Monday, January 21, 2008

The REAL Yarn Diet.

Somehow my sock yarn collection had gotten out of hand. How? I had no control. I was down to maybe one skein of sock yarn, which was ok since I had lost my sock-knitting mojo. But then Hill Country Yarn Sock Club yarn kept coming. (but I think that's done now. whew!) And everyone's favorite girlishly delightful (what?) yarn-pusher, Anne-Marie, made me a sock gift for working the Sit 'n Knit Holiday party (and boy did I work it!--ooh that doesn't sound so good.) of the lovely Noro sock yarn which became:

Pattern: Annetrelac Socks
Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock in color #180
Yarn Enabler: Anne-Marie!
Knitted on: Size 1 DPNs and on Size 0 Knitpicks circular Magic Looped
Time spent knitting when I shouldabeen planning for rehearsals: 2.5 weeks

Ok, the best part of these socks is that THESE SOCKS MAKE YOU LOSE WEIGHT! It's true. I lost 4 lbs in the time I was knitting these. Now, I have never tried any diet program, though I've always needed to lose weight, but I feel like Sock Knitting could become the new Jenny freakin' Craig. hee hee. You see, I was really motivated to go workout so I could knit them. I would go get on a recumbent bike and pedal like a hamster (ok, they don't pedal, but you know what I mean) who is pretending to go up and down big hills and knit like crazy and suddenly 45 minutes and some 300+ calories and a round of the entrelac had passed by! YAY!

YARN DIET--it's not about not buying yarn, it's about having more fiber in your diet! It makes you lose weight as you use it!

Ok, back to reality. I probably should have knit the entrelac legs on Size 0 needles because they're a little loose in the stitches. But I couldn't see Magic Loop being magic for the back and forth fiddley-ness of entrelac knitting. And I didn't have Size 0 DPNs, and I certainly wasn't going to buy them because a) I'd have had to wait til I got them and b) I don't really believe in DPNs anyway. When I got to the eye of the partridge heel flap (my alteration to the pattern) and stockinette foot, I realized that Size 1s were not going to cut it, so with a sigh of relief, I reverted to my Size 0 speedy Knitpicks magic loop ways.

Now this is a diet I think I can maintain, and here's my next load of fiber:

These socks are being made (FINALLY) out of some of my Hill Country Yarn Sock Club yarn. It's sport-weight. Of course, I don't have Size 2 or 1 circular needles, just 3s and 0s, and this is sport-weight yarn. So, FINE, I'm doing them one-at-time on Size 2 DPNs. So last decade....I'm gonna go order some needles right now...

Last question: Would it be ridiculous to knit a a hot water bottle cover out of Malabrigo? I used my hot water bottle for the first time last night, wrapped in a linen towel, and I love it LOVE IT LOVE IT!

6 comments:

Knitting Ewe said...

Beautiful socks!

And I love the idea of a hamster pedaling!

Tina said...

That is definitely my kind of diet. I just wish I could knit and walk on the treadmill at the same time; it might encourage me to walk longer. Maybe I need to get an exercise bike and knit and ride at the same time.

Eliza said...

What a fun post! I have actually never knit socks (gasp!) but with this weather and your wonderful photos, I may be soon converted...

Annie said...

Those Anne-Marie-trelac socks are beautiful! And nah nah nuh boo boo, got ya last! That's what you get for being an enabler. :-)

nicolina said...

hot socks! the dpn world is rather fun and badass. oh, let's start knitting and baking - counter the dieting of yarning. :-)

Emily said...

Those are gorgeous. I would never take them off. Have you? :)