Socks Anonymous

they're grooooowing

2007-07-03T17:59:00.001-05:00

Doh! I keep forgetting to take a close up of the bottom, so you can see the yarn better. Because I am sure you are all curious! I'm curious.... Thanks to my awesome Summer of Socks blog reader Barb - the Jaywalkers are looking pretty!

The pattern is a little hard to see in the picture, but what's going on is some rhombuses (or rhombi, according to Merriam Webster), with eyelets in the middle, and the pattern repeats such that stockinette chevrons separate the rhombi. Oh, words.
Yeah, and there is some random diamond at the bottom that I thought I was going to go somewhere with, but didn't!

Yesterday a piece of Verizon equipment broke in the building I work in. This resulted in our entire office being without phone or internet service for the entire day yesterday, and until 12 today. One of the important features of my job is to answer the phones and direct calls (mostly just try and get rid of solicitors...). Other parts of my job rely on the internet (ordering, coordinating guests and repairs with the office of the building, reading knitty....). Thankfully Monday morning I tucked the book I was reading into my bag just in case I had some free time. You Don't Love Me Yet isn't a particularly long book, but I hadn't gotten that far into it. I finished it right around lunch time (1pm for me). You can't go that far where I live and NOT run into a book store, so I stopped by the college book store I work near and I picked up Three Bags Full - somehow I haven't heard of this book yet! It's a very clever book about a flock of sheep who want to mystery of their shepherd's death. It isn't cutesy, but it is filled with some pretty hysterical puns. It treats the sheep very intelligently and left me hanging right up to the reveal. Sometimes the language is dense, which could come from the fact that it's been translated from German, or because it's the author's first novel. It doesn't have a whole lot to do with knitting, but it does revolve around a flock of sheep who are prized for their fleeces.
I give it 5 "Baas!"

Tough toes.

2007-07-01T15:53:00.001-05:00

I can't think of anything clever to say about these socks. Some not-clever things: they feel too big. Not too worried - I am going to push forward, and leave the rest to giving them a good wash when they are done. and maybe a very quick dry. these are going to be some sturdy socks.

What's taking over most of my mind is moving. I just packed one big storage container full of stuff from my kitchen - specifically just one cabinet. I am thinking I'll need to have yet another garage sale, because i didn't comb through the kitchen at all when i had the first one. i have some leftovers from the first sale. So I'm trying not to throw up from thinking about how much crap I have to move and what happens if I don't get rid of it. Moving has never felt so stressful before - but I think it's because I've had two years to accumulate stuff, rather than my past moves, where I hadn't been in a particular place for that long. Whine, groan, moan.

Going to relax and watch some silly TV for a while before I prepare dinner.

Diamonds on the tips of her toes...

2007-06-29T15:56:00.000-05:00

At the moment, as far as the green handspun socks go, I am back to where I was before I frogged them. No more hideous snarls of yarn to contend with. They just about cover my toes. I am almost finished with the pattern motif that I made up, so I am debating whether I want to repeat it, or just go stockinette, or do something different...
Word to the wise: Unless you really know what you're doing, chart a pattern first. I made my pattern up as I was going along, and as a result, messed up the pattern, so the socks are even more fraternal. Still, I am pleased with how it looks, and I am slowly understanding the yin and yang of lacy patterns.
It's Friday, and I am counting down the minutes to go home. I really do like my job, but there are times where I have zero work to do (despite imploring everyone I have contact with to give me something to do). So I knit, read useless online content, and from time to time, blog. I have just devoured a stale Twizzler, and I have a severe movie-theatre popcorn butter craving. (perhaps some pre-PMS...). Sadly, there isn't anything I particularly want to see playing at my local theatre. This means I will probably go home in 27 minutes and make some popcorn. I am determined to be ready for this upcoming move, and I am going to try packing up some of my kitchen. At my best guess, this is the breakdown of my "stuff":
30% kitchen
20% yarn
20% bedding
10% clothing
10% furniture
10% books/knick knacks

Sorry for the horribly boring, intimate details. I am off to meter some mail.

