Knitting - Toe Up - 2 at a time socks - First Pair

Since I can't knit at the moment due to hand eczema (yuck) I thought I'd share my latest completed project.  A couple of years ago I found this book by Melissa Morgan-Oakes.  I was thrilled.  I had a number of single socks floating around that I never finished the second sock.



I actually unraveled the socks and started each pair over.  I fell in love with the technique, but I still hated doing the Kitchener stitch to sew the toes together.

Then last year, while on vacation in Solvang, I found this book by Wendy D. Johnson



Of course, I couldn't be satisfied with just starting with the toes, I wanted to start toe-up AND do two at a time.  I somehow managed to get the first pair figured out on my own, but it was very difficult to get the first two rows done.  So I did a little more research and found this book, again by Melissa Morgan-Oakes.



What more could I ask for.  I was in heaven.  And, of course, I immediately started on another pair of socks.

Here they are in progress and completed.

Lessons learned - read the instructions completely.  I didn't quite get the toes correct because I didn't read the part about knitting in the back of the stitch to prevent twisting.  Which leads me to how I got hand eczema in the first place.

Since I really wanted to learn the technique, I immediately started on another pair of socks, which made three pair of "wool" socks in a row, and I'm also working on a sweater with wool yarn.  So, the dermatologist figures I've developed a sensitivity to the yarn.   After this clears up, I'll try knitting something with some wonderful cotton yarn I have.