Colossal Nutkins

Yesterday I cast on for Nutkin with some Shibui sock yarn. I was inspired after I peeked in my drawer of hand-knit socks and fell in love with them all over again. And I remembered my goal to knit 12 pairs of socks this year (this is only number 3!).

I cast on and did the funky fold-over cuff, loving the ingenuity of it but feeling very wary of the size of it. I have been consciously trying to loosen up my knitting lately, but this was crazy. The cuff of this sock is enormous! I'm already a large enough person so I don't need to feel extra self-consciousness of having such big socks.

I had to talk myself into it the whole time, but I kept going. There is no ribbing, I said, so it's bound to look larger than normal. I cast on 64 stitches on size 2 needles in sock yarn; this is my standard. I've knit the exact same yarn with the same needles and 64 stitches on some Monkey socks. I counted my stitches like 10 times to make sure I really only had 64.

On Ravelry there are thousands of people who have knit this sock...so I searched and searched for references to the colossal cuff. (I got really creative with my search terms!) Mostly I found people talking about the Nutkin Evil Twins or how amazingly well their socks fit (and they all looked like they have normal feet), but nothing too helpful for me except hints that they will pull in once you get going on the legs.

I hemmed and hawed about it for a little while and decided to soldier on. They have definitely pulled in as I have knit, pretty much to a normal size, but that top is just really big. The worst part is that I put them on and they look fine, which makes me think I have cankles!!!

Sweet Project Bags

Typically I feel bad about buying fabric because I don't sew very much. I usually change my mind, especially when I make something awesome - like lined/reversible drawstring bags.



Yes, I think drawstring bags are awesome. They are so handy (mine mostly get used for knitting projects and traveling). You can use beautiful fabric with fun prints that you might not know what else to do with. They are great projects for new sewers (even if you are self-taught like moi). And they are practically instant gratification. There are lots of other good reasons, but these top my list.

I found a drawstring bag tutorial online and then played around with the concept to work with the amount of fabric I had and size bags I wanted. Most of the fabric I used is older, but last weekend I stopped by Three Crafty Quilters and couldn't resist picking up the orange and green fabric. It's part of the Central Park line by Kate Spain. I love love love it! Also, I love love love the shop! Super friendly gals working there and they carry so many designers/fabrics that I like.