Tag Archives: toe up

A New Sock

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My Plain Rye has been languishing in my project bag as the weather has grown warmer. Definite SSS as I have finished the first one but only the cuff of the second. I have a hard time working on any project that I’m not “in love with” at the time. So to the back of the closet it goes!

I still have the urge to work on a sock and to keep up with Socks With Sarah. Eons ago I picked some actual fingering weight sock yarn: Lorna’s Laces Soulmate in the Hawaii colorway:20140531-215852-79132153.jpg

How gorgeous right? So I pulled this from my stash and divided evenly into two cakes. I even made sure that I started each cake at the same point in the color change pattern. I feel like a proper sock knitter! 🙂

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I picked a vanilla toe-up sock with gusset heal that is a variation of a pattern by Wendy Johnson. I’m working a total of 74 stitches on US 0 DPN needles. The pattern was written for magic loop but I’m working using three needles.

I don’t know if this is “right” or “wrong” but since I have five DPNs I’m working the socks in a sort of two at a time fashion. Two needles per sock and the fifth to work the live stitches. I plan to work each pattern section (toe, foot, turn the heel, etc) for each sock before moving to the next section. Hopefully this helps me produce two matching socks and avoid SSS, lol.

And as a pleasant consequence, I don’t have much of a laddering problem between the needles as I only have two needle changes (instead of the four I had with my Rye Socks). And I’m knitting the first stitch on each needle twisted and making sure to pull tightly. This is helping me to create a more even fabric. Check it out!

P.S. I’m TOTALLY in love with these colors. Really helps me power past the tiny yarn on tiny needle problem I usually face with socks.

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FO Friday: One Pain In The Rear Sock

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I’m so over this project. Your guys’ wonderful comments last week were amazing and wonderful. Not to mention, full of great suggestions! But I just had to be done. I worked a few more stripes of color changes, did a 2×2 rib for a bit, and then bound off.

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I didn’t even have the heart to finish the skein. It was just one of those projects! It’s my stashbustin’ #41 for those counting and my Rav page is here. I did learn a lot:

Pros:
– I learned how to do a Turkish cast on
– I adapted the pattern to fit my measurements
– I turned my first heel
– This was my first fingering weight project
– I completed my first ever sock.
– I got to buy some neat sock blockers!

Cons:
– Dropping stitches was a pain on the rear to pick back up as I don’t own a small enough crochet hook
– My feet are big and therefore entail lots and lots of tiny stitches
– I should not and cannot do leg/calf increases on the fly…they just look bad
– I only ended up with one sock

After all this, I still want to knit socks. Next time I want to try two at a time, top down socks on circulars. I have the yarn, I have the pattern, just need to save up some moolah to buy the needles.

And because it’s Friday here is a pic of my solo sock on my giant lady foot 🙂

Socktober Progress

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Tah Dah!!! I have turned my first heel on my first ever sock…..

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I’m working a toe up sock with simple gusset heel. I’m using Knit Picks Felici in the colorway Peachy. It’s fingering weight yarn on size US 1 needles and it feels like its taking forever!

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I am finding that holding my tension between the needles is hard for me. And I have some looser tension spots that no one will notice but me, lol. Knitter problems, I swear I’m my own worst critic.

Now I just need to knit up the leg portion. I will definitely use some sort of super stretchy cast off. (On a side note, I have a sneaky suspicion about my yardage on this project. But I will refrain voicing those thoughts until I have finished this sock)

Happy Knitting!!!

Socks For Socktober

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Being that it is October, I put my big girl panties on and cast on for my very first ever sock. I know it’s already basically the end of the month, but I get points for the spirit right?

I pulled a ball of Knit Pocks Felici in the Peachy color way from my stash and I had chosen a Toe Up Sock with Gusset heel for a pattern. I was excited!

But upon careful reading of the pattern, as one should do before putting yarn on needles, I realized my folly. I had fingering weigh yarn and size US 1 needles when the pattern called for sport weight and size US 2s. Insert forehead slap here…….

After a cup of tea, I decided to forge ahead. I was determined to ” make it work” as Tim Gunn so often states. I forged ahead with what I had. Given the thinner yarn and smaller needles I decided to knit the largest size in the pattern so as to aim for something in the middle. This project is mostly about learning new skills for me, so who cares if they only fit a tiny adult.

I successfully completed my first ever seamless Turkish Cast-on and promptly set to knitting the pattern as written. I got to the end if the increase section and “tried it on” my foot and found one more increase was necessary to fit. So I wrote the change on my pattern and added it to my sock.

I then trudged through about an inch if stockinette and had one last fitting before bed!

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I will undoubtedly have to continue to alter the pattern as I go. But it’s very well written and it should work out alright. As long as I take excellent notes for the second sock, lol!

If this works out, I cannot wait to fill a drawer in my dresser with handmade socks!! Anybody else out there have the same urge?