Test knitting a beta pattern

I'm test knitting a beta version of the Arch-enemy sock pattern by yarmando. It's a good pattern and I'm making notes for suggestions. I was knitting last night in the back of the truck while using my headlamp so I could see. I snapped this photo of what it looked like I was working last night.


Here's the instep progress.

Here's the progress on the sole.

Sock Reincarnation

The beginning:

 
Pattern: WendyKnits.net sportweight toe-up sock. Size US 3 DPNs (KnitPicks Options)
Yarn: Creatively Dyed (shared here on the blog)
Cast-on as a Cast-One Sunday Project. Completed in 7 days.

The first life:
The heel needed healing.

The second life:

I shortened the foot by 1 inch and the heel hits wrong. *ugh*
I added 5 short rows in the heel flap to lengthen it so knitSB would like it better.
The cast-off was too girly loose for him. I used the knit two, *pass sts back to left needle, k2tog through the back loop, knit one, repeat from *. I like this bind-off a lot but it doesn't work for the recipient.

The third life:

I pulled it out and will knit top down socks for him. I know how to knit top down socks and know the heel fits him.  I expect there are better toe-up socks patterns to allow adjustments (evil, no less) but I wanted to knit a second pair using this nice pattern.

The lesson learned: 
Not every foot likes the same toe-up sock pattern.
I loved following this pattern from my iPhone. I didn't use paper to print the pattern. How green of me.
I like WendyKnits (free) patterns.  They are easy to follow and this one worked for my foot well. I think her Faro Easy Shawl is next after I finish two projects.  Visit back for details.

Mary Poppins knitting

Yep, I knit while waiting for tonight's performance of Mary Poppins. The show was enjoyable, the staging inspiring and the singing jumbled.

My knitting in the wild

As a knitter, I enjoy seeing my knitting projects "in the wild." You know what I mean, don't you. Seeing something I've knit being worn without the person knowing that I'm going to be there.  Do you like this?

Recently I visited my sister and her husband. I spotted some socks I knit for her in 2007.  Here's the picture of the socks when I originally gave them to her.

and she was very happy to get them.  See?

I love this photo.  The smile is perfect. 

Three and a half years later, she still has the socks and wears them.  I snapped this picture as proof.
 
Makes me feel good to have my knitting enjoyed over a number of years

Birthday Surprise

Wow.  I just got a birthday surprise on Ravelry.  Laura from The Knit Girllls video podcast sent me a copy of her Spring Wind Sock Pattern for my birthday.  Her designs are La La's Knits on Ravelry. 

I favorited the pattern just yesterday and Laura took notice. It made me smile! Heck, I didn't even know you could send patterns as a gift. 



Thanks Laura!

You can tell by my hair that I stopped to blog this because I was very happy.  :)

Rustic Jack Socks Completed

I made this video back in September while I was on vacation and just found this draft blog entry today. 
Charlene Schurch pattern using Rustic Wool from the Queensland Collection.
Blogged about here and here.The first "here" link has lots of details.
These socks are for my BIL Jack.  He received them while he was on his first retreat.  It was wonderful to be able to knit the socks while we where together on vacation. 

Jack is knit worthy. 

Rustic Socks Update

More about those Rustic Socks I mentioned yesterday.



More Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch
Uneven Ribbing is a 4 stitch repeat.
Using Rustic Wool from the Queensland collection. I blogged about these socks here and here and here.
I don't like the short row heel. Ick. I'll have to use some more research. Perhaps another resource would help with my toe-up socks. I move to top-down on a size 4 needle. I'm using the (St) Ann Budd Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns as my guide.
knitSB footies on a size 2 using Twisted Sisters Jazz. I'm using the sock cal app for the iPhone mentioned in this blog post.  I'll keep you updated on how it goes.

While at Monticello, I snapped this photo of the life size Thomas Jefferson statue. Can you spot the knitting?

Vanilla Jazz Socks Finished!

Yes! They are ready to be worn!
Vlogged about them here and here.
Restarted them here.
Enjoyed the heel here.

This is the the skein that really caught my attention.

I thought the colors were amazing. I had them on hold for 6 months at the LYS and then put the skeins back on the shelf for another 6 months before I bought them. This yarn really caught my attention.

Rustic Socks progress

Rustic Socks progress
Originally uploaded by knittingbrow

I decided to use a mistake ribbing type pattern for my Rustic Socks which are made using Rustic Wool. I like the way it is turning out.

I'm worried that I might not have enough yarn. I have just under 300 yards and I'm a bit panicky about using a stitch pattern that will eat up yarn. I ran out of yarn in the Vanilla Jazz Socks...so it will happen again! ack! So I sent DH to the LYS on Thursday to pick up another skein. The yarn was on sale and they had two skeins. I asked him to get both. I like the color and how it knits up.

300 yards probably would have been plenty. 500 yards should mean I could do knee highs I'd I want to. I don't. I like the legs of my socks to hit about mid-calf. After all, I am knitting then toe-up using magic loop. They should be perfect, right?

Jazz Vanilla Socks just got "jazzier"

I used Pumpkin Spice to finish the toes on my Jazz Vanilla Socks.  Here's a picture of this the yarn that will eventually become short socks for knitSB.

Jazz Vanillia Socks Update

Knitter's Handy Book of Knitting Patterns by (St.) Ann Budd. I wonder what Ann would think about my referring to her as a "saint." I mean it in good humor. If you see her, please let her know.

I'm using Twisted Sisters "Jazz" on size 3.0 mm dpns.
Next time I need to decrease a needle size for the cuff. It says I should do that in the directions. I just didn't read that correctly.
On this pair of socks, I've dropped to size 2.25 mm for the heel flap, heel turn and toes to help give them some strength. That is a drop of 3 needle sizes.
Argh. I ran out of yarn for my socks.  These skeins have (about) 163 yards per skein. I could have made the leg length shorter, but I like the length, so I'll have to keep some extra yarn.

(You'll notice the hacking sound in the background.  That's Hugo chewing on some grass.)

Jazz Slip-Stitch Rib Sock Redo

Well, the best laid plans don't always work out. I've been working on the Slip-Stitch Rib Socks from the Little Box of Socks. The knitting has been going well, but the size of the sock isn't working out. What to do? What to do?

 
Ripping=Frogging details in a knitty post here.

Right after I shot this video on Saturday, I did a gauge swatch in the round to find out exactly how many stitches per inch I actually get with this yarn/needle combination.  I'm happy with the 7 sts per inch and have started a pair of Jazz Vanilla Socks using the Knitters Handy Book of Patterns by (St.) Ann Budd. I believe a simple pattern will highlight the yarn. Afterall, I fell in love with the colors of this yarn in the hank.  I wish I had taken a photo of this yarn in the hank. It was really beautiful.

I snapped a photo of the sock progress.  I knit on Saturday evening while watching The Women at Songferret's how with DH. Wow. The film was made in 1939. I think I've heard people act like this backstage, but I try to ignore all that. ;) We also watch a bit of The Best of 'So Graham Norton.'  That's not for the faint of heart but funny.
I'm please with how they are turning out.  What do you think?


This photo shows the right colors. I just keep wanting to knit on these socks to see what happens next with the yarn. I expect the heel flap and turning the heel with change the way the colors are knitting up. I'll post a picture to let you see

Interviewing KnitMary

KnitMary is one of my longest knitting friends.
Red Bird Knits Sock Clubs  (I did a previous post about Red Bird Knits Sock clubs found here.)
We talk about the self imposed sock club inspired by the Yarn Harlot. YH's sock club blog post, post and post.
She's got 16 kits that she wants to make to the end of 2011.
Mega Boot Sock from Meilenweit

You can learn more about KnitMary on this knitrific blog post. 

