Sunday, June 25, 2006

If the Sock Fits...

Remember the socks I wasn't sure if they were going to fit? Well...they do!

And I got a package from my Secret Pal! I've got the best Secret Pal. I've already read the book and I've got specific plans for the yarn. Thank you Secret Pal!

And finally, I'm about two pattern repeats from done with this:

All I've got left is a full pattern repeat, a half-pattern repeat, neck shaping, casting off (my first three-needle bindoff) and then weaving in the ends. I think it might even fit!

Sunday, June 11, 2006

More Socks. Surprised?

Last post I promised to show you the other pair of socks I was working on. This is how far I had gotten. Since then I've reached a length a little longer than my hand and I'm about 3/4 done with the heel flaps.

This pattern is Knitpics Essential in blue. The pattern is my own, and it's my first cabled pattern. I'm having trouble photographing it. As you can see, I like to make my socks two at a time on one circular. This pair is on my shorter (80cm) size 1 circular Addi Turbo.



The pattern is a six-row repeat in panels. I had originally planned to have the same center panel on the sides, but I ran the stitches on the sides down and just have a panel of knit stitches. Essentially, the panels are 4 knit stitches wide separated by a five-stitch purl 2 knit 1 purl 2 panel. There are four main panels with four separating panels.



Four of the 4 knit stitch panels are cabled (one twist every six rows) and two of them (front center and back center) are three rows of knit 1 purl 2 knit 1 followed by three rows of knit 4. This alternating knit/purl panel is in the second of the three knit 4 rows when the cable panel is at the row to twist the stitches. And the cables twist in toward the center of the foot in front and toward the center of the back leg in the back.



Got that? (eek!)

Edelweiss says, "I'm trying to sleep here, do you mind?"

(Standard response, "Yes, but not well.")

Edelweiss would not be the cat in this story. But the cat who raised me was fierce enough to be. The fiercest dog in the neighborhood was afraid of the cat who guarded me when I was a kid.



Ok, I'll admit it. I would've gotten a lot more of the blue cabled sock done if I hadn't gotten side-tracked. Ingredients: Cascade Fixation. Intense Curiosity. Mix in a little bit of insanity and you get a pair of Hedera in Fixation. I have no idea what size these socks will be after they've been washed. I used size 2 needles, the called-for 60 stitches around, shortened the heel-flap considerably (I read the pattern wrong, made it half the number of rows called for and concluded it was just about the right size) and ignored her toe instructions completely and used a standard decrease four stitches every other round. For all I know, that's what her instructions translate into. I just don't know.

In the meantime, I have to admit I have absolutely no idea what size these will be after they've been washed. I hope they fit human feet. (I hope they fit mine!) If I ever get my hands on more Fixation (and I definitely want more Fixation) I'll do what my sock pal did and make the broadripple socks. Let's be serious here - this is the yarn the pattern calls for. Don't ask me what I was thinking when I decided to do something completely different. I'm sure it seemed sensible at the time.



But I've gotten addicted to the Hedera pattern. These are going to be Hedera in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock. I've already started them, even though I'm still only on the heel flap of the blue cabled socks. I really enjoy this pattern, can you tell?

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Socks for Me!


This is the second pair of socks I've knitted for myself. The socks I've knitted for myself have been learning experiences, so I'll tell you about it. At the recommendation of an old thread on the socknitters' list, I picked up Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. What I really liked about this book is that it gives you specific instructions for several different styles of heels and toes. What I didn't like about the book, but knew to expect from her previous books, is that she gives you specific instructions for making socks. If you want to make what she's showing, you've got to get her gauge, or figure out what gauge you need to use her pattern to fit your target foot.

So I started out knitting the Gentleman's Sock with Lozenge Pattern on page 41, got a few inches into the sock and decided I'd had enough following instructions and I would modify the pattern for my purposes. So this sock is "inspired" by that pattern, but I deviated in the following ways:

needle size: 1
stitches around: 70
yarn: Sockotta ... The yarn was fine, but I really don't care for the colors. It's the color saturation I don't get along with. They remind me of faded dungarees and I just ... won't buy that kind of color again. And I've discovered that I really don't like those self-patterning yarns.
cuff: I followed the pattern, but I did it for half the length called for by the pattern because I didn't have enough yarn to make longer socks.
heel: I decided to try my first-ever dutch horseshoe heel. I don't like the feel of it on my feet and won't be knitting it again.

I like the lozenge pattern, and I'm thinking about doing a pair using the King Charles Brocade pattern, thanks to Franklin's blog bringing it to my attention back in February. And the seam stitch made an interesting change, but I think I'll go back to the heel-stitch heel with no seam stitch for the future.

Oh, and it was a real challenge to translate this pattern onto one circular, but I did manage it.

I've got pictures of the next sock I'm knitting, so I'll post about that later, since I'm being offered breakfast and I'm not as stupid as I look.