More New Socks For Me

Last week I talked about a photo shoot for two pairs of socks.  This is the second pair.



This is the Through the Loops Mystery Sock for this year. A two color sock is so hard to plan for just because there are so many great possibilities for color combinations. I love choosing colors and seeing how they mix. In the end I settled with a pair of colors that was far less risky than many others. The dark blue id Malabrigo in Shery and the minty green is Spud & Chloe in Glow Worm. It wasn't terribly risky but I like it.



Knowing that this pattern would involve 2 colors I was a little apprehensive, hoping that there wouldn't be extensive color work or - even worse - intarsia. But a funny thing happened while I was working on these socks. I found myself wishing that the second color was involved just a little bit more. Wow!



In the end I'm really happy with thee socks. The fussy cast on and the stripey toes are fun and add a little spark to the design. Now I have a year to finish the 2012 socks and perhaps a few more pairs before the next mystery sock next year.

First Things First

It should come as no surprise that today, the day after I told you all about our little sock photo shoot, I'm sharing a pair of recently completed socks.

These are the Through the Loops Mystery Socks from 2013. I really love doing the mystery socks, I just have a problem finishing them. I start off strong but somewhere along the way life happens and suddenly I'm behind. And once I'm behind and there's no feeling of urgency it's way too easy to put a project down in for a minute.... that stretches into a year or so.

So when I saw the information posted for this years mystery sock I felt like I really ought to finish one of the previous mystery socks first. In the interest of full disclosure I should admit that the 2012 mystery socks are still languishing too. But at least I got these done and I did so before I started the new one. 

As with so many things, now that I'm finished with these socks I find myself wondering what took me so long. I really love them. The pattern in the front and in the back are lovely.

There's another reason why I wish that I'd finished these a year ago and not put them in time out.  My tension when I started them and when I finished them is not the same. It's not your imagination or a trick of photography - one sock is a bit shorter than the other.

Fortunately I have daughters who will take hand knit socks any way they can get them. 

No Gold

The thing about returning to some semblance of normal after huge change and upheaval is that there is a tendency to get overly excited and misinterpret progress as a sign that you can just jump back into things where you left off.  In reality, this isn't possible because things have CHANGED.  This really can't be stated strongly enough.  The change may be good.  It may be fabulous.  But change has consequences.  Stuff just doesn't fit together quite the same way.  This applies to everything.

When I signed up for the Ravellenic Games this year I had every expectation that I'd achieve gold as I had in the past.  I chose a WIP or two to enter in the WIP Wrestling event - choices strongly influenced by the fact that most of my stash is still in storage.  See, I'm somewhat realistic.  I still failed.

Project one (the only one I actually touched) was Pointelle by Cookie A in some absolutely fabulous yarn.  I love the pattern and the yarn equally and returning to it was joy.  What it wasn't was fast.  One would have to be delusional to expect it to be.  And so I was, because in the old days I could knit on my way to and from work with ease and I could knit in the evenings without disruption.  Neither of these things are true any longer.  I dare you to try to do anything uninterrupted with a one-year-old around.

So the only gold this year is the gorgeous color of my, still unfinished, socks.  I did finish the first one and start the second one.  I hope to finish them in the coming weeks.  They'd be the first pair I finished in over a year.  That may not be medal-worthy but it'll keep my feet warm and sometimes that's good enough.

On Socks

I didn't do a year end wrap up for 2011 but if I had you'd have seen hats, hats, and more hats. That seems to be all I made. No socks at all. After years where I made 10 pairs or more I had an anomaly - a year without socks. The horror!

Let's not dwell on it too much. It happened. It won't happen again. This year I plan to knit socks for me, my girls (all 3 of them), and anyone else. When I heard that Kirsten Kapur was delaying the Through the Loops Mystery Sock until January it seemed like a great way to return to socks.

I started strong but then a certain Girl Scout trip and other stuff got in the way and I stalled. I'm not sure when I'll get back to these but I will do it this year without fail. And when I do I'll likely give them away because I'm not sure that they'll fit me.

Apparently my sock knitting skills are rusty.

The Last Finished Object of 2010

As 2010 drew to a close I finished 2 projects. This pair of socks which I bound off on the very last day of the year was the very last. The other thing just went into the mail today so I figure that I'll give it until next week to arrive at it's destination before posting it. For now you've got socks.



