FO: Houdini Socks

I finished!

These were actually really easy. The steeking worked out nicely...it's just a fun, unusual sock construction.



This is the very last skein of Socks that Rock in my stash. I loved the colorway- Atomic 6. Great deep jewel tones of purples and blues, and it didn't pool funky at all. It's taken me almost a year, but I've been able to knit through all 13 skeins of this yarn that's been in a bin under my couch (admit it- it's fare game for yarn storage under there). It's been fun- I really like this yarn. I find it fades quite a bit after a wash (especially the darker colors) but it wears well- no holes to be mended so far. It's nice and thick so it works up quick and cushy.



Once the tube was made and steeked, you made another tube for the leg, and this one had a fun feather and fan variation. I used some leftover yarn in the "River Rocked" colorway for the contrasting stripe. I modified the pattern a bit- I did more lace pattern and less stripe.



The only thing I don't like about the construction is the bump the heel has. Because it's basically a second toe-shape, it doesn't conform perfectly to your foot like a short-row heel would.



See? It makes a little belly-button like pucker at the heel where it's kitchnered closed.

I got a chance to learn Judy's Magic Cast on for the toe as well- I love it. I would highly recommend this technique for toe-up socks and I've declared it my new favorite.

Since sportweight yarn is a wee bit too thick to make socks that fit in shoes, I'm not going to let that bump bother me. These are a great pair of house socks. I might end up gifting them anyway- my sock drawer is pretty much full and

The specs: 1 skein of BMFA Socks that Rock Mediumweight in "Atomic 6", plus a couple yards of scraps of the contrasting stripe. Which meant there were ends to weave in, but I love the effect. I used size 1.5 needles and made these two at a time on two circs.

Totally unrelated but amusing:



Bullit is one of my favorite movies, if only because of the pimp '68 Dodge Charger that Steve McQueen drives and the fact that he can rock a shawl-collared sweater AND he made a turtleneck look sexy. Who else can do that? Not too many. A British graphic designer is re-creating the iconic car chase scene in stop-motion and slot cars. How fun is that?

Houdini Socks

I've been plugging away at the Houdini Socks all last week. You start a toe-up sock, but instead of turning the heel and going on the the leg, you just make a another toe at the opposite end of the tube. Then you use your circular needle to pick up and secure a line of stitches at the top of the sock.



You skip a row and thread another circ next to it. And then you take your tiny sharp scissors and you give a snip to that center tow. The two needles protect you entire sock from unraveling, but you just pick out that middle row. Predictably, it makes a big hole but that's where your foot goes so you need a bit of clearance. The second "toe" becomes the heel. Your stitches are already threaded on the needles, so you just start knitting away on the cuff. Genius, no?



I'm not sure how it will fit my foot yet (some heels tend to fit me better than others, and I don't know until I try them on and give them some wear) but I'm really enjoying knitting these. Cutting my knitting apart wasn't nearly as nerve wracking as I thought it would be and it's good practice for when I choose to do something with serious steeks.

Autocorrect just tried to turn the word "steeks" into "steaks", so now I'm hungry.

Warming Myself the Best Way I Know How- With Booze and Knitwear

Wintertime is a great time for warming yourself in front of a fireplace (even if it's only a metaphorical fireplace) with a snifter in hand. Last night, we did just that over at the Brandy Library in Tribeca. We were there for a Cognac tasting. I'm a whisky drinker and I have never really tried Cognac or knew anything about them, but I'm always happy to discover new and exotic ways to get my drink on.

Because I am willing to sacrifice my morning after alertness for the sake of an educational experience, I found a couple of Congnacs that I really liked. Several more I deemed drinkable, and there were a couple that I wouldn't want to repeat the experience- they burned going down, had a harsh acidic aftertaste, or just tasted like the sour grapes they came from. Overall, I felt very warm and relaxed and fuzzy once the buzz settled in, which was really nice.

I think my favorite of the evening was a Bache Hors d'Age. It was a rather staggering $200 a bottle, but so pleasant and drinkable. I also had the pleasure of trying a couple precious sips of Louis XIII. This usually sell between $1800-$2500 a bottle. It was the most flavorful and mellow of everything I tried, but I don't have a palate for it enough to tell you more. I spent the rest of the evening telling the Wall Street bankers at the bar, "Yes darlings, I just simply can not have a productive week of social affairs if I haven't had my Louis on Monday evening." à votre santé!

Afterward was a pleasant stroll across Chinatown to warm ourselves with the wonderful Joe's Shanghai for soup dumplings. If you've never had them, I feel very sorry for you.

Other than continuing my hedonistic binge, I've been knitting away.



I finished my Land of Oz shawl, but haven't had a chance to get good pictures of it. So there's a teaser.

I cast on for another pair of socks. Yawn. With my very last skein of BMFA Socks that Rock that exists in my stash. Squeee! The color is "Atomic 6" and I love it.



