Toe the (Sock) Line!

So, you've knitted around, and around, and around…and you've managed to stay awake.

 

Now that you've gotten the desired foot length, it’s time to do the toe!

 

Decrease for Toe:

Needle 1: K to last 2 stitches. K2tog.

Needle 2: ssk, k to last 2 stitches. K2tog.

Needle 3: ssk, k to end

 

Starting with 60 stitches - decrease every other round until you have 28  stiches.

Then, decrease EVERY round until you have 12 stitches. 

 

Now, join using the Kitchener Stitch:

Arrange your stitches so that there are 6 stitches on a back needle and 6 stitches on a front needle.  The Yarn feeds from the back needle, on the righthand side. 

 

Setup (leave): P front, K back

 

Front:  K off, P leave

Back:  P off, K leave

Repeat last 2 rows

 

Last 2 Stitches -

Front: K off

Back: P off

 

When you're done, weave in all the ends!  You can block your socks if desired.  

Round and Round and…

Yes, the next set of instructions for the sock are simple--just knit and knit and knit, around and around and…

 

ZZZZZZZ…

 

I find, at this point, that it works well to find things to do to occupy my brain while I'm knitting in the round endlessly on my DPNs.  Here are some ideas:

 

1. TV
2. Meetings where it's acceptable to craft while attending (ex. support groups)
3. Sporting events (many of my yarn peeps with children do this)
4. Listening to audio books
5. Listening to podcasts
6. Waiting for appointments
7. Waiting for a bus
8. On the bus (the Size 1 DPNs will probably scare people away…or make them more interested in you)
9. During your lunch break
10. During any work break
11. Concerts (Use common sense on this one.  Casual outdoor concert--yes.  The Philharmonic--probably not.)
12. Movies (If you are able to knit with Size 1 needles in the dark.  I'd be afraid of jabbing myself or dropping massive quantities of stitches.)

 

Times when it's probably NOT acceptable to knit:

 

1. Sex
2. Work (unless you have downtime, and even then I'd get permission)
3. Driving
4. While exercising (although some people swear you can knit riding an exercise bike)
5. Eating a meal (As it's just rude.  Also, you run the risk of dumping soup all over your Malabrigo yarn, which should be a felony punishable by life in Federal prison without parole.)

 

Anyway, getting back to the sock--you'd keep knitting in the round under you have 1 3/4" less than the desired length from heel to toe.  For example, for a 9 1/2" foot, you'd knit until 7 3/4" from the heel.

 

Happy Knitting!

 

Getting ahead of myself...

…or, I probably should have posted earlier!

I should tell on myself.  I’m actually on Sock #2, but I’m woefully behind in giving instructions to you all, so, without further ado:

The Heel Gusset Section!

On RS, knit across Heel Flap. Using the same needle, pick up and knit the stitches along the left side of the Heel Flap. Tip: use a small crochet hook to pick up the stitches and put them on the needle.

 

Using another needle, knit across Needles 2 and 3 (30 stitches).

 

Using another needle, pick up the stitches along the right side of the Heel Flap. Then knit the remaining stitches on Needle 1, up to the marker.

 

You should end up with:

Needle 1: 9 stitches and the left side picked-up stitches

Needle 2: 30 stitches

Needle 3: the right side picked-up stitches and 9 stitches.

 

 

Knit one row around.

 

Decrease the gusset stitches as follows:

Needle 1: knit to last 3 sts.  K2tog, k1.

Needle 2: knit

Needle 3: k1, ssk, knit to the end of needle.

 

Keep decreasing the stitches on Needles 1 and 3 as above, until there are:

Needle 1: 15 stitches

Needle 2: 30 stitches

Needle 3: 15 stitches

 

You should end up with 60 stitches total.

 

Distraction!

July 19, 2014

I’ve been having one of those weeks, yarn-wise…

First of all, my stash totals are through the roof.  A friend of mine found yarn in his attic.  Yes, you guessed it—it’s now in a big box in my office.  I still need to go through it and figure out what I’m going to do with it.  It appears to be mainly acrylic, but nice, soft acrylic, so it might be nice for an afghan project I have in mind.  This is in addition to the many other projects I’m working on.

Back to my week of distraction.  I have had an entire week where I keep getting distracted and end up making dumb mistakes with my sock knitting. I’ve been knitting socks for AGES, for heaven’s sake, but this week you’d think I was a rank novice.  First of all, I was watching TV with people the other night and discovered that I’d forgotten to decrease the gusset stitches every other row, like I usually do.  THEN, the other night, we had a new member join the knitting group, and I was so busy chatting with her that I discovered that about an inch down, I’d dropped a stitch.  I picked it back up again, but now the sock is looking sort of odd and tight in that area.  I’m hoping that with a few washings, it will loosen up.  Lastly, I was at my beloved once-a-month knitting group and got distracted…again, I managed to lose track of the decrease rows.

