Life just goes along these days. It's busy. It's mundane. I don't really feel like there's a whole lot to blog about right now. It's a knitting blog though, and I've been knitting, so here you go.
My new favourite knit it in your sleep sock pattern:
1. Get some yarn.
2. Using the Turkish Cas-on start with this many:
Lighter fingering or cotton based sock yarn - 16 wraps / 32 stitches total on 2mm needles
Fingering weight - 12 wraps / 24 stitches total on 2.5 mm needles
DK weight - 8 wraps / 16 stitches total on 3mm needles
Heavy DK or Light Worsted - 8 wraps / 16 stitches total on 3.5mm needles
3. Make wedge toe by increasing 4 stitches every other round until you have:
Light Fingering/Cotton - 72 stitches total
Fingering weight - 64 stitches total
DK weight - 56 stitches
Heavy DK or Light Worsted - 52 stitches.
I use knit front and back on the corner stitches.
After about 2 rounds I pull the cast on tail through to the right side to serve as a start of round marker.
4. Knit around and around for a while.
Try it on for size. Stop when you can comfortably pull the sock up to your ankle bone or so.
5. Work Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' short row heel on half the stitches.
Hint: slip the instep stitches onto 2 dpns to give them a little slack and reduce the pulling at the corners.
Another Hint: on the first round after you've finished the heel, knit 3 together in the first and last instep stitches to close any possible gaps. Do this by picking up and twisting a stitch from the row below right in the corner and slipping the last yarn over onto the left needle. Knit the first stitch together with the picked up stitch and the yarnover. Do the same at the other end of the instep stitches.
6. Knit around and around and around and.......until
a) you feel like stopping
b) you are nearly out of yarn
c) the length of the leg is roughly 1" shorter than the length of the foot from heel to toe.
7. Switch to 1X1 rib for about an inch.
8. Use EZ's Sewn Cast-off. Work it loosely so there's a lot of stretch in the top of the sock.
There you go. I wouldn't exactly call it a pattern. It's more like the techniques that are working for me right now.
I made these like that:
Cider Moon "Blizzard"
100% Washable Merino
64 Stitches on KP 2.5 mm DPNs
Colourway: "Asbury Park" which is off white, turquoise and light brown but which reads as mint green from a distance. Also please note the spiral striping. This yarn came in a single hank. I split it exactly in half using an electronic scale. I knit them exactly the same way, on exactly the same needles, one after the other. So WTF is up with the spiral stripe?
Love that Heel! For me anyway, its a whole lot faster to knit than a flap. I don't think it will wear as hard as a flap would, but I'm not really all that concerned. There's probably more sock yarn in the stash than I could knit in a year of nothing but socks.
Also knit these as demo/gauge samples for a local indie dyer. For those of you in Calgary, Linda Marlow-Thomson will shortly be opening a stall at the Calgary Farmer's Market. Linda is a retired teacher and new fiber friend of mine. Her hand-dyed yarns are gorgeous to look at and to work with. Linda also makes specialty yarns and will be stocking patterns and kits as well.
This yarn is on the heavy side of dk yarns. It is 100% mercerized wool which takes the dye beautifully, feels soft and cozy, and won't felt.
The sock on top is 52 stitches on 3.5mm KP DPNs. Gauge is 6.5 stitches and 7.5 rows per inch. It used almost exactly 50g of Linda's hand-painted yarn. Leg length is 4.5 inches: Foot is 7 inches.
The sock on the bottom is 56 stitches on 3.0mm KP DPNs. Gauge is 7 stitches and 8.5 rows per inch. Once again, it uses almost exactly 50g of yarn from the same skein. Leg length is 3.5 inches: Foot is 7 inches. The only noticeable difference in size between the two socks is in the leg length. The foot circumference and fit is identical.
That tassle of yarn attached to the bottom sock is every scrap that was left from the original 100g skein. You can indeed get a pair of shorty socks out of a single skein. I know that Linda's also going to put up some kits with 100g multi-colour and 50g co-ordinating semi-solid to use with toes, heels and cuffs. It's also interesting to notice the difference in patterning between the two socks. The bottom sock has a subtle spiral pooling which I actually quite like. The top sock has a much more even distribution of colour. May not ever happen again, but I think it's interesting to note particularly after the obvious difference in the Asbury Park socks.
Next up? Purple. REALLY purple.
