Tiny robot calculates that these socks are done

Another pair of socks from the great sock startup of 2010. I finished these in December and I must confess that I picked them out of the dirty sock pile to take these photos, gross! Though I think they look quite nice:



Pattern: Child's Sock in Miranda Pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, color Poppy
Needles: size 0 bamboo

Full Disclosure: I made these socks a couple of years ago. With the very same yarn. I had thought I was quite clever by changing the way the leg part decreased so that there was no weird ankle bulge. But then I discovered that the %&*#ing socks would not stay up and instead puddled around my ankles in an even bigger bulge. Consequently, the socks did not get a lot of wear.

So after the sting of failure wore off, I decided to try again. This time, I made the leg shorter with only a slight decrease in the ankle.

Here are my notes: I cast on 68 stitches (holding 2 needles together for a slightly looser cast on). Followed directions until it was time to work the chart. Started at row 45, without decreasing, and knit 6 plain rows instead of following charted pattern, decreasing as written. Work row 51 as written. Skip to row 58 and work through row 65. Repeat rows 52-65. Followed rest of pattern as written.

How about some socks?

I finished these socks last year while visiting southeastern North Carolina (Wilmington, to be exact) over Thanksgiving:



Please visit this previous post to learn of my knitting saga regarding them. Once I had all those decisions made, it was easy and quick knitting.

Number 9 Number 9 Number 9 Number 9

I ran into some issues while knitting Socks No. 9. The leg part was turning out to be too long. If I wanted to make the foldover cuff like the pattern, I would need to rip out some knitting. Then I thought that maybe I should have used reinforcement thread in the heel. So if I was going to rip back part of the leg, perhaps I should go back and reknit the heel. Then I thought maybe I should have used some reinforcement thread in the toe as well. Which would mean I should just frog the whole thing and start over!?!


I decided to take a week off from Socks No. 9 and instead I knit most of a Snapdragon Tam:


(proudly displayed on the cardboard box cat fort that Jimmy made a few months ago and that Pistol and Inky have slowly been destroying)

And then this morning I put Sock No. 9 on my foot and realized that all I needed to do was bind off. So that's what I did, using Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off:



So no foldover cuff. No reinforced heels or toes. I love it just the way it is. Now, on to the second Sock No. 9.

The Story of Sock #9

After finishing my Eunice socks, I picked up one of the neglected socks from my unfinished group, Sock #9 (Pattern Empoissonee, Yarn Lisa Souza Hardtwist Merino Petite). To my surprise, the yarn that I thought would be great for the pattern was not so great. I didn't realize that Lisa Souza's Little Devil colorway would be such a self-striper. And when I started increasing for the gusset, I got a big field of red that I didn't like:



So I picked up a different ball of yarn and gave it a shot. That would be the sock on the right in the above pic. Much better. I had been wondering what to do with that yarn!

Thank you Cookie A, for yet another brilliant sock pattern

Pattern: Eunice by Cookie A from Sock Innovation
Yarn: Crystal Palace Panda Cotton, colorway sprite
Needles: size 1 metal dpns, size 0 for heels
Mods: Other than using a different yarn, I pretty much followed the pattern as written. Oh yeah, I cast on holding 2 needles together to make the cuff a little stretchier.

Panda Cotton may not have been the best choice to use since it's not that stretchy for making cables. On the other hand, the finished product looks great and feels lovely and squishy on my feet. I had only a tiny amount of yarn left when I was done. So if you want to make these socks with Panda Cotton and your feet are larger than US size 5.5, I would recommend getting 3 balls of yarn.

Sock-A-Day Update

People have stopped me in the street and demanded to know how my sock-a-day experiment from June has been going.

Okay, I exaggerate. Maybe one time Chloe asked me about it casually while we were knitting together at lunchtime. I could even be mistaken about that.

Anyway, here's the latest in pictorial form:



1. Bex - haven't touched it

2. Eunice - one done, one halfway to done

3. was Angee, now Marilinda by Cookie A. - using the same yarn. Angee was turning out too big so I'm trying a different pattern

4. Child's Sock in Miranda Pattern - no progress

5. Mingus (not pictured) - frogged. The yarn was obscuring the lacy pattern. I'm going to try Mingus with a different yarn.

6. Gentleman's Sock for Evening Wear - completely neglected

7. Livia - no work done

8. Canal du Midi - turned the heel on Sock #1

9. Empoisonee - needs love

10. Rainbow socks (not pictured at all) - DONE!!! blogged here.

I'm thinking maybe it's time to work on some of the neglected socks. Or maybe start some new ones?