These belong to Stinkerbelle and she is quite happy with them. She ought to be. The yarn she chose for these socks was a really lovely skein of Creatively Dyed Calypso which I bought for my own feet. That's what I get for telling her to go to the stash and pick something.

The yarn is really nice to work with and has amazing yardage. I still have quite a bit left over and I have no idea what I'll do with it but it'll be good because this yarn is just so pretty. I really love the colors. Of course the fact that there is zero pooling or flashing helps a lot but it's the really subtle little sparks of red - just a single stitch every now and again - that make my girl smile. They're so small that they're like a secret that only she knows is there.



She really does love the socks though and she's already worn them... a little longer than I would've liked.

The pattern is just my usual plain, toe-up, gusset socks. I've found that the gusset and flap is much more successful than short row heels for me. They're both easy to make but the gusset and flap seems to fit better.



The only change on this pair of socks is the bind off. In the past I used the sewn bind off but this time I tried using the tubular bind off and it's a winner. It's stretchy and the look is just perfect. I think it's a keeper.

Finished Mystery Socks

It's taken me so long to post the pictures of these finished socks that there isn't a whole lot of mystery about them any more. For the record, I did finish them on time. In fact I wove in the last ends with one day to spare.



The yarn I used for these was Pagewood Farm St Elias in Plum. It's a little thinner than I'd prefer but I did like it. I do think that a yarn with a little less varigation might have been a better choice but it works.



I was a little ambivalent about these socks as I knit them. I didn't love the little boxes and I wasn't sure about the tiny trowels either. I don't think I'm alone in that but because I do like Kirsten Kapur's other designs I took the giant leap of faith and kept knitting. I'm so glad I did because I like the end result. The tiny trowels remind me of streamers undulating back and forth down the sock and the little boxes are a nice counterpoint to them.



I'm already on to 2 other pairs of socks and nearly finished with the first sock of each pair. If I finish both pairs by the end of the year then I would have a total of 14 pairs of sock for the year. Not the 18-20 that I'd hoped for but pretty respectable. Maybe I can squeeze another pair or 2 out.

Ball Band Journey Socks

I don't know about you but the longer a project stays on my needles, the more of a relief it is to have it finished. These socks were started in the summer of 2007 so the joy at finishing them is especially high.



The yarn was the inspiration. I found a single, lovely skein of KnitSmiths Sockezze at Mosaic in Blaacksburg, VA and I just knew it was for Stinkerbelle. And it was. my girl loves these socks and she wore them (longer than she ought to) as soon as I finished them. I have to say that telling the child that she couldn't wear the socks until the photos were done was a great motivator for her.



Although it's not obvious in some of the pictures, I worked in some Shelridge Farm in violet after I turned the heel. I just wanted to make sure that I had enough Sockezze to finish the socks.

As I worked both yarns and saw that the violet was standing out a bit I decided that rather than trying to hide it - I'd play it up a little by doing a few ball band rows for the cuff. I used the violet to divide up the blocks of purl bumps. It's no perfect but it works and Stinkette loves them.



I have to say that I really loved this yarn. I love the feel of it which is warm and inviting. I also love the way the short runs of color make it kind of stripey. No flashing or pooling - just a pleasing mix of colors.

Happy Sock Day!

Today is a very good day! The sun is shining, the leaves are bright yellows and reds, my family is happy, and I am officially one year older.

Another good thing is my sock mojo which is flowing freely once again. Late last week I finished a pair of socks for Stinkette so I moved on to the TTL Mystery socks and finished clue #4.



Then because Stinkette wore her newly completed socks for 48 hours straight (ewwww) before we noticed and forced her to put them in the laundry, I started a new pair for her. These are dead-simple commuting socks in Creatively Dyed Calypso in a color called Giant.



Finally, last night I started a little something for me. I stuck to my plan and started a pair of Pointelle socks from Knit.Sock.Love. using a delicious skein of Spirit Trail Sunna. Are you shocked that they're not blue - or purple - or green? This color is called Harvest Moon and it is totally outside my usual palette but it's fabulous and I think it'll be awesome for these socks.



You could say that these are a little gift to myself. All the glow of candles on a cake without the calories.

Sea Spires

Have you seen Knit.Sock.Love. yet? The hard copy doesn't come out until late next month but the pdf went live on Sunday and I got a copy that day. I gave to say that I think offering the book in pdf is brilliant because now I can just print out the patterns as needed. I'm getting a hard copy too and if you order it now through her website she's got a special deal for getting both.



