Thanks to Ravelry

Ravelry is a wonderful knitting community where knitters can find patterns, inspiration, fellow knitters and crocheters, browse other people's projects, chat, and visit forums.  There are groups dedicated to everything you can imagine.  My three favorite groups I've found so far are the German Shorthaired Pointer group, Sock Knitters Anonymous, and Harry potter Knitting/Crocheting House Cup.

Each month, Sock Knitters Anonymous do what is called a sock knit along (SKA).  There are several guidelines for the month and participants make a pair of socks according to those specifications to be entered in that month's drawing.  The winners of the drawing get knitting-related items such as yarn, pattern books, or knitting accessories.  Since it's a drawing, not a contest, anyone can win -- not just the awesome experienced knitters.

If it has escaped your notice to date, I am addicted to knitting socks.  So Sock Knitters Anonymous is a great group for me!  One of the points of having guidelines for the month is to challenge knitters to try new techniques.  September was my first time participating in a SKA and I made the yellow socks I named Goldy Lace.

September's guidelines were:

1. Make yellow socks from a Nancy Bush mystery pattern

2. Make socks of any color from a Wendy Johnson pattern

A mystery pattern is simply a pattern that is not given in its entirety right away.  Instead, the pattern is given out in several parts so that you just have to follow along clue by clue and end up with a surprise since you didn't know what it would look like until it was finished.  It's a really cool concept but I did not do the mystery pattern this month.  Instead, I made yellow socks from Wendy Johnson's Diagonal Lace pattern out of her book Socks from the Toe Up.  The brand of yarn is Crystal Palace Yarns from their Panda Silk Print.  Lovely, soft yarn.  Very fine too.  I used size 0 needles but would use a 00 if I knitted with this yarn again.

These socks were a challenge for me because I had never tried to make socks starting from the toe.  Also I had never done a lace pattern.  And I made these using the Magic Loop technique for the first time.

Socks can be made either top (cuff) down or toe up.  Top down starts at the cuff and is then knit down the leg, heel, foot, and ends with the toe.  Conversely, toe up socks start at the toe and are knit up the foot, heel, leg, and end with the cuff. Previously, I had made all my socks cuff down on double-pointed needles (DPN).  The other needle option is using either two short circular needles or one long one.  Knitting two socks at once on one long circular needle is called the Magic Loop (ML) method.  It is great for making socks when you aren't sure how much yarn you have because you can work on both socks at the same time and, if you start at the toe, can keep knitting up the leg until you run out of yarn.  Cuff down construction means that you might run out of yarn and not yet be finished knitting the foot or toe.  Not good!

The lace pattern wasn't really difficult so much as it was just different from what I had done before.  Lace involves making holes in the sock.  In this case, the holes are placed in diagonal lines to make a neat-o design that I love.

With my September challenge finished I am already looking forward to October's.  One of the choices for October is to make a pair of men's socks and Mike has asked to be the recipient.  He wants Colts socks.  Since he wear a size 16 shoe, I'll probably be making my first pair of socks with worsted weight yarn!  Normally socks are made with fingering weight.  It is very fine, thin yarn to make small stitches.  Worsted weight is a mid-weight yarn that, being thicker, knits up much quicker than fingering.  It will make a thicker sock as well which is fine for the ones Mike wants as he doesn't intend to wear them with shoes, just around the house during Colts games.

You're not going to believe this...

More socks!  I know, I know, shocking.  I blame the chilly evenings for putting me in the mood to knit sock after sock lately.

Here's the amazing thing to me:  Last year about this time, I was making a pair of socks a week, doing alterations, coaching cross country, and teaching.  Now that I'm not teaching, I can't believe I used to do all that every day.  The difference?  I am happier and well-rested.  

Back to the socks!  The yarn I used is made by Rio De La Plata.  It can be a bit splitty but I still enjoy knitting with this yarn.  Beautiful colors (this colorway is called Sunset) though I have heard that the yarn can felt easily.  Hopefully through careful hand washing I will avoid that problem.

The pattern is called Twisted Hourglass and it was a free pattern through Ravelry.  Lovely design.  There is plenty going on without being overwhelmingly busy.  

I love the twisted stitches (the raised sections that squiggle down the sock), but my favorite feature of this pattern is the cable you see down the side of the leg here.

Cables are always beautiful, that's all there is to it.  These cables are particularly interesting because at the gusset (where the sock widens to accommodate the space from heel to the top of the ankle) the cable splits into two smaller cables, one coming straight down the heel, the other forming either side of the instep (top of the sock).  Nifty trick, eh?  To bad I didn't come up with that one on my own.  But it's another technique learned that I'll find a way to incorporate into other things later.  Theoretically.  ;)

The squiggles made by twisted stitches I mentioned earlier are super-simple to make, which just adds to the wonderfulness of this design.  You just knit through the back loop instead of through the front one like normal.  Easy stitch that gives a dramatic result.  What more can a knitter ask for?  (Yarn.  Always more yarn.)

