Tour de Sock, November

I finished!  On time!  I completed Tour de Sock!

Stage Four Pattern: Technical, by Jeannie Cartmel
Knitted 11/1-11/9

This pattern really built on the skills introduced in the first three stages: traveling stitches, cables everywhere, patterned heel flap.  Because this was a toe-up sock, there was some very specific calculation necessary to make sure the back of the cuff pattern matched up with the front.  This is perhaps the most complicated sock chart I will ever knit!






Stage Five Pattern: Calpurnia, by Chrissy Gardiner
Knitted 11/10-11/16

I decided pretty early on that these socks would be for my mother.  I wanted a nice light color to show off the lace pattern on the front, but lavender isn't so much my color.  This sock had a few firsts for me: first picot edge, first bobbles, and first time doing a chart that had a little "exploded view" to chart the leaves, where several stitches were inserted into the space of one stitch.

The lace pattern on the front of the socks is supposed to be angels, but my husband and daughter decided they look more like butterflies.

Stage Six Pattern: Mudslides, by Debbie O'Neill
Knitted 11/19-11/22

Ahhh, what a relief.  Six-row cable repeat pattern, easy to memorize, a quick knit.  I learned something important from this pair: there are things that can knit up even faster than plain stockinette socks, if they are just complicated enough to keep my interest.  These socks are very thick and cozy, and they are yarn-eaters.  I finished with about eleven yards left over.

Tour de Sock, October

My friend Sarah hatched this grand plan to have a knitting competition to benefit Doctors Without Borders.  Well, actually, she hatched plans for two knitting competitions: Sock Sniper (like Sock Wars, only this time I got killed off first!) and Tour de Sock, a six-stage race covering two months.

My goal is to complete all six stages on time and get six new pairs of socks out of it.  Also work down stash.  I am learning tons.

Stage One Pattern: Calable, by Regina Satta

Knitted 10/1-10/8

Stuff I learned / significant firsts: how to repair a miscrossed cable, how to cable without a cable needle, first traveling stitches, first braided cables

Stage Two Pattern: Phellogen by Glenna C.

Knitted: 10/10-10/13

Stuff I learned / significant firsts: ktbl has many advantages, even if it is hard on the hands.  Also always double-check that the skein is actually tied before you throw it in the salad spinner to dry it.

Stage Three Pattern: Chain Reaction by Tobi Beck

Knitted: 10/19-10/22

Stuff I learned / significant firsts: first colorwork heel flap/gusset pattern - have always wanted to learn how to make cool gusset patterns.  Need to be more careful about laddering in colorwork socks.

This pattern puts gusset decreases in the center of the sole, which makes a really neat sort of tree pattern on the sole of the foot.

The contrast color here is Ty-Dy Sock - it is very soft and smooshy!

I am knitting away on Stage Four, and will post photos in the end of November when I have finished the race!

A Potion for a Punkin

Every now and then, every knitter or crocheter stumbles upon a pattern she must start.  Immediately.  So you understand what happened when I found this pattern and knew I must start.  Right away.  My good friends were due to have a baby this spring so I decided to make a sock yarn version, which would come out the right size and have nice drape.  The pattern is called "Jacquard 30 Pattern Sampler" by Renate Kirkpatrick.  If you can stomach all the ends that need weaving in, it is lots and lots of fun.

I felt very clever when I figured out how to modify the pattern to eliminate the seaming.  Each motif is worked off the one below, and joined along one edge to the motif next-door using slip stitches.  Adding two selvedge stitches of black on each side of the design made the join-as-you-go virtually invisible.  This took about 1200 yards of black sock yarn and a whole mess o'scraps, hooked up on a size F.

Geek Alert: There is an online Hogwarts.  It lives on Ravelry.  This project was my first OWL exam, in Potions, completed for Ravenclaw House in Winter 2011 term.

Auction Socks

The mission: whip out as many pairs of preschooler-sized socks as I can between February 1 and February 12.  My daughter's school is having an auction fundraiser.  I managed three pairs:

Eye of the Tiger socks

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock
Size 9-11
















Lake Tahoe socks

Bamboo & Ewe
Size 10-12













Spring Garden socks

Red Heart Heart & Sole
Size 8-10

Epic Sock Yarn Bedspread, Sections 2 & 3

I have been lagging in my blogging but not in my crafting.  I made super progress on my sock yarn bedspread this summer, completing two sections before losing momentum in September:

Fiddly intarsia.  Love it.

This section is based on a Kaffe Fassett design.  A nice chance to get rid of some smaller quantities of yarn.  The black yarn was stranded, the colors were intarsia.

Section 4 is in progress, but stalled because the arrival of my twins has made it difficult to put time into complex / big projects.  Maybe when I have family in town who can hold the babies!

Sock Therapy

I bought some yarn on impulse.  This is not unusual, for me or for most knitters, I imagine.  I found the perfect pattern for it.  I ordered the complimentary color I would need.  Then I put the whole thing in a ziploc bag and forgot about it.

July seems to be the month when I need to kick-start my crafting bug.  Last year July was Scarf Month, in which I was allowed to cast on as many projects as I wanted as long as they were scarves.

This month, I pulled out my little cheer-me-up package and started as a treat to myself, ignoring the other projects I promised I would get done.

The results were spectacular, both in terms of production and mood benefits!

This pattern is Dark Isle by Julia Mueller.  The yarn is Patons Kroy FX in Clover and Patons Kroy in black.  This was one of those projects that had no lag from start to finish, and I completed them in a week or so.  I had to modify the pattern in a few places: to fit my foot length I added six rows to the wavy pattern of the foot (about a half an inch).  Also since the yardage of this yarn is a bit short, I was worried about running out of black, so I took six rows out of the topmost pattern of the cuff, and bound off a few rows early.

This was my first stranded colorwork project.  I used a knitting thimble to manage my colors.  A great pattern for a first-timer - the charts were simple, the pattern itself was well-written, and the sizing was adjusted in all the right places to accommodate the firmer fabric of stranded work.  I do think that the foot portion of the sock was pretty snug on my narrow feet; I would imagine many people would need four or eight stitches added to the round of the foot for a better fit.

When making striped socks, I usually put the end of round at the inseam, but this pattern calls for it at the back of the sock, meaning that the contrasting color would normally be cut and restarted after the heel.  Rather than making the afterthought heel from the pattern, I decided to use my favorite short-row heel, and just to be sassy and save myself two ends to weave in, I experimented with stranding up the back of the heel as well.  It was a little fiddly but very fun and satisfying!


Now I just need to wait for winter so I can wear them!

The Epic Sock Yarn Bedspread, Section 1

That is, Section 1 is complete.  It is just my own Stained Glass Magic pattern, which I published on Ravelry over a year ago.  Still finding new uses for it.

Section 2 is going well - messy intarsia!