Blue Striped Socks

I seem to be a finishing mood, picking up projects and completing them. At least one of them, so far. But I have more plans.

I finished a pair of socks this weekend. The yarn is Berroco Sox, color 1477. (Kingston). The color doesn't seem to be on the Berroco web page, and it's no wonder.  These have been on needles forever. Today I found a note about these socks that I made on February 1, 2014, so I've been knitting them since before then.

The socks are knit with the Yarn Harlot's vanilla sock yarn pattern from Knitting Rules.  I knit them with a pair of Signature Needle Arts double pointed needles, sized 1.  A side note - I'm not sure I've ever mentioned this, but I have two pairs of double pointed needled from this company (which is now closing).  They were very expensive, and feel wonderfully luxurious, but I don't like to knit with them.  I prefer my wooden needles.  

The yarn is self striping, and I find that very fun and amusing, as the stripes appear as I knit regular stockinette.  

I have no idea when I started these socks (other than it was before 2014).  I know I did a lot of work on the second sock in early 2020, because I posted pictures in my Instagram account.  Apparently, I can't knit socks during a pandemic, because I think they languished on the needles until I picked them up this weekend with on the toe (and a little of the foot) to knit. 

The problem is that I didn't make any notes about the numbers I used when knitting.  I ended up with not only fraternal socks (the stripes do not match up), but also socks of two different sizes.  I used two different numbers of stitches to start the socks.  By a lot. 

See the difference in width?  Oh, well.  They still work as socks, and are warm.  The toes are kind of pointy, though.  Poor things.

Sock Christmas Ornaments

 When we were in Las Vegas last fall, we made a stop at Sin City Knit Shop.  It's a great shop - I recommend it.   I bought this yarn:

It's from Socker Mom Fibers (I had already wound two of the tiny skeins).  Each one was about 5 grams of yarn or 27 yards, I think (or close to that).  The pattern is also from Socker Mom, and it is for tiny Christmas tree ornaments shaped like socks.  They had a little tree decorated with them.  They also had a kit for a garland made of tiny socks.  Adorable. 

I loved the yarn.  It was slightly overdyed, so there was a variation in color.  In the image, you can see it best in the green.  I knit the socks with size 0 needles.  Tiny.  The hanger is created with a crochet chain stitch - hook size D.  

I ran out of the house on the way to leave for the weekend with the yarn, pattern, and needles, but no other notions.  I had to go to a craft store and pick up darning needles and a crochet hook to finish the socks as they flew off the knitting needles.  Not at all prepared. 

As you can tell, I knit them on the road - we took a weekend trip right before New Year's Eve.  They knit up SO FAST.  Well, compared to a normal sized sock, anyway.

The pattern was clear. It used what it called a shadow heel (which I've never heard of). The shadow heel used stitches called TWK (twin knit stitch) and TWP (twin pearl stitches).  I did have an issue with these stitches - maybe it was the yarn or the needles, but there was some splitting of the yarn.  Also, it was sometimes difficult to figure out (for me) how to create the stitch in the leg of the stitch directly below.  Lots of transferring of stitches from one needle to the other.  It did result in socks, though.

The kit was designed to knit three socks, I think, but after I finished one of each color, it seemed like there was enough yarn to go again, so I did.  Six stock ornaments altogether. 

And the leftover blue yarn?

I had more yarn leftover of the other colors, but not much of the red and green. Still - good use of yarn! And fun knitting. 

Currently on the needles

I'm halfway through another pair of socks -- maybe more than halfway, since I have one sock completed and one leg halfway finished.  I'm using the Dragonfly Djini sock yarn I bought in Alexandria with the Cookie A pattern, Potamtomus socks, which was published on Knitty. The pattern is named after a genus of fish, and it does resemble fish scales.

It's a great pattern, so good that I haven't suffered from second sock syndrome at all.  I would be all steam ahead, except that something else is looming.

I bought the Peacock Feathers Shawl from Fiddlesticks Knitting.  I'm planning on using Jaggerspun yarn, Zephyr in the Peacock colorway.  I've knitted the gauge suggested in the pattern using US size 3 needles.  This is, once again, smaller than the suggested needle size -- I knit looser than the usual knitter.    I had to order circular needles to begin the project.  My handy dandy interchangables from Knitpicks doesn't go smaller than size US 4. 

So, this new project may distract me from the Potamtomus socks.  Maybe I'll be able to work on them both at the same time?

