FO: Dragon Socks

I have to say that I really enjoyed making these. Gauge, including both sts and row gauge, is more important in this pattern than in many sock patterns. I wish I could say that I had been a good dooby and swatched, but I figure they were bound to fit someone. (Hmm these really are the same height...)


Pattern: Heartland Knits Diamond Patch Socks
Yarn: Regia 4-ply Color 5442
Needle: US Size 1s 40" Addis
Modifications: no "knit even" rows before starting the decreases for the toes or heels, and skipped one row of mitered squares on the leg
Marathon Yardage: 460 yards
Total Marathon Mileage: 2.4 miles

The pattern calls for Koigu or Shepard Sport, so I was a little nervous that this pattern would turn out a bit small with the 4-ply. Instead of the Women's US 7 that this pattern predicts this would fit, even with the yarn substitution, these socks are still a little large on my feet (6.5-7). With the called for "knit even rows" I think these could have fit a 8-9.


Here is a photo that shows what my heels looked like, though it gives the impression that these are slightly baggier than they are at the ankles. I wasn't sure how much yarn I would have or how long these would turn out, but due to their modular nature you can easy stop to add in the toe and heel before you are done with the leg. These came out perfectly with only a few yards left.

7 of Hearts & Ravenclaw Socks

See I did finish some stuff. Now I am working on some cotton blend socks.

This first pair decided that it would rather be a wedding gift for my sister than a Christmas gift for my mother. Who am I to stand in its way. The significance of the name comes from the fact that she is getting married on 7-7-07.
Yarn: Art Yarns Supermerino
Needles: US Size 3s
Pattern: Seven of Hearts
Marathon Yardage: 210 yards
Total Mileage: 1.78

I am currently looking for test knitters for Seven of Hearts. I have the pattern written out for these already. They are fast and relatively simple.

Next up the Ravenclaw socks:
Yarn: Gems Merino Fingering Weight in sandalwood and french blue
Supplier: kpixie
Needles: US Size 1s
Marathon Yardage: 305
Total Mileage:1.96

These are relatively simple, but I think they would make excellent quiddich socks or just socks to wear under your robes in drafty hallways and classrooms. Now to finish up the last touches on my package.

FO: Garden Monkey Socks

Yarn: March Mind's Eye Yarns sock club yarn
Needles: 40" US Size 1 Addis (magic loop)
Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A. in the Winter 2006 issue of Knitty
Yardage: 265 yards
Maration Mileage: 1.66 miles
Modifications: I did an eye of the partridge heel and changed the wedge toe to a slightly longer wedge toe with differently spaced decreases.I have to admit, when I first started seeing all the Monkeys showing up all over the blog-o-sphere I was sort of "eh" about the pattern. It was okay, but I just didn't understand what all the fuss was about. That all changed when I saw Rosemary's Hedwig socks. I absolutely loved this pattern in a yarn that was mostly one color, but with splotches of variegation.

So when I received the March Mind's Eye Yarn sock club yarn, I had a suspicion what I would make with it. Little did I suspect how much I would get sucked in. I started just one lone sock because I was "testing the guage of the lace pattern" to make sure this yarn would work as written. Next thing I know I am halfway through the foot. There was absolutely no SSS here. As soon as I finished I cast on the second one withing minutes and was happily working away again.

I am not sure quite why these are so addictive. The lace pattern is deceptively simple; I had it memorized almost immediately. And I love the way the blips of color among the green remind me or garden beds.

I have not quite 40g (1.4 oz) left, and I am not sure what I want to do with it. I am thinking of a square on the sock blanket, but I think I have enough for a baby hat for little baby L too. Hmmm decisions, decisions.

FO: Camera Case

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Super Glitz in Sugar Maple (discontinued)
Pattern: none, freehand knitting
Yardage: 40 yards (0.48 g)
Marathon Mileage: 1.50 miles

I asked my mom if I could borrow her camera for a moment this weekend, only to have her pull it out in a sock! I teased her a bit about whether I should knit her a case for it instead, and to my surprise she actually agreed to let me. Since I had the leftover Super Glitz from the Mad-tini socks which she had loved, I made it out of that. At least she won't lose it, right?

[sorry no photo]

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Super Glitz in Sugar Maple (discontinued)
Pattern: none, freehand knitting
Yardage: ~24 yards
Marathon Mileage: 1.51 miles
Afterwards I still had some left over so I knit a square for the mitered square sock yarn blanket I had started. I still have a tiny bit left, but I think I will save it for a ways away on the blanket.

