Back to basics

Here, I am knitting a sock with sock needles and a nice little knitting sheath made out of a Brittany Birch crochet hook.

This little system is light, inexpensive, and is the fast way to knit socks. The knitting sheath allows Me to knit faster than I can knit without it. For Fair Isle and standed knitting I can knit a whole lot faster. Your results may vary.













This is another view of the the knitting sheath shown above. I refer to this style of knitting sheath as "Flemish".












This is a classic "goose wing" shaped knitting sheath that I made from piece of oak. This style was common in Yorkshire. For scale it is shown with 10" long, #3 needles.












This it the goose wing knitting sheath in use. Note the differece in position between this the "Flemish" design in use with the sock needles above. Some Flemish designes work very in this position. Some do not. The most beautiful knitting sheath that I ever carved is Flemish style. It works well with sock needles, but falls out when I try to tuck it at my side in this position. It is just too polished. I was trying too hard to to avoid the "old wooden spoon" look.





Here is a "Cornish fish" style of knitting sheath. This one is carved of California Black Walnut, and is one of the best knitting sheaths I have ever produced. Unfortunatly, it is about worn out and will be tossed in the fire soon.

It is as ugly as an old wooden spoon, but it has served me well.