When you do get the book check out page 173 where you'll see me listed in the credits as one of the test knitters for the Gothic Spire pattern. I was so excited when I was accepted as a test knitter. I may have danced around a little. It was back in June and my M-I-L was visiting and she must've thought I was nuts.



Anyway, after considering a few different, dark and moody skeins of yarn in my stash at the time I settled on something that was happy and light instead. The yarn is Woolen Rabbit Sock Yarn in Sea Dreams and it was so perfect for this project. I love the way the stitches show up in it. With patterns like these you really want to be able to see the details and they kind of pop in this yarn.



Now that the book is finally out I've got so many new patterns to consider. Many patterns in the book were available elsewhere before but I didn't have them so they're new to me. I like having them all in one place and of course the 7 new patterns in the book are pretty cool too. I have a skein of yarn caked up and ready to go and I'm just trying to decide between Stricken and Pointelle. Either way I'll be casting on one of them later today. I can't wait.

Sturdy Stripey Socks

Here is one of the 2 pairs of socks that I finished a bit over 2 weeks ago. I am so happy that the weather and my family's schedule finally allowed me to get pictures.

DQ modeled these socks because they're for her. I have to note that because my girls have begun to fight over who gets to model each pair. Isn't that weird? I understand fighting over who gets the finished socks but battling over who gets to interrupt what they're doing so that they can help their geeky mom take pictures of knit socks is kind of funny and strange - but it makes me very happy.



As DQ modeled the socks - moving this way and that - I noted just how fraternal they are.



Then she moved her feet just a little bit and I realized that the stripes weren't as far off as I thought.



I used ONLine Supersocke for these socks and I was well into these socks before I caught on to the fact that this yarn is sport weight. Incredible attention to detail huh? Anyway, I used my usual US 1 needles so the fabric feels really sturdy while still being soft enough to wear comfortably. I see DQ wearing these for a long time.

Beachy Socks

I'm in sock finishing mode right now. I know it's the kiss of death to state that I intend to finish something by a certain date but I'm going to tempt fate and say that by this time next week I'll have 2 more pairs of socks finished. They will be my 9th and 10th pairs for this year. Not bad at all but definitely short of my goal of 18-20 for the year but there are still a few months left. I'd better get moving.



These have been finished for a while. They're just another pair of dead-simple toe-up socks but I really love the yarn. It's Madeline Tosh Sock in a color called Shoreline which was perfect for summer knitting and kept the beach perpetually on my mind. Too bad I never got there.




Can't you see the beach in those colors? The sand and the sea and the whitecaps rolling in to crash on the shore.




I suppose that it speaks volume for my color preferences that all of the socks I've finished this year and those that are still on the needles are in the blue-green family. I should be tired of knitting blue and green socks by now but I'm not. Not at all.

Week One

One week ago today I dropped my girls off at camp.

Since then I've received 2 notes from each of them. They say that they're missing me. They also say that they're having a blast and that's really good because I am too.

Don't get me wrong, I miss them terribly. But there is something wonderful about waking up in the morning and having nobody to take care of but myself. Nobody needs money for anything and nobody needs to be dropped off anywhere. I just need to get myself where I need to be.

Since they've been gone I've seen a movie, been to the pool, read books and magazines. I've even done something totally shocking - I went to the gym to work out on Sunday morning. Simply shocking!



Of course I'm knitting too. These are one of the 2 pairs of socks that are on the needles right now. Clearly this one has a way to go but there are other projects that are nearing completion. It would seem that all this relaxation is really good for knitting progress.

Deep Blue Socks

Just to prove that I really am still knitting, today I've got a finished pair of socks to share. The pattern is Spring Forward by Linda Welch which I knit in Neighborhood Fibre Company yarn in a color called Georgetown. I love them both. and I really love them together.

The wavyness of the pattern together with the goegeous deep blue just screamed for a pool shoot and thankfully I have friends with a gorgeous one. DQ graciously modeled the socks. She said that she'd be fine doing it at the neighborhood pool but there are kids from school there and they don't really need to know how weird I am - especially when we could do the shoot at a friends house. They already know how weird I am.