Nextvangogh finished her socks

Remember the interview I did with nextvangogh?
She talked about her current knitting project, the Vorticity Socks. I got a tweet from her that said she was finished with the socks.  Here's her blog post about her socks. Leave her a message and tell her how good they look.

I took the picture of her socks so you could see them.

Thanks again for letting me interview your voice, nextvangogh. :) 

Roman Rib Socks from Little Box of Socks

I'm sharing a picture of my Roman Rib Socks progress.


The pattern is from the Little Box of Socks.
I'm using Memories sock yarn from Knit Picks in the color Pansy. I've tried knitting four different projects with this yarn and haven't been pleased until now. I'm enjoying the way the colors are finally working in this rib stitch. The yarn must not have been very popular with Knit Picks because it has been discontinued.

I'm using size 2.25 mm dpns.

Another Broken DPN!

grrrr.
While knitting on my Evil Sock Genius Socks, one of my size 2.25 mm Rosewood Colonial Needles broke! Snapped right in two. I wasn't happy.



Oh, you get to see Maddy & Hugo in this video. They were a bit rowdy and playing.

Is it just me snapping needles in half?
Has this happened to you?

Oliver Sock 1 Progress

Ravelry Link to the Oliver Pattern by Marlowe Crawford.
Creatively Dyed Yarns Shop
I love turning a heel photo/post

I enjoyed knitting this sock. It's not a boring knit at all and doesn't take too much concentration that it took my attention away from conversation or a movie.

Yes, I'm magic-looping, yarmando. :)

I don't sound very happy in this vlog, do I?  I'm disappointed actually. I hoped the sock would fit better than it does and now I get to decide if I continue knitting it or "tink" it and start over. Decisions, decisions, decisions. I'll probably wear them more if they were knit on a 2.75 mm or 3.0 mm needle. Or I "tink" to the heel and do the larger size. I'll just wait and get some other opinions. In the meantime, I might cast on a pair of socks from the Lucy Neatby's Cool Socks, Warm Feet book.

Finishing Socks

Happy Feet
Kitcheners Stitch
Boot Socks using Lambs Pride Super Wash using a Lopi Sock Pattern
Yarn Candy Socks from Cider Moon ends. Superwash knit on size 3 DPNs
Jacki Yarnzombie
Gaslight Dyeworks
Tuscan Grove
Knitters Connection
Yarmando
Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock I was wrong. It's Claudia Hand Painted Yarns Fingering 100% Merino Wool in Purple Earth
Maryland Sheep and Wool
Evil Sock Genius 
Sock Wars

Kitchener's Stitch Gone Wrong

Kitchener's Stitch Gone Wrong
Originally uploaded by knittingbrow

Yep, I got to do forensicknitting. These are the first pair of socks that knitSB was trying to knit. Nice knitting all the way to the toes. One sock was nicely completed. The other ended with lots of problems on the toe. You might have seen another example of a Kitchener's St gone wrong in a previous post. It's the "ketchup stitch" cause it splattered everywhere.

I found these and thought it would be wonderful to finish them for him :).

Here's a (slightly blurry) photo of the finished sock.

Finished Socks!

Well, they are footies from the Little Box of Socks by Charlene Schurch and Beth Parrott. There are a few really nice socks in this gem of a book. The first pair used Cascade Fixation and the Golf/Athletic Socks pattern. I'm pleased with how they turned out.  I did make a few alterations. I did a K2P2 rib for 12 rows instead of the suggested rolled edge.  I do like the garter heel but will combine it with a slipped stitch heel for my next pair.

The new pair of socks uses the Waves and Piers pattern.  I wanted to take advantage of some of the stripping yarn in my stash and wanted to make the socks more interesting.  This pattern should do nicely.  I'm using the Regia yarn in the Kaffe Fassett Colors.



More details on both these projects will be added to my Ravelry page shortly.