They are going to be the Houdini Socks by Cat Bordhi. They are made toe-up, but you just make a tube for the foot with a toe on each end. Then you cut open the sock to create a place to fit your foot in before continuing on with the cuff. Genius, no? Well, I'm not going to say that quite yet. Let's wait to I actually get to the cutting part to see how badly I sweat this. More Cognac please!

I've also been plugging away at the Placed Cable Aran.



It's a really simple plain pullover that has a series of three O cables that grace both the front in back. It's in good old Cascade 220, that workhorse of a worsted weight yarn.

I've also been chipping away at the mound of fiber in my spinning basket from Cadfael. I can't believe how much space that little fleece puffed up to once it got teased and carded. And shhhh...I still have a huge 1 gallon freezer bag packed with more of the fleece needing to be picked through and carded. I was seriously doubting that I had a sweater-amount of that BFL fleece, but I've already got 3 full 4oz bobbins spun up and I've barely noticed a dent in the pile. I need to throw a movie on the big screen and get through some of that wool already.

FO: Spey Valley Socks

I love having a pair of simple socks going for my daily commute. As soon as I finish a pair, I cast on for the next, usually with no one particular in mind. They are small and portable and I can usually zone out and knit away while packed into a train car or standing around in line at the post office or at Shake Shack. It also ensures that my friends and family will be swathed in handknits come holiday-time.

I found this nifty pair of socks in Nancy Bush's "Knitting on the Road". They were all travel-inspired patterns and some very good ones at that. Right away I cast on for the Spey Valley Socks. I had such good memories of the place and they were such a neat-o pair of socks anyway.



Strathspey has the highest concentration of Scotch distilleries in all of Scotland. It's gorgeous countryside- hilly and green and rugged. Also, there are sheep everywhere. Mostly Scottish Blackface.











The cows are fed the extruded barley from the distilling process, and the cheddar if known for tasting like whisky because of it. Truly a wonderful place.





It was nice to walk around all day in the mountains and come back to a civilized and warm evening of Scotch and good hospitality.

Anyway. Here are the spey-inspired socks:



I made them for Bry, so they are manly man sized. There are three different ribbing patterns and two rows of decorative braid, and that's it. Simple.



They are sport-weight, so more like house slippers than socks. It would be hard to shove them into a pair of shoes unless they are your big winter boots. All that ribbing makes them extra cozy as well.





I'm really pleased with them, and so it he.

The specs:
These took almost an entire skein of Socks that Rock medium weight- close to 380 yards. The color is "Lucy in the Sky", which looked kind of denim-y to me.



The original pattern called for skinnier fingering weight yarn, but since they were for size 10.5 feet, I didn't have to tweak the pattern to get a good fit. I used size 2.5 mm needles and did these two at a time, cuff-down.

FO- Cotty Socks, part deux

I very rarely make the same pattern twice, but some things just deserve a second go.



I bought this yarn at Rhinebeck 3 years ago at The Fold booth. The colorway is "Pebbles". It was so delicate and pretty, I couldn't resist. From the moment I laid my eyes on that skein, I had it in my head that this would be socks for my grandma.



Grandma is a real classy lady. She's one of those unflappable sensible people who you just want around. She also is a year-round resident of the far reaches of northern Maine. The horror! A winter there would probably do me in. Therefore, she gets as much knitwear as I can possibly churn out.



Here are my second pair of Cotty socks. I loved the first pair so much that I couldn't think of anything else that would be more perfect. They are girly but not too fussy. Best of all the pattern is written for two weights of yarn: fingering and thicker sport weight. These are a bit cushy and thick (ahem. warm.) but they aren't so thick that there would be a problem to squeeze your feet into your winter boots. I don't think I could get paid to leave the house in winter that far north, so hopefully they will get a lot of use as house slippers.



The colors striped up nicely without a lot of pooling, and worked nicely with the lace pattern. No clown barf!



They could have been a tad longer in the cuff (which also means I have a good amount of leftovers). They are somewhere between anklet and real sock at this point. I churned these out in less than two weeks to make that dreaded holiday shipping deadline, so it couldn't really be helped. I made 6 pairs of gift socks this year. Six! (sometimes having a long-ass commute totally pays off).


The specs: BMFA Socks that Rock Mediumweight in "Pebbles". I used a size 3mm needle and did these two at a time. The only modification I made was the cast-on. I like to do a provisional cast on when I'm doing the picot edge to make sure I'm picking up stitches in the right places so I don't get a wonky cuff.

FO- Lenore Socks

Can a pair of handknit socks be sexy? Before I started the Lenore socks, I would have said no. Handkint socks are incredibly warm, comfy and comforting. They can be silly, funky and downright gaudy, because you are either going to be entombing them in shoes or just you will have the luxury of bumming around in the privacy of your own home with them.