Where are my socks?

2007-06-27T14:06:00.000-05:00

Why am I not finished with them already? Recently, I've been getting my knitting done in my "spare time" - moments where I had time to myself to curl up and knit, watch a movie, or at least a Law and Order rerun. More recently, I haven't had any spare time!
I don't have any new pictures for one good reason - I made some progress on the green socks but I wasn't happy with how they were coming out (too big), so I riiiiiiipped them out. Now they are back to a bit further than the first picture. I am pretty much making the pattern up as I go, but this time through I know where I made mistakes, so they can be avoided. I believe these will be called "Diamondback" socks... Just to tantalize a little.
Where has all my time gone?
-Finding an apartment: I am moving at the end of July (please do NOT remind me that that's only a month away). My roommate and I have searched all around our town to find suitable living accommodations (and it's not like we have that many stipulations, but the pickings are slim for an Aug. 1 move-in date). Last night we scheduled an appointment to see yet one more house, and I fell in love when I walked in! It's perfect (well, at least I think that now). There is a screened in porch and a cute backyard, and despite the fact that kitchen is easily 1/3 of the size of the one I have now (which I have filled every single inch of), I find it incredibly charming. The bedrooms are big and equal in size, AND they have ceiling fans. Beautiful dark hardwood floors. FREE laundry in the basement. like I said, pretty perfect.

-Cleaning my current apartment: my roommate with a furbaby moved out already, and we need to get rid of evidence of our furry friend's existence. we're going to end up with the equivalent of 10 more cats when all is said and cleaned and done.

-Playing addicting video games: All I have to say, is SimCity is now on the Nintendo DS. I am reliving my childhood dreams of being a city planner.

-Reading: Long ago, I could polish off novels in a few sittings. Now it takes me a little longer. I just dived into Jonathan Letham's new book You Don't Love Me Yet. I'm already writing the screenplay in my mind...

My typical "wind down for the evening" routine goes as follows:

Knit until I start falling asleep (about 1/2 hour). I start out knitting because that requires the most hand/eye/brain coordination.
Play the DS until I start falling asleep with it in my hands. Requires slightly less hand/eye coordination (especially SimCity because I can just leave it running without actually doing anything).
Read until I fall asleep with the book open. Requires no coordination whatsoever.

I've been so wiped out lately that my bedtime has inched up to an embarrassing hour, and my winding down time has been encroached on my sleep. I can barely croak out a good night when I call my boyfriend (who is wide awake and doesn't understand how I can go to bed so early).

So that's my excuse, knitting friends! Now that I am relieved from the extreme burden of finding housing, I will have a little more free time.

SOS!!

2007-06-22T21:02:00.000-05:00

Ohhhhh weird green noodles! No, actually just some over spun yarn. I love these pictures.

Sheepspyjama's very close guess as to what I weighed skeins down with: just a full Nalgene! It worked really well. However....

Winding it I found that the dry sections were straight, and the sections that were still damp were very curly. It isn't so bad as I'm knitting it, thought. The yarn is decently soft, but very sturdy. Sheepspyjama's are nice and squishy - maybe if I sized up my needles the fabric would soften some, but the yarn itself is quite springy. I have no idea what these socks are going to look like.... Probably some sort of lacy something. We'll see!

There are Pomatomus. But not for long. I am not a fan of the way the yarn stripes, and the twisted stitches take eons and eons. Maybe it's the way I knit. If I could find a more suitable colorway, I'd try the pattern again.

SOOO much Sock yarn!

Summer of socks officially began yesterday, and I did start yesterday. This picture represents around 1/2 of my total sock yarn stash. It's not that impressive, but it makes me very happy!

Sorry to be brief (but it's Friday night!) Next week I'll have more to show off. Maybe I'll have figured out a pattern.

More socks!