Honestly, what is WRONG with me?  Granted, I’ve had a stressful week trying to work and pack up my belongings to move to a new office building.  DUH…you think that could be it???

In the meantime, I DID promise more steps to the sock process.  We last left off with the heel.  So:

TURNING THE HEEL

Row 1: (RS) Knit to 2 sts past center marker, k2tog, k1, turn. 

Row 2: (WS) Purl to 2 sts past center marker, p2tog, p1, turn. 

Row 3: (RS) Knit to 3 sts past center marker, k2tog, k1, turn. 

Row 4: (WS) Purl to 3 sts past center marker, p2tog, p1, turn. 

Row 5: (RS) Knit to 4 sts past center marker, k2tog, k1, turn. 

Row 6: (WS) Purl to 4 sts past center marker, p2tog, p1, turn. 

Row 7: (RS) Knit to 5 sts past center marker, k2tog, k1, turn. 

Row 8: (WS) Purl to 5 sts past center marker, p2tog, p1, turn. 

 

Continue decreasing like this until the last 2 sts at each end of the needle have been knitted or pulled together, ending in a WS row. 18 stitches left on Needle 1. 

 

Sock Chronicles 2 - Crisis du Jour

I've come to the SAD conclusion that I'm just a knitting crisis junkie. How else can you explain some of the crazy yarn dilemmas I find myself in?

Last night, we went to a wonderful outdoor concert and I, of course, brought my knitting.  Granted, I wasn't going to get a chance to knit, but I tend to tote a knitting bag around with me because - well, I probably need professional help, but let's be creative and say that my nickname should be Linus.  Anyway, we made the mistake of putting an item in my knitting bag that mated disastrously with my sock yarn, the end result being no more heel to my sock, which had been going so well up to that point. 

Now, someone normal would probably have set aside a little time this morning to put the stitches back onto the DPNs before I needed to bring my knitting to a 10:00 a.m. event.  Notice I say NEEDED.  Those of you who are fellow rabid knitters will understand that "wanted" would not have been a suitable substitute in that sentence. I unfortunately left this all to the last minute, when it was going to be quite impossible to fix the sock.  Instead, I rifled through my knitting magazines 15 minutes before I needed to be out the door, and hit upon a lovely cowl.  Do I wear cowls?  No.  Do I know anyone who does?  Of course not; however, with 10 minutes left, I decided this would be a WONDERFUL Christmas present...for someone.  I then ransacked all my yarn stash until I found a hunk of Vanna's Choice yarn (the only yarn I could find on short notice that would work for the pattern), grabbed some #9 needles, and raced out the door. 

This is all sort of a roundabout way to explain why I don't have installment #2 of my basic sock directions done yet.  However, when I finally fix the heel, this is what's next:

Place the next 30 stitches on Needle 1 for the heel flap. 

Distribute the remaining stitches evenly on the two remaining needles (15 on each).

Work the stitches on Needle 1 only (heel flap) as follows:

Row 1: (RS) *sl1, k1, repeat from * across. 

Row 2: (WS) sl 1 stitch, p across.

Repeat rows 1-2 until Heel Flap measures 2 1/2 inches. 

Place st marker at center of the Heel Flap. 

Next week I should have more to show you, plus I'll more than likely have some lame explanation for why I picked yarn for the cowl that's going to necessitate buying MORE yarn for the contrasting colors...

Sock it to 'em!

I’ve decided it's high time to resurrect the blog again.  I'm not sure why I even stopped, except that life (and continuous crafting) got in the way.  I can't let that continue, though, as I adore writing just as much as I do knitting and crocheting.

My latest knitting venture is to knit a pair of socks. Yes, I know…I've probably knit more socks than anything else.  However, I've never consistently followed one pattern.  I actually knit socks based on several instructions and patterns I've read, because no one pattern is completely comprehensible to me—especially any instructions for turning the heel.  To this end, I've decided to keep track of exactly what I'm doing over the course of knitting the socks I'm currently working on.

So, without further ado, here is my beginning.

I'm one of those people who likes to knit just plain old socks—no cables, no textured stitches, no nothing except ribbing and stockinette.  I find it's easier to have the sock be a true KIP project.  Also, while some may find this boring, I find there is something comforting about knitting stockinette stitch on DPNs.