These are a bit special. I put them on and BAM, I was thinking I should start burlesque dancing and use the leftovers for tassled pasties and how awesome would that be. Foxy Soxy is here to rock your world, people.





Here's a terrible pictures with a flash, but you can see the lace better:


It looks like one of my cathedral arches collapsed when it got tucked under, but they really are symmetrical and perfect.

The specs: I used almost all of a skein of Socks that Rock lightweight in "The Raven" colorway. The pattern is Lenore by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. I love the color- there are greens and reds and purples, but toned down with blueish-black. Also, this is the VERY LAST SKEIN of Socks that Rock lightweight yarn in my stash. I'm doing a little happy dance in my chair. (Not that I don't love it, I'm just trying to burn through it).

As with everyone right now, I've been crazy busy. I've been daydreaming about having free time and having everything checked off my to-do list. Also, not getting home until 2 am every morning: it's fun, but it's one unpleasant early morning. The end is in sight and I'm way overdue for a lazy day.

Unseasonal

It is always tourist season in New York. This time of year it's especially crowded. Every time I leave my office, I feel like I've been swept into a torrential river that stops every few feet to take a picture. If I play my cards right, the river will sweep me along to my destination, or perhaps leave me clambering up the side of a cement block to escape.

It's nice to get away to a place that might be a bit quiet.



We went up to Maine for a few days. It was silent. I love being there this time of year. Yes, it's effing cold, but that's when all your hand knit winter woolies step up and take the hit for you. It even snowed a bit which made things all the more cozy.





Except for the occasional dog walker, you can be the only person on the beach for miles.





It's quite refreshing and you can really easily play that game where you pretend you are the last people on earth.

I started another pair of Cotty socks while on the aeroplane.


I almost never make the same pattern twice, but I loved the way my original pair came out and the pattern has a sportweight version. I also need just one more gift on standby- ideally one that can be cranked out quickly but still looks good. The yarn is BMFA Socks that Rock in mediumweight. The color is "Pebbles". I picked this skein up at Rhinebeck three (3!) years ago with a certain person in mind, and I'm finally forcing myself to get around to making a certain something for the certain person.

Oh, and I did go to a yarn store while I was in Portland (because you can't throw a rock without hitting one in that town. It's almost scary.) Tess' Designer Yarn is one of the most gorgeous and unique shops I know. Everything is hand-dyed by the shop owner and she has a wonderful eye for color. It took all of my will power to drag myself out of there empty handed.

Sox on the Beach

What better way then to escape the November chill than to fly down south and spend the weekend at the beach?

Actually, I can think of lots of better things. Like dental appointments and getting ingrown toenails righted, but no matter. The weather was beautiful and I cast on for some socks.



They are the Lenore Socks. I'm using a skein of Socks That Rock lightweight in the "Blackbird" colorway. This was a sock club mailing from last year that was paired with a pattern from Cookie A. I thought the pattern was too complicated for me to tackle as a travel project, so I cast on for this one instead. I love the color- there's green and purple and reds and blues all mashed in there, but very subtle.



I cast on two at a time, and I actually have the heels turned already. They progress very quickly, and have a simple lace pattern that is fairly mindless.



Which is good, because sun tends to make me woozy when paired with a few stiff drinks, and I didn't really have the concentration thing going on.





I also made it to the Morikami Japanese gardens. How wonderful is that?

FO- Knetted Socks

I finished a pair of socks recently. They are from the Socks that Rock club from last fall. Begone, sock yarn! You will languish no further in my stash.



The yarn is BMFA medium weight in "River Rocked". The skein is absolutely gorgeous- so many great fall colors in there.



Predictable, it knitted up kind of muddy, but I did love this pattern. The linen stitch diamonds helped show off the colors.







The pattern is "Knetted", by Cat Bordhi. She does such unusual, creative patterns. This one had a heel that I can only describe as a "happy face". It's "U" shaped, and it fits really well, and it eliminates the need for gusset shaping. And the toe- there was no Kitchener stitch involved. There was a series of decreases the spiraled down to nothing. Really ingenious. They look kind of funky without a foot in them, but they are actually really nice on.

Oh, and I started this for Socktoberfest. I forgot to take pictures of that event. It's our annual sock-knitting and beer-swilling evening at the local Teutonic establishment. We do it on a Monday night, and everyone backs away from us and leaves us alone.

This is yet another skein gone for my A-Z stashdown challenge. I actually noticed a dent in my sock yarn bin the other day. Oh, that's only because I've used 12 skeins of sock yarn up since this challenge began last spring.

These are going to be gifted, as my sock draw is full. The medium weight yarn is a bit too thick to shove into a pair of shoes, so these would be great house slippers or an outer layer boot sock. I grew up in Maine, and buying your winter boots a size too big so you can fit another thick wooly layer of sock is the norm.