Anyway, there really isn't a lot to say about a project where everything goes right. Great pattern - great yarn. I even knit the pattern "as written", complete with the patterning on the foot. I almost always leave them plain.



I do have a quick note about the yarn. The color is even deeper and more amazing in person but, as much as I love a rich cobalt blue, I almost passed on this yarn. See, I used this yarn before for my dragon socks and it bled all over my fingers. So as I stood looking at the yarn at Fibre Space and reminding myself of why I shouldn't buy it, a shop worker (I don't recall who) helpfully said that I should try it again because it no longer has the same problems. I am so happy to say that they were right and that it didn't bleed at all this time.

The temps here should reach the hifgh 90's again today so I'll put these in my sock drawer and wait for fall.

Kai-Mei... Finally

A while back I was fortunate enough to score 2 skeins of Wollmeise. I know there are many of you out there who know exactly what an accomplishment that is.

Anyway, after expending such and effort to get my hands on the stuff you can bet that I gave careful consideration to the pattern worthy of such a precious skein and came up with Kai-Mei by Cookie A. You really can't go wrong with any of her patterns and this is no exception. It was clear and easy to follow.



Here are the socks in the wild. Isn't it cool how they blend into the background? Bruce took the pictures of these because they are mine, mine, mine and I don't want to tempt my girls by letting then try them on even once... no, not really. Bruce did take the pictures and I did do the modeling but that's because my usual models are way too busy lately. Can you believe that?



So, what about that yarn? Is it really worth all the hype? I really can't say. I do like it quite a lot. It was nice to work with and the fabric it produced is lovely. Really, really lovely and smooth and even. The thing of it is that this isn't the most exciting skein of Wollmeise I've ever seen. I do love green and this one is rich and dense but it lacks the colorful punch that Wollmeise is known for. My bad. I could've chosen a more exciting skein and I didn't.



The bottom line is that these socks are a win. I adore the color and the asymmetry. I can't wait to wear these but not right now. It was 95 yesterday and it'll be 97 today. As if that's not bad enough they're predicting 100 for tomorrow and let's not forget the famous DC humidity. Step outside and you'll feel like you're melting.

I'll just go put these in my sock drawer and dream of cooler weather.

Whose Socks Are Those?

Today's post is proof that I still knit and I even finish stuff. These are just basic Koigu socks with picot edges that I knit toe up. nothing new or exciting but they did get me thinking a bit.



Socks are my go-to knit. I always have a pair in progress in my bag and I often have 2 pairs in progress or, at the very least, a second ball of yarn is with me - just in case. It's easy to have a perpetual sock when your stash grows to a certain point. In theory you've chosen all the sock yarn because you like it so there is usually something in there to catch your eye and suit your mood. Occasionally I buy with someone in mind (or at the behest of one of my daughters) but most of it was bought strictly on a whim and it's all stuff I like.



The patterns used to be the driving force behind my sock knitting but that's not so anymore. Whereas I used to find a pattern I liked and then search for the right yarn for it - these days I often grab a ball of yarn and it's not unusual for me to start knitting a toe before I have any idea what the finished sock should look like. There's a freedom in knitting a sock and just seeing where it takes you.



So it's kind of funny that people are always asking who the socks are for. Since most of my socks start on a whim, I have no idea who will wear the socks. I suppose I start most socks assuming that they'll be mine but somewhere along the way it changes. The pattern takes a turn or inspiration strikes and suddenly hits me that they're just perfect for someone else or my daughters see them and claim them. Usually it happens before I hit the halfway point on the first sock.

That's why I thought that these were mine right up until I started to cast of sock 2. At that moment, half way through binding off sock 2 Stinkerbelle finially noticed the socks and fell hard for them. It was all I could do to get a few pictures before they were spirited off to her room.

Now I'm wondering about how the sock knitting has evolved for others. What about you? Is it still pattern driven or is it a more organic process? Are the endless possibilities freeing you or are they overwhelming?

Spring Inspiration

Immediately after I finished the last pair of socks I cast on for a new pair. These will be Kai-Mei by Cookie A. I'm using one of my 2 skeins of Wollmeise in a color called Pesto. Look at how the color blends with the leaves of my lilacs.



I've had this yarn for a little while and I was trying to figure out what it is about it that people go nuts for. Sure the color is really deep and rich but, to be perfectly honest, in the skein this wasn't really that impressive. Now that I'm knitting with it I love it. I still can't put my finger on the reason but I do like it quite a lot.

