Finishing up, in the middle, just starting

I finished my Cusp socks. I am LOVING! Cookie A's Knit. Sock. Love. book. I've never made so many projects from the same book before. This pattern is pretty unique because it starts on the back of the leg and wraps around to the front. The gusset is totally different from any I've ever done- the decreases are incorporated into the pattern, not at the sides like all the other ones. (After you have decreased enough, you then have to start adding stitches back in to make up for the pattern decreases.)

The yarn is one of my favorites- Wollmeise 80/20 in "Neptun". I actually have another skein of this yarn (this one came in a grab bag, that one I had bought a few years earlier). I can't decide if I want to try to sell it, or just hold onto it to pet lovingly for being so pretty.

So what am I in the middle of?

Well, the first Cookie A sock club packet came and it is as awesome as I thought it would be. I'm not going to post details until next month, as there are still some people who haven't received their yarn yet. There were 2 sock patterns, 2 cookie recipes, and a skein of yarn. I'm one cuff into one of the socks, and I really like it. The yarn isn't really my style, but it's neat to break out of my box. And it is expensive- I would never have bought it for myself!

Also in the middle- the sock yarn blanket. I don't have a picture, but this weekend I wove in a bunch of ends, and added about 8 squares. It's getting bigger... this thing will take me at least another year though, I'm sure.

What's starting up? My Masters :)

I'm doing an M.Ed. in Mathematics Education through Lesley University.

My first course starts this week. The assignment technically doesn't begin until Monday, but it was posted Friday, so I'm spending the weekend getting started. I like to be ahead of the game, because I can really be a procrastinator if I don't. (There is just no middle ground.) I'm very nervous about this because a) my only online course in college didn't go so well, but that was very independent study, and this is very forum oriented, b) I haven't taken a class since the spring of 2004 (it's 2011! How did that happen), c) I'm not a teacher... and that will make some of this tough.

Pointelle done!

I started these socks last month and they knit up fast- but I got distracted and kept knitting other things...

This is another sock from Cookie A's Knit.Sock.Love. That book is fabulous and every knitter should own it.

In other knitting news, I started a striped scarf with 2 colors of knitpicks Chroma yarn. This is the kind of scarf where 2 different self-striping yarns will make the scarf look like I put a lot of effort into the pattern, but really it's nothing at all. Also- worsted weight yarn is amazing. I've done like a foot of knitting in an evening. That's just not possible with the yarn I normally use. And size 8 needles just feel HUGE.

In other craft news, I got 2 sewing books today: One Yard Wonders (not too impressed) and The Bag Making Bible (looks interesting). I need to just find some time to sit down and use up some fabric- but I keep getting distracted by knitting.

Oh, and the yarn I overdyed looks fantastic. Dad's socks are next on the docket- though if the sock club subscription comes in I'll get distracted for sure!

I think it's time to admit...

...that I have second sock syndrome.

This is an affliction that affects knitters for various reasons. I think I get it just because there are so many patterns out there I want to try.

But I do have some excuses.

Cusp, the blue sock, I knit on the cruise. I just finished it today, so I haven't had time to knit a second sock yet.

Wedge, the multicolored sock, I actually did knit the second sock, but forgot to refer to my Ravelry notes and made it too big (it bunched on my ankles). Turns out the first sock I switched to smaller needles after the 3rd repeat, not on the heel... so I ripped out the second sock.

Pointelle, the aqua sock, I meant to knit on vacation, but also didn't bring my notes with me, so I was unsure about a detail. Not wanting to have to totally reknit it, I set it aside. I'm now working on the heel flap of the second sock.

The rainbow sock I have no record of starting. I remember doing it, but don't remember when I did it... I don't have notes for this one, so the second will have to be knit while following this one pretty carefully.

The red sock (lace rib?) I did quite some time ago. I took careful notes of how many repeats to do at each point. Then Kevin threw them away... It will be tough to match it, so I've been putting it off.

A crafty round up! (oops, it's a novel)

I finished another "pair" of socks- well, sort of.

The blueish socks I finished awhile ago, and I actually only started them because the stripey looking socks I had taken to work and needed something to work at while I was at home.

