Friday, February 16, 2007

Two Finished Objects? Can you believe it?

Yes. Two finished pairs.

One:

Socks from Sensational Knitted Socks 5 st. pattern in Laburnum pattern 60 st. size
Needles:Size 2 dpns
Yarn:Not quite all of 2 balls Patons Grace color: Lavender
Any modifications?
Corrected an error in the short row toe/heel, which I contacted Martingale about. I could not find any tips about how to finish toe up socks in the book, but luckily I have been reading Wendy's blog where I heard about the Russian bind-off (what she calls it, I have no idea if there is another name). This was only my second attempt at toe-ups. (My first is my own design-Homograph, and although I had attempted this pair before, an entire sock was not completed. On Homograph, I tried to do EZ's cast-on bind-off, although I'm not sure I did it correctly) I believe I have suceeded. Admittedly, the feet are a bit long and due to the nature of the yarn, they probably won't be worn much. They're dress socks for special occasions.
Anything else I would have changed?
I can't think of anything at the moment.

Fetching
from Knitty
Needles: size 7 dpns
Yarn: Lion Suede Moonshadow Print
Any modifications:
Yes. Do you really think 45 sts on size 7 needles in this thicker yarn would fit my hands? No. So I made quite a few changes, making note of them. If you wish to make smaller Fetchings, or use the thicker yarn, here's what I did:
Cast on 30 sts instead of 45.
Work only 3 rws before cabling and only 4 rws between cables.
Knit in the rib about 2" past the last cable(I did three cables at the wrist as the pattern instructed)
Knit 5 sts with waste yarn for thumb (I actually purled the last stitch, but do what ever you please)
Work 3 or 4 rws, cable, work 3 or 4 more rws before following the instructions for the picot bind off (or not, you can do how you wish.
For this thumb, you will pick up 5 from lower edge, 4 at top edge, and pick up two on each side as the pattern instructs. I had stitches divided as 5,4,4. I think I worked 2 or 3 rnds before binding off.
Anything else I would have changed:
I cannot think of anything.

I am currently wearing my Willy Wonka/Sweet Tarts socks and my Fetchings. They are both quite comfortable. I am getting a bit fed up with Sensational Knitted Socks. I know a new More Sensational Knitted Socks is going to be coming out, and I was thinking about ordering it, but now...




My voyage with SKS was fine at the beginning, sailing right through calm water. The four-stitch pattern (I forget the name of the pattern I did on the first pair, but I also did purled ladder) was fine, I only modified how much ribbing I worked. As far as I know, the eight stitch pattern (Ribbed lace) was fine. Although I had to look at the lace chart while I was working, it wasn't a big deal as there were 6 repeats in the whole pair, and I really could not manage memorizing every row in it. You can read some of the pattern, but you will probably have to refer to the chart. I'm afraid I'm digressing, so I'll go on. We then ran into some rougher seas, though not stormy when I decided I didn't much care for the Forethought heel procedure and I found an easily corrected error in the Cable socks heel flap instructions. Now we are sailing through rainy weather and rougher seas. I got frustrated when the number of stitches for the above mentioned short row toe/heel gave the wrong number, and now I am having problems with a six stitch pattern sock:




I started this sock back last summer, in fact I remember starting the lace pattern while at the local coffee shop. The merino was a special treat from my birthday sock yarn stash. Then, after 1 1/2 repeats of the pattern or so, it was set aside and became a UFO instead of a WIP. I picked it up after I finished the Laburnum socks, in fact, after completing all these long-running pairs of socks, I was a little unsure what to do in the sock direction. Anyhow, I turned the heel the other day...




(Related: I tried picking up the gusset stitches the "pretty way" and I think I like the results. I haven't tried it till now because most of my socks have followed the directions and had garter stitch edges on the heel flap. This one was from slightly different directions. )




And promptly ran into problems with the instep.




Look at the picture!

Actually don't. Sorry. I don't have time. Bye!

No comments: