Ah. The second pair of simple shoes... I took my time with these, as you can see. This yarn was a gift from a friend at least three years ago. I've started and stopped many a project with it, so I'm glad to finally turn at least one skein of the yarn into something, especially as adorable a pair of shoes as these.
Pattern Simple shoes, by Zoe Mellor.
Source 50 Baby Bootees to Knit.
Yarn Millefili Fine by Filatura Di Crosa, #25 Lilac Mist, 1 skein.
Needles US2 (2.75 mm).
Start-to-end 16 Aug 2007 - 26 Aug 2007.
Modifications To fit a 1yr old, I added stitches to make the sole longer and added two roles to make the sole wider.
Do you notice the buttons? They were salvaged from a tank top I bought a few years back. I think they're perfect with the lilac/lavendar color of this cotton yarn. The buttons, themselves, have a garnet-purple color to them as well. I have four more buttons... Here's another picture of the shoes posing on top of my work laptop...
A practice in knitting styles
I knit comfortably, perhaps naturally, in the English style, that is to say holding the yarn in my right hand. I had taught myself to knit left-handed, in the Continental style, almost as soon as I realized there was a difference, which was really when I noticed that was the method my sister uses to knit. And, the competitive streak in me was annoyed that my sister, who didn't really like to knit as much as she liked to crochet, would speed through her rows. Of course, I had to learn to knit as she does. Still, I often don't bother to do so, though I will admit that it is more efficient with more economy of motion; I just haven't practiced it enough for it to be sufficiently effortless. Nor, have I wanted to interrupt the gauge or tension in any project I've worked on.
Now, why the concern with knitting efficiency? Have you noticed my queue lately? I've been adding and removing projects almost daily... Partly, to wean out all the projects I'm really not likely to ever start. And if I'm ever to get further into my queue, I need to knit faster... My hands tire pretty quickly with right-handed knitting, which for me requires a lot of wrist motion to throw the yarn over/under the needles. Is it no surprise though, since I spend my entire day on a computer, typing, and because I like to do so, writing?
I saw these Simple shoes as a perfect project to practice a little bit of left-handed knitting. They're such a small scale project that, if I were to make a mistake, it would not bother me to restart them. And, I did indeed have to redo a few rows now and then.
I don't think Continental knitting will ever come as effortlessly to my fingers as English knitting, but, I've made a happy compromise: using Continental style for knit rows and English style for purl rows. You see, I've always purled faster than I knit. So, now, using the continental style, I can knit quicker to match. And, since there's really no difference in speed with alternating knit/purl stitches, I can use either method. Yay!
I still need practice, but perhaps with some effort at increasing efficiency, I'll turn out projects with a more even and tighter gauge and shortened turnaround. I mean, gosh, I have Adam's sweater and two more cat sweaters to finish before I can start on all the cardigans and pullovers I've listed for myself.
