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Posts Tagged ‘socks’

Argh!

January 30th, 2011 1 comment

I ran a pair of my handmade handdyed socks through the washing machine. They were fine when they went in, but one of them came out like this.


ripped sock heel 1

ripped sock heel 2


This was my sturdiest, favorite pair. They’d held up well over the last couple of years. Sigh. I have a huge backlog of socks to darn, too – I’m murder on heels.


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FO: A’s crazy socks

January 29th, 2011 1 comment

Asocksdone

FO: A’s Crazy Socks
Pattern: Honeycomb Socks from Charlene Schurch’s Little Box of Socks
Yarn: Louet Gems Sport in Teal, Crabapple, White, and Violet
Needles: US #2 / 2.75mm
Size: Women’s L
Ravelry Project Page

Notes: If these look a little big on me, it’s because they are. These aren’t for me, though, they’re for my niece A. I don’t know if you remember this post from 2006, but A is the young lady sitting to the right in the picture. I taught her to knit in 2005 when she was 13 and she has stuck with it. I am so very proud. Anyway, my sister-in-law came to me this Fall and asked me to make some crazy socks for the young lady. Stripes, polka dots, lots of colors. That’s how my niece rolls.

My sister-in-law very paid me to make these, so they really are a gift from her to her daughter. And she wisely asked me well in advance of Christmas so I’d have plenty of time to get these ready. Really, she was very on the ball – it was me who fell down on the job. Life got a lot more busy than I thought it would this Fall and I didn’t have them done in time.

All was not lost, however, as A’s birthday is early next week, and they should be in my sister-in-law’s hands by now for her to pass on as a birthday gift. While my niece hasn’t received the socks yet, I think it’s safe to post here – I feel certain she doesn’t read my blog.
A sock inside
These have a 60 stitch caston, but I am such a loose knitter that they’re still a little loose on me. That’s good, though, as my niece wears about a size and a half larger shoe than I do. These should be spot on. In the pic at left with one cuff turned down, you can see the ingenious way that the spots are created. It’s just a solid stripe of color, but you slip a couple of stitches from the previous color band, which brings them across the stripe and makes it look like you’re changing colors. It’s a neat little cheat that is faster than Fair Isle – at least for me.

You’ll also note that for time’s sake, I opted not to mess with a jogless join for the color changes. Instead, I made sure they were both on opposite sides, so she can choose to wear them with the color jogs facing in and hide them, if it’s an issue for her.

I enjoyed knitting these. And I’ve got plenty of Gems left, so I could make them again for myself or someone else in my life in a variation on these same colors. They went pretty quickly when I actually found time to work on them.

I don’t normally do socks for hire, but as I mentioned, A is a knitter, so I’m glad to be able to knit for her. Nobody appreciates crafts like another crafter. I hope she enjoys these. She’s a charming young woman and I wish her a very happy birthday.


2010 crazy sock


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Handdye test

July 12th, 2010 1 comment

bluestripesock
For a break from orange hats, I thought I’d see how some of my handdyed yarn knit up. Not bad!

I was a little reluctant to go outside and photograph this, as I was stung by a wasp earlier today. That sting is one effective countermeasure – it definitely discouraged me from going anywhere near the wasp’s nest. Unfortunately, the nest in one of the clothesline poles, so once the weather turns sunny again, we’ll have to work out a solution. And in the war of wasps versus humans, I have the advantage of being a tool-using animal.

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Jaywalkers.

March 18th, 2010 1 comment

bluejays 3
Pattern: Jaywalkers
Needles: US Size 1/2.25
Yarn: Cascade Sassy Stripes (half-off at now closed Peace of Yarn in Matthews)
Ravelry project page
bluejays 1
Notes: Changed the heel to an eye of partridge heel, because it’s sturdy and I like the way it looks. Otherwise, these were according to pattern.

There is one difference, though. Because I had to steal time here and there to work on these, a lot of time passed between the first and second sock. When I got to the toe of sock two, I thought that I had switched to a size 0 for the toe on sock 1, so I switched to a 0 for sock 2. Apparently not. One toe does look a little wider than the other. However, since I had also muffed the foot on sock two once and had to rip back, I didn’t feel like re-knitting it. I decided it was good enough and sewed the toe closed. So one toe is a little snugger than the other. Big whoop.

These were originally going to be for me, but someone on Facebook admired them so greatly I decided to give them to her. She was my daughter’s preschool teacher, and a very good one. She has since moved over to our local children’s library/theater, called Imaginon, and she’s very good over there too. This week the Charlotte City Council announced massive budget cuts, including eliminating 140 library jobs and closing 12 branches. She’s having a bad week, waiting to see what her future is, and I think she needs happy feet. Here’s hoping that in this troubled time, she – and everyone affected – finds the feet of a dancer. I’m thinking of you, friend!

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FO: Thuja for Dad

February 6th, 2010 No comments

Dad stripe sock 1
Pattern: Thuja from Knitty
Yarn: Dalegarn Falk handdyed, Encore DK for stripe
Needles: #3 (3.25mm) heel and toe, #4 (3.5mm) for main foot and leg

Notes: I did an eye of partridge heel instead of the slip stitch heel called for. (I think an actual partridge approves – note bird tracks near sock in pic.) Also, I did 48 stitches instead of the suggested 44. The yarn was handdyed by me but I was concerned there wouldn’t be quite enough of it, so I added some stripes in the only yarn I had that was the appropriate weight and texture – Encore DK. It’s not 100% wool, but both the Dale and the Encore are machine washable, which is important to me in gift socks.