Well the blueish socks are "Pointelle" from Knit. Sock. Love and they practically knit themselves. Plus, they have a diagonal pattern across the foot, and I am just a sucker for that.

The stripey socks are "Wedge" also from Knit. Sock. Love. They are a really clever design- a regular variagated yarn is turned into an interesting patterning yarn by using short rows to create garter stitch wedges that cause the pooling/striping pattern of the yarn to break up into a new pattern. Look closely (or enlarge the picture, if you can) and you should be able to see garter stitch bands and stockinette bands. This also marks my first short row toe. I don't love it, but it is really neat how it makes a little pocket for your toes.

So what else crafty happened? I made a stocking for my niece (picture soon- the name on it is drying, then I'll spend a week trying to get glitter out of the fleece top.)

I also made a quilt top for my friend Andi, who is having a baby in January. I need to figure out if my friend Sarah also wants one. I didn't make one for Shanna (and wish I had)- but bought her a registry gift, it's possible Sarah would rather have a "thing", I don't know. (Andi has always been more quirky, so I figured she'd rather have a homemade gift...)

I also went to Joann's- twice. I did the black friday thing, and on after thought probably didn't have to. I didn't do the super cheap flannel, so everything I wanted was still there the next day. Still, the knits I got weren't back on the shelf- so is that because I bought them and they weren't restocked, or because someone else did? And one of the butterick patterns I wanted wasn't available- so maybe if I had waited, I wouldn't have found even more.

I also met a group of ladies who do sewing and knitting for "The Premie Project"- they make blankets, kicking bags, and sadly bereavement gowns for all the premies at UIHC. Their website says they make 900 blankets a year- and based on the probably $2,000 of flannel they bought, I believe it. (They had 3 baskets stacked 6 feet tall with bolts of fabric, and bought the entire bolt of each one!) I filled out a form to volunteer by sewing for them. Totally worth the 6:00 a.m. trip.

So what did I get a Joann's?

10 Butterick patterns (2 are the same- in two different sizes. OF COURSE, I fall between the size range)

Red rick-rack for Rylee's stocking

A fabric yo-yo maker (stupid, but I've always wanted one and it was half off)

2 skeins of Red Heart Super Saver to knit more monsters (Luke green and Brody blue!)

2 yds Black cotton fabric for the back of the quilt for Andi

2 yds Denim to make skirt

2 yds each of 2 different Jersey fabrics- a dark flora and a bright green geometric print

1 yd Daisy patterned fleece

2 yds Sports ball patterned fleece

1.5 yd White fleece (annoying! It was "anti-pill" not "blizzard" so not on sale! But I needed a teeny bit for the stocking)

1.5 yd Baseball print fleece

1.5 yd of home decor fabric for a purse.

So what am I going to do with all the fleece? Well, I don't know yet, but I tried to get mostly boy prints in case a nephew project comes up (the Daisy was with Rylee in mind), and it was really cheap (2.99 a yard!) Fleece is what I use for purse linings, so it will get used eventually.

All this stuff, I "saved" $270.85. Sure I did- that's counting patterns at full price, and no one buys them at full price. But even still, I saved a ton. The who purchase was only $71 with tax.

And then I went again today- to pick up a rotary cutter refill. Well, a few other things fell into my basket...but everything was half off. Plus, like yesterday I had a 20% off everything coupon)

Rainbow Batiks fat quarter bundle (I love batiks)

The rotary blade I went for (those suckers are expensive... thank goodness it was on sale)

A diamond grid quilting template (for falling block quilts!! fancy!)

A square grid quilting template (Linda used one at my house and it seemed so neat- I need to figure out how to use the angle guides in the middle...)

2 spools of thread

Yellow top quilting pins (so weird- they have the exact same pins with a different label on the notions wall, those weren't on sale- just the "quilting" ones.)

Today, I only saved $35.58 (those patterns REALLY add up)... and spent $26.

So $100 isn't too bad for black friday weekend shopping.

What I haven't done yet: personal statement for my grad school application. MUST DO for tomorrow

I still exist...

