Socks for Mom

When my folks came to visit a couple of weeks ago I dyed this roving... marino/bamboo/nylon. I'd been shooting for a sort of peacock-in-a-shady-grotto sort of color combination, but ended up with something more cotton-candy-in-the-park. Ah well, it's spinning up very pretty, nonetheless. I wanted to make a nice strong two ply sock yarn out of it, but I can't seem to spin fine enough to make a sockish two ply, and the single doesn't seem quite as durable as I'd like. There are examples of both above, and how it's knitting up. The single I've got so far is making a lovely, light fabric on little #1 needles, would be great for baby booties or something, but not tough enough for socks. The two ply is pretty and interesting, but kinda bulky. Hmm.... Maybe I'll try spinning a tighter and thicker single and use that. I could pull thin strips off the roving so the color changes fast, or work from the whole piece so that it's more "self striping." Complicated business, these socks!!

Good Sock

I finished one sock from the "Manos" yarn - it's a good one. (Nothing like a long day waiting in the doctor's office to get some quality knitting done - but that's another story...) This pic is before I closed the toe - kitchener stitch just eludes me, but I finally got a handle on it, I think. This reference at Knitty is the best one I've found to walk a person through that crazy stitch. When it's good, it's really good, though. You can't even tell where it is - just blends in exactly with the stitches around it.
I liked that little rib pattern I did on the top of one of my non-matching socks, so I did that again. I think it sort of gives some flex to the foot and allows it to conform a little more nicely. Also gives a little interest to the foot. Maybe one of these days I'll do one with a little Fair Isle color work down the top of the foot like that.
In this one you can see that the leg is a little goofy. I didn't do my guage right somehow and ended up with way too many stitches. I tried switching to smaller needles, but ended up having to decrease substantially down the leg. I probably should have ripped it, but I decided to pretend that it's supposed to be one of those "slouchy" socks. I'll make the other one the same and nobody will know. (Don't tell!!) I really like the slip stitch pattern on the heel - I think gusset heels really fit the nicest of all they types I've tried. I'm not sure I turned the heel right, though - I only decreased on the short rows, and didn't do any increasing, but it seemed to work out all right. I'd like to find a pattern for a toe up sock with a gusset heel. That way you could just keep knitting until the yarn was gone on the leg. I sure like the yarn. It's hard to photograph, but it's really got a nice loft and sheen. I'm a little worried how it will wear, but I need a good excuse to learn to darn.

Afterthoughts and Bungie Jumping

I read about making afterthought heels, where a person knits the sock with no heel, then adds it afterward once the tube shape is finished. There are some very distinct advantages to such an approach, one being that it makes for a really good stash buster, in that you can just knit up all the yarn you have, then stick a heal and toe on from some other left over. Another advantage that appeals to me is that you can knit mindlessly - I'm getting pretty good at knitting without looking, as long as it's just continuous stocking stitch. If I can just knit a tube in movie theaters and meetings, I can do the thinking parts another time. The downside of the technique is pretty obvious, though. "You want me to CUT my KNITTING????? I don't THINK SO!!!!" Something like standing on the bridge and jumping off, the vary thought goes completely against every instinct in your being.
But, I discovered that like bungee jumping, once you swallow hard and force yourself to jump, you realize that it's really not all that bad. In fact, it's kind of fun! When you just will yourself to make that cut, it's a similar feeling. There's something of a rush in conquering your involuntary impulses like that, and gives you a triumphant feeling of euphoria when it's over. (Okay, well, maybe I shouldn't go that far. But it is pretty cool.

So - the first photo shows how you prep for the surgery. You decide where you want the heel to go, how wide it should be (half the overall stitches is a good rule of thumb.) and slip one side of each stitch on your needles.
This photo shows a little better - you look at those little "v"s and just take one leg of each down the row. You skip a row, and do the same below. This positions your needles so that when you remove that row in between them they are ready to start knitting the hole shut, in essence.
It's hard to see here, but there's a row between where the needles are placed. That center stitch is what I'm cutting.
You unravel the center "sacrificial" row, and there you go! A nice opening with the needles ready to rock and roll. The little tails of the unraveled row left can be worked in when you're done, or paired with your new yarn and knitted into the heel. Your new heel can be an hourglass, a center decrease (I'm not sure I totally understand the difference between the two, but they look like the heels in store bought socks. I think the one I've made is a center decrease) or you can knit a wedge toe which functions nicely as a heel as well.

See? The thrill of bungee jumping without messing up your hair!