FO: Fish Lips Kiss Heel Sock

Last month, news reached me of an unfortunate Amtrak accident near Philadelphia.  

"Gosh, I hope I didn't know anyone on the train", everyone thinks.

Knowing lots of people who work in Sales and travel the East Coast corridor almost constantly didn't help my chances and I did end up knowing someone who was gravely injured on that train.  

Third hand news of a long-term ICU stay, surgeries, concussions and broken bones reached me but ultimately a long and painful recovery was in store.  It gave me nightmares for a week.  

Once I was assured that he wouldn't be an amputee (a very real possibility) I set to work on a pair of socks.  Dapper, simple, comforting warm socks.   

This might sound new-agey, but when you are knitting something specifically for someone in mind, you are thinking of them subconsciously or consciously with every stitch, and whatever you thoughts are towards that person gets woven into the fabric of your garment, much like a protective amulet or magical armor to keep that person safe and well.  

Big man feet, loads of stitches, loads of healing thoughts.  

Once modeled by a for-hire foot model, I packed them up sent them off with well wishes and healing universal vibes to my friend, who I am certain is in need of a bright day here and there.  I told him "wear them with Birks, you'll be a star!" knowing that it will make his blue blood curdle.

New technique:  the Fish Lips Kiss Heel, a nice way to avoid gusset shaping and keep your stripes consistent on your self-striping yarn, and not having a heel flap to pick up stitches- Thanks, Sox Therapist!  I think it worked- they seem to fit and the unique short rows made for a flawless gap-free heel.  I'm making another pair right now to fit them to the next recipient better as this pair required a little guesswork as far as foot size goes.

Yarn is Online Supersock 4-ply "walking color".  I think it looks quite dapper, Birks or no.

fo: Plain jane socks

I've changed gears and started making socks again.  I love the usefulness of jumpers, but I have much sock yarn in my stash that needs to be turned into socks, and those socks make for wonderful gifts.  Maybe someone particularity cold-hearted might turn down a pair, but what ice queen wouldn't want a pair of these?

Quick, plain jane socks.  The yarn is Online Supersock 4-ply City Color.  This yarn is fantastic- it's affordable and the 75% superwash 25% nylon blend is just the easy-care hard-wearing for non-knitters who can't be arsed with handwashing their precious.

The colors are fun.  I didn't bother trying to line them up, giving them a charmingly mismatched quality.

Pattern is my basic toe-up two at a time sock with the Fleegle heel, and a couple inches of ribbing at the top.

Best part, they took me all of 8 days to make.  I'm not a speedy knitter, but that's really fast as far as sock knitting goes.  For me, anyway.

FO: Circle Socks

It's been a while since I've made a pair of socks.  This is an odd thing since most of my yarn stash is sock yarn.  I should probably make more socks.

They are still my go-to for travel projects.  If I have a long train journey in store and I'll be hiking around a bit then I always have a pair on the needles.  It's much easier than having a adult-sized sweater shoved in my bag while walking hill and dale.  

I made these for a guy-friend who is generous and gregarious.  He's had us over for dinner more times than I'm comfortable with before making a grand gesture of thanks.  So here they are:  a pair of socks that he can wear with his crocs while out back brewing beer.

I started a basic toe-up, two at a time sock while on the train to Exmouth last month.  When I got to the heel I tried something new:  Fleegle's No-flap-no-hassle sock.  I really liked the heel it made- smooth and flat- and once that was done, I chose a pattern to compete the cuff- the Circle Sock, modified to work with my sport-weight yarn and stitch count.   It's a simple slip-stitch pattern that adds a little bulk and texture to the cuff.

I'm modeling them here, so they are much bigger than my foot.  I used a skein of Online Supersock Murano color, and they do look a bit like Venetian glass.   Except they are wool and sock-shaped.  Even though I don't know the recipient's dressing habits intimately, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't wear handknit socks with shoes, but he does keep a cold house and a no-shoes policy, so I think these will nicely fit the bill for house socks.  Sport weight yarn is a bit thick to shove into shoes, but they make a cushy and warm house sock.  It's also very durable- the superwash wool/nylon blend means this will last a good long while.  They aren't precious at all.

FO: Rivendell Socks

I made a pair of socks. They are fancy.



So fancy, they took me forever to make. They weren't particularly hard to make but I did feel like they were time consuming. I have a hard time finding a spare moment to sit down and focus on charts and fiddly stitch re-arrangements, so I would work on them for 10 minutes and then not touch them again for a week.

I cast on for them last May when I was in Arizona and I didn't get so much done on them all summer long. Finally, I just decided to sit down and do this and knocked them out pretty quickly. Once you get past the wrapped stitches and the lace charts on the cuff, these weren't all that bad. The rest of the sock is just twisted rib stitch.



I guess they have something to do with Lord of the Rings, but I just liked the lace leaf and twining vine pattern. It's kind of graceful. You can find the pattern Here.



I used a skein of Holiday Yarn's Flock Sock in the "Burnt Orange" colorway. I'm not normally all that into oranges, but I liked this one. I made another pair of socks from this sock yarn a couple years ago, and it really wears like iron- it's thin and has a high twist and a 25% nylon content. It's also a little rough on your hands to work with. I think I probably used a gallon of lotion to keep my hands from drying up into scales when I was working these. I would rather suffer a little bit and have a pair of socks that aren't delicate little snowflakes that pill and felt and fall apart after a couple wears though.



I might just keep these for myself.

WIPs

I'm trying to get a few sweaters finished up before the humidity makes me forsake them.

First up: The Hey, Teach sweater from Knitty.com. I picked this pattern based on the yardage alone...it requires a small amount, which is perfect for this:



I bought 14 skeins of Elsebeth Laavold Silky Cashmere last year when the Yarn Connection in midtown went out of business. I got a really good deal on it, and 14 skeins seemed like it would be enough to do something with. I didn't dawn on me that having only 44 yards per skein means I purchased a mere 616 yards total. 14 skeins sounded like a lot at the time.

Aside from the skimpy yardage, it's super luxurious to work with. It contains 55% Silk, 45% Cashmere and it's Aran weight, so it's thick and cushy and so soft. It's a 4-ply yarn, but it is so loosely plied that it's almost like knitting with 4 strands held together.

So I picked this pattern because I wanted something that I could squeak by on minimal yardage. I still might not be able to make this with sleeves- it might be some sort of funky button-up vest. Plus, it will still count towards my 12 sweater challenge, right?





No matter though.

I also cast on for the Wanida socks for the man who deserves them. It's from Cookie A's book "Sock Innovation", which I can't find a picture of. These are part of my A-Z Stashdown Challenge...B is for Blue Moon Fiber Arts.



I'm using a skein of BMFA Socks that Rock lightweight in "Obsidian". It's a good, manly color. I'm doing these toe-up, two at a time.



I had a good chunk done but we both decided they were too big at 72 stitches. I tinked back and now they are 64 stitches and they look much more reasonably sized. I am doing the foot plain and starting the pattern once the heel is turned. As much as I love cables and lace on a pair of socks, they can be really uncomfortable to try and fit in shoes. It's a good bet to make a plain foot and then do the ankle and cuffs more interesting if you are going to plan on wearing the socks.

The Queen of Beads socks are the most awesome socks I've ever made:


But I can not wear them with shoes since they have both cables and beads, so they make imprints in the tops of my feet. They are my designated "Spinning Socks". Plus, they are too pretty to cover up so I wear them to show them off.

I have another FO that I need to block and get ready for its closeup, plus another couple summery sweaters that I'm plugging away at, plus my handspun oatmeal, and a really cool dye job I want to show off...I'll get to all that soon.