Yup, that’s a humongous hole in my Neighborhood Fiber Co sock. The title is misleading, actually, because this is the firs time this has ever happened to me, EVER. And what’s strange is that these are one of my newest pairs of socks! I don’t know if maybe I wore them more than other pairs, or if I knit them a bit too loosely . . . I do know that finding a hole the very first day I wore handknit socks this season seems, well, almost like an omen of some sort. Will this be the winter when all my socks die an untimely death?
Man I hope not.
More knitting content coming up this week. I spent last week trying to convince the dog to “go” outside . . . lets just say it hasn’t happened yet. Anyone successfully switched a puppy from paper to outside before? Got any hints?
So I come back from my wedding and honeymoon (I promise pictures and stories later!!) to find that Twist Collective has launched, and therefore I can now show you the socks I knit for Cookie A! Here’s the FO shot I took when I sent them off to her:
The sock pattern is called Maelstrom and the pattern is available for $6.00 through Twist Collective.
These socks were really fun to knit and flew off the needles (I knit them in about a week since I knew I was on deadline!), and they really weren’t hard at all. The stitch pattern is a simple, short repeat that really looks complicated after it’s done but is actually really easy to memorize and “read” as you go. I especially love the diagonal line across the foot, such a distinctive Cookie A design feature!
As always her pattern is impeccably written and fun to follow, I always recommend her designs to anyone who wants to knit a “special” sock . . . I may have to make myself a pair of these to keep!
Project specs:
Pattern: Maelstrom by Cookie A
Yarn: The Knittery Merino Chubby
Needles: US size 1
Started: March 31, 2008
Finished: April 9, 2008
Here they are! I actually finished them this past Saturday but didn’t manage to get my act together in time to post. I really like how they came out and they’re really comfy!
I already know I won’t be knitting with such thick yarn again for socks, but if I did I would remind myself to short row less on the heels — there turned out a bit poofy, but definitely not unwearable. I still can’t quite believe I finished a sock in 2 days, much less a pair in a week! This is almost definitely a record for me. Makes sense when you think about how many fewer stitches it takes to make something that’s only 52 sts around instead of 60, and has way fewer rows per inch!
If you look closely at the toe of the left sock you can see the design I left in even though it doesn’t show enough . . . just a sneak peek of what my next sock design will involve! Shhh, don’t tell.
Project specs:
Pattern: 52 sts around with contrast toes & rib
Yarn: Duet Sock yarn in color Puddle Drop
Needles: US size 2
Started: May 31, 2008
Finished: June 7, 2008
Imagine that title as if Keanu were saying it in The Matrix. That’s how it sounds in my head.
This is what made me say/hear it:
I cast on this sock at approximately noon today. And just bound off, before midnight. No, I did not work on this all day — I would venture to guess it took less than 4 hours to knit from start to finish. There’s certainly something to be said for knitting socks on thicker yarn and bigger needles!
That said, my design didn’t work in this gauge and the 2 colors are too close to show the detail. I gave it up and just worked plain socks with a gusset short row heel and ribbed cuff. I also realized that this is too thick a sock for my taste: it’s quite heavy and feels more like a slipper than a sock. I will probably wear these to bed in the winter, they’re definitely too thick to wear in shoes.
If you’re wondering about the design, I worked out all the details and will try again on normal sock yarn, with more contrasting colors, sometime soon. AND the design process produced another colorwork sock design, so you may be seeing more than one sock design around these parts in the near future . . . although you should know that when I say “in the near future,” I really mean After Wedding. Meaning late August at the earliest.
Quite possibly the fastest socks I’ve ever knit!
The stripes didn’t line up very well on the second sock, it seems that the repeat was a little shorter on the second sock than on the first so the stripes aren’t the same. This is most visible around the heel, you can see in this picture that there is a lot of purple around the ankle of the right sock but not as much on the left sock. I’m ok with this, though, socks do not have to be perfect in my world!
If you want to knit these socks, here’s what I did:
- Knit toe-up socks with fingering weight yarn, with whatever stitch count you want, then after turning the heel knit 6 rows while increasing/decreasing to a stitch count of 66.
- Pattern row: * K2tog 2 times, (YO, K1) 3 times, YO, K2tog 2 times, repeat from * 10 times more.
- Knit 3 rows. Repeat last 4 rows until socks are desired length. Make sure to bind off on what would have been a knit row, not on the pattern row.
That’s it! So simple I couldn’t justify working it up into a “pattern”.
By the way, this yarn goes FOREVER. I have tons left over, easily enough to make knee-highs. I am kind of shocked at how much is left over! And as Dave pointed out in a comment last time I talked about these socks, Twisted Fibers now sells their yarn from their own website, www.twistedfiberart.com — I think I need to get some more!
Project specs:
Pattern: Toe up socks, figure 8 cast on and feather and fan legs
Yarn: Much less than 1 skein Twisted Fiber Arial in color Guardian
Needles: US size 1
Started: April 26, 2008
Finished: May 3, 2008
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