The Beginnner's Guide to Knitting Socks

My first successful pair of socks.

I am a knit nerd, and especially a sock knit nerd.

I love spending time alone in a yarn shop feeling the fibres and browsing the patterns. I am willing to spend a ridiculous amount of money on beautiful needles.

After several failed starts and knitting yoga socks (no heels, no toes), I decided that this was the year I was going to learn how to knit socks.

For some reason turning the heel and picking up stitches for the gusset intimidated me.

When I found the book How To Knit Socks: Three Methods Made Easy, by Edie Eckman, I finally found my key to successfully tackling my own socks. It gives very clearly explained step-by-step procedures for socks, along with photos to show what each stage should look like.

Youtube has been a wonderful self-teaching tool for crafters, and I have used video tutorials to see the process for a few stages of knitting socks.

Yoga socks

I discovered that turning the heel (knitting short rows) was not difficult for me, but picking up the gusset stitches after knitting the heel just didn't feel or look right the way I was doing it. This youtube video is excellent and I love the nice braided edge it gives my socks.

Ankle socks

Then once I had knit a few pairs I purchased the basic sock pattern from Churchmouse Yarns, which expanded my repertoire and gave me another way to knit a sturdy heel that I now use for all my socks.

I love ribbing all the way down
for a snug fit.

I started learning socks using four or five double pointed needles (the yoga socks were made with two small circular needles), but several knitters I follow on Instagram raved about the magic loop method using one 32" circular needle so I knew I would have to give it a go. The Edie Eckman book teaches this method so I was set, and I can now say that I, too, prefer magic loop for socks.

I have tried several different patterns for my socks and I love seeing the different textures as they develop.




There are several things I love about knitting socks:

Grain stitch socks. 

• they are easy to transport and I often have my project bag in my purse, ready to work on if I have a few spare moments

• it is easy to adapt patterns and customize them once you understand the basic anatomy of a sock

• they are relatively quick to knit; I can knit a pair in approximately 6 days with dedicated knitting time

• they make great presents that everyone is happy to receive

• homemade socks feel so cozy and warm and it is satisfying wearing something homemade

My next challenge is to learn a different heel method, the fish lips kiss heel.

Harris tweed rib stitch

But currently I am knitting socks like crazy for Christmas presents for all the men in my life.

Here are some tutorial videos that have helped me on my sock knitting journey:

• how to turn the heel (short rows)
• picking up gusset stitches
• grafting the toe stitches: kitchener
• knitting socks using magic loop (there are several tutorials in the series)

* I used my own money to purchase How To Knit Socks: Three Methods Made Easy and I have linked to it because I think it is an excellent beginner's sock knitting book.

The Peace Poppy Problem

This post may get me into hot soup, and I am not the sort of person who thrives on conflict and controversy. I feel very strongly about this, however, so here I go...

A year ago I posted a tutorial for making reusable poppies for Remembrance Day.

Click to read it. 

My intent was to show how to make a poppy that can be worn year after year instead of the plastic flocked poppies distributed by veterans. As a teacher I get upset with all the discarded poppies I find around the school grounds and on the gym floor after the Remembrance Day ceremony.

Apparently people took issue with the fact that I wasn't supporting veterans by doing so. I am confused about how this could be the case, however, as I still donate at my school to the veterans' poppy fund even though I do not take a new poppy each year.

I also made and wear a white peace poppy for Remembrance Day, for many reasons outlined in my original post. This year the Canadian Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino has made headlines saying that the white peace poppies are offensive to veterans and an attempt to "politicize Remembrance Day."

I find this very interesting, considering that I find traditional Remembrance Day ceremonies are already politicized. People speak of our soldiers who died for our freedom and our way of life. The poppy as a symbol dates back to the First World War and harkens back to the poppies growing between the crosses of the war dead in Flanders, Belgium, when a generation of young men died for very convoluted political reasons. Fast forward to World War Two, of course no one would argue that we would want to turn back the clock and let Hitler continue his mad march across Europe committing genocide, but what of all soldiers and innocent civilians on all sides who died? We only remember and give thanks for our soldiers? All wars are political and the decisions that lead up to war are political in their very nature. We must be careful when we speak of "just" wars, as if some are good and some are bad.

