I did it!

I have been knitting for about a year. There are no yarn shops with classes in my area, and I don't know anyone who knits. Therefore, I have been having to teach myself through books. It has been difficult because that is not the best way for me to learn. I would much rather sit down with someone and be able to ask questions as I go. HOWEVER, after many tries, I finally succeeded with the dpns and have begun a sock! I know this will seem silly to some, but trying to figure this out looking at pictures has been a nightmare. Just wanted to share my excitement!

I'm right there with you - I taught myself to knit through books and also found it pretty difficult, but finally made it (after 2-3 years of trying and giving up and trying again, with a fair amount of crying in the mix as well). It's a good feeling, isn't it? So, yeah for you! And good luck with the socks!

Congratulations! I know what you mean about having to teach yourself from books being difficult. I did the same thing and it can be frustrating when there is no one to help. I love to knit socks! Its a great "take along" project. Good luck!

Terrific! As someone who learned to crochet first I found knitting really hard to get a handle on. Anyway I understand the struggle. If you don't know about it already check out knittinghelp.com it has great videos which really helps with understanding where the needles need to go. Googling I have found other videos that are more descriptive on how to do things like the Kitchener Stitch/grafting which you can do when you get to the to the part if you are doing a cuff down sock.

I have an old (more than 30 years) Coast and Clark book for gloves, mittens and socks. It is very good (both instructions and pictures). I love to make socks and if I can answer any questions for you I will be glad to help.

Belle

God bless that Coats&Clarke book. Is yours the one with the green cover? It's been around since the 50s!

My mother taught me to knit and purl. Everything else was from a book, including the dpns and socks.

Yay knittingfreak!

Yes! The one with the green cover. I have dozens of knitting and crochet books, but I will always treasure my Coast & Clark. I remember the feeling of near exaltation when I mastered the dpns and turning a heel on my first pair of socks.

Thank you all for the encouragement! I am very excited. I am leaving for vacation this morning and will be taking my soon to be sock with me.

gautherbelle -- thanks for the mention of the Coats & Clarke book. I will have to see if I can find a copy. I have just been using the Stitch N Bitch, Knitting for Dummies and The Good Housekeeping Book of Needlecrafts. This last one is really nice if you haven't seen it. I think it has been around since the early 90s, but it gives really good instructions and pictures for knitting, crocheting, smocking, quilting, and much more!

sammimag -- thanks for the tip regarding the videos. I will definitely check them out.

Again, thanks for all the encouragement. I will probably have some questions when I get back from vacation!!

Knit Socks! (Knit) by Betsy McCarthy is the book that got me knitting socks like a fiend. There is a very basic pattern in the book which I use for every sock I make regardless of the stitch pattern I opt to use or the number of stitches or size of needles.

Hey! Congrats!

I'm another self-taught-from-books knitter; I started using the Reader's Digest Needlework Guidebook, which has ugly projects but clear pictures.

If you can find it (it's out of print and expensive) June Hiatt's Principles of Knitting is really helpful; it wasn't until I read this book that I realized that I'd been twisting all of my stitches! And thus why some patterns didn't work!

Good luck with the sock - I'm sure you'll do better than I did. I made not one - but a _pair_ of huge purple monsters. It was very clear that I knew _nothing_ about gauge then!

Also, if you haven't visited there yet, Wise Needle and knitty are good online resources. :)

seitherin and ranaverde -- thanks for the encouragement and suggestions for books. I worked on my sock while on vacation (just returned today), and I had some "aha" moments. The sock itself is most likely the ugliest sock on the planet, but I have definitely learned some things. I have not done the toe, yet. I still have a couple weeks before I have to return to work. So, I will continue to work on my socks.

I will definitely check out your suggestions for books. I found one while at the beach.

The sock itself is most likely the ugliest sock on the planet

Oh, surely not. It's probably just your first sock. :)

(If you want to see my hideous purple monster in its full glory, I did once post about it on my blog.

ranaverde -- thanks, that makes me feel better. I'm just very impatient and want to be able to turn out beautiful socks NOW!! However, I will continue on my homely practice socks until I have a better handle on things. But, I am still excited that I have done this much!

nohrt4me, I learned the same way. My mother taught me the basics, and I learned the rest out of books. I'm teaching her stuff now!

I first learned how to knit some years back in our local high school's adult education knitting class. Mostly it was just a knitting circle, and the teacher would help anyone who needed it. I needed lots of help, as I'd never knitted before!
The project assigned to us was a pair of "Joan's socks," which was a popular internet pattern at the time. The teacher felt that if we could learn to make socks first, then we wouldn't be hesitant to try future socks or less tricky patterns. They were made with 2 strands of wool, and were intended to be heavy winter socks. Mine looked mostly like socks, but were not very stretchy and I couldn't even get them on my feet. I suppose someday I should unravel them and reuse the yarn. But I can never forget the efforts of another new knitter in the class, who had actually done a good job of forming the sock, but between her very tight stitches and the double strand of wool, her sock would stand up by itself. We dubbed it "the Viagra sock."

WAY off topic, but MaggieO's viagra sock reminded me that my son was watching me knit a small bag with a rounded bottom and said, "Mom, I bet you could knit a jockstrap!"

I said, yes, I was sure every man would like a nice red wool jockstrap for winter.

Move over hair shirt!

"Mom, I bet you could knit a jockstrap!"

LOL!

nohrt4me

That's very funny.

Yet I imagine if you posted a pattern on a website someone would knit it- at least for the joke value.

Well, I live quite close to the Great White North, and, yes, I actually know people who would go to the trouble of making something like this for one of those gag-gift Christmas party exchange things.

I just thought it was funny that my son was taken with the idea of handknit jockstraps without really thinking through how (un)comfortable they might be!

Pima cotton would be good, though. It could even be red!