FO: Mad-tini Socks

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Super Glitz in Sugar Maple (discontinued)
Pattern: Mad-tini (Sock Madness Round 2) by Karin Bole
Yardage: 286 yards (3.43 g)
Marathon Mileage: 1.48 miles

I had a really hard time photographing these socks to get the stitch detail because the color was so incredibly saturated. I am not sure that my photography skills are enough to compensate*.

I absolutely love the colorway, Sugar Maple. Unfortunately the yarn itself has been discontinued and replaced with Cherry Tree Hill's Supersock DK line, but the colorway still exists, at least without the glitter strand. I am somewhat sad that there isn't a lot more of this yarn, because I love how the glitter just makes this already super bright colorway even more over the top.

As to the pattern itself, I was a bit torn about it, although my overall response was positive. I really liked being challenged with a different construction, since usually I like toe-up socks with afterthought heels at the moment. I discovered I wasn't overly found of the oblique rib, which both made my hands really tired and I didn't care fore the look of too much. The spiral stitch (which I am having a hard time getting on photo) is really cool though and I could see using it again.

I would have liked the socks a little longer, but was worried about having enough yarn. My yarn had about 5 yards less in yardage than the suggested yarn, but I ended up having tons left over. Look for projects with the leftovers in the next few days.

*I will ask Salvbard to take some photos and then add them later.

FO: Ember Socks

Today was really relaxing for the most part. Salvbard and I slept in and ignored Daylight Savings. Then ate leftovers and just hung out around the house. I worked on my Ember Socks for Sock Madness. He played some first person shooter game. Well at least until the small one came home from her grandmother's house. Then we actually had to be somewhat productive.

But I finished my socks, which I think means I am free for a couple days. I don't plan on on a ton of knitting though. Even though I made sure to take breaks, do hand/arm stretches and generally listen to my body, I want to take it a bit easy so that I don't put too much repetitive strain on my hands. I guess this is a good change to take out a cross stitch project or my art journal.

Yarn: Koigu KPPM & Silky Wool
Fiber: Merino & Silk/Wool
Suppliers: Lakeside Fibers and Mind's Eye Yarns
Needles:US Size 1s (Os for ribbing)
Pattern: Mad Cow Socks (Sock Madness Round 1)
Techniques: 2 at time Magic Loop, Toe-up & Sewn Bind off
Yardage: 241 (combined)
Total Marathon Mileage: 1.31 miles

FO: Coral Snake Socks

Yarn: Coral Snake merino/tencel sock yarn
Supplier:Mind's Eye Yarns (Etsy shop here)
Pattern: toe-up something I made up
Yardage: 400 yards
Marathon Mileage: 1.18 miles

I am absolutely thrilled with these socks! They are so shiny and silky. The color is great. They stay up well. And best of all I managed to get them off the needles just in time for Sock Madness!

For those interested, this pair was done toe-up with a short row heel, reverse Dutch heel and stockinette foot and leg. The cuff is a 1X1 rib with a sewn bind off (my favorite!).

FO: LJ Secret Pal Swap Socks

Yarn: Fortissimo Colori Socka Color 9094 (Blue Denim)
Fiber Content: 75% wool 25% nylon
Supplier: Lakeside Fibers, Madison, WI
Needles: Knit Picks US Size 2 Circular Needles (magic loop, 2 at once)
Yardage: 458 yd
Marathon Yardage: 1665
Pattern: see below

Um so, yeah, pattern. I'll describe what I did, but this isn't really instructions except for those who have a fair bit of experience with socks. I did these toe-up. Instead of a crocheted provisional cast-on for half the stitches, like I usually do though to make a short row toe, I did the cast on for the full number (72 sts), and then did a wedge toe. Then I went back with all the stitches and knit the foot in stockinette. The heel was done as a peasant heel, and the leg was a 2X2 rib (1X1 cuff).

This was the first time that I have made socks for someone without a firm idea about the size (well I did have foot circumference and length), shape and preferences of their destined feet. Actually usually the people I knit for are harassed for fittings several times before they are done. These socks were a lot of fun to make, as they were really laissez-faire. I just let the yarn do what it wanted. They were bigger than I would have made for me, but happily my secret pal haplessknitter has feet very close in size to my SO. (Thanks love for being my slightly fuzzy model.) Yes these will be washed before gifting. Since I knit on the bus, that was a given anyways.

