Sunday, August 02, 2009
Size: Small (7.5) and only did quarter length socks this time for a few reasons.
Time: I kicked everything to the side in July re: Wrestle WIPmania just to cram these in at the very end of the month to finish just in time! ;o)
Needles: US1 (2.25) was initially done on a 32" cord which I knew would be too tight (esp. when it was time for gusset increases/turning the heel) so I "just" so happened to order another pair of needles in a 40" cord to have on hand.
Yarn/Cost: Last year when I switched jobs my old co-workers gave me a gift certificate to my fav LYS where I picked up some Fleece Artist Nova Wool in Rainforest.
Modifications: I didn't learn anything new on this project, which is why I didn't have a specific section for that; and my modifications really weren't anything to bring attention.
For my increases on the toe I did (kfb) rather than a M1L/M1R (didn't see a big difference) and other than that I did everything as normal. Knitted until leg was 3" and cuff about a .5"Verdict: Glad I finally got these socks out of my system as it was a pretty easy and well written pattern.
Now looking forward to my next pair of socks!!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
~ Project Details ~
Pattern: Lacy Ribs Socks by Wendy D. Johnson from the Socks from the Toe Up book.
I joined the Ravelry Socks from the Toe Up KAL where each month the group will knit a pattern out of the book (for a prize of course)! Hope I get some more sock fiber goodness from the KAL's random drawing!!
Size: Small
And they are my best fitting socks thus far!! Not to mention my first pair that is full length!! (I typically get antsy and stop at the ankle lol)
Time: Started these the day I took the class with WendyKnits herself and finished up yesterday! So a little over a week (10 days)
The pattern repeats are easy and makes it a fast knit and grows quickly!
Needles: 2US & 1US (on ankles and cuffs) on 40" cord 
I could have used a US1 on the entire sock but didn't want it to take me forever ;op
Yarn/Cost: I can't believe I received this yarn 2 years ago from one of my swap angels! Boy time really flies!!
Extreme Yarn in the colorway of Sherbert Delight. Actually reminds me of Pink Lemonade...hence "Sock"ade!!
Modifications: They were very minor as I followed this pattern to a tee.
I knitted the toe to a full 2" so that the lace wouldn't reveal my little toes wigglin' all the way home ;o) Haha Didn't realize a lot of knitters prefer that in sock making and now so do I!
On the ankles I switched my needles to US1 as I was concerned of slouching with the stretch of the lace pattern and it worked out just fine (plus I think the ribbing in the entire pattern truly helps with the anti-sag factor).
I also used the same size needle on my cuffs as my ribbing for some reason always gets loose; and they were extended to 1.5" as I wanted to make sure they really hugged my lower calves.
I did a variation of the Russian BO stated in the book called a Stretchy BO (that I picked up a long time ago along the way), which to me is pretty much exactly the same if not the twin version.
So glad my BO was "just right" as they are not strangling me or too loose! Yay!
What I learned: The Judy Magic CO (JMCO - video link) .....well this knitting skill I already knew how to do from making the better bucket hats but never did it on socks before without using another needle as a "provisional" hold so that was different for me.
I truly don't see much difference between the JMCO and my handy dandy Turkish CO. I could argue that learning the Turkish CO is much easier than JMCO (as you gotta remember and figure out which fingers/yarn wrap where). So I still favor the Turkish CO since they pretty much look the same IMO.
I was thrilled to finally do a slip stitch heel from the toe up!! That was my first try at it and I just love the look without having to actually do it top down!! Score!!
Also learned something that it seems like No one ever talks about!!! Picking up those darn W/T (wrap/turns) SEAMLESSLY.
My pick ups were looking great on the "left" side of the heel (showing publicly) but on the "right" side looked a mess!! My wonderful Purl friend Heather helped me solve it by how the stitches were being positioned and then knit both together in the back (Thank You!!!). Mystery Solved!!
Verdict: Really enjoyed knitting the socks and it was great doing this sock as a KAL because it helped me push thru at the very end when I was getting tired of doing the leg (dang you gotta do the pattern all the way around Haha) ;op
Pennie (Extreme Yarn) told me to make something wonderful and I think I got some wonderful "Sock"ade!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
I knew what yarn I wanted to use, and it was just a matter of matching it up with the right pattern.
Since I was using a variegated yarn I really needed something not too busy.
So I went to my best pattern research tool (Ravelry of course!) and kept coming across the Thuja pattern in the type of yarn I wanted to put to work. Decision made!Curiosity finally got to me and I looked up what Thuja means as the pattern designer never mentioned why he selected this name, just why he was motivated to make them.
This is a popular pattern, after all it was on Knitty! Even my knit/e-blog pal Babbling Brook (Stacey) just recently finished her Thuja's too!
Size: The pattern is originally intended to fit a man (9-11), and only "one" size was given. Well we ain't all one size!
Of course I did toe-up
I went down from the primary stitch count of 44 to 40 and wish I had decreased a little bit more to 36-38 stitches.
These are truly comfy socks!
Time: Not long at all, just shy of a week!
As I mentioned earlier I wanted a break from the smaller needles and thinner sock yarn...for now ;op The worsted weight yarn was perfect!
Also this easy sock project became my commuter knitting which helped me plug away on the foot! Besides I still have yet to make a full ankle sock as well.
Needles: I used my Harmony needles in US4 and then US2.
I coulda (woulda shoulda) went down a needle size on the sock, but I was adamant about wanting to be on bigger needles! ;op
I switched to US2s for the ribbing around the ankle, and then back to the US4s for the bind off.
Again I shoulda BO with a US3 as it ended up being too loose.
Yarn: I had been sitting on this yarn since February!
I used Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in Pilsen and it was just lovely to work with on my Thuja's!
The yarn is soft and glides along. I loved all my favorite colors swirling together of red, purple and chocolate. It was really a pleasure to knit with it and my first time with Lorna's Laces!I do have more LL in my stash and look forward to working with the different weights soon.
Cost: $18 for one hank
I guess that is like $9 per sock...wow
I did have plenty left over since I didn't make full length socks and plan to use it for baby items/odds & ends
What I learned: I did use the Magic CO this time, rather than the Turkish CO
I have used the Magic CO before on another project (twice on my bucket hats), and I really liked it as a provisional CO substitute.
.....mmmmh the difference to me is that the Turkish CO is easily brought to anyone's remembrance, where I think the Magic CO takes a tad bit more maneuvering and a quick refresher if you don't use it often.
Other than that they are pretty much the same IMO!!
and I was able to do that!! :oD
I used Zhenya's Mash-up Recipe pattern for the heel. I liked the fact you could plug in numbers to match the kind of socks you are making, but I must confess having to pick up stitches for a toe-up sock is not something I want to do! Haha! Call me a knitting bum! ;op
I will say I had a "designer element" on my second heel turn with having some of my pick-up stitches on the outside (told you I didn't like it!), but the multitude of the yarn colors camouflages it so it is cool! Besides they are just house socks ;o)
But I am so glad I tried this alternative to heel flaps, as I plan to try out more.
The other technique I learned towards the end of this project was the Stretchy Bind Off that Babbling Brook (Stacey) put me onto! Thanks so much!!
I really liked it and I do believe it has a nice give to it!
I definitely think my ankles are too loose
Modifications: Not much as it was a simple sock, other than that the pattern was written for top/down rather than toe-up.
Verdict: Definitely a good "starter" pattern and the yarn was a good match as it was thick and variegated to hide things while I am still learning ;op
Thursday, July 10, 2008
I was originally thinking how I have socks that rock (STR) because they actually FIT!!!!!! So I decided to play with the blog title :o)
My needles are still pretty "green" when it comes to sock knitting. This is my 3rd pair ever and the other ones were definitely trial runs! Haha!
I really have been wanting to dig into sock knitting, and as you all know KALs get/keep me motivated!
So I joined in, with tons of other knitters, the Summer of Socks 08 which I am sure you have been seeing everyone's FO's flying around for SOS. You can now include mine! :o)
I actually didn't join the group for the contests, but solely for the motivation in getting me back into knitting socks over the summer, and so far it has helped!
Some of you inquired about the particulars from the silent post, and I was finally able to get in a decent photo day (Hurricane Bertha has been giving us lots of T-storms around here lately) so here are thePattern: This is a basic recipe made up by one of the LYS here when I took their class last summer for 2 socks at 1 time toe-up!
I call this project "Jane" because it is plain! :o)I just wanted something to warm my sticks back up to knitting socks again.
Here is a toe-up pattern I would recommend that I discovered while I was working on this pair. Zhenya did a great job of compiling lots of great nuggets of toe-up socks into one document! And she will have a pictorial of it up soon too!
Size: You know learning the anatomy of your foot really helps in making a pair socks that fit you! :o)
I discovered that my foot is 9" long and has an 8" circumference. Understanding where you need to begin the increases for your gusset is very important, as well as when to start your heel!
For me I knitted until about 2.5" from my heel then started the gusset increases where I did 9 rounds.
My "magic" working number for this project on my foot was 44 st. for this particular gauge which was 9 st. per inch!
Needles: Speaking of gauge, because I was literally knitting with string ;opI used a size US2 on the majority of the sock, but switched to US1 for the heel turn and ankle ribbing. And then I switched back to US2s to bind off loosely.
All done on a 32" cord, but highly recommend 40" cord for MLing 2 socks at 1 time!
Yarn: Regia 4-ply in #5072....wish I knew the color name, but have no clue.
I liked the colors of the yarn as they scream summer!
But never want to knit with such fine yarn for socks again! I need some more weight on my needles! Haha!
Cost: I received this yarn last year from Knitter in Queens during one of her rare contests. So these socks are a freebie!! :o) Thanks again Veronica!!
Time: Despite the tiny needles and thin yarn it only took me 10 days from start to finish, and that was with me not working on them each day, as well as me stalling trying to figure out what the heck I was doing for my true measurements so that they will actually fit! :o)
What I learned: Try try and try again! Each time you do something you will eventually get better at it! Glad I kept my desire going for socks (not to mention my mini sock stash helped haha)! I have been wanting to do them for a long time now. And plan to crank out some "good" socks now! :o)Just like on pair #2 (fugly socks) I used the Turkish CO which is very similar to the magic cast-on technique, really depends upon your preference.
Since it had been over a year when I did the Turkish CO in a class, I had to brush back up on it and discovered a great quick pictorial of it.I will say next time I would like to use some reinforcement thread for the toes.
And I am still trying to get the hang of closing "the gap" from the gusset to turning the heel. Thank goodness for variegated yarn! :o)
The other thing I learned was to BO loosely!! Lets just say my left sock is much easier to slide on than my right one! ;op Haha!
I knew I was supposed to BO loosely and surveyed a lot of my knitting pals on how they do it toe-up.
I kept hearing about the whole EZ Sewn BO and after researching that I felt that was way too much work for me! Haha! So I did the ribbed BO loosely...so I thought! ;op
Since I was feeling all warm and fuzzy about my Socks that Fit (STF) I decided to go ahead and give them a Eucalan dunk! (I need to get the new makeover bottle now!)
They really didn't need to be blocked, but hey I wanted to do it just for fun so I could finally put my cute red sock blockers to good use! LOL!Modifications: Since I was using a generic sock recipe it gives you lots of room to do anything your knitting needles desire!
At first I started doing a ribbing pattern on the foot, but it was looking weird and I feared it was going to be too loose which I also refused to go down another needle size! So I ripped back and went pure stockinette.
I went with the short-row heel turn in the recipe, using a standard reinforcement heel (K1, Sl1). But would have really preferred a more square heel flap than the "V" look that this one shows
I have a thing for anklets! And this style is definitely perfect for summer socks.For the cuffs I used the a garter ridge stitch and according to Elizabeth Zimmerman, in Knitting without Tears, "ribbing is the best stitches for socks, as it is so elastic that it clings to the legs and ankles" :o)
But she also mentions how socks are best made on four needles! Haha! Ba humbug! ;op
Finally, I did go down to US1 on the heel turn and cuff for a close fit, as I did read that in the Sensational Knitted Socks as it is a great book in getting oriented to socks! Thanks again Chan for my book! I have been using it! :o)
Verdict: So glad I gave socks another go and that this pair worked out for me!
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
So I have lost my knitting mojo.
I got sidetracked a little last month and took up a sock class on how to knit 2 socks on 1 needle toe-up (by the way it was a very decent class where I learned a few things). And I decided to get all fancy with the basic pattern that was given to us in class and called myself making a "lace pattern" that I looked up in some random book......big mistake. I should have stuck to the boring stockinette! LOL!!
While I won't go into the project details since I won't be logging this one into the books ;op
I will say I did learn how to do the Turkish CO (also known to some as the magic cast on), and loved that you turn the heel without picking up stitches!! I never had to take the socks off the needle - not one time (loved that!), and I discovered how to do a simple reinforcement heel.