... I'm just a bad blogger.

See, nothing interesting happens in my life. But I'm posting to share with you a pair of socks I made today. These are "In and Out" from Cookie A's new book "Knit. Sock. Love."- Cookie A is definetly my favorite sock designer. This book was a bit expensive, $26.95 (plus $5.95 for the pdf- which helps since I always copy the designs to work from them- so this way I don't have to break the binding trying to get the book into the copier) but it's totally worth it. First off, retail price of her patterns is $5-$8, and I'll knit most of these designs, but it also is appearing to be error free. Her Interweave Knits book "Sock Innovation" was riddled with errors- and testers said they weren't there early in the process, so they were publisher errors, not author errors. Error free is a really nice bonus. The book is very arty- with lovely photos of the sock, but really, the patterns are what I'm most impressed with.

I also got Sock Yarn One Skein Wonders in the mail this weekend. It's mostly non-sock patterns using fingering weight yarn- tons of them (101 I think). I marked ones I want to knit, and it is definetly enough to make the purchase worth it- $2.82 on barnes and noble, plus $4 shipping- a $7 book is a great deal. (Shipping is free with a $25 purchase- but every book I wanted was way cheaper on amazon, where we already get free shipping with prime.)

The other thing I just got- my wee ones stitch marker (seriously, look her up on etsy.) I'm hoping Kevin will photograph them- I got an orca, a penguin, a beluga, and a polar bear. I used the orca and the penguin to mark the sides of this pair of socks- everytime I knit to it, I just smiled!

Now I'm off to JC Penny's hoping to find something nice on sale. My coworkers have told me my wardrobe needs updating (we did a lunchtime shopping trip on Friday and I got a cute jacket- my facebook photo right now- that will hopefully replace my ever present red fleece, it is so cold at work)

And now you all see why I don't blog- I have nothing to say! (Especially now that I'm not skating or dancing, stupid knee)

Everyone don't forget to watch Skate America on NBC today (man I wish I had universal sports)

The urge to spend

Why is it that so many hobbies revolve around buying things for the hobby? Are there any out there at all that aren't like that?

Knitters want yarn, patterns, needles, stitch markers, and more more more
Quilters want fabric. Lots and lots of fabric. Can you ever have enough fabric?
Stamping- omg, don't get me started.

Even my sports hobbies are easy to spend on- skating is a money pit, yoga classes are expensive, and it's just not the same at home. Plus all the cute clothes.

Why is there always an urge to buy?
This morning (and last weekend) I didn't buy more Wollmeise. I'm proud of myself for this, but I have a longing to get more. Why do I need more? I have so much yarn to knit up still. But I have project after project that I really want to do "next". The list of "next" goes on forever... but always there is something new to buy.

Yesterday I cast on for a pair of socks (Mirror Mirror pattern) in Wollmeise 100%. I haven't used this for socks and am a bit worried it won't hold up as well as the 80/20, but my other 100% merino socks seem to be doing fine. I love this fuschia color. I had tried to do "Hearts Afire" in it, but I hated every second of knitting that pattern, and decided to frog after I put the heel on just a little too late and they were too long. I'm on the heel of MM now, hopefully it's in the right position. I hate toe up- it's so hard to tell when to start the heel. Additionally, I'm giving this a go on 2 circs, and it is NOT for me. I keep switching to DPNs for awhile to give myself a break from wrestling the octopus of needles and cords. But I wanted to learn a new technique, so then I go back to 2 circs. I cannot believe people prefer this. Casting on with DPNs is ackward- but the knitting process here is crazy.

An Anklet a Day... Keeps the Stash Away

I'm quickly amassing a huge amount of sock yarn- stupid knitpicks with their gorgeous tonals and irresistable new colors of Felici (OMG the Rainbow color!!)

So when my giant box came yesterday, I thought I should immediatly use up some of it. I only got 1 skein of some of the sock colors, and 50 grams isn't enough for full socks, even for me. So anklets are the answer (I love to wear anklets around the house in the summer. Or with tennis shoes if I go to the grocery store and am not in flip flops.)