FO: Wild N Crazy Man Socks

Last night was fairly productive. I baked an amazingly aromatic loaf of cinnamon swirl bread and worked to finish these socks up. That meant I just needed to convince Salvbard to let me do a quick photo shoot of the socks in action. Despite the more wild color scheme than anticipated he seems to like them.
Yarn: Mega Boots Stretch, Color 714
Fiber Content: 70% Superwash, 23% Polyamide, 7% PBT
Supplier: Carodan Farm
Pattern: magic loop cuff down 2X2 leg, peasant heel and wedge toe
Needles: US Size 0 Inox Circulars for ribbing & US Size 1 Addi circulars
Yardage: 440 yards
Marathon Yardage: 1207 yards

This wasn't my favorite yarn to work with. I had heard that it was a bit splitty, and indeed it was. It also seems like it will get a bit fuzzy as it wears. My SO had asked as I was knitting if it had any mohair in it (isn't he trained well?) because of the slight halo. There isn't, but the fuzziness makes it seem that way. These will be handwashed to be as gentle on them as possible.

Unlike the grey pair I finished recently, these socks were knit with a 72 st circumference rather than 80 sts, even though the Mega Boot Stretch and Trekking XXL were very similar in weight. The grey pair got an enthusiastic thumbs up for not having any negative ease lengthwise, but after wearing them for a bit he felt that they were a bit "loose". Not enough to keep him from wearing them at all, but there was room for improvement. After slipping on the Wild n Crazy socks, he immediately dubbed them really comfortable in terms of snugness around his foot and ankle.

The smaller circumference, however, had other implications.Without any calf shaping the leg had to be noticeably shorter than the Trekking pair. So for the next (4th) pair I make for him, I think that will be my next improvement to tackle.

WIP: Wild N Crazy Man Socks

So I ordered some Mega Boots Stretch (Color 714) sock yarn to my SO some socks. Looks manly enough right? With his color phobia, it seems to be stretching his horizons a bit, but still within the realm of acceptableness.

Turns out when I went to wind this into a center pull ball, I discovered this color swatch (straight from Carodan Farm, whom I bought it from) was a wee bit misleading. It turns out that this is actually "pride socks". It stripes a tweedy red, orange, yellow, green, black all plied with a sobering solid purpley grey. The color swatch here is apparently the border of black/red section.

Exciting! Well fortunately being the people that we are this wasn't a big deal, but can you imagine how awful this could have been? I offered to make these into a pair of socks for me. I have done only the 2X2 leg ribbing so far, so it could be done. Salvbard has said that he will take them though. (I think he only says things like this to shock me though.) Of course this is with the disclaimer that they will stay inside his boots or just be worn around the house. Who knew? This has turned into an unexpected victory for color.

edit: I don't want to seem to be accusing Carodan of knowingly posting a misleading swatch. In fact I think they are a wonderful yarn provider. As evidence here is a cropped photo of this ball in it's previously un-knitted state in my stash. Doesn't it come across as a tweedy brown?

FO: Girly Anklets

Yarn: Gem Opal & Art Yarn Ultramerino 4
Supplier: Lakeside Fibers and Loop respectively
Needles: 40" US Size 1 Addi Turbos, 32" US Size 0 Inox
Yardage: 121 yards Opal + 50 yards Ultramerino 4
Marathon Yardage: 767 yards
Pattern: toe-up anklets with short row toes and heels in contrasting yarn and Method 4 picot bind-off

This pair of anklets was to do some stash busting. I had bought the white Opal over the summer to make a pair of anklets to wear with a costume at Arisia this year, although I ended up finding another solution to that costuming problem. Also since the yarn ran a little short for a pair of anklets, I used up some of leftover Ultramerino from making my mom the Snowflake socks.

FO: Preemie Hats

A friend recently sent me over to read an LiveJournal post by someone who is trying to collect 100 preemie hats in the local area. My friend just knew I was a knitter, but little did she know I am also trying to use up sock weight yarn. This these 2 projects were born, and they are great. Practically instant gratification! (And please note my stunning model who was rescued from the Goodwill bag just for this shoot.)

The first was made with yarn left over from the ball of Regia 6-ply that I had made my daughter's mittens with. Best of all no left overs. At the end there was absolutely none left over from the single skein.

Yarn: Regia 6 ply Crazy Color color 5263
Supplier: Little Knits
Pattern: Bev's Preemie 3 Needle Cap
Needles: US Size 3 DPNs for ribbing & US Size 6 DPNs
Yardage: ~20 yards
Marathon Yardage: 580 yards


Yarn: Regia 6 ply Crazy Color color 5261
Supplier: Little Knits
Pattern: my own ribbed hat pattern
Needles: US Size 3 DPNs
Yardage: ~25 yards
Marathon Yardage: 605 yards

FO: child's mittens

Yarn: Regia 6 ply Crazy Color color 5263
Supplier: Little Knits
Yardage: ~101 yards
Marathon Yardage: 560 yards

This past week winter has finally made a presence in new england. So when I pointed out to my daughter that she should make sure that she brought a pair of gloves or mittens to school, I was a little distressed when she claimed that she couldn't find any. That couldn't be possible; there were a full dozen at the beginning of this winter. Well indeed she was correct, because when I went into the outerwear closet I couldn't find any either. The only explanation for this predicament that makes sense to me is that it has been so warm that when I send her off with a pair, she is taking them off and leaving them on the playground or something, forgotten.

