kniteracy | As Promised-- Enchanted Sock Hanging Garden Photo, Plus Future Plans (Reply)

Here it is, with nerdy notes for knitters!

These are presented, from left to right, in order of appearance. For reference, only the middle four pairs are wet. The others didn't really need to be hung up there; they just agreed because I begged them for this photoshoot.... Right; I'm sounding pathosockological; on to the nerdiness!

1. First pair of socks I ever knit for myself. I had already made three pairs of socks for bandmates and a friend for gifts. This was also the first pair I made from sock weight yarn. The yarn is Socka Fortissima Colori, and I made them on US3/3mm needles, shifting between Brittany wooden dpns and Addi Turbos, because I had trouble translating the gusset heel onto a single circ or even two circs. In retrospect, I'd never knit this yarn on needles that big again; the socks are loose and have almost no elasticity, although I do wear them with sandals and around the house.

2. Second pair of socks I completed for myself, these were knitted piecemeal among other projects, including at least two other pairs of socks, shop samples, and probably that stripey jumper I made for J. These were knitted toe-up, at the same time, on addis-- either two circs or one long circular (depending on how I was feeling and what I was teaching in the shop), on US3/3mm needles, according to the Double Trouble pattern, which in its way has disappeared off the internet again. The yarn is Mountain Colors Bearfoot in colour "huckleberry." These socks are 100% wool and are very soft and comfortable, although they have already had to be darned. I suspect I stepped on some glass after a little accident in our London kitchen. I have another skein of Mountain Colors at home that I can't wait to make into another pair of socks for me, me, me! Although it is nifty and impnressive to be able to make two socks at once, I learned through this experience that I don't really like doing it (I suspect I will try it again at some point). I didn't feel the same sense of excitement I felt from the quick gratification of having one sock done so quickly. And although I've seen lots of anti-tangling techniques in books and on the web for this technique, I still always seem to end up with tangles. This may be due to the fact that I carry sock knitting with me everywhere, so it's constrained in bags and purses a lot of the time.

3. Third pair of socks I completed for myself, these took a long time because, again, they were knitted piecemeal among other things. They were also started not long before I left the United States, so I had other stressors and things keeping my hands busy during those months, and when we got to the UK there was an awful lot of moving in to do, not to mention Christmas knitting and wedding preparations. So these socks, which were really a joy to knit, weren't completed until after we got to Singapore! This was my first pair of socks made on US0/2mm needles, and the difference in look, feel and wear of the socks is really noticeable. I do not think the much smaller gauge had that much to do with these socks taking forever. These are knitted from Lucy Neatby's "Crenallated Socks" pattern in Cool Socks, Warm Feet. They begin at the toe with a garter stitch square that you pick up stitches around to form a blunt, square toe, and they have an afterthought/peasant heel, something I'd done before on some worsted weight socks, so it wasn't too scary. The first sock, including the garter-stitch (garter stitch in the round, ugh!) cuff and crenallations/picot edge for the first sock were finished on the 14-hour plane trip from London to Singapore, and the second sock was cast on, toed, and picked up during that flight as well. They were finished just a week or two after we got to Singapore.

4.

folkmew's shades of blue Gypsy Cotton socks. This is the first pair of socks I've knitted from 100% cotton, and only time will tell how well they wear. The yarn was a DK weight, and the socks were knitted on US3/3mm needles, cuff-down because I was wary of the toe-grafting on a toe-up short-row-heel-and-toe sock and felt it would be easier for me if I worked top down. In retrospect, toe-up would have looked better, plus I would have been able to gauge the cuff length a little better. I'm worried they'll be shorter than Mew wants. These socks were completed from the guidelines given in Simple Socks, Plain and Fancy, by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts, and I'm really liking the look and feel of them so far. While the bottoms of the feet are made in straight stocking stitch, the tops and cuffs are in k2p2 rib, to make the essentially inelastic cotton more stretchy. Because this is a stranded yarn, I think it will be softer and more forgiving than many other cottons. It took about a month total to knit these, again, largely because I had other socks, projects and etc., mostly finishing

kitanzi's jumper, going on at the same time. Parts of the second sock were knitted during Diane's visit, when we had lots of little knitting lessons and I had lots of swatches going.

5.

oreouk's Seriously Pruple (thanks,

hobbitblue!) house socks. These are made of such bulky yarn (Brown Sheep Burlyspun) that they knitted up really quickly, like in a couple of days. I had to do a little more math than usual for construction of the short-row heels and toes, because sock formulas don't usually go down to 2-2.5 stitches/inch tensions, but knitting with this fluffy wool was so much fun. After weeks of socks on 3mm needles and below, it felt very odd to hold US 10.5/6.5mm needles in my hands, and even then the gauge felt a little firm. If I'd had addis in a US 13/9mm in the right length, I'd probably have gone up to that size for these, although they will definitely hold up well. I did these toe-up, braving a crocheted waste-yarn cast-on (because those other invisible cast-ons are just stupid) and the toe pick-up, which I twisted stitches on. It's part of the design, I swear! I giggled to myself as I turned a heel for one of these in under half an hour at a Singapore knitstitch meeting.

6. These are the Opal socks I completed last night, and I finished them in about two weeks. I can't decide if I'm just a really slow sock knitter or if it takes everyone so long to knit a little pair of socks. Again, these are made on US0/2mm needles, according to the Priscilla Gibson-Roberts method outlined in Simple Socks, Plain and Fancy, but I have to tell you that after buying Mary Ann Beattie's Crazy Toes and Heels, I'm kind of sorry I didn't make these according to that pattern. The one thing that isn't supercool about the toe pickup is that you see different colours interacting wildly at the heel and toe. It would be ubercool to have the toes match next time I make a pair of socks from self-patterning yarn. I was experimenting with a snugger fit, and so the cuffs are short because I got a little paranoid that they'd be hard to fit if I knitted them much longer than they already are. It's no biggie really; I usually fold socks down to about that height, and the 4/2 rib doesn't look as good inside out as rightside out.

Currently, I have

bardling's first sock on the needle (US3/3mm, but a slightly heavier weight wool, so I think it'll be OK), and I am itching to start a pair with the silk wool blend. I couldn't resist swatching it the other night.

I swatched it on US0/2mm, US3/3mm, and US2/2.5mm needles (yes, in that order), and although J said he preferred the US2 and G said he preferred the US3, I think I'm going to go with the US0/2mms again, because the fabric just feels so much better.

Right, enough nattering-- time to get to some knitting!