I've been knitting socks for quite some time now and figured "I can just wing this". Well it worked! And after casting on at about 2:00, knitting, stopping to do laundry, dinner, watch TV and stuff, the sock was done by midnight. What a quickie! (But let me tell you, that sock blanket messed me up- I kept trying to twist the last stitch of the row on the heel flap, don't do that here!)

So here it is:
An Anklet a Day ...



Yarn: Knitpicks Felici Fingering Weight (shown here in Green Veggies)
Needles: US2 (2.75 mm) or size needed to get gauge
Gauge: 8 st/in
(Note: For the gusset and toe, I've divided the stitches between 3 DPNs for easy explanation, since I knit on 4 DPNs. But if you are used to doing your socks another way just ignore that part!)

C0 56 stitches, join being careful not to twist

Leg:
K2, P2 ribbing for 6 rounds
Stockinette Stitch for 2 rounds.

Heel Flap:
Row 1: (S1, K1) repeat until 28 stitches have been worked, turn work, the remaining 28 stitches will sit on hold for the top of the foot.
Row 2: S1, P27

Repeat these rows 15 times (30 rows total)

Turn Heel:
Row 1: S1, K16 K2tog, K1, turn work
Row 2: S1, P7, P2tog, P1, turn work
Row 3: S1, K8, K2tog, K1, turn work
Row 4: S1, P9, P2tog, P1, turn work

Continue in this manner until all stitches have been worked. 18 stitches remain.

S1, K8, place marker
Gusset:
Needle 1: Knit to end of needle, Pick up 16 stitches- (15 from the slipped heel flap stitches and 1 in between the heel flap and front of foot, I like to twist the stitch after I pick it up to prevent holes)
Needle 2: K28 across front of foot.
Needle 3: Pick up 16 stitches, Knit to marker

Row 1: Needle 1: Knit to 3 stitchs before the end of needle , K2tog, K1
Needle 2: Knit
Needle 3: K1, ssk, Knit to end of needle
Row 2: Knit

Repeat these rows until 56 stitches remaining

Foot:
Knit until 2 inches before the end of the foot.

Toe: (This makes a pointy toe.) The marker should remain from after the heel flap to tell you where the middle of the bottom of the foot is. Divide as follows, from the marker. (Needle 2 is the front of the foot, Needle 1 a 3 are the back.)
Needle 1: 14 stitches
Needle 2: 28 stitches
Needle 3: 14 stitches

Row 1: Needle 1: Knit to 1 stitch before the needle, K2tog, K1
Needle 2: K1, ssk, knit to 1 stitch before the end of the needle, K2tog, K1
Needle 3: K1, ssk, knit to end of needle
Row 2: Knit

Continue until 8 stitches remain. After Needle 3 you'll end up in the middle of the back row, knit 4 more stitches to get to the end of the back row. Graft stitches to finish the toe*

(To graft, or kitchener stitch- another name. Estimate the amount of thread it will take to finish the toe. I like to do about 8 inches, so I have plenty left over. Thread a darning needle. Put the stitches from the back of the sock onto a single needle, hold parallel to the front of foot needle. Insert darning needle into the 1st stitch on the front needle as if to knit, pull the yarn through and remove the stitch from the needle. Insert the darning needle into the 2nd stitch (now the 1st) on the front needle as if to purl, pull the yarn through, leave the stitch on the needle. Insert the darning needle into the 1st stitch on the back needle as if to purl, pull the yarn through and remove the stitch from the needle Insert the darning needle into the 2nd stitch on the back needle as if to knit, pull the yarn through, leave the stitch on the needle. Return to the front needle and repeat the process.

Here's how to remember it: Front: Knit goes off, purl stays on, Back: Purl goes off, knit stays on)

I finished my Tiger Socks quite awhile ago, but never took pictures (so they sat in the living room waiting for me to take one...). I finally asked Kevin today to take them for me (so that I could put the socks away!) and he took a few- with Elsa's help :)

I am really loving these socks. They practically knit themselves, besides the fact that it took me quite a few tries to get the right gauge. They aren't as thick as I thought they would be -the yarn is at least sportweight, and possibly DK- but they are really warm and cozy. The calf increases went well, but I probably should have decreased more at the top, and yet they stay up. (A constant problem with my handknit socks is that they fall down and bunch.) The pattern breaks up once the calf shaping starts, but I still think they look really good. One of the two socks has a gigantic pool of black on the back, but honestly, no one will ever see these- they are just for me. People might see the feet of them, if I wear them with pants, but I'm not a knee-high with a skirt kind of person. I wish I was. I love knee highs.