Where have those socks been?

Have you seen on the Yarn Harlot's blog how her sock in progress will travel with her, seeing the sights?  Famous people have held the sock in progress -- famous scenes have been photographed with the sock.

My latest finished socks didn't meet anyone famous,but they are foreign born, and they did enjoy a relaxing few days on a beach.

These socks began their lives at a resort in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic during one of the most relaxing few days I have ever spent.  It was a work trip for Steve, fun for me -- and I did nothing but sit by the pool or beach, read, listen to audio books and knit.

Pattern:  Once again, the Yarn Harlot's pattern:  A good, plain sock from Knitting Rules.  I cast on 68 instead of 64 and used a smaller needle size than specified.  Other than that, no changes.

Yarn:  Berroco Sox in colorway Liverpool.  This is a self-striping yarn, so it was fun to watch the colors appear.  The socks are not exactly alike -- off by just a couple of stripes.

Needles:  US size 1 (2.25 mm).  I like this size for socks.

I finished the first sock on the plane on the way home -- knit in four days.

Deep Water Socks

My Deep Water Socks are so named because of the Knitpicks yarn I chose for them.  They took a long time to knit -- from April 2011 to February 2012 -- not because of their difficulty, but just because of my time devoted to them.
Yarn:  Knitpicks Stroll Tonal in the Deep Water color.  It's a blend of blues and purples, and it appeals to me both because of its color and its name.
Pattern:  The Yarn Harlot's sock recipe from the book Knitting Rules. 

Pattern changes:  I cast on 72 stitches instead of 60 and reduced the needle size down to a US 1 so that the fabric is thicker than the Emmaus socks.  I changed the heel to a short row heel from the Rockin Socks pattern from Blue Moon Fiber Arts.  I had trouble with the heel the first time I did it, but the second time was better.  I'm not sure I would use this heel again -- might not be my favorite.

Needle:  US 1, DPN, Harmony.

I finished these socks on the plan to the Dominican Republic and grafted the toe in our hotel room.

Works in Progress

Right now I have two projects on the needles that are still WIP and not UFO.

I started the Koigu Linen Stitch Scarf from Churchmouse Yarns.  I'm using two skeins of Koigu Yarn and one of Claudia's Handpainted yarn.  All of those yarns are from Yarn Paradise in Asheville and can be seen in this post.  The person who was helping me at the yarn store pointed the pattern out for me and helped me pick the colors.  I might be about halfway through -- it is knit horizontally.

 I have also started another pair of socks.  This pair is knit with Knitpicks Stroll Tonal Yarn in Deep Waters.  I am using a pattern from Socks That Rock, but, having learned lessons from the Emmaus Rainbow socks, went down in needle size to US size 1 and cast on 72 stitches.  The pattern calls for 60, but that didn't seem to be enough.  I love the color of the yarn, and I like this fabric much better.

See the mouse in the last picture?  She's knitting.  I bought her at Yankee Candle.  It seemed appropriate to include her in a post that talks about Churchmouse yarns.

Emmaus Rainbow Socks

Steve was an ALD on an Emmaus walk in March and at the end of March, beginning of April, I served as an LDIT.  I knew that I would be serving in the background on Steve's walk (which would mean some sitting time) and that my position of a lay director in training meant that I would be observing the entire three day walk.  It sounded like a portable knitting project would be ideal.

I decided on socks, and picked up my recently purchased Knitpicks Felici in Rainbow -- socks were off and running (excuse the pun).  I started them the day the men's walk started and finished them the day the women's walk ended (a little more than two weeks).

Rainbow seemed appropriate since it is one of the symbols associated with an Emmaus Walk.

Pattern:  The Yarn Harlot's "Good Plain Sock" from her book Knitting Rules (that's a Ravelry link).

Needles:  I used double pointed, US size 1.5.  I felt the entire time I was knitting that the needles were too large for the yarn and the fabric was too loosely knit.  I didn't change.  I'll probably regret that, but the socks are very soft.

Yarn:  Two skeins of Knitpicks Felici Rainbow.  I worked with the yarn so that I started at the same point of each skein in the color changes.  The socks are almost identical.

Next?

So, now that I'm moving on, what is on the needles?

I was planning to do the Kilkenny cable shawl from Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls, but I wanted to use Knits Picks Wool of the Andes in Blue Ink. The Blue Ink's delivery date kept moving farther and farther into the future. I had almost given up when it finally became available to order.