2007-06-12T23:44:00.001-05:00

Here is a bigger picture and a close up on the Sockotta socks. The poor ball of yarn has been tumbled around my purse for many months, so for the moment I've retired it as my "on-the-go" project. That, and my purse was just getting a little too heavy. They are really plain 6x2 ribbing, size 2 Addis, and the slip stitch heel you remember from a few posts back. I like the Sockotta more than I thought I would, it's not a tough to work with as I feared. It does have some wool in it, which balances out the cotton. I love the way it patterns up, and it has a nice sheen to it. I have a few more balls kicking around sockstashland, but I am not sure I'd go out on my own and buy some.
Here is a close up of the finished toe. Really neat the way the colors line up near the bottom!
That's it for this update... This weekend I accomplished zero knitting (actually not true - I did a little bit Saturday night on the Tsuki scarf before I got too engrossed in Jacob's Ladder - talk about vivid dreaming...). This week will be a little more tame (say I say now...) so I hope to get some more knitting done.

Don't eat the green sheep!

2007-06-12T23:42:00.001-05:00

So what do you think? It's still sitting on a bobbin,
I am being lazy and haven't skeined it up yet.
But it's pretty snazzy! I can't wait to make socks- I think they'll be my first pair for Summer of Socks. And I am SO excited to see how they compare to Sheepspyjamas socks! There is a surprising amount of color variation within the yarn, it's not 100% green. I enjoyed spinning it, and plying was quick, too. I have a little left over that isn't plied yet - in case of a knitting emergency!
My house has little tufts of green spread throughout... I found some in my bed last week, there is some rolling around the dining room, bits in the living room... It's like the cat hair tumbleweeds that have taken over my house. I am looking forward to doing a good clean sweep - yard sale this weekend, and then I'm moving in less than two months. I am - gasp- parting with some inherited yarn this weekend (as much as Lopi is a great yarn, I'll never get around to making 6 sweaters worth of it....), so that should make moving a little easier.

I keep wondering what to do with the little left over ends of spinning projects.... Some of it I, err, recycled and used to tie my skeins up, but it would be nice to use in a slightly more productive manner. Hmmm... So here is my 4-plied handspun. It does look "chained" which fascinates me. Once again, no plans for knitting. I think it's too tightly spun and would make rather uncomfortable socks. Maybe a lacy scarf. I have more knitting news, but I will try and spread it out (i.e. give myself something to do while I am unoccupied at work).

Fuzzy suns....

2007-06-12T23:40:00.001-05:00

Here they are in their fuzzed out glory! Note to self (and all others): Don't wear 100% wool socks in leather boots all day long, even if it says it's superwash! I haven't had any trouble with wool/nylon mix, but sadly at all the pressure points, there was some felting. The leg of the sock is just fine, but as you can see below, anyplace that is going to wear got matted. Not sure why this pictures is so washed out looking, but you can see the neat way the color knit up! One sock doesn't even look like it has any of the yellow in it. I knit them from inside/outside the ball, if you remember. Towards the top, I increased to a K3, P2 rib, and then switched to size 1 Addi lace needles in an attempt to keep them from falling down. My attempt failed.

Pretty little toes! See, it's matted where my wide boat feet rubbed against the shoe. Live and learn! They are nevertheless wonderful to wear.
I love this final shot. I had a little help (I am hiding under the covers in the background). Beautiful colorway, and a joy to work with. Looks like it's lunchtime, so that's all for now....

Teaser

2007-06-12T12:56:00.000-05:00

I feverishly finished the heel turn while on my lunch break, and then scurried back in to surreptitiously scan in said sock heel... (did I ever mention my love of alliteration?) Here is the Sockotta socks, colorway unknown (I probably lost the label long ago). I think these are destined to be on the feet of a man.

I am a lazy sock knitter. Gauge? I pretty much stick to 2s. If they are too small for me, they'll be for someone else. Too big? For my sweetheart then. And so, thankfully this is a pretty manly, or at least unisex (as if that's stopped me before!) color.

