Blended Socks

First post of the New Year - still trying to catch up a bit. If I made New Year Resolutions, mine should be to keep up with my blog, amongst other things...

These are blended socks, because I blended two patterns. I used the same basic pattern and the same yarn (from the everlasting cone of acrylic/cotton blend as my last two pairs) as I did for my first toe-up socks, but added the lacy pattern from a cardigan in a magazine (Simply Knitting Issue 102 February). I had another idea initially, but it didn't work. I had some problems along the way - one heel had to be completely redone - but I am pleased with the result. (Not sure why the photo has come out sideways - I was looking down at my feet and the pic saved on our computer is as that would be...)

Little things please little minds - I am a bit pleased with myself that I started the lacy part of the second sock with the second half of the lace pattern, so these socks are mirror image. Also, as my toenails tend to go through socks (and shoes!) I decided to try to reinforce the toe area by using the same technique as the pattern uses on the heel. As there are increases to make the toe shape, this staggers the effect, which I think looks quite good - you may be able to see what I mean in the more detailed photo to the right. If you want more info as to what I mean, please do message me and I will send you a more detailed description.

Sock Singular has a Partner - Hooray!

 Here, at last, is the partner to sock singular, which I posted all on its own a while ago.  It has only taken me just over a year to complete this pair of socks.  The top finally got sewn down at knitting group last Thursday and I gave them both to Susan immediately with the proviso that she send me photo(s) so I could post here and on Ravelry (so these are her photos of my knitting).  As previously mentioned, this second one is a couple of rows shorter in the foot, so this pair has a right and left sock.

And below, here they both are on the new owner's feet, looking nice and comfy!

Franney asked what yarn it was and when I told her it was an acrylic/cotton mix, she was a little surprised and said it felt like it had silk in it.  It does indeed feel rather nice, and it was only cheap on ebay. The first pair of socks I made from this cone (see earlier post) have been machine washed and have come to no harm.  There is still quite a bit left, probably enough for a another two pair of socks - so still no need to buy any yarn yet.

Meanwhile, the hat still awaits the attachment of its peak, but I have made progress with the baby cardi and the cushion cover.

Sock Singular

My policy of only posting finished items has slipped slightly.  Well, this is a finished item; it just needs another one like it to be useful!

Daughter liked the socks I did myself in this yarn so much she begged me to knit a pair for her.  She's perfectly capable of knitting, but her first socks took about 18 months (or was it longer?) to knit and she now says she hates sock knitting, whereas, having discovered toe-up sock knitting I really quite like it.  These are from the same book as my ones in the same yarn, but at least a different pattern from that book, so we can tell them apart.

We both have trouble finding fun socks that fit, as I have said in my earlier post about socks, so I made sure to knit these socks big enough.  Oops, this one is actually slightly too big.  It's OK on her left foot, smoothed carefully to take up any slack, but really a bit silly on her right foot, so I'm having to make the right sock foot just a little shorter, so it will fit at least as well as this one does on her left foot - so right and left sock! Not something you'd get in shops!

More things will eventually appear on here as they get finished.  I currently have three items on the go - the second sock, my cardigan and now have started a Rudolf for Christmas, plus other things in my mental queue.  I am sticking to my 'yarn diet' though - all the things in progress and planned will be made from yarn I already have.

Still here!

Just realised it's over a month since I posted to this blog.  This is partly because I don't want to do too many blogs without photos, as I think photos make posts more interesting, and partly because I don't want to put progress photos on here and haven't finished anything much lately.    I have three works in progress currently: a short-sleeved cardigan for myself, a pair of socks for DD and another baby cardi for SCBU.

The only recently finished objects are these two squares.  The story behind them is this:

At a recent knitting group meeting, a staff member of the pub we were in came up to us and said she had had a phone call from a lady who had some yarn she wanted rid of and if we were interested, we should phone back.  The lady had been a prolific knitter, but was now too ill to knit any more and unlikely to be able to ever again, so wanted her stash to go to anyone who would be able to make use of it.  One of our members went and collected the yarn and other stuff - about three large bin bags - and various people took yarn, etc at a swap and buy session we had a few days later.  (There's still quite a bit left taking up the member's house room!).  We decided it would be nice to express our thanks.  She said she didn't want anything for the yarn, just to know it had gone to a good home or homes, but we decided to give her a voucher and knit her a small lap blanket, mostly from her own yarn.  These two squares were my contribution, made from yarn from the lady's stash.  If I get a chance, I will post a photo of the completed article (assuming I get to see it before it's given to her). 

A rather sad story, but nice that some good will come of her stash at least and it won't just get chucked when she passes on.  I have taken quite a bit of acrylic DK for making blankets for SCBU.  Not sure what other people will do with what they have taken.