I've made the best progress on my sock yarn blanket as I could have. You'd think the huge amount of socks I've made I'd have lots and lots of leftovers, but without duplicating them (because I don't want to so early in the blanket) 15 or so squares is nothing in the grand scheme. I took a yarn blank and made it into mini skeins and dyed it up all different ways so I could do more knitting while I'm waiting for swaps. So far I've finished knitting 22 small squares and 1 large square (that takes up the space of 4 squares). I'm estimating the need for 800 (small) squares to make it large lap blanket size.

I went to Yoga yesterday, so won't be going today. It was a different instructor this time- the owner of the studio. She teaches a good class. I felt really badly because through her talking through the class she suggested I sink lower in ackward pose, and well I was already fighting the knee pain so I shook my head "no" and she kind of added "and she says no" and kept moving with the class. As I left class she asked if I had injuries (which I detailed to the other instructor) and I told her I felt so badly and had meant to say something to her (which I was planning on doing before she started the conversation) I felt SO bad ignoring a sugestion in the first class I've taken from her. I appreciate critiques and don't want instructors to be hands off - because I want to do this well, but I can't squat as low as most of the people my age do in ackward pose, and I can't even do camel pose. I'm really enjoying the classes at this studio. My 7-day pass is over and I went ... twice. (And wouldn't have except I replaced my Sunday class with Saturday because it was "free") I just can't go all the way across town on weeknights- I'm too tired. I think what I'm going to do is get a 10-class card to this studio and the one I like less here in Coralville, then I'll do one during the week in town and one during the weekend in Iowa City.

Knitting Round Up

Flat Stanley came to visit me. He picked some yarn out of the stash and made a scarf!

Pictures of projects I've talked about but never posted. Ravelry can be viewed by the public now! Hopefully these links work.

Spring Forward

Cauchy

Seascape Shawl (the Olympic project)

Where's Daffodil Design? Yeah... it's going to be awhile. The crochet edge is horribly hard. It might take me as long as the shawl did. I have to do 23 repeats of the crochet pattern, I did 2 yesterday and wanted to drive the #5 steel crochet hook through my skull. I'm going to try to do 2 more today.

The story of Spring Forward

Look what I did this weekend! That's a lot of knitting right. Can someone pull the string hanging off the sock on the left? That one is all going to disappear...

With Daylight Savings time requiring the clocks to Spring Forward, I decided to revisit the first patterned sock I ever made: Spring Forward.

Now, the first time I made spring forward I used Lion Brand Sock Ease in Lemon Candy and started with size 3 needles. Size 3 needles, were too big, the socks were too big, and after 1 complete sock, I ripped it out and started again. Then, I made the sock with size 2 needles. Size 2 needles produced an excellent sized sock, but I realized there was a problem. The yarn looked like crap. Not only did the striping make it look terrible, but you also just can't see the pattern at all. For evidence, see exhibit A.

Exhibit A from 12/2008: (you'll also notice the toe is a bit tight- hey, I was new at this

Now, as my first patterned sock (3rd socks), I was actually quite proud of these, but they did look like crap. They are still awaiting "frogging". I just need to decide what to use the yarn for instead.

Re-reading my Ravelry notes (see them here for the full story) I see that even as a novice sock knitter, these socks went really fast- just 4 days for a single sock (granted, a sock I had to rip out). And yep, second time around, they still went really fast.

Actually it went even faster. Here's the story of the next spring forwardss.

