It's a Kind of Magic

I got recruited to make a pair of socks for an old friend, and so November is turning into another month of not knitting from my wonderful book, but learning more about sock knitting. Somehow it ended up that I picked toe-up socks. Stupid to try a very different technique probably on a pair not destined for my own feet, but I jumped right in, and immediately changed the pattern. I had to try "Judy's Magic Cast On" invented by Judy Becker here in Portland. She is a genius knitting demigoddess of some kind. http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring06/FEATmagiccaston.html (For what it's worth, Knitty is solely responsible for turning me from the person who was casually learning to knit to the full-blown knitting fiend I am today). At any rate, her technique is genius, and I'm going to be incorporating into any provisional cast-on I can.

On the downside, I learned that I despise blunt needles and toe-up socks. Decreases I can handle. Increases, constantly digging to pick up stitches drives me batty. Increasing with blunt needles has helped me teach my 3-year old an embarrassing new vocabulary. The socks are, so far, gorgeous though and I'm glad I decided to try the pattern. Even if I misjudged how much room I would need to do the heel and ripped out 6 hours worth of knitting... by the way, how are toe-up socks supposed to be easier to fit? I like the idea of stopping when it's long enough and grafting the toe shut, rather than "stop approximately 3 1/4 inches less than desired length, unless it's a Monday, or your yarn is stretchy, or your row gauge differs slightly. The only good thing about turning a heel toe-up is that when I reworked the foot I managed to memorize the entire lace pattern and didn't have to look at the pattern again until I got to the end. Sigh.

Here is a link to the project in Ravelry for anyone interested http://www.ravelry.com/projects/scaethach/diamond-rib-socks-from-the-toe-up

Yeah I suck

I'm on here out of guilt and neglect of my blog. I went on hiatus because I spent time working on my "super secret stealth project" which I will explain at a later date. (Promise). Then I got contracted to make socks for a friend. Now I'm back on task with the original quest - to tackle the holy grail of sock books... and went back to basics. I decided to recruit friends, and started a knit-along for the pattern Monkey. I think there are 9 of us at various stages of knitting them this month, I'm on the heel of sock #2. So while I slack at writing, I haven't slacked on my socks!

First pair almost done!

I finished my first Thelonious last Saturday, I love it!



Sock #2 has gone a lot faster, I'm sitting here grafting the toe in between typing. I finished the entire thing in under a week, with a lot of other projects going on, and my in-laws visiting.

Unfortunately, I'm going to take a temporary hiatus from my challenge as I set it. I know, one pair and I'm already wimping out?? Not exactly :) I'm part of an online community of fiber fiends, and with all the sock talk that's been going on lately, one of our resident dyers put up a challenge of his own - knit him a pair of socks in the pattern and yarn of his choosing, and he will dye 8 oz of fiber(roving, sock yarn, etc.) in the knitter's choice. Since an opportunity for this quality "man-dyed yarn" was too good to pass up, I will be pausing to add to the Dear Husband sock stash. While I wait for his sock yarn to arrive, I'll be doing a little spinning and doing some "karma projects" - helping out others in appreciation of the help I have received from other Moms in my online community.

Never fear, I will be updating, even though it's not technically scheduled programming, and hope to be back on track for the Cookie A. sock challenge soon!

The project is underway

This will be a brief post since it is the wee hours of the morning, and since I have 2 sleeping children I should really join them. I attended Sock Summit on the 31st of July, I only did the marketplace this year, although of course even the marketplace had some workshops/lectures going on. Somehow I bought no sock yarn, but walked out with a good chunk of spinning fiber. So when I got home I made it my goal to spin a good sock weight yarn (sacrificing some merino/silk blend I had on hand for practice).

The end result:



It wasn't as smooth as I might like for socks but it was good practice, and turned out 460 yds/4oz, so a perfect sock weight.

For fun, here is a picture of the fiber I got from Sock Summit, from Woolgatherings and Becoming Art (check them out on Etsy, and bring a drool bucket along, both AMAZING ladies/dyers!)

Sock Summit is here!

And I've picked my first socks to be made! I'll be making the Thelonious socks that can be seen at http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/thelonious-sock, and I'll be making them in a brown Tonal sock yarn. After taking some measurements I decided to use a size 1 needle for the calf and size 0 from the heel to the toe. Today was mostly spent organizing my yarns and winding skeins into cakes and deciding on an actual pattern. I grabbed some photos of my starting supplies:

The book, the sock bible I will be working through for this project:


The starting yarns: Knitpicks (KP) essential sock (now stroll) in a solid green, brown tonal, and variegated pink/purple. Also 1 skein of Malabrigo sock that is dying to have a project to match it to.