Double Rainbow, oh my god!!!*

I finished these a while ago, just haven't been in the blogging mood recently. . .

Pattern: Rainbow Socks by Susanne Kitzmann
Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight, color Rock Star
Needles: size US 1.5 and 1
Modifications: I knit 4 short row sections for the foot, then knit 3 rounds even. Switched to size 1 needles and knit 1 round, then followed toe instructions.



These socks were a lot of fun to knit and very quick. It's a great pattern for crazy loud variegated sock yarn.

The pattern's directions for doing short rows is different from the way I have usually done them, so I was a little confused at first. But it was cool to try something new.

*sorry, I couldn't resist

Rainbow Brite

Here's a closer view of finished Sock number one of my Rainbow socks. Who knew that short rows could be so much fun?

(I know, how rude of me to show my chipped toenail polish! PS - I haven't shaved my legs in a couple of weeks either, ha!)

Sock-A-Day Challenge

I decided I was sick of having so many sock yarns, needles, and patterns just lounging around so I wanted to get some new projects in the works. But I couldn't decide which project I wanted to start. To get things moving I created a little challenge for myself: how many days could I go if I started one new sock a day with the yarn, needles, and patterns I had on hand?

The answer was:



The details: date - yarn - pattern - needles used

1. June 20 - Panda Silk - Bex by Cookie A - size 1 circ

2. June 21 - Panda Cotton - Eunice by Cookie A - size 1 metal dpns

3. June 22 - Colinette Jitterbug - Angee by Cookie A - size 1.5 circ

4. June 23 - Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock - Childs Sock in Miranda Pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks - size 0 bamboo dpns

5. June 24 - Madelinetosh Sock - Mingus by Cookie A - size 1.5 and 1 circs (Note that the yarn isn't on any needles. I realized I will have to start these over because I cast on too many stitches. . .wtf, self?!!)

6. June 25 - Destination Sock Yarn - Gentleman's Sock for Evening Wear - size 1 bamboo dpns (modifying this to be for a "lady")

7. June 26 - Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock - Livia by Stephanie van der Linden - size 1 bamboo dpns

8. June 27 - Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock - Canal du Midi by Nancy Bush - size 0 metal dpns

9. June 28 - Lisa Souza Hardtwist Petite Merino - Empoisonnee by Yarnissima - size 1 bamboo dpns

10. June 29 - Socks that Rock Lightweight - Rainbow Socks by Susanne Kitzmann - size 1.5 and 1 circs

Most of them were started during the work week so I didn't get much done. Rainbow Sock #1 is finished thanks to my being at home sick for a couple days this week.

I still have one set of size 0 dpns, one set of size 2 dpns, and one size 2 40" circular needle; an internet's worth of patterns; and a storage tub of sock yarn yet to be used. Guess I'll have to do a round 2.

I have yet to decide if I'm going to make up a new challenge to get these all finished. Starting socks is easy, finishing them is a lot harder. . .

Another pair of socks

Done.



Pattern: Vilai by Cookie A from Sock Innovation
Yarn: Tess Super Socks and Baby
Needles: size 1 circs + size 1.5 for ribbed cuffs
Mods: used slightly bigger needles for the cuffs, knit one extra round on the toes before grafting

The yarn seems pretty sturdy so I didn't reinforce the heels and toes. Plus, the part of the heel that I usually wear out is above the short-row heel. The dye came off on my fingers a little as I was knitting, just the grey color, though.

I don't know how it happened

Suddenly I have another sock in the works:



The pattern is Vilai from Cookie A's book Sock Innovation. Even though it looks complicated, it is a breeze. Probably using the magic loop technique speeds it up. And since it's a Cookie A pattern, it's well-written and easy to follow.

I made a short-row heel. Note to self: wrap and turn until there are 9 stitches left in the middle.

Saturday Mochas

I feel like it's been a while since I took a photo like this:


Ta da! A new pair of socks!

Pattern: Oak Ribbed Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: Phoenix Fiberworks Fetish Superwash, colorway Hot Cocoa
Needles: size US 1.5 for top 2", size US 1 for the rest
Modifications: I knit the first 2" of the sock with slighter larger needles so the top of the sock wouldn't be too tight. Reinforced the heels and toes with Lang Jawoll Reinforcement Thread.

