Socks

If you're a sock knitter you know there are some pretty fabulous sock patterns out there. I mean really, some of these people design absolute works of beauty. If you can't just take my word for it pick up any of the books by Cookie A or Anna Zilboorg and you'll get a taste of what is out there. And although I greatly admire these socks and the artistry behind them I never knit them.

I'm a barefoot kind of gal and socks to me are merely an article of clothing for which there is a single purpose. It eventually gets too cold to continue running around barefoot so socks keep your feet warm. Then of course there is that thing about doing the same thing twice cuz I do have two feet, and repeat performances around here is NOT the norm.

BUT

Socks are excellent take along projects. The tiny little things slip easily into your purse. And unless you are creating one of the magnificent socks from the above mentioned designers (or countless others) you don't even need a pattern or chart. Socks are nice unobtrusive knitting that can go with you on a moments notice. Thus I always have a sock on my needle(s).

BUT

No pattern socks get boring after a while.

BUT

Every new pattern has me adapting it for my narrow, high arch, foot.

THUS

My love/hate need/apathetic relationship with socks has often had me at odds in my knitting world. Until a few months ago.

Once again I turned my attention to the sock knitting goddess known to us mere mortals by the name Cat Bordhi. Her latest book , over a year old now, is "Personal Footprints for Insouciant Sock Knitters: Book Two in the New Pathways for Sock Knitters Series" has shall we say started me on a new path. (Please don't ask me to say that title out loud. I'm a fairly well educated person but I am also phonetically challenged, and it makes me feel stupid.) Regardless of any petty personal affront I have regarding the title, the sock knitting technique in this book genius. I have found my rhythm and I'm churning out sock at lightening speed.

OK, perhaps not whole socks but I've got a lot of footprints made. :o) This is what I've done since Christmas.

On the lower left are 6 footprints. In the center are 10 socks in progress, and on the right are 2 pair. There are another 2 footprints in the knitting bag in the car and 2 complete pairs in the laundry.

This is what a footprint looks like.

The vertical marking thread tells me how many rounds I've knitted and where I've put my increases. The jog in the vertical marking thread is where my increases begin. The horizontal marking threads is where leg will go after I slip the stitches onto needles and snip and unravel the stitches between. The thread at the very top is a holding thread for the last of my heel stitches that will be closed up after the sock is complete.

I gotta tell ya, if it isn't obvious, making these footprints is addicting. I can zip through a footprint in an evening. Granted I'm using size 3 or 4 needles and while I'm not doubling the sock yarns I also using a carrying along thread or a cobweb weight yarn with it so my stitch count at its greatest is only 48 stitches.

Yes, I like my socks thicker than most people, it helps them fulfill a sock's purpose (its sole purpose snort) of warming my feet and as an added bonus makes my shoes fit my narrow feet better.

Those of you studying the pic might notice the blue gray sock center bottom looks a little bigger. It is, I figured out Joe's footprint too, I was beginning to feel guilty about all my new socks. Yeah, I know, pretty unselfish of me, go figure. lol You might also notice, although I know the pic is pretty crummy, but none of the socks completely match each other. Most of the footprint parts do, sort of, but not many of the leg portions do. I'm playing with new stitch patterns, and stripe counts. So from here on out, I'm pretty sure my socks are going to be mostly fraternal and not identical. Another added bonus to bulking up the sock yarn with a carry along yarn/thread I can usually get three socks out of the typical 400-ish yards of sock yarn. Three socks, fraternal triplets. That's a good thing when you have a family member who likes to eat hand knit socks.

Skewed again

Thought you'd like to see the finished pair.


Pretty sexy for a sock huh.