I think the Kai-mei in the Wollmeise is going to work well but there is one small problem with this project. I don't think that the patterning on the foot will make great commuter knitting. This is why I cast on for a second, totally different, sock. This one will probably stay simple and make a wonderful companion on my travels. It's Koigu and I have no idea when or where I bought it. It's very pastel which makes it totally outside my usual color palette. That's probably why it caught my eye in the stash. It's working for me so far.



Doesn't the fledgling toe look lovely among the peonie buds. Any day they're going to pop and I'll be sure to take pictures when they do to share with those of you for whom spring hasn't quite sprung yet.

Into the Spring Socks

It was a happy coincidence that I finished a pair of socks the night before we went to Morikami Gardens. DQ might disagree though, because I made her model the socks there. I tease about her but she's actually a pretty good sport about modeling my handknits and volunteered. Maybe because in Florida there was little chance that her friends would see it.



I'm not sure that there's a lot to say about these. The yarn is Claudia Hand Paint in Caribbean Blue. Lovely stuff. It's a joy to knit with.



I did a pretty standard toe-up sock with all my favorite components coupled with a Swirly O leg. All good... and perfect for commuting.



The only potential issue with these socks is that DQ predicts that they'll be too big for me. I haven't tried them on yet but she obviously has and she found them a wee bit roomy on her feet which are slightly bigger than mine. She thinks that I ought to give them to someone with bigger feet than me. I'm still not sure about that.

Jackie's Socks

I finished a pair of socks last week. It's my third complete pair for this year but I was hoping to knit 18 pairs in 2010 so I'll need to pick up the pace a bit.

These are one of those rare pairs of socks that I've knit by request. I give socks away all the time but it's usually something I decide on my own or because my girls see a pair on the needles and claim them mid-knit. This time my S-I-L saw me knitting socks while visiting last fall and asked if I'd make her a pair. I was kind of flattered and said yes.



As I mentioned before, these started with the Nutkin pattern but it's really just a Nutkin leg surrounded by sock elements that make me happy. I started with a picot edge rather than a plain one and I did an eye of partridge flap heel rather than short rows. I also went with a foot that was plain except for purl rows traveling down the sides for definition. I like elements that flow into each other and the purl rows continue from the sides of the leg. It works for me.



The yarn is Caper Sock by String Theory in a color called Isis. I like Margene's idea of calling it Iris in a Blender. It's superwash wool with nylon and cashmere. You can really feel the cashmere. After a soaking and a blocking (yes, I blocked a pair of socks for the first time in years) the cashmere has a lovely fluffy haze and these socks are amazingly soft to the touch.

Now these socks are on their way to Brooklyn where I hope they'll be greeted happily.

Manly Socks

I finished my second pair of socks for 2010 a little over 2 weeks ago. These are for my husband Bruce, made from yarn he chose about three years ago. It's Trekking Pro-Natura and my man loves the fact that it has bamboo in it. I'm not sure why but he thinks that's cool. Whatever floats his boat.


There really isn't too much to say about these. They're dead-simple toe-up socks with a 3 x 1 rib around the leg. I think that's kind of manly.

The most interesting thing about these socks is the heel. I used the same recipe for a flap heel that I used on the purple On-Hold socks. I really like this heel and I wish I could commit it to memory so that I could incorporate it into more of my simple commuter socks. Not only does it come out really well, Bruce says these are the best fitting socks I've made for him so far. He can't wait to wear them.

Stripey Picot Socks

I've had a bunch of time to knit lately. Huge snow storms will do that for you.



This is the first thing I finished. It was actually a test knit of Carole's new pattern for picot edged socks. I loved it and I see many more picot edged socks in my future.

The yarn I used for these was the Kaffe Fassett Regia. I can't imagine why I didn't use this sooner. I had so much fun with the colors and, as usual, Bruce was fascinated by the self striping yarn.



These socks are purposefully, totally, fraternal because I think they're more fun like that. Once they were finished, DQ noticed that the stripes are realy pretty close.



As much as I enjoyed making these socks, I didn't keep them for myself. I sent them to my sister as a little pick-me-up and she says they hit the mark. They have a lot in common with my second pair od finished socks for this year. They're also not for me but perfect for the recipient. I hope to have pictures for a F O post soon.