And oh oh! You can see near the tip and all the way at the other end where the needle is cut off (I was in a hurry!) how worn the needle is! I have completed maaaaaybe 7 pairs (margin of error +/-1) with these and the parts that are rubbed bare do make them a little more difficult to knit with. And see how the cord is all curved around? fun. These might crawl off into retirement after this sock is finished (I've finished one of the pair already). I really like the Hiya Hiyas, and the Addi lace needles weren't bad, but for the money I'd rather have the Hiyas. The cord is much more flexible. Plus at my LYS, I could only find a pair of 32" 1s, which make two at once magic looping just a tiny bit annoying. I did it, but I would have liked a little more room.

I will have more pictures when they are finished, and lots more to show off - sweetheart + camera are visiting tonight.

Knits from afar....

2007-06-07T15:12:00.000-05:00

This weekend I will have the privilage of possessing a much better camera than the one I have, so I can truly show off my work. fun fun! but for now, rest your eyes upon....
Yah! Socks on feet! The lavender socks traveled far across the ocean and have landed on my Londoner friend's feet. I can't thank her enough for her wonderful picture, and it came in this great card!

I'm a sucker for bucolic scenes.... If I could have a
baby lamb for a pet, I would. Sadly, city living
severely limits the types of animals I can keep hanging around. I even looked at the agreement for the building I work in, no pets allowed! I had fantasies of having a puppy and bringing it to work everyday, but those dreams have been dashed. Instead, I'll rest my weary, monitor-strained eyes on a warm picture of cozy looking sheep. The picture and card made (and continue to make) my day, possibly week/month.

I will announce that the sunrise/sunset socks are finished, and due to a cold spell here, my toes were happy. Also, I have moved on to the plying stage of my spin to knit socks! It is amazing how fast spinning becomes with some practice. And with my trusty Ashford Book of Spinning, I am well on my way to actually knowing what I am doing at the wheel.

Speaking of spinning - I did get my package from the Woolery, which contained a MUCH needed niddy noddy. I skeined up my 4-ply yarn, soaked it overnight, then frantically wondered what to do the next morning when i realized it should probably be hung up to dry. With about 1 minute and twenty-nine seconds before I HAD to leave the house for work I spied something that would work perfectly as a weight... Just add water. I'll keep you guessing until I have a pic of my quick fix! I was incredibly pleased with my uncaffeinated quick thinking.

Spinning beginnings....

2007-05-31T22:34:00.001-05:00

I wish I had a much better camera to show off this awesome fiber! My spinning isn't much to look at, but I am enjoying myself. Also, I am intimidated to have to go back and ply all this once it's done! SheepsPyjamas and I are finally having our sockspinalong - we bought the same fiber (same color, too!) and we're going to spin it and see what kind of neat-o neon spring green socks we get! I will invite anyone who reads to join us! Spin to knit socks! It's my first -along, so I hope to make it a good one.

What I am particularly excited for is trying out something in Favorite Socks, or More Sensational Knitted Socks... I am nearly done with my sunrise/sunset socks, and still plodding along on the Sockotta ones. Eventually all will be finished - I'll need needles!

The fiber came from Nick's Meadow Farm. I have some more than this finished, almost 1/2 a bobbin!

To give myself even more impetus to finish, I went on a spending spree at the Woolery and ordered all sorts of Ashford goodies. 4 more bobbins, a niddy noddy (so i can get my *other* spun yarn into a hank!), a repair kit, and The Ashford Book of Spinning. Wow. Yes, I really went all out and treated myself, largely for no reason. Sometimes it just has to happen.

New and knitworthy!

2007-05-22T20:00:00.000-05:00

Well hello again! This is what I've been toiling away on..... Enjoy!
Finally, as promised, pictures of my beloved Tsuki scarf. As you can see, I only have ~16" done, but they've been a GREAT 16"! It is being knit on size 6 Nacre needles, which somehow combine the sleekness of metal and the grip of bamboo. I love working with them! The yarn is beyond pleasureable to work with (and it's mohair! Mohair! oh, and silk! Silk!). It is luminous.

Here is a close up so you can see the bubbley, foamy ripples of the scarf. Isn't it delicious? Yummy silk, fun pattern (I've made a few mistakes on how many repeats I've done, but I am sure not ripping back! Besides, I very much enjoy the organic, unrefined nature of the scarf).