Very rarely does the foot of a sock fit me so nicely. Granted the leg portion is a tad bit looser than I would like but, that is pretty normal for my scrawny ankles. They still stay up and don't slouch so they get a thumbs up from me. Next time I'll incorporate the sizing modifications the Yarn Diva has been working on. Check it out. There is something there for everyone, higher instep, roomier legs, thinner legs/ankles, and roomier heel back. I'd say that just about covers it. :o)

The details of the pair I made aren't too thrilling. I followed the pattern, pretty much, (I did make the second sock with a broader toe 10 stitches per needle rather than 6) but then I did run into some trouble of my own making. When I first began the journey of this sock I started out using Bernat Sox then I got kinda bored with the color and decided to stripe the socks with a random beige I had sitting around. I think using both yarns and making the stripes was a good call.



Bernat Sox only on the right, Sox and random beige solid striped EOR on the left. I knitted along swiftly working the Sox yarn on the rows that had the stitch manipulations and the random beige on the plain even rows. Added bonus doing it this way, I never had to give a thought as to what row I was on and it certainly made counting rows much simpler for the these old tired eyes. It worked great, that is until I reached the short row pairs on the leg. Ooops. Short row pairs giggle/snort. The eagles eyes among you may have already noticed it in the photos above. See how the stripe pattern changes from a 1x1 color sequence to a 2x2 color sequence? See? On the top of the left sock. When I was working that portion of the sock I was too drugged up and dancing with the devil to care much about a little change in the stripes. I wanted to see this new sock on my foot! I trusted the new to me pattern and soldiered on switching to a 2x2 sequence to easily follow the pattern. Notice by the time I got to the same spot on the right sock I decided to tackle the "problem" of the inherent need for the 2x2 color sequence through the short row pairs. It's not something I'd recommend, doable obviously, but not recommended. It would have been easier if I had been using dpns but on 2 circs it was kinda fiddly. A striped pattern could easily be done, without a single glitch if I had used the 2x2 sequence throughout the entire sock. Live and learn, isn't that why we exist anyway?

Still have plenty of yarn left so I'm casting on for a 2x2 sequence tonight, incorporating the thinner legs/ankles mods the Yarn Diva has suggested. I'm pretty sure Skew is now going to be my always-on-the-needles sock pattern.

I'm Skewed

but in a good way.

I think.

I have fallen completely and totally in love with the sock pattern Skew
(Rav link here) It has everything going for it in my book. First off I couldn't get my brain twisted around as to how the sock pattern worked, which is a huge plus in my book. Secondly there is something, just a little thing or two, in every other row, with a plain row in between. A fabulous attribute for when you have to rip back, or get your head ready for the next trick on the following row. Thirdly, it looks amazing. And fourthly, it is a genius way to use all those beautiful to look at but not so fab when knitted handpainted or self-striping sock yarns, of which I have lots, but never ever use cuz I'm just not a crazy sock color kind of gal.

The down side of the pattern is that it only comes in one size (not mine, it's too big) and there are some notes available here for making it a larger size (another bummer for me) But seriously, when has that ever stopped me? So far I have started this sock 4 times. Don't be discouraged, I'm not, in fact I am still full speed ahead.



My first attempt seen above in the nine o'clock position was worked on zeroes 9 stitches to the inch. It failed cuz I left out the entire mid-toe section. duh. The second attempt shown above at high noon was also worked on zeros and I thought it was going just peachy. Even worked pass the heel and began the leg portion. Hmmmm the foot is a tad bit too tight, my gauge was too much smaller obviously, highlighting the only other downside this pattern has. That downside being I haven't found a good way (or at what point) to try on the sock in progress to check the fit. Up until I finished the heel I thought the fit was spot on. The sock at three o'clock is done using a slightly heavier yarn and worked on size three needles. I really wanted to start that sock on 2's but could only find one size two needle. I think it is going to be too big, remember, I haven't gleaned a proper way of checking fit while the sock is in progress, I haven't pulled it out just in case. I was getting 27 stitches to 4 inches instead of 31 stitches so it will prob'ly be too big. The latest attempt is at six o'clock. I'm thrilled so far, even though I haven't gotten very far. I think it is going to work.