So I whipped up this pair over the weekend while I was at Arisia from some stash Regia 6-ply. Notice the very attractive cord for running though her coat sleeves. With any luck these will stay found a little longer than their predecessors.

FO: Trekking Man Socks

Knitting for my SO is a fine balance of as plain as he wants and as boring as I am willing to knit. This yarn was a great compromise. I still got the "oh look a new color" experience that is Trekking. He got grey, grey, grey with a boring pattern. Everybody wins.
Yarn: Trekking XXL
Supplier: Woolcott & Co.
Needles: 40" US Size 1 Addi Turbos circulars
Pattern: my basic boy (toe-up) sock pattern
Yardage: 459 yards

What is my basic boy sock pattern? It is a stockinette foot, short row heel, 3X1 ribbing, 1X1 cuff, and sewn bind off (if toe-up). I have found that this fits my boy very well. It is stretchy enough but still smart looking. It is plain, but the 3X1 leg is a little more fun to knit than a 2X2 leg would be. Also he likes no negative ease, which makes the toe of the sock look a little baggy, but also means that he will actually wear the socks.

Joiner

Ha! I am such a joiner. There have been a bunch of knit-alongs recently that have perked my attention. I have already started a couple of them, but I figured that I would take a moment to briefly talk about them.

Project Spectrum 2.0
The new color system intrigues me, and as you may have noticed I like creative prompts available even if I don't follow them. I also really like the idea of doing art or crochet or dyeing in addition to the knitting.

Lime & Violet's Sock Marathon
There are somethings that one just shouldn't know. The total length of my sock yarn stash is one of them. Not including non-sock weight yarn (though I may make some more worsted socks) I have 16.4 miles or 26.3 km of sock yarn. Yipes! I would like to knit at least 2 miles of this before April is here.

Knit from Your Stash 2007
I am not a New Years Resolution type, but I do like to challenge myself. Last year I went yarn shopping free from Febuary to August (6 months) so I know that I can do this. Plus I am looking to graduate and possible move in the next year or so, thus less stuff to move is good. As seen above with the Sock Marathon, I have a lot of sock yarn since socks are one of my favorite things to knit. I also have yarn for a few sweaters that I have been thinking about, so there is no need to buy anthing there.

My one major difference from the stated rules is that sock yarn will count. Also I have at least 2 babies being born this year among my friends and family. I will endeavor to knit from stash from them, but will consider purchasing for them if need be.

Dulaan Project 2007
I know I have mentioned this project in the past, but I thought it was worth mentioning again. This is a great one for using up odd ball yarn I have around the house. I have already done 5 projects for the 10,000 or Bust drive, but I will probably do a few more items this year.

Sock Surgery

This post is not for the squimish. You have been warned.So I was knitting a pair of anklets from a ball of Gems Opal in my stash, when I got to where I was going to start the short row heel. I looked at how much yarn I had left and was a little dubious, so I weighed it. Out of a 50 g skein (normally enough for anklets for me), I had only 10 g left without having started the heel at all.

I knew that this couldn't be right. There was no way I could finish these with that little. So I faced a few options. As I was unwilling to completely rip these out and start over, the most compelling was to use a fine gauge DPN to hold the stitches, make a quick incision, rip out the toe and then reknit it with some extra sock yarn.

Whew! It is amazing how much work I will do to get out of some work huh? So here is where I started removing stitches from that captive row. This actually went really smoothly. I was surprised.

And here is the sock sans toe. Please disregard the stitch that slipped off. I was fudging with these while getting ready to take a photo and apparently didn't notice it. Fortunately nothing bad happened, and I fixed it immediately following the photo.

Then all that was left was re-knitting the toe actually as I would if this was a cuff-down sock. Tada! Now I just need to add coordinating heels and then knit the cuffs. Not bad!

Note that if you had worn out a toe or heel you could replace them in just the same way. I had the idea this was possible given the provisional cast-ons I have done in the past, but after I finished the operation here I found a good description of how to do this in The Twisted Sister Sock Workbook. This book is great and full of such handy little things.