27 February 2010 · 2 Comments
Turns out that bit about ‘when the snow lets up’ was overly optimistic. As far as I can tell the snow is never letting up. It will continue forever. Sled dogs and igloos are starting to sound eminently practical.
I had grand plans for taking pictures of the blue mitts (adumbrate…I’m thinking they will be called adumbrate). Alas, taking pictures of your own hands involves a substantial amount of fiddling around with the tripod, swearing, knocking the camera over, swearing, sitting still while the timer runs down, swearing, and just generally having a bad go of it. I can barely bring myself to do it when it’s sunny and mild outside. The idea of doing it in heavy snow while shivering just didn’t appeal.
I could (just) manage to toss a sock on a blocker, hang the thing on a tree, and snap a quick shot. Please note the snowflakes clinging to the sock and commend me on my nobility. Please also note the nifty way the gusset and heel go together.
I officially like this construction and will likely use it again. The pattern is written, but this one will be a while in the testing process. Because it is an unusual way to build a sock, I want to have extra testers so I can be sure the instructions are as clear as possible. I’ll likely put it out for testing in a week or two, and will post here to let you know where to go to volunteer.
19 February 2010 · 2 Comments
Things seemed to be going well. Really they did. It was a new (to me at least) way to make a gusset and it seemed to be going off without a hitch. I finished the first Greenhorn and grafted the toes. It was the prettiest and least fussy graft ever. I should have known something was up. I soaked it, blocked it, and hung it to dry. I had tried it on several times during its construction, and had no reason to think anything was wrong.
But there was.
It pulled, just a little bit, right across the point where my leg turns and becomes my foot. Just a bit. Just a little tiny bit. Just enough to be maddening. I could wear it. But I knew I wouldn’t. I held it. Stared at it. I tried it on again. It was still just the tiniest smidgen too small. I swore with an enthusiasm and verve not usually heard except in the presence of eighteenth century pirates. I tried it on one more time. It was still too small.
So I ripped.
Actually, I picked out the lovely graft and tried to convince The Boy to pull the end. I wanted someone else to do it so as to spare me the heartbreak. He (likely wisely) declined this rare opportunity for authorized knitwear destruction. His protestations were most amusing. Eventually I succumbed and ripped it myself – all the way back to the gusset.
I added four rounds (and thus four more gusset stitches) and am now most of the way back to the toes. I’ll end up with a much better final product (ya know, one I’ll actually wear as opposed to one I’ll let languish at the bottom of the sock basket), but I still feel the tiniest bit slighted. It will likely pass once the pair is done and in the rotation, but for now, I am not amused.
11 February 2010 · 2 Comments
So I’m down past the heel/gusset/flap/bendy bit of the sock, and it totally worked. It fits. I’m not quite sure if I’m in love with it. I need to work a few more rounds and try it on before I can be sure.
I like that it let me avoid the dramatic flashing this yarn seemed likely to do. I love that it let me work back and forth all the way from the heel turn to the end of the gusset (wooly nylon held along, worked perfectly). The only thing I’m not crazy about is the expanse of purls. I used purls because I thought they would give that sort of horizontal visual line you usually get in the gusset. I may try it again in the future with a different stitch pattern.
The current verdict is promising, but with potential for further improvement in the future.
10 February 2010 · 3 Comments
I didn’t want to throw the lovely stripes completely to the wind, so I thought I’d do something different for the heel. Now I hate short row heels, they just don’t fit my feet. I needed to keep the heel flap/gusset structure. The gist of the plan was ‘keep working in the round in pattern. On every other round, toss an extra purl stitch in at the beginning and end of the needles that hold the heel stitches.’ Turns out it works, though I haven’t quite decided how many rows of the flap/increases I’ll need. It seems like it will fit, but there will have to be a lot of trying on before I’m sure. I’ll turn the heel like usual, then work back and forth taking up one of the extra stitches on each row.
In theory, this approach will do three nifty things. First, it will let me hold a reinforcing thread as I do the back and forth bit and have it come all the way down my heel (as opposed to just the 12 rows or so that you normally work back and forth for the heel turn). Second, it lets me avoid that lighting bolt look that some striping yarns get during the gusset (at least so far). Finally, it lets me carry the pattern all the way down the heel without having to figure out how to do teeny tiny twisted cables while working back and forth.
I’m pleased. I’m also sure I’m not the first to think of this. Does anyone know what it’s called? Failing that, does anyone have a clever idea for what it should be called?
On a side note, I’m loving this yarn. It’s Sheep Shop Sheep Feet in Lime. So much for my plan to only use yarn with nylon. It’s discontinued (alas), but I’ve bought it in several different colors (and may well be getting a bit more). It’s super thick and the stitch definition is perfect.
On a further, and completely unrelated note, Popped (in both its free and paid formats) is going on sabbatical. It will eventually be back in a different incarnation, but if you’re just itching to make it and haven’t grabbed the pattern, this would be the time. I’m probably taking it down some time next week.
9 February 2010 · 5 Comments
I know that some people hate pooling…loathe it…devote great amounts of time and energy to stomping it out in all its forms. I get it. Really I do. Under the best of circumstances, pooling is chancy and unpredictable. Any hint of pooling seriously increases the risk of knitting failure and dramatically lessens the likelihood you’ll get two matching socks. And, if we’re being honest there are some really staggeringly ugly examples of pooling gone bad.
But…every now and then…just by chance…it works. And by works I mean works for me. You may think this is the ugliest thing ever to fall off my needles. That’s fine. You’re entitled. I’d take it as a kindness if you didn’t tell me if you think it’s horrifying, but even if you do I’m still going to love it. It’s just so regular and orderly and somehow tidy.
Of course I’m about to send all appearance of order straight to hell by blithely inserting a heel and gusset, but I think the love will continue.
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