On Remembrance Day I think about the fallen soldiers, most of them young men like my grandfather (who served in the RAF in WWII) who volunteered because they believed the political justifications for going to war that the governments put forth at the time. I think about their faith and determination to do what they believed to be right at the time, and I weep for their suffering and loss. I remember all the wars that I have learned about and remember the horrific mistakes and acts that were committed in the name of a "just" war and hope that we have learned from history.

My grandfather, like many veterans who cannot speak of what they did and witnessed during wartime, never openly spoke of what he experienced during the war. He did talk of his angst about terror he caused innocent people in the cities he bombed nightly in Germany, which made him question everything he was doing.

However, it seems that all we as a society have learned is that we will not let terrorists and tyrannical leaders, as determined by us, have their way. So along with my red poppy of Remembrance, I wear a peace poppy in the hope that we have learned from the past and that we will work toward a better, more peaceful future. This may be terribly naive, as the political systems of the past have not changed and wars will continue to be fought in the name of freedom when really they are protecting a privileged elite's hold on money and power.

If soldiers made great sacrifices to protect the freedoms that we enjoy today, is not one of my freedoms to exercise my freedom of speech to promote peace by wearing a peace poppy? It is people's right to be offended by my points of view just as much as it is my right to express myself. I just fail to see how my peace poppy, in conjunction with my red poppy, can offend someone?

For a more intelligent and well argued discussion of the reasons to wear a peace poppy, please read this article.

Remembrance Day banner made by my class.

I love how my school does the Remembrance Day ceremony. It is respectful of veterans who served in any war, respectful of the sacrifices that they made that they believed to be best at the time, while at the same time asking people to think about a better world with peace for all, regardless of where one lives. Students read poems and sing songs about peace, be it on the playground, at home or in the community. My favourite part is the parade of nations when our students represent their birth countries to show the diversity of our community, while at the same time showing how we are all the same. 

This year, as with previous years, I wear both my red poppy, in remembrance of the sacrifices the soldiers made, and my white poppy, in remembrance of all innocent lives ripped apart due to the forces of war. I also think about the environmental destruction of war.

Advent/Solstice Spiral

In my quest to create meaningful time together as a family at this busy time of year, this year I decided to make one of the advent spirals that I have been seeing all over Pinterest such as this one, and this one, and this. Each year I try to add another new tradition to our Yule Solstice celebration, and when I saw these I knew the spiral would be this year's addition.

My children each have a Playmobile Advent calendar that they love playing with, and they often get little Advent gifts from family and friends. My daughters, like most children in North America, get worked up into a frenzy leading up to the present orgy we call Christmas morning. I want them to look forward, and talk about, the lead up the the longest night of the year when we celebrate the return of the sun and longer days. Creating a Solstice spiral seemed like the perfect way to count down the nights to the Solstice.

I love how we decorate our home for the holiday season and our living room is a particular favourite of mine. We do the ubiquitous tree and mantle decorations, as well as putting all the holiday knick knacks on shelves that I have collected through the years from students. My winter village that was handmade and handed down from my grandma will always hold a special place in my heart. I love sitting in the living room with Christmas music playing, the fire crackling, and all the twinkling lights and flickering candles. Sitting there one night at the beginning of December I had a flash of inspiration about how I would personalize the spiral and make it special for our family Solstice celebration.

I found some Christmas fabric that was passed down to me from a teacher friend who retired and was looking to give away all her stuff. I love the holly pattern and knew it would be perfect for a Solstice spiral. We have a circular side table in our living room, so I cut the coordinating fabric into circles to layer one on top of the other to fit the table. I'm a lazy crafter and my sewing machine currently resides at my mother's home, so I knew that this would have to be a no-sew craft. Enter the handy dandy pinking shears.

As I wanted a marker for each of the nights of December leading up to the Solstice, I cut brown felt circles for each night to be glued onto the top circle. I decided to have 22 places because of the fluctuating date for the Solstice. When I stepped back to take stock of my efforts, however, I was very disappointed. It looked like a pizza!

