When you just knit on one thing, it's amazing how much more quickly you finish it! I managed to churn out the plain socks in just over 3 weeks. That's far more impressive than the 6 months it took me to make my Betula socks - simply down to polygamy of projects...
Here they are, blocking on my steel sock blockers (I got mine from Loop), and hanging on the curtain rail in the living room. I used the Dave sock pattern from Rachel Coopey's new book, Coop Knits Socks vol 2. I will tell you more about the book in a future post, as I had the pleasure of editing it, hence the head start on knitting from the pattern.
You may remember that I was knitting these for a very special teacher. And actually, they aren't the only thing I've knitted for this teacher. Just before Christmas I knitted up a Snawheid (by Kate Davies) for her as well. Here's a picture of it blocking, before I added a fluffy TOFT alpaca pompom to it:
I regularly get asked to knit things for people, and I almost always say no. I tend to explain that knitting is like sex - if I love you it's free, but if I don't there's no amount you could pay me to do it!
So how is it that this teacher has ended up with two lovely projects in such a short space of time? Well, she has gone above and beyond, and repeatedly proved herself to be thoroughly knitworthy. How did she do that? First up, she didn't ask. I wanted to make something for her, and we chatted about what she might like (I threatened to knit something hideous if she didn't provide some pointers!!). She was very respectful of the amount of time it takes to knit a gift. Many people assume that it's quick. It really isn't (as I'm sure most of you know!). She has been a very important person to our family. She helped me to grow in confidence as a parent, and she goes above and beyond to ensure that our kids are as happy as possible at school. We really couldn't have asked for a better teacher, and as such I wanted to thank her in the most meaningful way I could. I don't know of a better way that this. As a knit recipient she has also aced it on all levels - I see her wearing them. Daft I know, but I get a sense of loss when I give away a project I've enjoyed making. I don't expect people to wear things I've made when we're meeting up, just to prove they wear them, but it is lovely to see those projects again, and to know they are being enjoyed (and not languishing in a drawer waiting for BEST).
So there we go. Two projects in just a few months for a really special teacher. Who do you knit for? And why?