My perfect socks? - WIP

Started: 9/5/2105
Finished: (not yet)

9/5/2015:
This new pair is toe-up. I did Judy's magic cast on, I'm increasing the toe using twisted yarn-over increases, and I plan to do a Fish Lips Kiss heel. Also, since I'm moderately insane, I plan to only complete the toe, then start the second sock inside out and do the toe, then knit both feet using sock-inside-a-sock. Then separate again to do the heels, and together again for the legs. I'm hoping to find my perfect sock formula. 

9/6/2015:
I'm liking the twisted YO increases a lot.  They'll be my go-to increase from now on.
Sock 1: CO 16, increase every round to 28, increase every other round to 60.
Toe done:

9/7/2015:
I started the second toe (private side out) but haven't completed it yet.  It was a holiday weekend, and we went out to play.  I'm not going to beat myself up over that.  But I've increased it to 52 sts, so I'm almost there.  And it started with a completely different part of the color repeat, which is awesome.  There's nothing worse that *almost* matching stripes.  That makes it look like you failed, instead of looking intentionally quirky and mismatched.  I have lunch plans today, but I should be able to finish the toe tonight.  then to join the two socks and whip through the feet two at a time!

9/13/2013:
Holy moley, I had to rip and re-knit this toe about 20 times.  Only minor mistakes, but easier to start over than try to fix.  And the yarn held up beautifully through all the abuse.

And both on the same needles now, ready to commence feet.

9/30/2015: This is going very slowly.  Not only small needles and small yarn, but I'm focusing more on my mom's pillow right now.  But I'm probably an inch into the foot proper now.  No pictures at this time.

10/3/2015:
Finally, a picture.

10/10/2015:
Oh boy is this slow.  I mean, I understand that it's small stitches on small needles with small yarn, and it's both at once, but holy hells I didn't think it would go so slowly!  I don't have a picture right now, but I'd say I've probably done another inch since that last picture.  An inch!  In a week!  At this rate, it's going to take me... wait... never mind, skip the math.  But it's Way Too Long.

Brooklyn Boot Liners for ?

Started: 9/3/2015
Finished:  (not yet)

9/3/2015:
My size 3 DPNs go through the needle gauge at a loose 4, and won’t go through as a 3, so I’m not too sure what size they really are. I did a gauge swatch and it was a bit bigger than it should have been, even though I’m usually a tight knitter. So even though the recipient would normally get a medium, I’m going to make her a small. I think that’ll fit her better.  I've cast on and done the first round. 

I intend (subject to change, depending on how I feel about it later) to do all the top decorative part of each sock individually.  It's easy enough to keep the two identical through that part, since it is different every round.  But once it gets into the stockinette leg, I think I'll W&T one of them and then mount it purl-side out on the same needles as the other one, then do sock-in-a-sock knitting through the leg.  That will keep the decreasing and length identical on both socks.  It finishes in 2x2 rib, so it won't need to be turned right-side-out again to complete it.

9/4/2015:
I knitted the second round today on my lunch break and wasn't happy with the looseness of the gauge on these needles.  But I soldiered through the third round, which had some patterning... and then had to call it.  No, these needles aren't going to work.  So I've frogged it all and ordered new DPNs.  This is really a shame since the 3-day weekend starts in 2 hours.  But I do have other projects to work on so it's not a complete loss.  I'll restart this (possibly in a medium, depending how my new gauge swatch comes out) when the new needles arrive.

11/4/2015:
I'm no longer working with Yvonne.  This project will hibernate until I choose a recipient.

Herringbone Pillow for Mom - WIP

Started:  8/30/2015
Finished:  (not yet)

Pattern: Herringbone Stitch Pillow by Lion Brand Yarns

8/30/2015:
The power was out, and so we did a lot of knitting yesterday.  I finished my socks, and needed something I could work on even when the light started to fail.  So I started this pillow.  It's chunky yarn that I can knit by feel.  I got about 12 rows done last night.  So far this feels like it'll be a quick, easy knit.  But no pictures yet, since I didn't want to use my phone battery any more than necessary.

9/6/2015:
Got a few more rows done.  It's looking good so far!

 

 

 

9/30/2015: I finished the first (of three) skeins of yarn, and I was only about halfway through the front, so I ordered more yarn.  I'm now almost 2/3 through the front side.  (No pictures at this time.)  It's going pretty well, except that if I get distracted I forget to change pattern and end up tinking back a lot.  But I think it's going to be beautiful when it's done.