I supposed I should have planned it out on paper instead of just in my head, but remember, I'm lazy. The rest of the afternoon was spent making this look as unlike a pizza as I could make it!

After adding various buttons, sparkle glue and pinecones I was satisfied with my efforts. The last step was adding the candles for each night leading to the Solstice. I think most people agree that candles make any event magical. Light and fire seem to figure into most cultural and religious festivals, and celebrations in the winter are no exception. I love how candles represent the return of the sun in the lighter half of the year, along with the reverence that fire seems to inspire.

I have a two year old daughter, however, who is a natural-born scientist in the way she takes things apart (otherwise known as breaking or destroying them) so we have not been able to use real candles since she was mobile. I am terrified that if I turn my back for a second she will burn our house down. I know there are families that can have candles around little children, and once we could do this. For some reason we could just tell my oldest daughter not to do something and she wouldn't. Candles were off limits for her. Sadly we cannot do it with my third daughter. I know it isn't very eco, but for now we use the battery powered plastic "candles" that mimic a natural flickering flame. Hopefully someday we will be able to return to my beloved wax candles.

We have had a reoccurring illness work its way through my family for the past week so we have been hit and miss with the ritual of adding another candle to the spiral and turning on lighting the candles each night. I just love how the living room looks, with the tree lit and the new spiral glowing.

I look forward to the Solstice spiral becoming part of our December rituals in years to come. And I look forward to the final night of our countdown when we make our wishes for the new year and throw them into the fire, receive our new pair of pyjamas for the longest night of the year and enjoy a peaceful evening together as a family.

DIY Felt Poppy Tutorial

A few years ago I decided to make my own poppies for Remembrance Day, in honour of my late grandfather, who I called Poppy. He served in WWII in the RAF as a navigator. Although it was a pivotal time in his life (met and married my grandmother in England), he did not like to talk about the war or his part in it. All he would say to me each Remembrance Day was that it was tragic what each side did to each other, and that he always thought about the families in Germany living in fear and being injured or dying as a result of his bombing raids. He did not like to glorify the war or tell stories about the war (except to tell tales on himself - one involved a brick wall, a bicycle and a night of drinking). He did hint at some of the horrible scenes he witnessed, but on the whole he never participated as a veteran in Remembrance Day ceremonies. In many ways he became a quiet pacifist in his later years.

At this time of year when people remember the many sacrifices soldiers made, and continue to make, I like to also think about the innocent victims of war and victims of violence of all kinds. This year my students and I researched some current conflicts around the world and we had a discussion about how our world seems peaceful to us in North America. The world, however, is far from peaceful; we are removed from their lives that it doesn't have much impact upon us. Many of us are aware of the continued violence in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. How much do people in general know about the conflicts and violence in Sudan, Mali, Syria, Nigeria, Algeria, Congo, Palestine and Israel, and more. Also, there is the silent violence toward and mistreatment of workers around the world and slave workers in developing nations who provide us with the goods we want ?

When a good friend linked to this site (link) about wearing white poppies for peace (to remember all victims of war and its environmental destruction, as well as to seek peaceful ways to end conflict) I knew I had to make my own peace poppy (in above photo). I like to think that my Poppy would have liked one of his own to wear, and this year I will think of him as I wear my own peace poppy to my children's school's Remembrance Day assembly. For another well written article about white peace poppies, read this article.

It always bothers me to see the plastic flocked poppies after Remembrance Day discarded on the ground or lost. I wish they made the pins more like safety pins so they didn't poke my kids or fall out easily. My homemade poppies have safety pins attached to the back.

Here is my step-by-step tutorial for creating felt poppies:

1. Cut out a circle shape in red, or white for a peace poppy. I tend to eyeball things (I'm allergic to measuring in general) so I cut a circle that is approximately twice the size of the flower I want to create. 

2. After knotting the end of the thread, use a running stitch, go around the circumference of the circle about 5 mm from the edge (don't go too close as the felt may break when the stitch is pulled in step 4 and 5). I used blue thread so it would show up in the photo but I usually use thread to match the fabric colour. 