I started Friday night. I used size 2 needles, my typical sock needles and got started on the twisted ribbing. Man, twisted ribbing is slow, but I finished it Friday night. Saturday I did the first pattern repeat, and tried them on- uh, oh, this seems really big, no big deal, we'll call it the top of the calf, and change to size 1.5 needles for the rest of the leg, continue on. Uh-oh, still too big. Okay, so from the other end of the ball, I'll start a new sock, this time with size 2.5 needles, but only 55 stitches, instead of 66. I did the ribbing and the first half of the repeat- okay, this seems like it will work.

Today (Sunday) I did the rest of the leg, and figured out how the heel and instep pattern will work with only 55 stitches, a bit of play and it mostly works. The only thing I don't like is that there is only one wiggle down the middle of the foot- it doesn't have quite the same look.

The 55 stitches are a little bit tight, I think I'd want it just a bit looser- the lace probably opens too much, but it works. (So weird how first they are too loose and now they are too tight. Taking out 11 stitches is A LOT, but I also went up needle sizes, so I hoped it would work out. It mostly works out... they fit a lot like my potomatuses do- tight on the leg, but loose on the foot.)

So it looks like even revisiting them after I've mastered sock knitting, I'll never get perfect Spring Forwards- but hey, at least they are super fast!

(This yarn, Risata, is the first time I've knit socks with cotton. It's an interesting cotton/wool/elastic blend. I don't notice the elastic at all, but hopefully it will keep them from falling down. The cotton-well yep, my wrists hurt from the knitting...)

Firework socks

I had posted about these socks quite awhile ago, but for some reason, they never got a photoshoot. (Perhaps because I never wove the ends in...)
This yarn is Wild Funnies from Dibadu. The colorway is Feuerwerk (or something like that...) and I am 99.9% sure that means "Firework", and the colors definetly say that. Wild Funnies is a yarn designed to pool, so these socks are just plain stockinette that way the pooling colors can be the main feature of the sock.

I love pooling, and I love the way these pooled! What's so weird is that the first sock I made pooled in a giant column, showing the gorgeous colors in an amazing way, and then when I switched needles for the foot (I do the feet at a tighter gauge, for durability and because my feet are tiny and my calves are not)- they switched to spiral pooling. Cool! Then, I did the second sock, and it began spiral pooling right away. I figured when I switched for the foot, the pooling pattern would change again- nope, it didn't! The feet of the two socks are almost identical. Weird.

When I saw how the column pooling was working, I spent a bit of time thinking about how I wanted that oriented on my leg. I decided it should go on the sides, so I attached the heel so that the front of the sock is mostly black and pink. (I love black and pink...) Chances are, no one will ever see this detail- so everyone marvel at it now... The only thing I don't like about this sock is the heel, with the colors all seperated by black, they don't work together well, like they do when they are put next to each other. The first time I used this yarn, it did that on the leg- it looked so bad. So I pulled it out and set the yarn aside. When using pooling yarns, gauge is a big deal, and the make or break it between ugly and lovely.

And here's the best news of all. Dibadu.de is now translated into English! (I think you still will need to email about shipping to the USA, it doesn't seem to be "set"- also, log in an account- the VAT disappears and the prices go way down...) When I bought this yarn, the site was all in German- I just guessed where everything might be (a shop is a shop right? Language will not get into the way of yarn aquisiton) and then emailed the owner to make sure she could ship to the USA, and it all worked out.

After knitpicks releases their spring yarns, if I don't spend too much money, I want more Dibadu yarns. What is it about German sock yarns? Wollmeise, Dibadu, Opal, ONline? I just can't get enough!

What am I working on now? The other sock for my Dad, and finishing up our "remodel". It will be a LONG time before we get pictures of that though...

Happy Christmas to all!

Keychain Sock

I've wanted a sock blocker keychain ever since I first heard they existed. I bought one like six months ago, and finally knit a sock for it.

(I tried to take artful pictures in the snow.. I failed- just too much white! The color is like the darker one, you can't see the stripes)

Anyhow, it took just about an hour (2?) to knit, and was super fast. It only takes about 2 grams of yarn. I bought the blocker at Crazy Girl (my LYS) but The Loopy Ewe sells them too. Only complaint- the pattern lists no gauge, and thankfully I went with my normal sized sock needles, because if I had used size 0s as written, it would have never fit on the blocker, as is, I'll make the next one longer in the leg.