Yarn: 2 skeins of Alpaca Feet from A Touch of Twist (70% alpaca, 30% nylon, 215 yards). Dye Lot AF7 which is sort of a maroon color.

Needles:  Size 1 DPNs (2.25 mm), Size 3 DPNs (3.25 mm)

1. Using the #3 DPNs, cast on 60 stitches.
2. Spread the stitches over 3 needles and connect, being careful NOT to twist.
3. K1, P1 for 1 round.
4. Switch to the #1 DPNs.
5. K1, P1 in the round, until you have 2" in length.
6. Then switch to ss and continue until you have 7" from the cast-on row.

In subsequent posts, I will update my progress!

The Yarn Fairies have been active...

A Happy New Year to all!

I'm happy to report that, lately, I seem to be charmed by the Yarn Fairies...

This would not be the same as the Yarn Sirens, who's sole purpose in life seems to be to lead me astray into the LYS and the Great Holy Trinity (Michaels, AC Moore, and Joann's).

To sum it up, PEOPLE KEEP GIVING ME YARN! I'm not sure, Karma-wise, what I've done to deserve this...

The first incident occurred several weeks ago, when a male friend of ours came up to me at an event and said, "Psst! Do you need yarn?" and led me out to his truck. Come to find out, his sister was giving away some Caron One Pounders she didn't want--it was a whole Hefty garbage bag-full.

Then, over Christmas, my sister gave me a Stop & Shop bag full of Patons Shetland Chunky, that she decided she didn't need. Originally, my plan was to take the yarn off her hands and make a sweater with it for her, but quickly realized she seems to prefer a thinner sweater. No sooner did I think this before a good friend contacted me...she had some Cascade 220 she was looking to get rid of. I offered to pay her, but she insisted she just wanted to make room for more stash. I went over to her place and was presented with TWO HUGE BAGS of tons of different types of yarn. The picture is what she gave me.

At this rate, we're going to need to add an addition onto the house...

Okay, an update to my previous post...hold off on sending shawls!  I found this update on Ravelry:

*****************************************************
Thank you everyone for the generous outpouring of prayer shawls. The report from Kathleen is that they have an overabundance right now, so hold on to any shawls you haven’t sent. If things change and they need more, we will let you know.


Blessings,

Janet & Vicky

Prayer Shawl for Newtown

I've been working on a shawl for the longest time...

I started this shawl because I just liked the pattern.  It's a simple granny stitch triangular shawl that I thought might be a nice gift for someone.  I just didn't know who that someone was going to be.

Until Newtown.

It's simply unfathomable to me that Newtown, CT is now going to be thought of in the same vein as Columbine--forever.  It's horrifying that something that heinous could strike so close to home.  I can't begin to imagine the profound grief all the parents of lost children are feeling right now, or of the trauma the surviving children must experiencing--not to mention the first responders.

Most of us feel powerless to help, other than to pray.  I know my shawl is a small thing, but I'm hoping it will bring comfort to someone in grief.

The particulars are on my Ravelry page:  http://ravel.me/PBELKNAP/gss

If anyone else wishes to donate a prayer shawl, you can find the particulars at:  http://www.shawlministry.com/

May all affected be blessed.

I'm happy to report we survived Hurricane Sandy! Our power blinked a few times, but that was it. Such a change from last year, where we all felt like we were living in a war zone. Unfortunately, the southern part of CT didn't fare as well, and my heart goes out to them--especially the families who lost loved ones.

We spent most of Monday watching the news coverage, and may we pause to say here that if I had to see one more TV news correspondent standing hip-deep in flood water (after every official, including the President, told people NOT to do that) I was going to scream. My personal favorite was the guy standing at the edge of a drop-off where, if the wind had blown just right, he could have tumbled down into Long Island sound and probably his death.

And, yes, I did do a certain amount of knitting! I'm busily working on yet another garment (with help from my adorable assistant).

My 15 Minutes...

In non-yarn-related news, I was contacted by someone who produces Huffington Post Live. Apparently, someone over there saw my Tweet on Twitter about Monica Lewinsky putting out another tell-all. They had me on with other people to discuss the possible up-coming book by her (it was an online thing via Google Hangout--and no, I'd never heard of it, either).

I thought I did horribly, but my partner and another friend said I wasn't half bad, so...here's the link.

Monica's Back

Just remember...if you're going to laugh, be sure not to be eating at the time! LOL...

And, yes, for those who know me, they mispronounced my name and got my town wrong, but I was too nervous to correct them...and yes, I'm aware that I was the oldest person on the panel, thank you very much!