These were for my father for his birthday. He enjoyed his Charlie Brown socks so much last year that I thought he might appreciate another pair, albeit thicker and not quite as flashy. I wasn’t able to get out and see him on his actual birthday because of the weather, so he didn’t get them until last night. He really liked them. He’s such a gratifying person to knit for.


Happy belated birthday, Dad. Here’s hoping this is as close to snow as these socks ever get!
Dad stripe sock 2


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FO: Giant socks

December 25th, 2009 No comments

Sbigsocks2
Pattern: Mine
Needles: Size 1 US/2.25mm
Yarn: Opal Rendezvous with something extra for the top. If I remember what, I’ll amend this post.

Notes: The yarn was brought back by my mother-in-law from a trip to Germany. Wasn’t that thoughtful? I thought that knitting something nice for her son would be a perfect use for it. Hence, socks for my husband.

This was quite a challenge, as my husband wears size 15 shoes. He has no arches and he says that he always has trouble finding socks that fit in the heel that don’t force his toes to curl up. He also wanted them to match, which meant that I had to cut the Opal and finish the leg in another yarn, since otherwise the pattern repeats wouldn’t line up. To Opal’s credit, their yardage is generous and I have plenty for patching, should it be necessary.
Sbigsockheel
This week I finished up the last of the Christmas Jayne hats and was free to work on these. I’ve been plugging away intermittently for a year, so all I had was the back of the heel and the leg on the second sock. I stayed up late on the 22nd and 23rd to get almost to the green bit. My daughter, hearing that I wanted to finish Daddy’s Christmas gift, gave me some extra time on the 24th to finish the top and bind off.

The pattern is toe up, with a 3×2 rib on the top of the foot and the leg. I wanted them nice and stretchy. The bit through the arch I refer to as the “megagusset” since I had to make it somewhat larger than usual to accommodate my husband’s lack of arch. The back of the heel is in eye of partridge for greater sturdiness. The foot is 60 stitches around, the leg is 65, coming back in to 55 for the final inch of the cuff.
Sbigsocks
I’m pleased with how these turned out. My husband had no idea I was anywhere near finishing these, and I think he’d just given up on them. But he didn’t wear socks in to the Christmas tree this morning, and just as he was thinking that his feet were cold, he opened this gift. He was delighted.

I’m thrilled that he’s so happy with these. They fit him well. Even though he has huge feet, he still deserves handmade socks. Everybody does.

Happy holidays. I hope your day is filled with love, wonder, and warmth.

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Always check your gauge.

December 18th, 2009 No comments

The last of the “Oh, you’ll definitely have a Jayne hat by Christmas” orders are out the door, so now I’m free to work on the “well, maybe” orders. I’m trying to get as many done as possible – everyone should have a Jayne hat under the tree.
Getting gauge on gifts.

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Jaywalkers and two buttons.

November 5th, 2009 2 comments

jaywalker1heel2buttons bag
I always have to have at least one non-Jayne project on the needles. I have to have something to turn to for a break or else I’ll go crazy. Stopping briefly to make something else keeps my enthusiasm high for knitting the same hat a thousand times in a row.

Everyone else in the sock knitting universe has made Grumperina’s Jaywalkers, but I’m only now getting around to it. It’s fun, though. A good nearly brainless pattern that I can stuff in my purse.

Actually, I don’t have to stuff it directly in my purse, thanks to this cute little pouch that Turtlegirl brought me back from SAFF. It’s a lovely little thank you for feeding her cats while she was gone. She’s so thoughtful.

This is a great size for a sock project. It’s from 2buttons who don’t seem to have an etsy shop or online storefront. This was a very unique little gift, and perfect for my needs. Thanks, Turtlegirl!

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Avalanche of Awesome: Jaynetrelac socks

September 10th, 2009 8 comments

I am very fortunate to have some really fantastic people in my life. Many of them, I’ve met through knitting. One of the coolest is Turtlegirl76. We clicked pretty quickly when we met. We’re both quick-witted, we’re both geeky, and of course we both knit. Turtlegirl turned me on to Deadwood (which I highly recommend) and I turned her on to Firefly.

Behold! The Jaynetrelac socks!

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Thanks, Turtlegirl!

August 20th, 2009 No comments

STR Rare Gems
While Turtlegirl was getting her socks off at Sock Summit 2009, I took care of her boys Calvin and Ripple. Also her fish. Which died. But the cats are thriving, so that was good enough to earn me some loot! Look what she brought me back from Sock Summit! Socks That Rock Rare Gems. Turtlegirl knows me so well. These are exactly my colors. I’m all about the cool tones.

Incidentally, Turtlegirl has a really cool sock pattern named after her cats Calvin and Ripple (Ravelry link). It’s really two patterns in one, with one sock named Calvin (wild and unpredictable) and one named Ripple (the traditional old man with traditional construction). I’ve seen them finished in person (Jane Prater did a particularly nice one), and they’re really cool, so if you’re looking for two new patterns for the price of one, I recommend it.

Thanks, Turtlegirl, I love my new yarn!

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