Sockonundrum

Dangit!  The purple and green turned out to be too similar in tone (or is it value?) when knit in the Lizard Sock leg pattern.  The chain pattern was totally lost.  So I went to the LYS since I know they have a small selection of Claudia's HandPaints yarn, hoping they would have something contrasting yet complimentary to use.  Actually I wanted 2 skeins of yarn to work with both the purple & green, so I would still have enough for pairs of socks.  ARGH!  I hate the LYS here!  They look like they have a lot, but when you dig in you realize how little selection they have.  Not much that would work at all :(  I finally whipped out my droid and opened Ravelry to scan through the completed projects to see what color combinations worked well.  I ended up with a soft silvery white to pair with the purple - I think it'll be purple lizard on silver background, unless I want to go for the moonlit lizard on a dark purple base.  Hmmm...I like the sound of that.  Or maybe do one of each for a negative effect?  The green was harder to match, knowing how variable the colors of it are.  I finally chose Ink, a dark dark warm color not quite black.  The green will obviously be the lizard.  I'm going to do the purple and silver ones first, and see how I feel when the project is done.

Sizing Note for all you with Lizard Socks in your queue:  The sizing for Europe vs. US doesn't match.  I wear a 40-41 Eur (9.5-10 US).  I decided to go with european sizing since the pattern is German.  I chose the Med. size but when I knit a swatch it wouldn't fit over my heel.  So maybe the US sizing is right (I would have knit a Large if going by US).  But it's worth the time to swatch for this one, since these socks have no stretch to them. 

Sock opinion needed!

I'm ready for yet another pair of socks.  They are going to be 2 color, variegated purple and variegated lime green from Claudia's Handpaint - the photo doesn't do it justice, the colors look really great together.  I have 3 patterns I'm trying to decide between, and need YOUR opinion!  Two of them are fairisle, something I'm happy knitting but have avoided in socks.  I was always concerned about the stretchiness of them, but there are so many stranded sock patterns it must be ok.  The third, Bolts, is fairisle only on top of the foot where the pattern is.  The yarn is carried inside the sock across the pattern area to the beginning of each round and twisted in, just like knitting a circular swatch flat.  If I do the bolts pattern I think I may flip the colors for the 2 socks.  The other 2 patterns will be purple background and green colorwork. Here are the 3 pics, and the Ravelry links with the name:

Meeresrauschen


















Bolts Socks

Lizard Socks












So what do you think?  Bolts was my original intention, but I favorited the other two also, and think they could be really cool.  Plus being fairisle they may not wear out and need darning quite as quickly.  But I really like all 3.  So, please let me know what you think, ask other people nearby which they like.  Also any opinions or tips about fairisle socks are welcome!

The socks that never die

So remember that pair of socks I was knitting and FROGGING, and just couldn't get the size right? I bought new, slightly thicker yarn and it was all working beautifully. Knit down to the foot on the left sock, then cast on the right sock for a long car trip. Yes, these socks have definite left & right feet, which are mirror images of each other. After I knit the entire right sock I realize oops! I used the left sock's pattern by mistake. FROGGING! (Unravelling, for you non-knitters) Go back to the Left sock, and decide I should've used a slightly smaller needle (2.5 instead of 2.75) since the sock is slightly too big. Cast on the right sock again using the smaller needle to see how it looks and like it. Guess what my next task is? FROGGING the left sock completely! And restarting AGAIN!!! Astoundingly, I'm still liking the pattern and not minding that I could've knit 4 socks with the number of stitches I've wasted on this pair. In fact, these are going to have to be known as my Tetra-Socks now. Keeping figers crossed they don't turn into Penta-socks.

That pesky 1/2"

I normally make up my own sock patterns, so they are always the correct size. I'm delving into published patterns and twice encountered a problem I'm not sure how to address. My foot circumference is 8.5". One pattern I want to use give sizes for 8" or 9.25", nothing in between. I started the Maelstrom pattern in the 8" size and after a while tried it on to see how it fit. I couldn't stretch it over my heel! I assume that means it's too small, and try the large size, but it's way too big (I feel a bit like Goldilocks now). My gauge is correct, so that's not the answer. I love Cookie A's spiralling asymmetric patterns, but I think it's important to be able to knit the sock in a fitting size, rather than catering to odd sizing just to fit a pattern repeat. Ok, then I decide to knit the Holidazed pattern, which does give multiple sizes, but they are all whole inch sizes, so do I try 8" or 9"? I'm using knitpicks superwash sock yarn rather than the med. weight yarn called for, so I'm going to have use the largest listed pattern size since my gauge is so much finer.

So my foot (like my entire body) is apparently between 2 sizes. The 2-row striped socks were knit on 68 sts. (8.5") fit great. But I also have a pair of stockinette based socks knit on 64 sts. that also fit. I really like Maelstrom and WANT to knit it. But it's not very stretchy, and the 64 sts. for the pattern couldn't fit over my heel. What's the deal? The pattern repeat is 13sts, and it'd be impossible to break that up. But I might be able to tuck a few extra stitches in the pattern by making the 2st ribs into 3 st ribs. It would add 2 sts. per repeat, which would be 10 sts. overall. But that'll obviously change the look of the sock. Hmm...