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Pattern? We don't need no stinkin' pattern!

We had our SnB group last night, or should I say, two of us met.  It was an ugly, rainy and windy night, which I think kept people away.  The parking lot of our local Starbucks quickly transformed itself into a small pond, and we remarked that we were probably going to need an ark to get home again. 

That being neither here nor there, my friend was working on a mug cozy.  It was a crochet pattern in the round.  She was following the pattern, but the cozy wasn’t quite fitting correctly (she used her latte cup as a guide), despite being according to gauge.  That’s when I suggested she a) rip it out and start over again, using less stitches, and b) keep fitting it to the cup and use common sense—if the cozy didn’t fit that right, chances are, it would be useless with any other mug.  Sure enough, using less stitches and less increases than the pattern dictated yielded a perfectly-fitting cozy. 

This brings me to the topic du jour…madly ad libbing a pattern.  Honestly, I do this all the time.  I constantly come across patterns I just LOVE, except: 

1)  It’s too long or short.  Usually too short—I hate the current trend of shrugs and short sweaters.  It always looks like you couldn’t quite afford the whole sweater (I feel similarly about capri pants and tea-length skirts).  Also, sweater sleeves are usually too short for my taste and have to be lengthened. 

2)  It’s too tight or too loose.  I know myself and I know 40” around is a good sweater size for me.  If a pattern is 38” around and declaring itself a “medium,” I throw in extra stitches to make it 40”. 

3)  It’s not wide enough.  I find I like a nice LARGE afghan, but too often, afghans are too narrow.  How is 36” across supposed to be good enough???  If the pattern is in blocks, it’s simple enough to add another row of blocks.  If not, I puzzle out the repeat pattern to add width.

4)  And don’t get me started on scarves that aren’t long or wide enough…

Of course, any of these alterations usually necessitates recalculating how much yarn is needed—I’m awfully happy I paid attention in math when they were teaching ratios.  Sometimes, it’s just a simple matter of one more or less skein of yarn.  I usually try to buy over the amount—much easier to return a skein or find another use for it, than to hunt all over area stores and online, looking for another skein in the same dye lot…not that I’ve ever had to do this…noooooo…

Yarn, yarn, every where...

...Nor any scrap to knit!

I am once again up to my needles and hooks in WIPs and UFOs, but I'm facing a crisis.

I'm contemplating ANOTHER Christmas project, because, of course, you can never have too much chaos in your life. I'm already working on a sweater for me, myself, and I to wear for the holidays. I also have a shawl on the needles for a friend. I've finished two crocheted afghans. I recently started a granny stitch shawl for another friend. Now...I've taken it into my head that I just HAVE to knit a hoodie for another gift.

Non-crafters probably are scratching their heads, wondering if perhaps something like this would be best procured at the local Wal-Mart. That certainly would make sense to a normal person, but normal? Knitters and crocheters? That ship sailed a while ago. My first thought was to make a multi-colored jacket -- perhaps an Adult EZ "Surprise Jacket," only with a hood, but my head hurts just contemplating this. I don't have that kind of time. Instead, my thought is to use the Bernat "Chunky Jacket With Options" pattern. This has the advantage of being a) free, and b) knit with chunky yarn, which hopefully will translate into "quick."

Now comes the issue. I have the most obscene amount of stash. I have bins under beds with yarn. I have yarn in bags and plastic containers all over the house. I have yarn at WORK and in my car, for heaven's sake. Now, ask me if I have a sufficient amount of CHUNKY yarn to create a hoodie...of course I don't.

This will necessitate another trip to the LYS...

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Another UFO zapped!

I'm happy to report that I FINALLY got the Granny Square Pillows done!  The details are out on my Ravelry page:

http://ravel.me/PBELKNAP/mmgpcn2

I feel so much better, now that I have turned another UFO into a FO!  I feel like I've accomplished something wonderful!  They came out beautifully.  

However, I now have a TON of leftover yarn that I need to figure out a use for.   As I've said before, women around me seem to breed at an alarming rate, so I'm sure I can use the leftovers for some tiny sweaters or a baby blanket.

In the meantime, I have (of course) started another project...

Procrastination...

So, I'm FINALLY getting around to blogging again.




I haven't been blogging for two reasons:



a) I've been working on a stealth knitting project that I couldn't publicly write about, so as a result, I got sort of blocked when it came to writing about anything else.

b) I’ve been putting off finishing the pillows for my Granny Square Afghan and Pillows project, which I’ve been feeling massively guilty about; so again, I wasn’t inspired to write anything else.