Also- did I ever show the washcloth I made to match the swiffer? I LOVE it, it scrubs so well.

Yesterday....

I finished this!

This is the "mystery sock" i've been talking about. It was designed for the solid sock group on ravelry and released in a series of 3 "clues"- hence the mystery. But it wasn't a mystery to me.

It's a little too big for me because I wanted to finish the design on the foot panel. It will still fit, but not as well as I'd like. The heel flap (which is shorter than normal) also seems a bit big. It's just an odd fit, i guess. I love the sock and the color is just brilliant. This sock weighs more than any sock I've knit - 51 grams. Thank goodness Wollmeise has super sized skein. I've never gone over 100 grams for a pair before. (I'm not sure I've gone over 80, actually).

I'm also back and working on the daffodil design. My goodness what was I thinking starting that? The rounds are never ending now. I did 1.5 last night. I hope to do at least 2 today.

Wanida

Didn't get to skate tonight (leg still hurts) so here I am.

Finished my Wanida socks yesterday, and took (bad) photos today.
And the "Mary Poppins" pose

Is it October Yet?

I participate in two knit along groups on Ravelry. I am actually a member of quite a few more, but I generally do Cookie A socks and "Sock Knitters Anon".

Cookie A this month is Wanida. I'm very excited and have picked out a Lorna's Laces yarn to use (it's blue.)

SKA this month has 3 challenges: holiday stocking (not happening), men's socks (no way), and a Jeannie lastnamehere design. (I know the last name, but I'm not sure she uses it publicly This is her blog- amazing socks. She is a fantastic designer. I will be knitting a sock she did as a Mystery sock* for another group, out of green Wollmeise.

This will be a great sock month.

*Mystery sock- A knit along group is given 4 clues spread out 1 week apart. You start knitting with no idea what you will end up with. I'm not a fan. But I love using the final products.


In other news: as a skater, it is very weird that on Glee sectionals is before regionals

It is surprisingly stretchy!

The new knitty is out, and before I do my traditional critique, first I'm going to say something about one of the articles.

Toe-up sock knitters, get thee to Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off The JSSBO is awesome. I finished my first Dead Simple Lace Sock and used it and it is almost as stretchy as the cast on I have for my mockery socks- It's so stretchy that it fits across the thickest part of my calf with no problem at all. And it is SUPER easy. How come no one thought of this before. I don't know Jeny- but thank you thank you!

Here is the Rainbow Sock. Remember the yarn? I loved every inch of the yarn, and I love it just as much in a sock. It's a bit more wild than most of my socks (since I tend to do pattern, not color) but man I cannot wait to wear these (still need to make another). It's a bit loose, though at a tighter gauge then suggested, but the pattern has no pull in. I don't think it will sag too much though, so it is totally wearable. I'm not sold on toe up socks (it's so easy to want to quit early...) but Wendy's heel instructions were super easy to follow and produced a great heel. I will try to do a few more and see if I become a toe up girl. You'll notice on the blocker the cuff is stretched out a bit- that's because the bind off is so elastic, but it doesn't pull back in all the way. As long as it pulls back a bit, I'm good with it. Fit on me is more important than fit on a blocker. Also, the idea was to put the pictures in a row, but blogger is not cooperating.

Look- I made almost a whole sock!

(Note from the time I posted this picture until I posted this blog, I actually finished the heel of the rainbow sock. So I DID make a whole sock this weekend, just not really...)

Sock knitting just isn't working out for me lately. The mockery socks are slow slow slow just because time to knit them is short. They are also a little looser than I like, but otherwise pretty good. The cuffs are nice and tall, and I really like that.

The Marlene socks- well, they are bigger than my last try, but still tight on the calves. Who do these things fit? In the sport weight yarn they feel very heavy and thick and not elegent and pretty like the pattern deserves. Not sure what I'm gonna do to make the pattern again, but for now, they are being ripped out I think.