Oh no, did I just tempt the knitting fairies? Naw, they messed with me enough this week. Case in point, the Ravelympics and the Knitting Olympics beginning just two days after they have smitten me with this sock pattern. Could they be any crueler? I committed myself to 4 events. Egads.

The Ravelympics:

The Flying Camel Event
438 grams to be spun


276 grams spun 621 yards 2-ply sport-ish wt. Graduated coloration.
162 grams left to spin

The Sock Hockey Event & The Nordic Colorwork Event
Faroese Footlets



As you can see I was just a little bit tensed and slightly stressed when I was teaching myself this two-color knitting. The first one (on the right) is so much smaller than the other. sigh. I'm sure it will block out. um. er. I'm sure it will.

The Short Track Shawls Event
Citron


I chose this one precisely for the mindless-ness of it considering the other events needed a little bit more conscious effort. I've gone a little too mindless, and my stitch count is way off, I messed up the beginning, and I don't think the pattern and yarn are a good match. sigh.

I have yet to even begin my Knitting Olympics entry Drops pattern 116-53.

I think I'm skrewed. Or maybe my thinking is just skewed? I can get all this done right?

Seriously?

LOL

Legs and Cuffs

Nearly finished and there has been no lessening of my enthusiasm for this project. OK, so that isn't a saying a whole lot considering I only started this on Sunday night, but still..... It has been extremely inspiring and motivating too, my brain is mulling over the next group of socks to be done already.




At this point I'll continue working the legs/cuffs in a k2p2 rib until I run out of each yarn. I'm pretty sure I'll do the EZ sewn bind off.

Unfortunately I won't get much knitting time in today, Gillian and her man Nick are coming home tonight to attend a wedding in the family on Saturday. I've already warned her regarding the chaos in her room/my work room, but I still have to at least clear a path for them. :o)

Progress

I am sooooo loving this. The foot of each sock will be done today and then onward to the heels, might even get those done today too. :o)

Here are a few thoughts/observations I have so far in case any of you guys wanna give this a go. (and I strongly recommend it)

I really like using two circs in this circumstance instead of using one and the magic loop method. Granted I don't have a needle long enough for a magic loop but having said that, even if I did, I'd still use the two needle method. IMHO two circs is less "fiddly" than magic loop and maintains the knitting rhythm. The needles I'm using are 28 inches and as always I'm using needles of different colors. Using differently colored needles eliminates any confusion there might be when turning and grabbing the needles to knit, plus you always know where the beginning of the rounds are, which are the sole stitches, and which are the instep stitches.

I haven't had any problems with the yarns getting all tangled. All 12 balls are in a small ziploc bag. It's a snug fit but it reduces the possibility of the balls getting all jumbled around each other. Every now and then I'll let the ziploc bag dangle to release any twisting of the yarns. It isn't a tangled twist merely a turning of all the yarns together like a neatly plied rope. I have found that it is easier and less likely to cause tangles if I pull out the working yarn slack for all 12 yarns at once rather than pulling it out one yarn at a time. I was planning to stuff each ball of yarn into it's own sock as soon as the foot/feet were large enough, I prob'ly won't bother, I'm not having any tangling issues. (might consider doing it at heel time though)

The next time I do this I think I'll separate the pairs and not have two socks of the same color next to each other. I've only used the wrong yarn once and realized my error after only 3 stitches. If I hadn't noticed that could have been a huge PITA.

Next time I'll prob'ly make all the toes one at a time "remotely". In other words, I'll make a toe then transfer it to the needle(s) I will ultimately be using (just cuz I think it would be quicker) Here I used a short row toe that starts off with a provisional cast on of half the stitches, when the toe is complete half the stitches are live and half are sitting there waiting to be freed of the scrape yarn holding them. This made it super easy to slide the second needle into the cast on stitches and begin knitting the rounds of the foot.