Lame excuses, I know!



I finished my stealth project (I still can’t write about it or post pictures), which is a relief. I’m also plugging along now with the Granny Square pillows. I was stuck on the bolster pillow—I couldn’t get the correct size, but decided the only possible way out of my predicament with the pattern was to just change it up a bit and add another column of granny squares. So far, it’s looking good! I’m hoping to be done soon and post some pictures. Actually, this project is sort of stealth, too, as this set is going to a friend for Christmas.



It’s amazing how we tend to put things off that we think are going to be a chore, horrible, or just plain impossible; and then they turn out to be nothing at all! Here I was letting a little mismatched bolster pillow jettison my blogging schedule.

Plagued by “Finishitis”

I’m having a crisis. In terms of crises on a worldwide level, it’s a minor blip on the radar of the cosmos. In fact, it probably doesn’t register anywhere…It’s annoying to me, nevertheless.

I seem to have entirely too many things that are not finished. I have a crocheted granny afghan and pillow set that’s not done yet. Why? I’m putting off having to sew the pieces for the pillows together. One pillow is a bolster pillow, and I’ve never attempted to make something like this before. It’s a round, sausage-like configuration where the pieces may or may not join together correctly, reaching all the way around the pillow. I haven’t even finished the round end pieces yet (Okay, I haven’t even BEGUN them yet).

I also have a repair job that I’m supposed to be doing for a coworker. All she needs is for me to sew a pair of elbow pads onto her favorite sweater and firm up the armpits. She even provided me with the yarn. Have I done this yet? Noooooo…my coworker has kindly said she doesn’t need this done until next autumn, which makes it even worse, as I have even MORE of a reason to procrastinate.

If you’ve read enough of my blog, you’ll see that the common denominator here is…sewing. As much as I’d love to wave a magic wand and have everything I need sewn together DONE…such is not meant to be. I know I need to just bite the bullet. If nothing else, all the items I’m putting off are taking up entirely too much space in the bedroom, making it all but impossible to fit in MORE YARN.

A person has to have priorities…


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Sweet Tomato Heel Socks Finally Done!

I'm happy to report that my Sweet Tomato Heel Socks from my class are done!  This is Cat Bordhi's Sweet Tomato Heel technique.  I liked the technique so much that I decided to start another plain pair using the same heel.  What I really like about Cat's heel is that there's no picking up stitches and endlessly decreasing to get back to your original sock width.  When you're done, you're done!  Also, the heel can be worked on either toe-up or toe-down socks.

Ravelry link

New Class Schedule for Creative Fibers in Windsor, CT!!!

For those of you knitters and crocheters in CT, Creative Fibers just put out their Summer Newsletter and Class Schedule!

In particular, they have a Tunisian class this time around, and they are going to make baby blanket squares! I'm tempted to try that one, as I haven't really done much with Tunisian Crochet at all.

Just go to their site and click on "Newsletter" and "Class Schedule."

http://www.creativefibersonline.com/

Mad Sock Mania!

I seem to have been bitten with a mad, mad, MAD urge…to knit socks. I don’t even particularly need to knit socks that are patterned—I seem to be content just knitting plain old stockinette socks with a 1x1 ribbing at the top for grip, and perhaps another session with the Sweet Tomato Heel. I do confess I loved the fact that once I was done with the Sweet Tomato Heel, that was it—I was DONE. No picking up stitches and endlessly decreasing to get back to the original width of the sock.

I think my sock mania is related to the fact that I just LOVE the actual sock yarn itself. I love the colors—it is the only yarn where I don’t necessarily go for a particular brand…I tend to be drawn by the colorway. In fact, sometimes I can’t even remember the brand because I’ve tossed the ball band way inside the project bag, in my haste to cast on. I also love the fact that you can splurge on a $20 skein of sock yarn and that’s enough for an entire project, versus spending $150+ on wool for a sweater project. I usually can’t wear wool right next to my skin, but I don’t seem to have that issue with sock yarn. I’m not sure if it’s due to the nylon in the yarn or the fact that perhaps sock yarn is just made out of softer, less scratchy wool.

It may be the time of year, but I love the fact that socks are a small project that’s not sitting in your lap on a very hot day, making you swelter.

Also, socks are the best KIP (knit in public) project ever!

Baby's First Jacket - Done!

This is a baby sweater I made for a coworker's new baby.  It's a pattern by Julie Cashin (Buttonjar Knits).

The details are out on my Ravelry page:

http://ravel.me/PBELKNAP/bfj

It was a fun knit and the recipient was as pleased as punch over it!