Sock sized stitch markers made by my awesome sister-in-law:


And last but not least, the needles I have for starting. A selection of DPNs and a couple circulars for magic looping. Not a fan of magic looping socks, but if the pattern works better that way, so be it:

The technical stuff

As I am trying to get ready for this monumental project, I have been inventorying yarns, dyes, needles, etc. to figure out what I need and what I can start. I've been going through Ravelry queueing patterns, testing my gauge, and in general getting ready.

I learned that Cookie A.'s patterns are almost entirely if not completely in a gauge of 32 stitches per 4 inches. I am almost dead on if I do that at a size 1 needle. At a size 0 I am just slightly under that, which is actually good, because I have ridiculously skinny feet. I will be making the skinniest version of the socks in her book, and if I allow myself the 1" ease she dictates, the skinniest ones could end up a little loose. So socks for me, I'll be doing on 0. I bought a nice set of bamboo size 1's though at the LYS (local yarn store) for any I may be sending out as gifts or to trade. I have 3 sets of size 0, but none of them are going to work... 1 set is too short for adult socks, 1 set is missing half the needles (that would be the Knitpicks wooden set which I love) and 1 set is cheap nickel, which is too slippery for this endeavor. So I will be picking up either another Knitpicks set or a nice bamboo set.

The hardest part, hands down, is going to be the yarn. These aren't ankle socks, and I need to make a pair, so in a lot of cases, 1 skein of sock yarn won't cut it. Now, if you aren't a knitter, let me just say... sock yarn can be EXPENSIVE. Nice sock yarn is shocking in cost... and if you're spending the time to knit socks, you don't want something nasty. My wonderful yarn store has tags to attach to garments, and one of them said "Just because it's handmade, doesn't mean it's cheap." Amen! Since her gauge is consistent through this book, I will probably be both consistent and frugal for the most part, and do Knitpicks sock yarn. I like it, it's affordable, and they have a nice variety of solids, semisolids, and undyed, which gives me an excuse to break out the dyes and experiment. And I love experiments, can't you tell? I have some squishy Malabrigo sock yarn begging to join the project though, and the LYS has some positively gorgeous Madelinetosh sock yarn that will probably join too. And I'm guessing I won't leave Sock Summit without a skein or 2 of yarn that will find its way into this as well. I'd love to spin my own sock yarn, but I'm ashamed to admit I'm not great with lighter weights yet, and obviously it needs to be an extremely consistent spin or the socks wouldn't be very comfy. So another thing to aim for before my project is done!

Getting started

A little about me to get going I suppose. I am a mom of 2 living in a small town in Oregon. I am a fiber fanatic, we cloth diaper and use wool for covers, and I love to knit, crochet, and handspin wool yarns. (Yes it sounds kind of Little House on the Prairie, but that suits hippie me just fine). So most of my knitting goes to my kids, which is great because they are much cuter models than I am.

Well, for my birthday, I got a giftcard to a knitting and fiber store from my mom (love you, Mom!) and got blank fiber to spin, practice dyeing, and some blank yarn and some knitting books. Small piece of heaven in a box, right? The best part - a book of sock patterns by my favorite designer, Cookie A. I love almost every pattern in it, and the best part is, it would be projects for me - soft, comfy, warm, handknitted bliss for me!

Now I am already borderline crazy, having 2 kids in diapers still, trying to start a WAHM (work at home mom) business out of my spinning, going back to school for my bachelor's degree this fall, and suddenly I get the craziest (perhaps stupidest) idea. I'm going to knit this whole book. I see this Julie & Julia idea unfolding around me, shattered by the notion that, hey, socks take a LOT longer to make than a meal does. And the funny thing about socks is, you need two of them. Well, I guess not everyone needs two, but I certainly do... and these aren't exactly simple knit while half asleep kind of socks.

So I am working out this challenge with myself, it may be a race to see how many pairs I get through in a year, or how long it takes me to do a pair of every sock in the book. Mostly I'm excited to learn new techniques and get some squishy socks out of the deal. Who knows, maybe if my family gets some for holiday gifts, they will learn about the addiction of handknit socks too!

Sock summit is the last weekend in July here in Portland, so I have 2 weeks until my "kickoff" for this project. In the meantime, I'll be flagging patterns, picking out yarn, and finishing up projects so I can have time to devote to this from the start. Maybe, just maybe, along the way of all this craziness, I'll get company from other equally crazy fiber fiends too. :)