I've been thinking hard about what heel to use and how to do it. Certainly any heel would work but the back and forth turning of some heels could cause some major tangling of yarns especially if heels are made one a a time. Hmmmm, work all the heels at once or work them one at a time or work them one at a time remotely, aka on different needles? Not sure what I'll do it yet, although I am leaning toward working them all at once. When experimenting one should be consistent in their methods right? btw I think I'll use the Balbriggan heel although it is supposed to be a cuff down heel I like the way it looks toe up too.

I haven't given any thought to the leg/cuff yet. Prob'ly this time around a simple rib, the yarns are nothing fancy or super nice, just scrapes really, and I have plenty of yarn for more socks.

Finding Mojo

Just cuz my last attempt at finding mojo didn't work out so well it doesn't mean I stopped searching for it. Last night I cruised through a couple places in Ravelry and found something that piqued my interest. Yes, it is a little out of the ordinary, but really, lets be honest, when has that ever stopped me?

Let's examine the worthiness of this new project:
Is there potential for failure? You bet.
Is the frustration quotient high. Could be.
Is it a relatively short term project? Kinda.
Do I have all needed materials and tools? More or less.
Will there be an end product? Yup.
Is aforementioned end product something I desire. Yes.
Have I ever attempted anything like this before. No, not quite.
Can I start it right now before I lose my enthusiasm? Yep.

Added Bonuses:
Is this project portable? Yeah, maybe.
Is it silly? Of course.
Are there any added benefits to this method/technique? Yes.
If things don't go right and it does fail is the work salvageable? Yes.
Could pain or injury be involved? Doubtful.
(Something I should have asked Saturday)

Hmmmm, looks like I have a winner here.

I started my version of the project last night.




Six pairs of baby socks on two circs.
My deepest gratitude to Brian at Skacel for this mojo butt kicking project.

Balbriggan heel

I adore this heel!!!!


I stumbled upon it in a vintage knitting book....another thing I love. :o)

Um yeah nice pix huh...sorry I can only contort myself to an extent. Did you notice the sock isn't even done yet?....yeah that's so I could try it on both ways. And my ribbing ends at an odd place, I should have continued it down the instep. Oh well this pair is just an experimental pair anyway the sock pictured above is worked cuff down, its mate will be toe up. :o)

Why do I like this heel so much? Plenty of reasons, primarily I like the fit. It is also a very intuitive heel, not a lot of stitch counting, and/or wrapping and lifting those wraps, and it looks good toe-up as well as cuff down. Sure a short row heel can be worked both ways as well, but this little heel has gussets whereas short row heels usually do not.


I've already got plans for a cute little vine or flower growing up out of that seam on the back of the heel. A perfect heel for clog socks!

There are some aspects of this heel I dislike, but I've figured a way to get around those. I'm not exactly sure if the more recent renditions of this heel in some of the current sock books out there address these points but the way my circa 1940's pattern explains it is a really fiddly heel. The 40's era pattern has 2 yarn ends to be worked in plus my nemesis the kitchener stitch....ick.

The adaptations I do eliminate the cutting and rejoining of the yarn (thus the ends) and the grafting.

Here's a few notes on how to do the balbriggan heel with some modifications. (ie minus the cutting and joining and the grafting)

If you'll notice this heel allows you to take whatever pattern you're working almost all the way down to the sole. Without having a whole lot of experiences with this heel yet, about all I can tell you is work the leg to the length you want so it just grazes the top of you instep and then begin the heel.

You will use half the total stitch count for the heel. An even number of stitches works best, and if that number is divisible by 4 you're golden. :o)

Here is a quickie row by row for a heel on 28 sts.

Heel flap: work 15 rows in stockinette beginning on a purl row (WS).

Begin heel shape/turn:

Row 1: k5, ssk, k5, ssk, k2tog, k5, k2tog, k5

Row 2 and all even rows: purl

Row 3: k5, ssk, k3, ssk, k2tog, k3, k2tog k5

Row 5: k5, ssk, k1, ssk, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k5

Row 7: k5, ssk, ssk, k2tog, k2tog, k5

Row 8: purl

This is where you would normally divide the remaining 14 stitches on two needles and kitchener stitch them together, but since I don't like doing that.....

