Socks

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I have finished the first installment of socks from the Ram Club. They look wonderful and feel great on my feet. I am tempted to give them to my son to try to stave off his complaints that the socks that I am knitting for him are unfinished.

Now I need to sit back and find something else to work on until the next shipment comes along.

It has been a long time since I have posted anything. Part of the reason for this is that I haven’t really been doing anything craft-related lately. Instead I have been engrossed in the Vorkosigan Saga, which I regret not having read before. This is a series that is definitely not run-of-the mill and has hooked me from the first chapter of the first book that I read.

Last week I received the first shipment from my subscription to the Ram Club The yarn was so nice that I couldn’t wait to start knitting it into socks. Last night I finished the first sock and started the second.

The included pattern is fun to work and has taught me a couple of things. This is the first time that I have knit with two strands of yarn. I like the results as it gives more depth to the color of the sock. I also enjoyed knitting gussets and a heal flap in reverse as I knit from the toe up.

The only change that I made to the pattern is that I used a short row toe a la Priscilla Gibson Roberts. I prefer using yarn overs at the beginning of each short row instead of wrapping the next stitch. I think that the toe looks much better that way.

The sock fits my foot perfectly and feels wonderful. I can’t wait to have a pair.

Working with my own design and ideas has definitely been an interesting experience. It requires taking a leap into the unknown followed by a willingness to start over and make adjustments if things don’t turn out quite like you had envisioned. I am not quite sure that I have the temperament to do this.

To review, I am knitting a sock for my son using a stranded pattern that I took from Knitting Workshop. When I decided to do this, I was a little worried that there would be too many rows in the pattern for the sock. To compensate for this, I decided to knit from the toe up thinking that I could put the heel where it belonged and then just have an extra-long sock.

Yesterday as I approached the end of the pattern, I decided that the sock was all out of proportion and I still had to knit the ribbing for the cuff. This sock was so long that it looked like it would eventually reach over the top of my son’s knee. There are also a couple of bands in the pattern that look a little strange to my eye. My son has also mentioned that they don’t look quite right to him either.

After a few minutes deliberation, I decided to rip back to the heel so that I could take out the two offending bands. My wife thought that I was nuts for doing this and a part of me agreed with her, but I think that the sock will look much better in this new configuration.

I had hoped that with all of the knitting time I had this weekend I would have pictures to show. Now the sock only has about four more rows than it did on Friday night. This setback coupled with the prospect of having to knit the same pattern a second (and eventually a third) time has made this project a little less attractive to me. I may have to let things sit for a little while.

Besides, my cross stitch projects started calling to me yesterday morning.

Knitting this second sock of the pair was a breeze for me. I was amazed at how fast I knit each pattern repeat. The regularity with which the decreases occur at each side of the pattern coupled with the movement of the yarn overs across the pattern was almost hypnotic. It seemed that I was finishing pattern repeats almost as soon as I started them. I continue to be intrigued by how the stockinette sections are pulled at different angles with respect to one another. It almost looks like entrelac to me.

How were they received? Very well. My daughter loves them and was happy to let me take a picture of them on her feet.

So I have now knit socks for all but one of my children. I have actually cast on another sock and am working with an idea that I had. I am excited to see how it turns out.

I haven’t felt like knitting socks for quite some time. That changed about a week ago. It must be the onset of (relatively) cooler weather.

This Scrolls Sock is based on a sock pattern found in More Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. I used the short row heel and toe instructions that are found in Priscilla Gibson-Roberts Simple Socks Plain and Fancy because I like those directions better.

This is the first time I have knit a lace pattern like this. It is fascinating to watch how the different blocks of stockinette automatically bias with respect to each other. Watching the lace take shape made knitting this sock always interesting. Of course, I wonder if I will think the same thing half-way through the second sock.

My daughter chose the pattern and I am knitting them for her. When I showed her the first completed sock she danced for joy. That makes all of the time spent worth it.

I have had a severe case of second sock syndrome while I worked on the second half of this pair of socks. I am glad that the knitting is finished and I can move on to other things.

The picture is proof of the high regard that my son has for these socks. He put them on right after I finished them and wore them the rest of the day. I am glad that he likes them so much.

Time to move on the the next pair for one of my other children.

This is the first sock of the Cables and Moss sock from Sensational Knitted Socks.

Believe it or not, the cables on this sock actually make it relatively quick and exciting to knit. After a cable cross, the cable is bunched up tightly and you just have to knit a few more rows so that it will look right. After you have knit a few more rows, you are eager to make a new cross because things just aren’t looking quite right. So the tension of adding more rows makes you eager to go on.

I found quite a few errors in the instructions for the heel shaping for this sock. If I had knit as written, I would have had a heel flap knit in reverse stockinette, which just didn’t seem quite right to me. There is also an error in the instructions for the heel turn. Luckily, I was able to figure everything out.

My son loves the sock and can’t wait for the second to be finished.

Knitting the second sock turned out to be easier than the first. First of all, I was careful enough to not make the same mistakes with the heel flap. Second, I knew how many pattern repeats were required for the length that I needed. Somehow knowing that I only had three more repeats to go made the knitting go faster.

My daughter slipped them on her feet and wiggled her toes. Her joy at wearing something that I had made her made all of the work more than worth it.

On to the next pair of socks!

The summer heat causes me to spurn all things made of wool. It is not a pleasant feeling for me to try to knit while my hands sweat liberally. Now that things have cooled off a little, I have started knitting once again. This sock is the first object that I have to show as proof that I really do knit. This is the Corded Rib sock which can be found in Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch.

Knitting this sock was a fun experience. I had to knit the heel twice because I didn’t read the directions carefully enough and ended up with the wrong number of stitches in the heel flap. Rather than actually count the number of stitches, I tried to muddle through until I got to the point where I realized that I had made a serious mistake. In the end I like how it turned out and I am trying to get up the courage to start the second sock of the pair.

On a side note, Charlene Schurch’s book is an excellent resource. The variety of stitch patterns and methods of knitting socks makes it an invaluable resource. I enjoy just looking at all of the different patterns. I have plans to knit more than this pair.