In the meantime, while I waited, I started a pair of socks with Mountain Colors yarn. I think the needles were too large for the yarn. The sock in progress didn't feel right. My KnitPicks yarn finally arrived, so I sat the socks aside. Between when I stopped knitting them until I moved them out of my knitting bag, three of the needles came out of the stitches. You know I don't like the project when I don't even care about the lose stitches and haven't put them back on the needle yet!

I finally started on the Kilkenny Cable shawl. It's going well. The pattern looks complicated, but it's not. I do it without a chart now -- it was that easy to learn.

Jaywalker socks -- finished!

Finally, I've finished the second sock of my Jaywalker socks. I couldn't sleep last night, so I stayed up, watched reruns of FarScape, and knit until I finished it. The project had reached its "let's just get it over with" point, so I was glad to stitch that last Kitchner stitch.

Pattern: Grumperina's Jaywalker sock pattern. The pattern is very well written and easy to follow. I had read in several places that people were finding the original size to be too small, so I went up one size. I probably shouldn't have -- I probably should have knit the original size. The socks seem too large.

Yarn: Socks that Rock, medium weight, Fire on the Mountain colorway. Since I made the larger size, I barely had enough yarn. You can see the leftover yarn in this image. The pattern is written so that as you work the toe, you knit every other row "even" and work two pairs of decreases in the other rows until you have seven stitches on each needle. In the first sock, I took some advice from the Yarn Harlot (I think it was her), and as I got close to the end of the sock, I eliminated the "even" rows. Somewhere I read that this would give a sock toe a more rounded look. For the first sock, I did this at about nine stitches per needle. In the second sock, to save yarn, I did this from about eleven stitches per needle. I can't see any difference between the two socks, so I guess it worked. Even doing that I wouldn't have had enough yarn except that I hadn't cut off the long-tailed cast on. I snipped the extra yarn off and attached it to the other end of the yarn, giving me several more inches.

As of the yarn itself, I really liked it. Nice feel, great sock yarn.

Needles -- Knitpicks Harmony double-ended needles, US size 1, 2.25mm. I mainly knit with four needles in the sock, but as I worked the heel gussets, I used five needles (with a sixth as the extra one).

Color -- I really liked the Fire on the Mountain colorway, especially in the skein. As I knit it, I found it had much less red and much more pick than I had imagined. It was still nice, but it looked different knitted than as a yarn. Not a criticism; just an observation.

Updates

How about some updates?

First: Today is the last day of Project Spectrum -- East. I've had trouble finding things that are yellow. When I was focused on taking pictures, everything was green. I did find a patch of yellow flowers in the Bob Evan's parking lot as I was waiting for my carpool ride to arrive.

Second: Here's another image of my Jaywalker sock. I still haven't started the second sock because...

Third: I've been working on a mystery project which will eventually be revealed. I hope not for a long time, but I imagine eventually.

Socks much larger

Project Halted and Project Started

I've finally thrown in the towel. I knitted and knitted and worked and worked, and kept ignoring the ginormous size of my Daily Sweater. I kept trying to convince myself that it would be OK -- that maybe I would wear it at home on a chilly night, and it would be comfy. Yesterday, as I knit in the car on the way to dinner, working on first sleeve, I gave in to my frustration and held the sweater up for Steve to see. We laughed. It's huge. I measured, and the body of the sweater is 10 inches wider than I planned. I checked my gauge, and it's something like 17 stitches to inch, when it should be 21.

Don't tell me that I should have knit a gauge swatch. I did. I knit it in the round, since the sweater is knit in the round. I knit it with the yarn I'm using and the needles I'm using. I even washed it and remeasured. I actually even knit THREE gauge swatches. I had gauge. Now I don't.

I'm frustrated, but I'm not continuing this frustration. I'm stopping. The sweater is going to the stash box to either wait until I'm willing to rip it out and start again (egh) or just get rid of it. I knit for the joy of it. I am not finding the joy in this huge sweater.

So last night, we wound my Socks that Rock yarn -- Fire on the Mountain colorway. It's pretty! I'm knitting Jaywalker socks. I've gone up a size, and will consider the first few inches to be my gauge swatch. If it works, I'll keep knitting. If not, I'll start again. So far though, it's pretty.

I never knew my sandpiper had such sad eyes. He's thinking about that Daily Sweater!

Socks -- Finished!

Finally! They are finished. Add this pair of socks to my finished objects list.