Row 9: K7, place the remaining 7 stitches on a second needle and forget about the working yarn for a while all you'll be working with are loops.

Begin with the center two stitches, one from each needle and "weave" the stitches over each other "eating" one of them. How do you weave them together? Simple, take a stitch from one needle and lift it over a stitch from the other needle. You just eliminated one stitch by "weaving" them together. Now lift the this woven stitch over another stitch from the other needle. Continue eliminating stitches alternately until one stitch remain. There you go, a nice little seam done without kitchenering and you have your working yarn right where you need it.

To finish the heel:

This one heel stitch on your needle is now the new beginning of the subsequent rounds. Pick-up and knit 18 stitches, knit across the instep stitches, pick-up and knit 18 stitches. You are now at the beginning of the round again. Start decreasing one stitch at the heels stitch/ instep stitch junctures until you reach your original stitch count and your heel is complete. In this example 56 sts. (56 stitches makes a nice sock for me in sport wt.)

If you try this heel yourself let me know how it goes. I think you can see the decrease pattern that creates the heel cup, if you have trouble figuring it for a different stitch count feel free to drop me a line. I've crunched the numbers for all even numbered heel stitch counts from 20 sts to 44 stitches.

Sock Bag

As foretold, my new sock bag.

Of course it has to have shoulder length straps, preferably ones that can be knotted to make the straps shorter just in case I ever want to carry it like a handbag.




It also has to be small cuz it will never be the only bag I'm carrying, and prob'ly not the only knitting bag! It also has to have a no hassle access to the project so a quick stuff and the knitting is put away.



See? That's the jaywalker on the needles from the last post. A simple slip of the cord around the big button and the top opens to reveal the sock I'm working on.

Now turn the bag to the side and you can see the zipper.


Open the zipper and reveal the interior.


Plenty of room for extra yarn, there are 3 balls of yarn in there, enough for 3 pairs of baby socks, or perhaps the equivalent of one adult size pair of socks. Also inside is my set of short dpns with a few other needed tools for sock knitting, all my circular needles for sock knitting, plus a little pattern book. You can see the circular needles in their pocket that is the side of the bag just unzipped and folded back. See them sticking out of above the fold on the top?


This is the tiny pattern book and the dpn case.


The tiny pattern book has a suede cover with the same paisley fabric in the inside. It's the size of an 8x10 sheet of paper folded into 8 rectangles. The leaves (or groups of pages) can easily be added or removed at anytime. Short pithy directions are all you really need for most sock patterns so it's plenty big enough.


And here is my new dpn case. It too is covered with suede inside and out. It is kept securely closed with the elastic cord that crosses inside to help keep the dpns and other tools a little bit more orderly. I haven't decided how I'm going to finish the ends of the elastic yet. So for now they are just laying there loose within the case.



Just in case you might want a bag, dpn case and tiny book, I'll give some thoughts on making your own.

The bag itself began it's life as a six-pack cooler. I removed the original lining, and insulation foam on all sides of the bag except the original "top" of the bag (the side that has the zipper around three sides.) Leaving the original lining on that portion of bag makes the pocket for the circular needles.

The original "back" of the six-pack cooler is now the top of the bag. I simply made a rectangular "pouch" out of the paisley fabric, cut out the center of the original six-pack back and sewed the pouch in place allowing it to fall into the inside.

Because the six-pack fabric itself is a little stiff, plus the added exterior fabric, simply pleating/folding the sides of the bag to make the overall triangular shape of the bag is enough and there is no need to secure the pleat. The placement of the eyelets and the length of the cord does help the pleats/folds to behave though.

Remember all those AOL cds they use to send out? That is what the dpn case is made of. Most of the time they were just plastic cases about the size of a paperback novel, this one was more like a fiber board box and little smaller. Rubber cement affixes the suede to the box really well and a tiny drill bit is all you need to drill the holes for the elastic cord.

