Quick fix – putty socks DONE

My pink and green socks are still stalled as I deliberate how to proceed, and so the progress on my latest Felici socks are hastened.  Done! This shadow rib pattern (which I nicked from Neil’s Little Box of Socks during a knit night long ago) is about as complicated as I want to get on a striping yarn like Felici.

Because of the afterthought heel, the striping continues down the front uninterrupted, which is a quality I’m grown to admire in a striped sock:These match pretty well, too, although if you look at the toe tip you can see that I didn’t end up at exactly the same spot in the yarn.  Not sure why.

I had 26 grams of yarn left, which was plenty.  It was more than I needed to pull out yarn on the second ball to get to the same beginning spot.

Felici lovers, did you notice the big Felici sale on the Knit Picks website?  Ummmm……  I did.  I’ll make a visual confession when the box arrives.

This and that

I haven’t mustered the will to deal with the pink and green socks again this week, not since I discovered the big problem that will cause me to have to rip back the heel flap I labored over.  It’s a technique issue.  More on that later.

Instead, I worked on my putty socks during work meetings and a book group discussion, and they are coming right along:I wanted to keep the Felici stripes going evenly, so I put in some waste yarn for an afterthought heel (see the red bit?).  You’re looking at the bottom of the sock, with the beginning of the stockinette sole.  I still think this pattern – simply ribbed though it is – may be a bit much for a self-striping yarn, but I’m committed now.

I abandoned the square needles and my progress accelerated considerably.  In addition, I think my work is more even on round needles.  The first half of so of what you see above was done on square needles.  Do you think the transition is noticeable?

I also started S1’s new felted slippers (again, to avoid dealing with those cursed socks!).  The sole and cuff will be purple; the upper will be green.  They are knit from a double strand of worsted weight yarn on size 13 needles, using the classic Bev Galeskas pattern that so many knitters have made…  (Have you made these?  Such a great project!)And lastly, I wanted to share some pictures of socks knit by my friend, Neil.  Neil knits a LOT of socks, and he donates many of them to fundraising auctions for local nonprofit groups.  One place that Gettysburgians know they can purchase Neil’s famous socks is the Project Gettysburg-Leon auction.  This year Neil donated an astounding TWELVE pairs!!!  Two sets of three pairs were sold in bundles in the live auction, and the others were sold in one or two pairs at a time in the silence auction.  Here is a live auction grouping – notice the Felici yarn.  Neil and I love that stuff.  Also notice the “crazy socks” on the right.  Neil uses his leftover sock yarn to make these completely unique creations.  I spy some Austermann Step yarn in the heel flap area (and just above) on the right.  I have been meaning to make my own crazy socks for years and just haven’t done it yet.  Why, I ask you?  Crazy socks would be ideal office knitting. You might also notice the bulge in the toe area.  Neil always includes a small amount of extra yarn for darning.  So thoughtful!I’m not sure what these ended up selling for – I took these pictures early in the evening.  You’ll always find eager auction goers huddled around these tables around closing time, hoping they get Neil’s special socks.  It’s an auction tradition. 

Hip to be square?

I have been intrigued by the new square knitting needles produced by Kollage, so I asked Santa to think about giving me some.  Santa and I have a clear line of communication and he came through as usual.  :)

I finally started a new pair of socks on my favorite size, US 0 (2 mm), and was able to give the needles a test drive.  Here is some Felici yarn from the stash in a very neutral colorway called “Putty” (I think it could have been named “Steven” if the KnitPicks people had a close personal relationship with my friend Steven!) that will coordinate perfectly with khaki and brown pants for work, I think. I’m using a simple shadow rib pattern, which I’ve used before on a heather-y sock.

I really like the square needle tips, but the cable is slowing me down.  It will make more sense if I show you rather than tell you:

I’m still not sure if I love them.  The join is a little rough and the cable is sooooo flexible that changing needles is very slow.  Maybe I’ll get the hang of it as I go along?  We’ll see…

By the way, the Kollage circulars come in two cable types: soft and firm.  These are the “soft” cables.

FO - Shadow Rib Socks

This weekend, I finished my latest pair of office socks (which sometimes come home on the weekends to be weekend knitting at brunch or other occasions when simple knitting is needed). I'm really happy with the way these turned out.

The yarn is Socrates, made by Alpaca with a Twist. It is 30% baby alpaca, 30% merino, 20% bamboo (which contributes the sheen), and 20% nylon (for strength). It's really soft, and this gentle blue heathered with purple, pink, and green is so soothing. The shadow rib pattern (from Charlene Schurch's Little Box of Socks) is simple yet effective. You know how I favor those variations on basic rib.

I blocked these for their final photo because I was a little tired of socks-on-feet photos. But the socks are on my feet today - I photographed them after breakfast and decided they needed to be worn today!

I would knit with this yarn again in a heartbeat. I had 13 grams left (from a 100 gram ball), so I could have made the cuff a little bit longer - but it's fine. I need to remember to record this yarn in my geeky sock yarn spreadsheet.

Dreamy sock

This is my current office sock project. Office socks are usually knit in fits and starts, so not much may happen for a while. I finished the first in the pair during a meeting earlier this week.

The yarn is Socrates, by Alpaca with a Twist. I got it at the Knitters' Day Out market last September. It is 30% Baby Alpaca/30% Merino Wool/20% Bamboo/20% Nylon in a heather-y blend. It is super soft and downright dreamy - a little splitty, but I can deal with that. It's so soothing to work with.

The pattern is Shadow Rib, from Charlene Schurch's The Little Box of Socks. You know how fond I am of rib variations on a sock.

Mmmm, look at that stitch definition!