This pattern was written to be knitted onto two circular needles.  I used my preferred four double-pointed needles.  This was the first time I had adjusted a pattern in that way and, happily, it wasn't complicated.

I am wearing these socks even as I write this and they are lovely.  Soft and smooshy.  In other words, everything a sock should be!

Socks for Husband

 

At long last, Jon received his first pair of hand-knitted socks.  He likes to say that the more I love someone, the less often that person receives handmade items from me.  There does seem to be a strange correlation there.  But correlation does not prove causation!

The sock pattern is from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks.  The stitch repeat is called a railway stitch.  It is a simple pattern consisting of strictly knitted and purled stitches that results in an interesting textured fabric. 

I used Louet Gems fingering weight in caribou.  It's a soft yarn, but not as squishy as I prefer for a sock yarn.  Sometimes while knitting it felt more like string than yarn.  Yarn should have some stretch and puffiness to it, which this usually did.  But there were tight sections with almost no give whatsoever that prevents Louet from being my new favorite sock yarn.  It makes a nice sock, it just doesn't feel amazing to work with.

The worst part about knitting socks for Jon?  Size 13 feet.  I can't wait to make Mike a pair of size 16 socks.  It is amazing how much additional time it takes to knit the extra rows for a longer foot!  I was so excited to make socks for my comparably tiny feet -- because they would be smaller and also because it meant a new pair of socks for me!  :D

Revisiting Socks

After a small break in sock-making I made this pair for me.  The pattern came from Nancy Bush's book Knitting Vintage Socks.  I adjusted the pattern slightly by using only 60 stitches instead of the suggested 80.  Apparently I have narrow feet though I never thought so before I began making socks.  

The design on the sock is called a lozenge pattern.  It is a series of crisscrossing diamonds though it is a little difficult to make out in the picture unless you know what you are looking for.  I love diamond designs almost as much as I love spirals.  They are interesting to knit up and keep my interest as I go because it takes a bit of thought to figure out whether you are increasing the width of the diamond or decreasing and therefore where the purl stitches go.  I love to watch the diamonds take shape row by row.  

The yarn is by Austermann Step.  It is gorgeous, soft, squishy sock yarn.  I am in love with it and will definitely buy it again.  I got this yarn from The Loopy Ewe, my favorite yarn store.  If you are interested in visiting The Loopy Ewe online, I have a link on the right side bar under "favorite places."  You should check it out, it's awesome yarn!  The color I used for these socks is called Dune but there are loads of other equally beautiful colors made my Austermann Step.  Most or all of their yarn is self-striping.

I don't like trying to make my striped socks match exactly.  I prefer the fraternal twin look.  It gives the socks more character and makes it more obvious that I did not buy them.  Plus, Dobby would be proud.  Not being obsessive about matching exactly also prevents me from cutting off several feet of yarn in order to get to the same place in the striping patten.  Somehow I can never bring myself to cut the yarn to get to the beginning of the color sequence.  

Making this pair of socks has put me into a sock-knitting mood again.  I am now more than halfway finished with a pair for my husband too.  Yay socks!

Pillars and Ladders Socks

I just finished these tonight, but they have been on my needles for quite some time.  The plan at the moment is to give them to my landlord.  Jon and I have lived at the farm for four and a half years and are now finally buying our own house.  Socks aren't much of a thanks-for-four-years gift, but I know they'll be appreciated.

For Christmas I always made them something.  Last year I made them a Christmas-themed quilt.  It would have made more sense to save the quilt for a thank you gift, but I didn't realize at the time Jon and I would find a house so soon!  So these will go to Jim and I will go yarn shopping tomorrow to find the perfect yarn for Marilynn.  Huzzah!  A perfect reason to go to the local yarn shop!  

The PDF pattern for these socks, which use only knit and purl stitches, is on Ravelry as Pillars and Ladders.  

Spiral Socks

These are not recent, but since I have the pattern written out I am posting them. This was the first sock pattern that I made up myself.   

The socks use twisted stitches that slowly move around the sock, resulting in a spiral.  I used a left-twist for one sock and a right-twist for the other so that they spiral either together or apart, depending on which foot the sock is worn. 

The pattern is available as a PDF on Ravelry.com through this link. Though I am hoping to have separate blog pages for patterns soon.  Happy knitting (or viewing)!

Spiral Sock Pattern