As for the pattern book, obviously I'm not going into the whole book making thing but I do want to share with you how the pages are made. I wish I could remember where I found this little gem, but it was eons ago and I honestly don't remember it was many years ago. I think you can find the same thing on the Instructables website but I know I didn't find it there first.


Isn't origami the boom? An eight page "book" out of a single sheet of paper. You can squeeze a couple more pages out of this by making a few more cuts after all the folding is complete, but you also lose some of the integrity. I like using graph paper to make these, no worries regarding the orientation of the lines plus when used as above in a tiny little pattern book, it eliminates the need for a tape measure (4 squares to the inch!).

I'm sure you can find several applications for this little "book". Of course the grandkids love having their own "books" and they are fab for organizing a long list of to do's and errands that need to be ran, ie groceries on one page, pharmacy on another, home improvement store on another, outside chores, inside chores, etc.

Almost FO's

Nope none of these are finished. Some need buttons, some need blocking, some need ends worked in and some need seams.

Ick.

At least for now it is ick. I don't mind the blocking bit, and buttons? eh, if I find/have buttons I like. But the other finishing tasks.....?.....let's just say I have a hate/love relationship with them. Notice the hate part of that equation comes first, and to be quite frank is the typical sum total of my feelings on the matter. Usually. Maybe it's just me, but I can and will let a so-close-you-can-almost-wear FO sit idle for days, weeks, months, and if the whole true be told, occasionally years!

I can't explain it other than to say, as much as I detest the chore of finishing, I do have days (rarely, but they do occur) that all I want to do are finishing tasks. I figure since this baby is still several months away from making his/her debut the chances one of those extremely rare finishing days will come, hopefully. :o)

I've thrown caution to the wind and have just been knitting willy-nilly. Note the various sizes of the above pictured sweaters and socks. It is an undeniable fact that the child will grow, so as long as it is not too small to begin with, it will fit at some point. Another reason for my hit and miss approach to this knitting is believe it or not, massive stash notwithstanding, I have a very small amount of baby appropriate yarn. Darn the luck, I have to do some yarn shopping, sigh. ;o)

There's not much new under the sun up there in that photo. Of course there is an EZ Surprise (red), and an EZ Surplice Surprise (yellow). The center blue/brown sweater is the Seamless Yoke Baby Sweater (Ravelry link) [non-Rav link here] This is a really nice sweater. The sweater in the upper left of the photo is a vintage pattern that is eh, the tiny grey sweater is also a vintage pattern but has a very intriguing construction. This sweater will prob'ly never be worn by the baby to be, but certainly a cousin of this design will be. The grey sweater was worked at a gauge of 12 stitches to the inch, to me that's a just a tad bit ridiculous. The huge "sweater" in the lower right isn't going to be a sweater at all, it's just a bodice for a little jumper I have in mind. I have some purple wool to make the skirt but that will be toddler size.

As for the socks, the pink, red, and green socks are just plain old ribbed socks. The yellow socks are The Sweetest Little Baby Socks (rav link) and the blue socks are the Lacy Rib Baby Socks (rav link) [non rav pdf here] Not sure which one of these I like the best, the stitch pattern is very similar. On the needles are baby Jaywalkers, and up next are baby No-Purl Monkeys. (rav link) [non rav link here]

Oooo how do you like my needles??? Yeah I know you really can't see them but I love them! I re-fashioned them myself. I had to, I've been totally obsessed with knitting these little socks. Each pair has been made differently and I don't mean the stitch patterns. I've been playing with different toes and heels, top down and toe up, dpns, 2 circs, and magic loop and having a marvelous time. The only thing that was really bugging me was the length of my dpns. When you've only got 30ish stitches on your needles 7 inch dpns is a little over kill wouldn't you say? So I dove into my stash of needles, yes Virginia, I do have an enormous stash of needles too. A few snips with some wire cutters a little bit of filing and ta da. Now I have 4 sets of 5 dpns, 4.5" long, in sizes zero, one, and two. (I have two sets of size two cuz I made a set out of some vintage casein dpns too.) I know you can buy such things, but making them seemed just as simple, a whole lot cheaper, and besides, all those needles were just languishing in boxes anyway....you have no idea have many needles I have, sigh, and I've even given away more complete sets of needles than I can count, but I digress....