 

10/9/2015:

I'm just a few rows from finishing the front.  Need to discuss with Mom how big she actually wants it.  We might choose a smaller pillow form, and give it bigger seam allowances.  But she'll be on vacation for a while, so that discussion will have to wait until she returns.  But I'm not sure if I want to start the back until I know what size we're making.  So this might have to hibernate until her return.  No picture at this time, but I might remember to add one later.

 

11/21/2015:

Front of pillow done!  Now for the back...

 

My double-knit, two-at-a-time, two-handed socks - Done!

Started:  7/2/2015
Finished:  8/30/2015

7/6/2015:
I seriously suffer from second sock syndrome, so I've been looking at various ways to do two socks at a time.  I tried casting two side-by-side on the same circular needle, but hated it even from the cast on.  So I found a double-knit method that creates one sock inside the other.  There's an inner sock and an outer sock, and you work one stitch of each, alternating, all the way around.  Perfect!

Except I've never done double-knit before.  So first I had to learn that.  And since you're using two balls of yarn simultaneously, and you don't want to cross them (or you get conjoined socks, which probably makes walking more difficult), I am trying the two-handed method.  That is, I'm knitting continental with one hand, and English with the other hand, dedicating one hand to each sock.  So it's "work a stitch with the right hand, work a stitch with the left hand, repeat until your hands cramp".  The concept is good.  And I did practice a bit before starting my actual socks.  But I'm not very proficient at continental knitting, and so my tension isn't the same.  In other words, my socks won't be the same.

But to make it more exciting, I'm using self-striping yarn and gave up on trying to find identical points of color change in the two balls.  So the stripes are also going to be different.  I'm hoping that hides any visual discrepancies in the gauge.  (I'll just pick my smaller foot to wear the tighter sock, and nobody has to know.  I hope I do have a smaller foot.)

Another interesting point about this method that I'd failed to consider, is that when you knit 5 rounds, you've actually done 5 rounds of each sock, so you've effectively accomplished 10 rounds... but since one sock is completely hidden inside the other, you only SEE 5 rounds of progress.  In other words, you work really hard and get a lot done, but it looks like you're only half as productive as you actually were.  It's a little demoralizing.  But I just keep reminding myself that when I'm done, I'll be DONE.  I won't still have a whole 'nother sock to knit.

So without further ado, here is the sock so far.  Yes, I haven't gotten very far, even accounting for the "only half the work is visible" excuse.  And yes, when I spread the layers out so you can see them, they look... well, my more outspoken friends have already noted that they look... well... ahem... yes.

P.S.  I did get more done since that last picture was taken, I just hadn't taken more pictures.  But now here they are:

Here's a hopefully less suggestive picture of the two layers, as seen from the cuff-side.

7/8/2015:
Conjoined twins!  Damn.  But only one stitch, about 5 rounds back.  Around the inside sock.  So I dropped the top stitch, laddered it down, and built back up with the crochet hook.  Easy peasy.
So my ribbed cuffs are done, and I'm ready to work the legs in stockinette (purl the outer sock, knit the inner sock).

7/12/15:
I'd used circular needles because I don't purl well on DPNs when I hold the yarn in my left hand.  The inactive needles get in the way.  Since I was doing 1x1 ribbing, that was a problem.
But now that I'm in the unribbed leg of the sock, only my right hand purls.  The left is knit.  And my sides are severely laddered from doing magic loop.  So I've switched back to DPNs.  (In the process I dropped a stitch, and had to go back to circulars to properly turn the outer sock inside-out to reach the crochet hook in and rebuild the column.  Then go back to DPNs again afterwards.  Ugh.)
So now I'm flying through the leg and it's going very smoothly.  My corners are good and I'm rotating the stitches around the needles to ensure they stay that way.
I have definitely seen a difference in my tension between the outer sock ribbing and the inner sock ribbing.  Plus the laddering was worse on the outer sock.  Next time I think I'll do the ribbed cuffs on each sock separately, then combine them and continue in double knit.  It's a learning opportunity.
But here's my progress so far:



Wrong side of outer sock.

Right side of inner sock.

The colors should start showing up in the outer sock soon.  (I'm getting tired of white and purple.)


7/18/2015:
I'm finally getting colors in both socks!  Here's the inside view of each.
Outer sock (private side):

Inner sock (private side):

7/19/2015:
I got another inch done, then realized I'd managed to switch yarn for two stitches.  I tried to rescue it, but gave up.  I didn't like the cuff on the outer sock anyway, right?
So I've ripped the inner sock back a couple of inches.  And I've frogged the outer sock entirely.  I'll knit the outer sock alone until I've matched lengths again, then put them both on the same needles and continue.
And from now on, I don't put the needles down every few minutes.  Obviously distraction and knitting are a bad combination for me.