Introducing: Sunrise/Sunset Socks! This is a close up of the Sunrise sock (I think because I am working from inside and outside of the ball it sort of reverses). Cherry Tree Hill Supersock (can't remember the real color name...) Size 2 needles, Hiya Hiya, new at Woolcott! They are a little more grippy than my Addis, but my Addis are also really worn out! So these feel great, comparatively. They are also much smaller than my Addis, which I like. They are nice and pointy. These are being done toe-up-two-at-once-magic-loop! It's going pretty well, they are coming quick (ummm maybe because they are all i've been working on!)

And here is the far! See the sunrise and sunset? Kinda a little? Ah well, they might just be my most favorite pair of socks yet! The yarn is so so soft and wonderful to work with. I love the texture of the fabric - perfectly firm! They feel great on, cushy, and the ribbing makes them so comfortable. I'm in love! I need more! Thankfully I have some DK weight in neon blues-greens-yellows (I have a think for brights!)

New aquisitions....

2007-05-09T20:47:00.000-05:00

Here is what tempts me as I labor away on a variety of other projects.... Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Crazy Woman! HA! It is my favored combination of blue-red-purples, ever-so-soft, and apparently likes to be knit on 3s.... Although I'd like to see how that works for me before committing to something like that. I like a good, firm sock.

What is keeping my hands away? Still, the Tsuki scarf, which slowly grows and ungulates out of my hand like a coral reef. Pictures to come...
Still, the Sockotta socks, one down, one to go. At least it's started, and living in my purse, ready to go whenever I am.
Lastly, I'm cranking out a baby sweater (bottom-up raglan cardigan in Cascade Superwash). Lotsa straight knitting, but it's small and it's going fast, even at 5 stitches/inch.

And also, this! This is two singles tightly spun together. Next step is plying the 2-plys, which will thankfully not take as long as plying the singles... I thought it would never end! My poor bobbin decapitated itself somehow (I found this out after wondering why my wheel was making all these weird noises....) but maybe with some glue and a little luck I can mend it.
So now, after I publish this, I will get to plying! I am very excited, it's my first 4-ply yarn. I am sure it will be just beautiful.

2007-04-30T16:16:00.000-05:00

Saturday afternoon was filled with fun fibery goodness! I accompanied SheepsPyjamas and her little smidgling to 20^th annual Sheepshearing Festival. I have never been to such an event, so it was a very informative and exciting experience for me. We witnessed sheep being shorn with electric clippers (so fast!) as well as the traditional shears (which reminded me of Shear Genius’s Evangeline giving her client a hair cut).

The highlight of the day for me was watchingsheep herding. Lesson learned – dogs are smart, and sheep are…. Sheep. By the time we witnessed the herding demo, they woolly gals had already been chased around the field for a few hours, so they were a bit tired.

At first we couldn’t even tell where they were, until the dogs were summoned to round them up. They came darting out from a great pine tree, where they had been enjoying the cool shade (did I mention it FINALLY really truly felt like spring?).

The dogs responded to a variety of commands and whistles and herded the sheep into a pen, then got a few sheep out of the pen, then kept the rest of those sheep separate from the two already loose while they were being herded onto a ramp…. It was impressive.

There were other creatures on the farm: we saw a llama, chickens, three adorable alpacas, a miniature pony, bunnies, and a large herd of goats. The air smelled of spring, rain, and animal scents, which is a relief from the city air I usually inhale.

There were plenty of things to purchase, but I
limited myself to a foot long hotdog and a small shopping bag of fiber. I can’t wait to see what this looks up all spun up! SheepsPyjamas and I are planning a spin along using the neon green fiber, I am oh-so-excited to see what happens! I also got some yummy Blue Face Leicester (oh the dying possibilities….)

It doesn't get any cuter than little baby lambs. They were adorable!

It was a successful day: I got some sunshine, goodies to take home, and I had a most lovely time with friends!

no new knitting....

