntie you are. You are building special memories.
You’re really whipping those out! You’ve inspired me to finally knit some socks for my kids, tho, since it’s summer, I’m making super short cuffs. My daughter picked rainbow yarn lol.
I hope you are making baby some socks to match
big brother’s! : )
Auntie Anne did the spiderman repair…. nothing else matters! 😀
And how very fun that you not only got to have sushi, ut also have reclaimed a former knitter.!
You are such a caring person, dropping everything to knit him socks. That is something he will remember forever.
At first, I thought “it looks like Spiderman is wearing red socks”. Then, unbidden, the thought came to me that if you could knit something that looked like Spiderman’s socks, you’d be a favorite aunt FOREVER!
Yay for reclaimed knitters!!
And I’m loving the new pair of socks! I just finished knitting Cookie’s Rick socks and used red Cascade Heritage. What a great yarn! It makes a warm pair of socks, and the colors really pop.
Oh, is there anything cuter than wrinkly baby knees??
You are doing very important work, reclaiming knitters into the fold.
That sushi is beautiful! Did you all make it yourselves?
Wonderful socks – you are having your own mini sock summit!
OMG – that is so darned funny. My two boys have done a lot of things to my knitting over the years, but cutting the yarn mid-project is not one of them. I think they would have done it if they had thought of it. I just love boys! Their minds are always so full of GREAT ideas. The socks look fantastic.
I love Nan and her baby socks (and am so glad she’s eating sushi again).
Sounds like a wonderful visit.
I like your priorities.
Love those socks! Great job, Nan. I think I need to knit some Tesserae for my wonderful hubby.
It’s like a little, self contained sock factory!
Thanks for the pictures of Spiderman and his urgently required repairs – made me laugh. Happy to hear you’ve rescued a lapsed knitter in your family!
Anne- Kids blow my mind. They love glitter and color, and what’s wrong with that?
Only adults get hung up on the rules.
Glad you rescued Spidey.
Is that a smile I spied on David’s face? A rare sighting!
Nan, great job on the baby sock.
Anne, These posts are just too fascinating! They put a huge smile on my face (and I know I am not the only one). Imagine Nan having Anne Hanson to help her relearn knitting – the rest of us can only dream. BTW it will be cooler here in the Midwest for your return (couldn’t get any hotter, right?). We just returned from LV two weeks ago. Next time we’ll go during winter months.
I think it’s really great to get hand made items, but it really adds a whole new perspective when you actually see that person making the item.
Looks like Nan knits continental and wraps her yarn around her finger like I do. Isn’t it nice that you got her back into knitting!
Wow, Anne, I don’t know who will miss the adventures of Amad more–you or us! Lovely family
Very cute! Yep, not being able to eat sushi was one of the worst things about being pregnant. Now since they’re older, I don’t eat it because I can’t afford it; they eat so freakin’ much! There’s a fine line there. 😉
btw, I’m having a sale right now! All 15% off. (Ok, I admit, I’m trying to tempt you). Enter DOGDAYS at checkout. 🙂
xoxo!
I think maybe Amad needs a pair of Spiderman socks! The baby socks are darling–yay Nan! Did all of this familial knitting inspire David to pick up the needles again? 🙂
Yey for Nan! So pleased her energy is returning so quickly and she is using it to knit! Yes they move quickly when they have a bad idea. they get faster as they get bigger. Too funny. Both the moving quickly and the having to knit more socks because Amad wouldn’t take they others off. We have all experienced that. So happy you are having a great visit and that not only Amad, but spiderman and Nan have benefited from your skills. keep having a great time!
I once had a friend and her son visit,(a 5yr old), while I was helping with her knitting in aother room..he was busy cutting my tape measure in several pieces,from my Knitttting basket..then he placed it neatly back in the basket..that evening I was in the living room, ready to kit..pull the tape measure out in the many pieces..
Quite a laugh!
Yay for Nan! Way to go, getting so much knitting done so fast!
And you are the “best auntie ever”, I bet.
Nan’s socks are beautiful! Socks are so addicting. 🙂 The emergency sewing kit has been used quite a bit here. I’m always sewing up a beloved stuffed animal for one of my kiddos.
Amad has great taste in socks. There’s nothing better then handknit socks. My oldest is always asking for new socks plus they are smaller so it’s an instant gratification knit.
You’re amazing!
You are the best dang Aunt, Anne. And I am laughing my head off about the scissors/yarn combo. At my house it was usually the scissors/hair combo that occurred. . . . not quite as easy to tie back on. . . .
It just amazes me on how fast you can whip out the socks. Just love the colors too!
Yay for Nan!
I’m just catching up… Congrats to you all on the new family addition! Amad and Micah are adorable, and I LOVE the story about your budding sock addict.
You know, now that you’ve fixed up his stuffing explosions – Spiderman will love you forever!
I feel lazy- having only knit a pair of socks in the last 10 days – look at you go!
what a beautiful, special week you have had!
I was interested to hear your opinion about the Cascade Heritage, since you have knit with some incredible yarns. I also only recently discovered Heritage, and I was a bit hesitant to love a machine-made yarn, but all that you say is true! It really is a superb sock yarn and has become an instant favorite with me.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful family time!
I enjoy your postings so much! They are just the right mix of knitting, family, fresh food and sushi!
I think that’s wonderful that you would take the time to knit your nephew not only one, but SEVERAL pairs of socks. He’ll be a lover of handknits forever!
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