Socks: August 2006 Archives
We had a lovely weekend in Michigan. And there will be Michigan Fiber Festival pictures coming soon -- from a very unique perspective. But first, a pair of finished socks.
I finished my brother's socks this morning while giving a sock making lesson to my mom -- her first sock outing with double pointed needles, and she took to them much better than I did the first time I tried them out. They are a bit loose in the toe (my dad and John modelled them for me so I could check fit) but both my Dad and John didn't seem all that bothered by it. So they will be on their way to Houston soon and if they are a bit too loose, I'll have my brother bring them back for Christmas and I'll custom fit them then. Since they are a very simple and straightforward pair of socks, and it's getting late here in Chicago, I think I'll leave the discussion at that.
So now I've got all but one pair of socks for my Family Sock Challenge complete. My aunt's are next. And working on Joe's socks first was exactly the right thing to do. Giving myself some extra time to think, I now know exactly how my "Feline Feet" socks are going to be from a design perspective, and I got a chance to figure out a gauge I like using Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock, medium weight in addition to testing out a new-to-me cuff technique. So more interesting socks will be on their way, soon.
Actually, it was a very good weekend for design ideas as well. Once I get my aunt's socks finished, I have another idea that I am just burning to try.
Speaking of a little burning... John and I got to see the tail end of a lovely sunset over Lake Michigan at Warren Dunes State Park on Sunday evening..
It was the perfect ending to a lovely day that involved doing nothing in particular except being with my family and getting some knitting done.
Top of the week to everyone!
Sometimes looking at a sock is like looking at the rings in a tree: you can see what's been going on in the past over the period of time the sock was being knitted. Case in point: the first of two socks for my brother as part of my Family Sock Challenge.
Amazing how much stuff gets caught up in one size 11 man-sized sock.
What stories do your socks have to tell? I'd love to see other people's sock-life diagrams!
For the record, the sock was knit top down using Regia Linien Color # 5281, on US size 1 needles, at approximately 8 stitches/inch. There's an inch and a half of K2P2 ribbing at the top,5 and a half inches of straight stockinetted, a short-row heel a la Patricia Priscilla Gibson-Roberts, and a 4 point toe after 9" of straight knitting. It took darned near all the yarn in the skein. It's a simple sock, but given that it's recipient is male, I think that is a good thing.
Project: Broadripple Socks
Yarn: 2 Balls of Elann Esprit in French Navy
Needles: US Size 3 Inox Circulars
Completion Time : 2 Years 3 Months
Clearly I took my sweet time on this project. But this afternoon, in the excellent company of Julie and her daughter Maddie in a lovely sunlit breakfast nook, I finished my Broadripple socks. In celebration of this event and the break in the oppressive heat (it was warmer in Houston today than it is here, which is as it should be), after over 2 years from when I first cast on, I took the socks out on my balcony for a little dance under the waxing Giibbous moon.
Elann Esprit seems to be an almost exact carbon copy of Cascade Fixation (the yarn recommended in the pattern). It's a cotton yarn with just enough elastic in it to give it a good deal of stretch. Pretty much perfect for summer sock knitting. Two balls is just about enough for a pair of socks for a woman with size 8 feet. Any bigger and I'd want a third ball handy, just in case. I've been wandering around in the house this evening wearing the socks so that I could get a reasonable impression of how they feel to wear. They do seem to stay up nicely (courtesy of the elastic, I'm sure) and so far I find them quite soft and comfortable.
With more cool weather ahead tomorrow, I think I'll be able to commit to wearing long pants and shoes that require socks, so they'll get the full workover. But I suspect that they will come through just fine. I'm also curious to see how this yarn does going through the wash.
The Broadripple pattern is a nice easy pattern, a good introduction to some lacy elements in socks. If you don't like the Dutch heel, or 4-point decrease toe, it would be trivial to substitute in any heel or toe that you preferred.
This is the last pair of socks I get to make for myself during my Family Sock Challenge (no it has not been forgotten, but it has been sadly neglected during all the other things going on this summer). Next stop? A straight stockinette pair for my brother in some relatively manly Regia which I've liked since I purchased it off Ebay, but that has been marinading in my stash for a while.
P.S. The Happy Dance drawing will happen this weekend. I'm going to put everyone's name in a pot and let the guy with the healing eye pick the winner. Results on Monday!