2007-04-08T19:33:00.000-05:00

due to the fact that i've recently started a new job, i haven't been doing all of the knitting i'd like to do. firstly, i no longer have much of a commute - from a short train ride it's been cut down to a short walk. yes, yes i know you can knit while you are walking. but it's also been unreasonably cold in my neck of the woods. which, i understand, could be said for a great many places. global warming is scary.
so i have no FOs to speak of, however i have started a new knitting project! i can't be stopped, i won't be stopped. it's a stunning (and dead simple) lace pattern in Artfibers' yarn Tskui. it's an amazing shade of deep turquoise blue. it's one of the nicest things i've knit with. once it's blocked, it's going to be a work of art. it's very sculptural.
and not a pair of socks. i started a new pair with sockotta in handsome greens, browns, and white.
but they aren't anywhere near done, mainly because they aren't intended for anyone yet. i think the SO is up next in the rotation, perhaps past due even.
i am sure i'll find a rhythm again, and get back into hardcore knitting.

Wheeee.... Pictures! But no sock knitting.

2007-03-26T22:13:00.000-05:00

How come I didn't know that you could upload pictures directly to blogger... Can you tell I'm new at this?

Without further ado....
These are the yummy sherbet socks.

They were made from my own hand-dyed louet pearl yarn, on size 3 needles. The size threes were a mistake. i thought the fabric felt fine (not loose), but now that the socks have been worn a couple of times, the stitches have spread out and the fabric is thin. I will be gentle with them. I love them because they are extra long - and I still had lots of yarn left over (rats!) If only I had cast on more stitches to begin with so they would fit over my shapely (and oh-so-pale) calves.

This is a close-up of the fabric, the stitch pattern looks great with the colors of the yarn (if I do say so myself). I read in the current issue of Wool Gathering about a similar stitch, but instead of lifting the bar over the stitches, you make a yarn over and pull that over the stitches.

Meet the Lavender socks!

Close up of the left and right twist. They are not exactly mirror images of each other, but I'll settle for fraternal twins.
Lastly, the ever-popular Eye-of-Partridge heel. It's very subtle on this pair, now I know it probably won't work the way I want it to using Trekking XXL.

My very first darning project! I wish I had gotten the chance to take pictures as I worked, but these will do for now. There are another pair that need some mending.

In all her wisdom, Rena Crockett does recommend steaming the old yarn so it isn't kinky, in the way, and a little more of a pain to weave in. You're right, and next time I will.
The image above was taken at the same time as the previous one, i.e. not quite finished.

The bottom picture shows what it looks like now, after one wearing. The yarn looks a little newer, and the colors don't match up, but it is a pretty good fix. I highly recommend learning how to mend things, although this was a painstaking task that took an entire work day and also a few hours of carefully unpicking stitches and weaving in ends.

In this world, such a thing exists as a darning egg, but I found that a hard rubber street hockey ball worked just as well. A lightbulb wasn't bad either, but I was afraid it was a little delicate, and not safely portable.

It is still cold where I am, so last week I decided I needed fingerless mitts. Actually, I decided that a few weeks ago, but hadn't had any knitting time for them. I wanted to make them out of something very special, and I was sure that I had one skein of something that fit the bill....
And not that Malabrigo isn't special, it wasn't quite what I had in mind.
I pored over Barbara Walker, and after hours of swatching, I fell in love with this eyelet pattern. The actual construction was a little bit of trial and error, since I was making it up as I went along - I knew I needed shaping (decreases in the purl valley's), but I got a bit too excited and knit far too long without decreasing... Resulting in having to frog half the cuff. Thankfully, these babies knit up quite quickly. And yes, for some reason I decided I wanted reverse stockinette thumb gussets. Call me crazy. The bind off I found in Vogue Knitting, it's a cute pico edge without having folded over rows.

And finally,

A pair from more hand-dyed Louet Pearl? And ohhhh what to do. I was thinking of Pomatomus, after seeing some more close-up pictures of the pattern, I think it's quite neat.