Socks

And now for a post which is neither about for sale items, nor baby items for SCBU. Socks!  I have long had an issue with socks, as my feet are rather large.  The only socks I can buy which fit comfortably are men's socks.  Nothing wrong with that if I don't mind being limited to colours which are deemed suitable for men, which tend to be mostly dark (do no men want bright socks?).  Indeed, some are fun, like my Dalek socks, but I have long wanted socks that fit in prettier colours.  I have occasionally given in and bought the largest available women's socks because I've liked the colours/pattern/whatever, but they are always at least ½" too short, so not comfortable.  Then a couple of years ago (well maybe three by now) Susan and I went to I Knit (brilliant shop in  Lower Marsh, Waterloo - has bar and stays open late two or three nights a week!) and I bought a skein of bamboo/merino mix in sock weight/4 ply.  I made this up into a pair of socks on dpns knitting from the top down.  I found this quite challenging (the whole lot got thrown across the table at I Knit at one point and the lady next to me just calmly said - not at all nastily - "well it won't work if you do that"!), but was pleased with the result (see left below).  The photo was taken after they had been washed a time or three, so they had already lost some of their original colour, but they're still going strong now, although a little more faded.



The yarn for these cost, if I remember rightly, £13.20, which is quite a lot for a pair of socks, especially if you have to put in quite a few hours work as well to get them, so I didn't repeat the exercise immediately.  However, I went to a craft fair at Fairfield Halls, Croydon some time later and there was a stall where they were selling 100% merino yarns and I fell in love with the 'burnished' colourway.  They were selling it for £8.00, but I had already spent most of my money, so had to borrow a few quid from a friend to get this yarn, which I knitted up using the same pattern as the first, just knitting into the back of the knit stitches on the ribbing to make them slightly different.  The result can be seen above right (and I did pay my friend back when I next saw her, in case you wondered).  Another friend told me (at the next craft fair at Fairfield Halls) that merino is not ideal for socks, as it does not wear well, which has proven to be the case as the toes of these socks are now getting rather thin.  I've still got a little yarn left over somewhere, so will have to start darning, because they are still so comfortable compared with shop socks!  This is a revelation in itself, as I thought I was allergic to all wools, but have discovered since restarting knitting that merino is OK for me, even at 100%. (Still loathe Shetland wool though!)

So I now had two pairs of socks that fit comfortably and are not in standard men's colours.  But I wanted more!  And I didn't really want to use dpns knitting from the top down, because this involves grafting the toes (Kitchener stitch), which I can do, but find it tedious.  Then I saw the same friend who had lent me the money knitting a pair of socks on two circular needles (may add her name later, when I've asked for permission).  I had heard of magic loop meanwhile, but had, for the time being at least, disregarded this as seeming just as awkward as dpns.  I watched her and she explained how knitting with two circulars works and it set me thinking this might be worth trying, and I liked the idea of doing them from the toe up.   The idea lay fallow for a while, then Susan gave me Wendy Johnson's 'Socks from the Toe Up' book for Christmas.  It does contain a description of how to do Judy's Magic Cast On (and a few others, but Judy's seemed to me to be the best).  I couldn't quite get the hang of it just from the book, but watched Cat Bordhi's video on YouTube a few times and have pretty much got the hang of it now.  So I then knitted myself a lacy pair, 'Riding on the Metro', from some 50% cotton/50% acrylic yarn I bought cheap on ebay, with the result shown below.  I have made them in the larger size on one size larger needles than the pattern suggests, as my tension square was a little small on the correct size needles.  The resulting socks are very slightly large, but not ridiculously, just comfortably so.

I thought that the ribbed top suggested wouldn't go as well with the lacy pattern as a picot edging, so I got all adventurous and did that instead.  Steady on!  Susan liked these and, as I have more than half the cone of this yarn left over, she has persuaded me to do another pair from this book for her in the same yarn, so I'm part way through the I Heart Socks ones.  Picture to follow some time later when they're done.  Then I'll have to make some more for myself.  BTW socks are really rather time-consuming, even by this method, so I am not prepared to knit socks for other people, as the charge for my time would be prohibitive.  I heard about a pair of socks being advertised on Coriandr (one of the hand-made goods selling websites) at something like £200.  Sounds ridiculous?  Yes, but when you factor everything in, it's really not.  So socks are only going to be knitted by me for myself and, very rarely, for Susan.

Little general comment: these initial posts are quite long, because I'm dealing with whole sections of stuff at a time, but I will no doubt be putting up smaller posts, as I just add things I have just made, rather than several years' worth in one go.