Socks, Socks, Socks

I did it - my second pair of socks and my first finished during the Summer of Socks. I know, I know, I didn't start them during the summer, but they were definitely finished during the summer. I used Opal Prisma purple yarn and size 2 Clover bamboo DPNs. These are based on Wendy's generic sock pattern. I started these on April 26, so it took about 2 and 1/2 months. At this rate, I should be able to finish one more pair of socks this summer.


As you can see, I've already made some good progress on my Jaywalker. Confession time: I've only really been knitting for about 6 months (though I learned 2 or 3 years ago), and this was the first time I'd seen a DD (double decrease). So for the first 4 pattern repeats, I was doing it wrong. And I don't care - I'm leaving it the way it is. I may even do the same thing on the second sock for consistency. But now that I'm doing it right, it looks pretty good.

So I've started 4 pairs of socks now (and finished two) and used different DPNs for each pair. Let's review:

1. Practice socks made out of LB microspun acrylic - Size 3 Clover bamboo. These DPNs were fine for practice and I had an easy time learning how to knit in the round with them. The bamboo holds the stitches on the needle pretty well, even though the acrylic was a little slippery.
2. Socks from Hell - Size 1 Lantern Moon. I really liked knitting with these needles, even if it did feel like knitting with toothpicks. But they are very bendy and I broke one. And they're expensive.
3. Purple socks - Size 2 Clover bamboo. Same as the Size 3. These are pretty strong and don't bend. I may try to find some of these in size 1 (I haven't seen them in my local stores).
4. Jaywalkers - Size 1.5 Crystal Palace bamboo. I love these needles. These are pretty thin but they seem a lot stronger than the Lantern Moon. They have little ridges on the needle, so it's not too slippery (which is important to me because I always lose the stitches off the end of the needle). The only (tiny) problem I have with them is that they are really pointy. My fingers are a little sore from stabbing myself with them. But since I'm not bleeding yet, I'll have to say that these are my favorites so far.

For reference, I'm a big fan of my Susan Bates aluminum needles and my Lantern Moon ebony needles for straight knitting. I'm afraid to use the SB DPNs though - I'm afraid my stitches would slide too much.