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