I thought it was best to stay simple with such a high contrast colorway. I just let the yarn do its thing. The yarn is on the skinnier side, kind of the same weight as Lorna's Lace Shepherd Sock. It's a good match for the pattern. I once tried knitting the same pattern with Vesper Sock yarn and it came out way too big.




Another mocha, this one is from Sea Breeze Cafe. Mmmm.

A couple of lingering winter birds

On the needles, a wool aran pullover and a cabled sock.



The sweater is yet another Kim Hargreaves pattern, Demi from Vintage Knits. I bought the yarn for super-cheap on eBay a couple years ago with this pattern in mind, I don't know why it's taken me so long to start this.

The sock is an even weirder story. I started making a pair of Spindle socks a few years ago. Then I unravelled them. Now I am knitting them again using the same yarn. I decided to make the heel flap longer this time.

Even though the weather has turned warm, there are still those chilly evenings when it's nice to have some fuzzy wool to knit.

Mocha socks

One done.




One in progress.

My Evening Stockings. . .

. . .are not quite done yet. They used to look like this, but now they look like this:



Yes, they have reverted to a more primitive state. But I still consider them "in progress." I am going to try again, this time with only 1" of rib at the top, and then switch to size 2 needles for the calf, then switch back to size 1 needles for the ankle and foot. Why did I feel the need to unravel them all the way back to nothing? Not exactly sure.

Elf Toe Surprise

When I looked at the picture of the Gentleman's Fancy Sock in Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush, I had no idea that I would be soon knitting socks with pointy elf toes. I thought about changing them to a good old flat toe, but I decided I would keep them as is. So here they are, all finished:



Pattern: Gentleman's Fancy Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks (made for a lady, that is, me)
Yarn: Schaefer Anne, color Butternut
Needles: size 0 metal dpns

Although I kept the toes as written (I kind of love the way the Kitchener stitch is worked sideways at the end, instead of straight across the top like on a flat toe), I did stray from the pattern in a few places. First of all, I didn't do any calf shaping. I cast on 72 stitches, with my yarn doubled, and worked the ribbed cuff and 6 repeats straight. I increased to 73 sts for the heel and worked that as written. I did 6 more pattern repeats for the foot. A half of a repeat looked weird, so I did 10 rounds of stockinette instead of 6 rounds before starting to decrease for the elf toe shaping.



As you might have guessed, I added some orange reinforcement thread to the toes. There is yellow reinforcement thread in the heels, but I ran out of it and couldn't find any more. So I used some orange that I had. Schaefer Anne feels kind of thin on its own.

"Hosiery" is not one of my favorite words

(although it is fun to say with a Baltimore accent)

I feel like I'm definitely making some hosiery here:



I decided to elongate the Evening Stockings for a Young Lady from Knitting Vintage Socks so that they will be knee high socks. I'm at that point now where I keep trying them on to see if they're long enough, even though I know I still have a ways to go.

Not for kittens!!

I started my Garden Gate socks a while ago, but found that they are very difficult to knit when there are two kittens nearby, since two tempting balls of yarn are involved. My solution was to go on vacation to the opposite side of the country from the kittens, find a comfortable spot in a crazy old beach house with way too many doors, and then knit away.

Unfortunately I still have a lot to knit on these socks, so I'll have to figure out something else now that I'm home.

Between the pizza and the cake. . .

. . . a sock was finished. It's a Gentleman's Fancy Sock (for a Lady) from Knitting Vintage Socks. I'm hanging out in a somewhat spooky beach house in Nags Head, NC. A good place to catch up on my knitting.

Well-traveled yarn

I just realized that the yarn I used to make these socks has been across the USA five times. I bought it at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival in May of last year and brought it back to San Francisco. Then it came with me to Brooklyn this April when I was visiting Betsy. And finally it was my knitting project on my trip last week to Maryland and Pennsylvania to see friends and family. Travel broadens the mind and makes a great pair of socks:








Pattern: Marlene by Cookie A., from knit.1 magazine
Yarn: Brooklyn Handspun Soft Spun Plus, colorway Smooth Sailing
Needles: size 2 bamboo dpns

Another great Cookie A pattern. Lots of fun and easy to knit, even when you're stuck on a plane for 5 1/2 hours and the person in front of you has just spilled their water all over your carry-on bag.

Modifications? Why, yes. I only did 6 repeats for the ankle. 26 rows for the heel flap were all I needed. And I kept the ribbing on the toes, which is what the photo in knit.1 shows, but the written instructions are for a stockinette toe. Oh, and I cast on with 2 needles held together so that the top would be nice and stretchy.