3. In step 3 the whole circle has been stitched. Do not tie off the end.

4. Gently start pulling on the thread so that the felt begins to gather.

5. Continue pulling on the thread until the whole circle has been gathered in the centre.

6. Reshape the flower and gently flatten it until it takes a flower shape.

7. Cut another smaller circle out of black felt (or green for the peace poppy). Sew the small circle onto the flower. It could also be glued on. If I were feeling especially crafty I could sew black beads onto the black centre. For my peace poppy I embroidered "PEACE" onto the green circle before I attached it to my white poppy.

8. This is the completed poppy. 

9. At this point I sometimes sew a safety pin to the back, although I am a lazy crafter and my peace poppy is currently attached to my coat using a safety pin coming through the inside of my coat.

I'm wearing my peace poppy this year hoping for a more peaceful future for all on this planet.

-------------------------------------------------------

Update:

A year later and I find it interesting the negative press that the Harper government of Canada is giving to peace poppies. I won't go into all the reasons they give for "disrespectful" the white poppies are because it makes my heart rate go up and I don't need that right now. Since posting this a year ago around Remembrance Day I have heard very strong opinions about why I shouldn't be wearing a peace poppy, as well as why I shouldn't be making my own poppy and reusing it each year. 

While I was prepared for the former opinion, I was wholly unprepared for the latter. Apparently I am not being supportive of veterans when I make my own. However, I donate to the veterans' red poppy fund each year at my school so I am still unclear how I am hurting veterans. I stand by my opposition to the waste of discarded poppies lying around on school grounds. Furthermore, I believe that the values of my country, the very values that veterans fought for, guarantee me the right to express my values and opinions.

This may ruffle feathers, but in my opinion most Remembrance Day ceremonies seem to almost glorify war, with a jingoistic edge. The soldiers sacrificed and died for my freedom. They fought so I can live in peace. But civilian casualties and deaths on either side of a conflict often far outnumber military deaths, and these innocent people did not volunteer their lives for any cause. Are their deaths meaningless? We honour soldiers but say nothing of the other casualties, be they environmental, animal or human. 

I love how my school (where I work) does the Remembrance Day ceremony. It is respectful of veterans who served in any war while at the same time asking people to think about a better world with peace for all, regardless of where one lives. Students read poems and sing songs about peace, be it on the playground, at home or in the community. My favourite part is the parade of nations when our students represent their birth countries to show the diversity of our community, while at the same time showing how we are all the same. 

Autumn Crown Tutorial

My daughters collect so many leaves that I decided I needed to do something crafty with them.

I saw a tutorial for this leaf crown on line two years ago, before Pinterest, and I didn't bookmark the link (or if I did I can't find it in the mess of my bookmarks now), so I'm sorry that I can't give credit to the original crafter for the idea.

All you need are leaves. Plain and simple, right? The leaves cannot be thoroughly dried or else they will crack and crumble when they are folded.

Here are the steps:

1. Collect at least a dozen leaves outside. They can be all one colour, or for a more colourful crown, collect a variety of leaf types.

2. Start with one leaf. Fold it in half, with the stem at the side, so that you have the symmetrical points of the leaf touching each other.

3. Fold another leaf the same way.

4. Use the stem from the second folded leaf to poke two holes just above the line of symmetry of the first leaf.

5. Weave the stem of the second leaf in and out of the punched holes in the first leaf.

6. Once the third leaf is added there should be enough of the third stem to weave through the first leaf to make the crown sturdier.

7. Follow steps two to six for each leaf you add to the crown, until the circumference of the crown is large enough to fit over the prince or princess's head.

8. Weave the stem of the very first leaf through the last leaf added to secure the crown into a circular shape. Be sure to have the ends of the stems on the inside of the crown for a smooth outside.

9. If the leaf is too damp leave it to dry before using.

10. Place the leaf crown on the autumn prince or princess. Voila!

When the leaves become too dry and crumbly, just put them back outside, or better yet throw them into a compost container or garden.