Contender #2 - Solid Koigu for mosaic socks?
That would require actually owning the book, which I don't, yet. One day, someday, I am going on a book buying splurge on Amazon and buying that, Favorite Socks, and No Sheep For You (I want that fore more mosaic knitting in Intoxicating).

I guess if I want to tackle the mosaic sweater, I should first cut my teeth on a smaller project to learn the technique.

And I think that is enough pictures/mind-spew.
Back to something important, like video games....

S.S.S.S.

2007-03-19T18:41:00.000-05:00

I have finished the second sock of the hand-dyed pair... They are delicious sherbet colors (pink, orange, yellow). I aped the pattern created here. I am sure it is a lovely pattern if you follow it, but I liked the stitch, it sort of blew my mind the first time I saw it. I love how it creates tiny eyelets without having to yarn over! I also stopped doing the pattern far sooner than in the original; I kept telling myself that I was making them for me, so I can do whatever I want! They brought me to the toe finish line more quickly than patterning the whole way down.
Which brings me to the next phenomenon that I mention in my post title....
Second Sock Shorter Syndrome. I kept trying to convince myself that it was long enough before decreasing. Sadly, I was a little wrong. They will stretch a little, but they will also felt a little if I put them in the washing machine... So they may remain handwashed for their all little stitched lives. The first sock fit beautifully, so it's a little irritating that I didn't do the extra few rows, but it's not bad enough to rip everything out.

I am taking a short break from casting-on new socks to complete some other projects (gasp!), one of which is a pair of socks that have been languishing for months.

I need to mail the Lavender socks. I noticed some Regia Silk in lovely muted shades of beige and silver, just dying to be knitted up. It's eventually going to be spring here, so I have been eyeing the three skeins of Sockotta, wondering how it will be knitting socks with some cotton.

Decisions, decisions....

turning the heel....

2007-03-12T23:35:00.000-05:00

i wonder why turning a heel is so magical.

I work feverishly to get down to knitting the heel flap (which i think holds it's own magical powers) and then knitting that tiny little bit of fabric that curves and molds itself to my foot. after knitting a straight tube, it feels so special that you are constructing this elbow, and the foot shoots off in an entirely new direction. it's so simple but so important. who wants tube socks?

i've just completed turning the heel on the current pair of socks. i still need to pick up stitches along the heel flap (slip stitch ribbing - i mixed it up from my typical eye-of-partridge heel).

after these are cast off and aside, i may make these beauties, but i am not sure what yarn i would like to use. not sure if i have something appropriate in the stash. i liked using the regia silk - i made a handsome pair of convertible mittens in black from Not Just More Socks (that title always seemed grammatically incorrect to me). But I just wound up some lovely shades of solid koigu to try my hand at one of the mosaic socks from Sensational Knitted Socks... It's so hard to make a decision.

I haven't challenged myself to doing either complicated cables OR colorwork in my socks. Both of which I've conquered in other parts of my knitting. So we'll see what I dive into... Perhaps I'll get pictures up tomorrow.

i have a confession

2007-03-10T01:15:00.000-05:00

i knit socks.
maybe you knit socks too.
i've knit socks for a year and four months. really, i didn't know what i was getting into when i started. i thought i'd try a pair. some sort of stripey regia 4-ply. size 3 dpns, as i recall. and 2s for the ribbing. those were the days when i changed needles for the ribbing.
now it's all magic loop on curly addi's... it's pretty irritating that i can't get the cord straight-(ish) again. i tried steaming it, and it worked, for a moment. next pair (trekking XXL in lovely shades of purples) they were once again like a slinky.
such is the life of an addicted sock knitter.

i am not sure what i am getting into with blogging about it, maybe some relief from my guilt for giving up cooking, cleaning, and human interaction, all in the name of knitting these wondrous little tubes that mysteriously fit feet. i am doing this for fun, maybe to learn something, basically just to have an outlet for all the stitches i make in my head.

i welcome you to share your stories, offer support, patterns, reviews of yarn...
all in the name of feeding a glorious, rewarding addiction.