I've always read about people trying to make their socks identical. Secretly, I've always thought that this was a little bit compulsive, but ...

Look. I did it. The socks are identical twins!

Pattern -- From Knitting Rules by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. I used her Step by Step pattern for socks. it's really well written, and easy to follow. The heal is different from ones I have done before.
Yarn -- ONline's Supersocke 100. There is no color listed on the ball-band,, but it's a lighter blue, a darker blue and stripes of lime green and pink. I used one skein, and I had lots of it left.
Needles -- Five harmony sock needles, size 1 (2.5 mm).

Done but not Finished

Have you ever been done with a project before you were finished? Of course, you have! I'm ready for the pair of socks to be finished. I've got about three inches of foot left and then the two on the second sock. It won't take long.

My problem is that yarn arrived yesterday in the mail for swatching. I want to try my hand (hands) at a sweater. I've never done one before (although I have done a vest). I want to try the Daily Sweater (Ravelry link) from Outside the Lines (Mason Dixon's second book). I ordered three skeins of Comfy from KnitPicks (one each in blackberry, pomegranate and planetarium) so that I could choose a color and do some swatching to see if I like the yarn. THEN, if I do, and if it works for this project, I'll order enough to make the sweater.

Isn't that sensible?

I'll try to photograph the yarn this evening -- it's darker than the swatches online (which I think is a good thing)

But, I've got these socks to finish first -- I'm determined to finish them before swatching with for the next project. I've enjoyed having finished projects, and I know if I stop knitting the socks now, I won't finish them (until much later). One day or two is all it will take, THEN onto the next thing.

Striped Socks

How about a work in progress update? I'm currently working on a pair of socks using a self-striping yarn called ONline Supersocke 100 Sport. The pattern is the Yarn Harlot's sock pattern from Knitting Rules.

The pattern is very easy to follow -- no problems at all. I'm using size 1 (2.5mm) needles from Knitpicks. They are the harmony wood needles. I have included the second photo so that you can see the points. I am

REALLY enjoying working with these needles. I bought the whole set -- size 0 through size 3(?). Each set comes with 6 needles instead of 5, which is a nice addition, too.

I also like the second picture. An iPhone and knitting

-- kind of a description of who I am.

Anne Socks

As one last project for the month of Green, I have a start on a pair of socks. The yarn for these socks is a Schaeffer yarn called Anne -- 60% merino superwash wool, 25% mohair, 15% nylon in a green colorway (maybe like the "greens" on this page? #21?). One skien is 560 yards -- plenty for a pair of socks. I'm using the Yarn Harlot's sock "recipe" in her book Knitting Rules.

In the spirit of trying something new, I thought I would do these socks with two circular needles. To get an acceptable look to the fabric, I had to go to a size 1 for the needles. They are addi turbos -- one is only a 16" needle -- I really find these too short -- they hurt my hand, and make my knitting slow down. I loose my pivot point on the needles.

Anyway, what you see is what you get -- that's all I've done so far.

Bitteroot Socks

How about some finished socks? I first mentioned there in this post. They are knitted with Mountain Colors Bearfoot sock yarn in colorway Bitteroot Rainbow. I thought that was a nice way to begin project spectrum. I really love the yarn. Very soft. These are knit using a Double Eyelet pattern from Mountain Colors and size US 2 double pointed needles.

The only changes I made in the pattern was to knit the cuff a little shorter (by about an inch).

Thoughts? I'm not sure that I like lacy socks. These aren't terribly lacy, but they do have holes made by the eyelet, and I think I would rather not have those. I love the yarn, but wonder how it will wear. All in all, I think I like these socks better, even though the yarn is scratchier.

Sock pair #1 for the 200socks KAL.

Sock and a half with yarn. 

Socks and Pictures

Socks. I've started knitting socks. So far I've finished the cuff and leg of one and am getting ready to start on the heal. I'm using a sock yarn from Elann called Sock it to me Collection Colori. I'm using the Northern Forest colorway. So far, so good -- needle size is US2, four needles plus an empty. The pattern is from Knit Socks by Betsy McCarthy. The book is shaped like a sock. The pattern is called "Classy Slip Up." Once I do the heal I'll post a picture.

Which reminds me, I have figured out how to post pictures. Fun. I've also added a link box to the side of the blog. The links I've added are for Knitter's Review, a great help for knitters -- reviews and a forum; the web page I maintain for work; and the web page for Knitting Help -- great resource with videos.