Could someone please enlighten me how on earth do I bind off on these puppies without the "ladder"occurring by not having to transfer them onto DPNs?? Am I missing something? I may need to finish watching this DVD I have over here on how to do 2 socks on 2 circs (which is way too much maneuvering - but has some good tidbits on there).
Oh well! I have to chalk this one up for the books and wear these for now :oD
Y'all get your red and purple pom poms out and hope that I get out of this knitting slump soon!
I am hoping that making my yarn wishlist and checking it twice to shop for future projects will get me all excited again!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
I was going to entitle this as "Wordless Wednesday WIP" like other knit bloggers...but who are we kidding! I like to talk! LOL!! :oD
I was stumped briefly on how I should Magic Loop my socks on picking up the heel flap and doing the instep in orientating my stitches on one needle. If you all recall I am a virgin at this whole Magic Loopin' thing AND doing my 1st pair of adult socks.
After reading the pattern 3,423 times to translate it into what I need to do for ML, and reading my Magic Loop book 176 times. I finally got it! :oD
I even remembered to knit in the back of the stitches connecting the instep so I won't have any "gaps" per the "you just pick up those knit tricks along the way from other knitters" wisdom :op Or you can just Click Here
I will say it again how I am so glad that I did baby booties first to give me some clue on how to knit socks! Or I would have been so s.t.u.c.k.
Can you see my 5,438 notes on my pattern?! LOL
I do like the fact that the variegation of the yarn hides a multitude of sins and that the Sockotta is a great first time knitting sock yarn.
However, in trying the WIP sock on I wish the sock fitted a little bit more snugger than they do right now (I should have made the size for 5/6 even though I am a 7.5 size), but all in all that is not quenching my excitement of doing my 1st pair of socks!
And might I also add that placemarkers are your best friend! LOL (Y'all see my safety pins...yeah they really didn't help - I ended up eyeballing when I should make my instep decreases! Haha) I sure will be using PMs on the 2nd sock. :op
So as of now it is all about the foot - pure stockinette! This is a very simple/nothing fancy pattern (which was the whole point of this exercise boys and girls!) so it is home free from here!
I gotta give myself a pat on the back thus far! WHOA!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Well apparently I have come down with a smidge of the "Cast On Fever" :o)
I have CO for the Charlotte Purls - Shrug KAL that we started on this past Saturday.
This is the 'Ribbed Shrug' we are knitting up this summer from Interweave Knits free patterns under their 'Wraps' section.
I went ahead and got the yarn for my shrug but was not particularly satisfied with the color.
The color that was on the website to me was not exactly what came in my box! :op
I wanted to pick a neutral color so I could just throw the shrug on with any outfit when my arms may get chilly in the office or somewhere like a restaurant. So why not a sand/brown color!
I wasn't completely against the color, but I wasn't excited about it either. Well I finally put my finger on it. The brown has a little bit of an orange tone to it that I don't particulary care for but could live with it.
While knitting on the shrug it hit me! I am going to gift this to one of my girlfriends and knit up another one in a different color for me! :oD DUH!
I also CO another Lizard Ridge square because Guess Who Finally Learned How to Knit Backwards!!! Yep! That would be ME! :oD My new knit friend Connie - Knit Knot Purl Curl showed me over the weekend at WWKIPD.
Also, thanks Robin for the tip on what to do about my joins as well!
I also yanked out the majority of my stitches about three times (UGH!) during the cuff stage, and lets just say I was having mini heartattacks over here and doing minor surgery to fix it! Hahaha!
I am just thrilled to get thru the heel at this point! We will see how everything else will turn out since I am doing the ML for the first time.
Thank goodness I worked on baby booties to give me a better understanding of a sock structure.
Here is a yarn p0rn pic of the yarn!
Lastly, I purchased a book over the weekend called The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques that will help me with finishing on knitted objects. Since I still need to do that for Ms. Marigold (why did I bring that up! LOL) and Sugar 'n Spice (which is all done I just need to seam it up).
And earlier last week I also got a special delivery from Woolly Moose who was a sweetheart and was gifting anyone who hit her up first different knitted related books, yarn, and magazines!
Well that is all for now. Y'all have a wonderful week!!