So now that I have all these sock specific shorter needles, plus the fact that a baby sock can be whipped out in an hour or two I needed a bag devoted to tiny baby socks.....doesn't everyone? Tune in soon and I'll show you my new baby sock bag.

Annie/Baby update:
All is quiet and progressing well. No emergencies and aside from a few weepy days (don't we all remember those well?) everything is fine and dandy. Tomorrow we just might learn if this little one is a boy or a girl.

Catching a minute

Today seems normal. It's quiet. But that will be the exception for quiet a while now so I'm snagging this time to update you on what's been on the needles and on the wheel.




This pattern is named Nutkin and you can find it here. There is a chart as well as written instructions for the stitch pattern, but really once thru a couple of rounds you'll have it memorized, it's a very intuitive stitch pattern, thus, a mindless pattern. :o) Love it when I find a "mindless" pattern with so much bang for the design buck. It goes very fast too, case in point, I start this sock last night!

Oh if you're wondering about the white edge at the top, that's just the waste piece I knitted for the tubular cast on. I didn't do the hemmed cuff like the pattern says, I did a tubular cast on with a little bit of 1x1 ribbing.

I finally got around to spinning and plying the pencil roving I dyed when Joyce came for a visit. It's the last pic of the post and the roving that I dyed using the spray bottle method.


The color is close but not quiet right. It is a little less blue and a tiny bit brighter. There is only 264 yards so I haven't figured out what to make yet.

I did work up one more variation of the mousetrap in an adult size. This one is more of a clog style slipper. Now with all the snow we got yesterday and the day before, felting all these "one off sculptural pieces" (giggle/snort) will go fast. I really like using the snow when felting it just makes things go so much faster.

Off to felt the sculptures and finish this sock.

Coriolis

As promised, but of course a day late, the Coriolis sock from Cat Bordhi's New Path Ways for Sock Knitters.







Tech Stuff:
Yarn: Moda Dea Sassy Stripes
#4 needles

Comments:
Numero uno comment is obviously, I love this pattern and adore the book. I tried a reinforced heel on these, not thrilled with it. Personally I don't see the purpose of it. I don't ever have a problem with the heel wearing out on my socks and I don't like the way it feels. I won't be doing this heel again.

I did swirl the other sock in the opposite direction, but I think more pix would be kind of silly.

I've got tons of yarn left over. I used two balls and have nearly an entire ball worth left. I've used this yarn before and I don't remember having this much yarn left over. Maybe I only used one ball for the other pairs, but that doesn't sound right. Oh well, Sillian likes those little anklet/no cuff socks, guess I'll use the leftovers for a pair of those.

These are the second pair of this pattern I've made so far, not counting the baby sock size. I've never wanted to take pix of them cuz,
1) they looks sooooo goofy just laying there and I was afraid people would shy away from the pattern.
2) It's not easy taking pix of sock when you're wearing them.

See how weird they look just laying there?



I've toyed with the thought of getting or making some sock blockers for quite some time, but that idea was waaaay down towards the bottom of my list of things to do. I'm mean really, I'm not a dedicated sock knitter, I usually only churn out plain no frills socks. Socks to me are just a convenient small knit on the go type thing. So what would be the point of showing off something so ordinary and spending the time and/or $$ on sock blockers. On the other hand since I got my copy of Cat's book, and I've been making my way through all the different "sockitectures" the wantoned desire of a sock blocker has been piqued. The patterns in the book are fabulous but when photographed just lying there, well let's be frank, some of them look as if they were made for a feet not of the human size, shape and proportions. Then, a couple of weeks ago, at the SpinIn I found this:



Oh yeah!!!! There was whole box of them for $3.00 each! I considered of course buying two, but alas this was the only knee high leg in the tangle of limbs. Plus it matches my foot and leg measurements perfectly. Oh how could I possibly pass this baby up?? The new "sockitectures" will photograph well, plus it adds an air of completion to my workroom space. I have several body pieces and parts. I've spoke of my girls before, Vivian, Selma, and Chloe, my dressforms, I also have four heads, 6 hanging half torsos, a hand and now a leg. I'm feeling almost Frankensteinish complete, but as creepy as it all is, I'm thrilled.

And now just for giggles. Remember the socks I knitted for Joe for the Oktoberfest? I said I thought they'd be thigh highs on me...what do you think? :o)

4 Days til Oktoberfest

It wouldn't be much of an Oktoberfest countdown unless I posted some progress photos now would it.

First up Joe's hiking socks.


I am soooooo cheating on these. I'm using two strands of WoolEase with #8 needles.

I used the Riverbed Architecture from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways. book for the foot and a very simple 4 stitch mock cable that runs along the outside of the leg. The rest of the leg is k2p2 ribbing. I am kinda liking the way the calf increases are looking. Totally cheated on the increases too, nothing fancy there, just worked the new stitch into one strand instead of both of them. I'm thinking these will be done tonight if there's a good movie on tv.

I guess I should have put something in the pic to indicate the size of these things but you can imagine, 12 inch foot, 22 inches from ankle to knee, and I'll prob'ly add 4 inches of ribbing on top of that. Egads!

The Alpine jacket is turning out quiet nicely, IMHO.

It began as this:




And now looks like this:



I still have the trim to sew on, and the closures. Loving the trim. Got it at JoAnn Fabric for $1.07 a yard.....score! The original garment was a of course a Thrift Store find from eons ago. It's an extremely heavy boiled wool with get this...a flannel lining!! WTF No wonder it was thrifted, it was nearly impossible to get on or off with all that fabric friction going on, so I threw in a normal lining.

And now the lederhosen...............

They too began their life as a Thrift Store find. It's not everyday that one finds a pair of Michael Jordan black leather pants for $5.00. :-) Joe and I picked these up a couple years ago. Oh the possibilities a pair of black leather pants possess as far as costumes go, so into the costume closet they went.....doesn't everyone have a costume closet??? Apparently not. Talking to my Bro the other night telling him about this Oktoberfest project he asked his wife if they had a costume closet? Trunk? Box? Nope. Well, we've got a whole closet, and a box or two.....guess my Bro and I don't travel in the same crowd. :-) One of these days I'll dig up photos from past costume parties, they are sooooo funny. Anywho, whatever possible costume these might have morphed into, a pair of lederhosen was never on my radar. lol

So here's a crummy pic of what the they looked before reconstruction, all full length and shiny black leather.




Now they look like this. Short, turned suede side out, zipper removed and waist band reattached.



Next step in the process is to make the front flap thing. I have to cut along the line that are indicated in the photo below by the pieces of yarn, and add some more leather to make the flap wider. You can see what I mean in the second pic, it is one I snagged from a website that sells the real thing.







Things are moving along swimmingly. Although I have to confess, that the real reason I'm blogging and not working on these things is pure unadulterated fear. The same mind numbing, paralyzing terror you feel when your ready to cut your first steek.

I'll get over it. Prob'ly by the time any of you read this it will have been done, just talking about it makes it better. Plus the fact that I've already scoped out the stash and know that I have enough brown suede to make a whole other pair from scratch if need be. :-)

As for my costume......I've been working on that too. Not a lot to show you though. I've made 2 prototypes of my vest and have tweaked the pattern enough to like the fit, and I've made my blouse. But I'll address my costume in another post.......Maybe later today, if I'm still avoiding the lederhosen. :-P