I also started "Dead Simple Lace" socks from "Socks from the Toe Up" by Wendy Johnson. I think I like these okay- the rainbow yarn I dyed is knitting up beautifully, though it's "flashing" on the socks- the blues, yellows, and reds all seem to be pooling and circling around the sock. Still very pretty though. I knew that Wendy was a very very loose knitter- she calls for size 0s for 8 st/in, so I did my standard size 1.5 for a 64 inch sock. I am getting 9 st/in, but I think it's still a little big too loose. How can I have feet that require "wide" shoes, but are also too small for the width of most every sock pattern. I'm going to make them a little too short, that way they need to stretch lengthwise and hope that will make up for the width a bit.

Most hand knit socks call for toes that are 8 stitches or 10 stitches wide on their first/last (depending on the direction) row and end up with super pointy elf toes that look ridiculous when laid flat, but actually work pretty well for my feet. Wendy's instructions for turkish cast on instructed 16 stitches, and since I didn't consider that the direction I knit shouldn't affect what I cast on, it wasn't until I got halfway through the foot that I realized this is making a very very square toe, not a tapered one. As such, the socks aren't perfect for me- the end of the toe of the socks is so wide it doesn't even touch my toes! When I do other socks from her book, I'll make sure to start with only 8 stitches. I've decided I need a "win" though, so I'm NOT ripping them out. They'll just fit a bit wonky, like store bought socks.

Here is a picture of the Mockery Socks. Man these socks are a mess. I did an awful job with them. I had done some "creative numbers" since I wasn't making gauge and had 34 on the instep and 32 on the sole and I meant to move one stitch before starting the heel, but forgot, but then I must have missed a row of decreases because by the time I finished the toe I had 4 more on the top than the bottom... As such they fit kind of wonky, but are mostly okay. I'm sure they'll stretch overtime.

These are some of the tallest socks I've made, and I was freaking out that I would run out of yarn for the second sock. I weighed these and they are 34 grams. haha. (For non-knitters a skein of sock yarn is 100 grams- so 50 per sock). I have plenty! Man are my feet small. These also aren't yarn eaters like Cookie A tends to design.

The pattern looks like it is ripply, but when I wear it, it stretches out over my calf and looks really cool, and very subtle.


Love them, mistakes and all.

Progress...

I thought I should show a picture of Daffodil Design before it gets larger than the gap in the needles (these are 24" circs, I'm hoping I can use them for most of the project, but by the end it will be a very very tight squeeze, so I will probably have to buy another set of needles. That will cost a ton of money, because you know I'm gonna end up getting other stuff too...)

Anyhow this is Daffodil Design. I've made a huge step forward in my knitting with this. Each round has the same pattern repeated 6 times, but I wouldn't call it a simple pattern (you know k3, yo, k3, yo sort of thing)- however- I have found that once I do one repeat I am able to do the other 5 without refering to the pattern. I was actually doing well not refering to the pattern with the next repeat, but then it turned out the motif changed and I had to unknit quite a bit, so I am no longer trying to be psychic. However, the ability to memorize a complicated pattern has eluded me until now, and I am very proud of myself.





This is the "yarn" I am using for the project. It is crochet cotton, so I think it might actually be considered thread.






This is yarn I dyed for Marlene socks. I am really excited to knit Marlene, and now I have sport weight yarn so they should go over my heel! This yarn is a semi-solid blue, the first yarn I've done using Jacquard dyes instead of food dye like Wiltons and Kool-Aid. I'm not sure I love it. It took a few trys to get all the white spots out, and the subtle color differences I put in don't seem to show. However, I never know until I knit it up...

I had previously shown you Marlene in the yarn that I am now using for the Mockery socks, which by the way were not ripped out after all. They are my work socks, which means they get 30 minutes of kniting at lunch. They are ready for heel #1 and I am trying to decide between short row and heel flap, guess it will be whichever the wind guides me to tomorrow at lunch, likely a short row, as those take way less time. I am completly loving them, the subtle pattern, the shine of the silk in the yarn, the GORGEOUS accidental color. It's perhaps the best yarn I've ever dyed, and I'm happy about the pattern I chose. Sorry, no pictures of those yet.