I can't be the only person with this problem. What do you do? Make socks that are too big and may slouch? Fudge the numbers to make the size right? Skip patterns that don't give correct sizing? Grr! Whine!

Socks socks socks... and chocolate

You ever have those days where you really want something chocolatey, but just can't figure out exactly what you're craving? Candy? Cookie? Brownie? Ice cream? High quality dark chocolate bar? Nope, nothing is calling out as the exact right item. That's how people end up drinking mexican hot chocolate and eating dark chocolate covered dried plums. Oddly, it seems to be satisfying the craving. Hooray!

Ok, I'm not really talking about chocolate, I just wanted to set the stage for my real post. SOCKS! Last month I dyed a sock blank with my SIL. In case you're asking what the hell a sock blank is--I used a knitting machine to knit up yarn into a big chunk of fabric, then we dyed it, then I unraveled it and used the yarn to knit a pair of socks. Ridiculous? Just wait till you see the final product! Dyeing the yarn this way allows for color gradations that wouldn't be possible if dyeing the yarn in a skein. And for some magical reason using this yarn and pattern makes the sock knitting go twice as fast as normal. I had these done in about a week! Holy speed knitting batman! Here's the awesome socks I knit for my mom's birthday present. Dang, I sure hope she doesn't see this post before her party. And best of all there's enough dyed yarn left for a pair of knee socks for me!

Second sock-related item: I've been trying hard to keep up with the laundry and not doing a very good job at that. But how can I be totally to blame when the Sock Monster is hard at work disrupting my sock matching? Sure, I can accept having one or two mismatched socks in the middle of a laundry day, but this is just ridiculous: I know in this photo they look like matched pairs, well maybe not the knee socks, but in reality they are all different sock patterns. I really don't know where all the sockmates are, I hope they turn up in the next load, or things are going to start looking silly. Because handknit rainbow stripe socks aren't silly at all.

Crafty Doppelganger

My awesome sister-in-law and I had a great time at our family xmas party. She's also a knitter and spinner, and we had a crazy time drinking wine and fiber geeking. We have a lot in common, to the point that when I saw her nailpolish I had to rip my sock off to show I had the exact same color on my toes.We also share a happily similar taste in knitting projects and yarns. The first time I met her she was knitting socks with kool-aid dyed yarn. I grinned and pulled out my own kool-aid socks project. It seems every time we visit it ends in pattern swaps for what the other person is knitting. She's also incredibly enthusiastic, moreso even than me if you can believe it. It rubs off when we're together, which is yet another reason I wish we lived closer together. I might actually get some projects finished with her encouragement.

For a good part of the evening we sat together on the couch knitting and talking. I told her to knit on my 2-row Noro scarf (no it's not Noro yarn) a bit - a touchy thing since most knitters have subtle variations in knitting styles. So now when I look at my scarf I can see the inch she knit, too subtle of a difference for anyone else to notice, but a happy reminder of the evening. Things got a bit silly later in the evening, including some dangerous online shopping, and hilarity over my inability to match dye lots. Hey! When you dye your own yarn without measuring these things happen. Cool sock pattern, though. On a slightly unrelated note, I think yarn shops would be well served to hold wine tastings in the store. My local shop had a book signing party w/ wine one night and I think the owner made a killing off of tipsy yarn purchases. It's only extreme self control that keeps us all from going bonkers in yarn shops. A glass or 2 of wine destroys that, as my splurge on the current scarf yarn shows. She (and my brother) are coming for a visit in a couple weeks as a result of the online shopping that night. I can't wait to geek out with her again.

Prepping for travel -- knitting, that is

As some of you know, deciding what knitting project to bring on a trip is of the utmost importance. It has to be small but long-lasting, entertaining but not attention-requiring, and easy to drop and pick up at a moment's notice. Socks fit this perfectly. These socks kept me company on a prior trip, and I'm almost done with them. I knit them both separately, then put them on the needles together so they could be exactly the same length with no wasted yarn.

Thanks to Windy for holding the needles down so I could take this picture. She didn't want her photo taken but was willing to suffer for my picture. I have to get them finished very soon so I can use the needles for the next pair.



So on to the next sock project! A fabulous sock addicted friend who travels a lot herself hooked me up with the COOLEST sock pattern I've ever seen. It looks like a tree growing up around your foot and leg. It inspired me to dye some yarn for the socks, and I'm ready and excited to get traveling so I can start knitting them.

I like to protect my yarn ball so it doesn't get all smooshed and ravely being stuffed in bags and such. But the normal "yarn bra" always ends up compressing the ball in a messy way towards the end. Well, I had an epiphany, and put the bra on sideways and threaded the yarn through a hole in the mesh. The yarn is much more secure and I think will work very well. Here's the yarn I dyed for my next socks in the sideways yarn bra.