Socks: August 2004 Archives

Yes, you probably thought that I was going to show off my trip to ThreadBear and the goodies I brought back. Truth be told, I thought I was going to be doing that, too. But I had a sudden burst of inspiration to finish off two socks that were only in need of toes. Or, rather, I needed a couple of projects that could be worked on in the dark while I followed John's Doom 3 progress. Thus, I polished off my Mermaid sock (I love the way she set up the toe decreases to maintain the pattern) and I ripped back and shortened the toe on John's Pinstripe Socks.

An Unlikely Pair of Socks

John's sock now fits perfectly (I ripped back so that there was 6.5" of tube past the heel start and then did standard decreases until I got to 16 stitches at the toe instead of my usual 12). And I really think I should get bonus knitting points doing Kitchener stitch in the almost dark with black yarn.

But I couldn't sign off tonight having only talked about two mismatched, unmated socks. I just have to show a picture of something that came home with me from Michigan:

Sheepy Magazine/Book Rack

When I saw this at my parent's house I just couldn't stop smiling. When Mom told me that she and Dad had found it while travelling through Michigan and just had to bring it home for me, my smile got even larger. How could I not love this sheep, complete with bell, that would be just perfect for holding a project or books and magazines next to my favorite reading chair? (You can't tell from the picture, but there's a nice open box between his fuzzy sides.) It's really just too wonderful!

I don't have room for a sheep in my backyard -- but now I have one in my house!

P.S. To everyone who asked me about the pattern I used for the Phil Ruban top. It's a pattern from the Phildar Ete 2003 book. I have no idea if the book is available anymore...

Mermaid Sock In Progress

Please try not to pay too much attention to my blindingly white skin or my lack of a recent pedicure. The only good way to show off the short-row heel was to put the sock on.

Lately, I;ve been taking a little knitting project to work. If the weather is nice, I take my yogurt and my iPod and go sit outside in the sunshine for lunch and nibble and knit. Today my Mermaid sock (from Lucy Neatby's recent book) went to work with me and I set up the short row shaping. Between lunch, KIP and a bit of Doom 3 observation, I managed to finish the heel. On double points, no less.

I've tried short-row heels before on 2 circular needles and haven't been impressed with the results. The double points did work better for this purpose, and might actually convince me to try them for a whole sock project. Lucy Neatby is right, 4 double points in the round is definitely better than three. Or, it could just be that a garter stitch heel is easier for me to tension correctly than a stockinette heel.

Were I to start from scratch, I would probably do the next size larger, but I suspect some loosening will occur when this superwash yarn hits the washer.

Now I am on the home stretch for the project. Or at least for the first sock. And I can't say enough nice things about this book, Cool Socks, Warm Feet. Some people have complained that she is overly-detailed and too focused on DP needles, but I think the detail level is great and her construction tips are very useful -- and it's not really all that hard to convert instructions to use 1 or 2 circs. You do have to read ahead and do a little bit more thinking than normal to get the most out of this book, but it is an excellent sock knitting reference.