7/30/2015:
After a few days of sulking, followed by a few false starts, I've entirely recreated the outer sock (all by itself) to the length of the inner sock (which is now all by itself).  The next task *should* be to put them both on the same needles again.  But, not being a complete idiot, I think I'll put in some lifelines in each sock before I go any further.  I've learned a lesson, I promise.
Here are the two socks ready to be rejoined to their life mates... or something like that.

8/2/2015:

I put in lifelines, fed both socks onto the same needles... and then realized that I'd *knit* the outer sock instead of *purling* it, so now that it was inside out, the yarn was on the wrong needle.  So I did a wrap and turn.  (No, I was absolutely not going to rip it back to the ribbing.  Are you crazy?)

I've knit almost two inches since then, and both of my yarn balls are back to center-pull, which means I've reworked everything I'd ripped out.  So I've moved my lifelines (after checking that I didn't fuse the layers again) and I've got about 1.5 inches to go until I start the heel.

And I finally figured out that I could show both socks at once (wrong sides).  So here they are!

8/4/2015:

Let the heeling begin!  I've knit a bit over 6" of leg (including cuff) and I'm ready to begin the heels.  I've decided to try a wrap & turn heel (mostly because that's what the double-knit-two-a-time instruction video shows, and so at least I have an example to watch).  I've never done a W&T heel before.  And so of course the first time I do it, it'll be in double knit, because if you're going to do anything you should do it the most complex way possible in order to ensure you'll screw up a lot of stuff... or something like that. 

I'm scared of this, but I'm going to do it anyway... as soon as I move my lifelines again.

8/9/2015:

And the knitter said "Let the socks be heeled".
And lo, after many days and much swearing, and after several missteps and multiple episodes of tinking, and after vowing never to try this again,
the socks were heeled.

Now to knit the feet and toes.

8/17/2015:

I'm making slow progress through the feet. No more mistakes so far (knock wood).

8/24/2015:

Are we there yet?  Are we there yet?

I'm almost ready to decrease the toes.  I think.  Maybe.  How the hell should I know?  I do understand that socks should be about 10% shorter (and smaller in other directions) than the foot they're made for.  But I don't really know how much space (length) I'll want for the toes themselves.  I guess I'll have to stop and plan those out soon.  Like really soon.  Like as soon as I'm done with this post.  Because I'm almost there.  I think.

8/30/2015:

I'm on the toe decreases! I started yesterday, but had to tink back three attempts so I put it down for the day. This morning I've completed a round of decrease, a round of plain, and successfully tested that my layers aren't fused. Yay! 

 

 

And... DONE!!!

 

Sheri's Socks - Done!

Started:  5/10/2015
Finished:  6/28/2015

5/10/15:
I'm finally starting the socks for my dad's wife.  I appreciate the value of DPN's, but it still feels like wrestling a porcupine.  Though as I recall, it gets better as the works grows and stabilizes.
The dye repeat length seems a little random, but perhaps I'll recognize a pattern when I've seen more of it.  The ball shows a lot more green than I've gotten into the work so far.  Right now, I've only got the ribbed cuff done.

 

I've finished the upper and started the heel flap.  I'm understanding the color repeat better now.  It alternates short repeats of the new color a few times before switching to it entirely.  It's pretty cool looking, I think.

It's been a productive day so far!  I've already turned the heel and picked up the side stitches.

 

5/12/15:

Still chugging along.  Of course, it's only sock #1.  I'll probably be fine until I'm on #2.  I learned on my first/prior pair that it stays exciting until you're on the second sock, with the sure knowledge that you just did all this.

I did learn another lesson though.  This time I kept notes on the variables.  I know how many stitches I cast on, how many rows were in the heel flap, and my final stitch count after decreasing in the gussets.  Crap, I just realized that I didn't note how I decreased.  I started every-other-round, then went to every-round, and back to every-other.  Oh well.  They're hand made.  She'll love them no matter what, right?  Right...?

 

5/15/15:

Starting the toe decreases!

 

 

 

5/15/15: Toe chimney done.  Sock #1 almost complete!

 

6/8/15:  Boy did this go sideways.  I had the second sock halfway done.  I'd completed the gussets and was getting ready to do the straight part of the foot leading up to the toe, when I noticed that my decrease line had a jog in it.  I tried to pull out only those stitches, and repair them, but it confused me.  So I tried pulling it out to that point, but it was too hard to get the stitches back onto the needles.  So I frogged the entire sock.  I was too frustrated to even think about restarting it for a week and a half.  But I've started again now.  I'll definitely be more careful this time.  That sucked.

 

6/17/2015: And if that weren't bad enough... I restarted from the beginning, got to the end of the heel flap, and realized I'd done all the edge stitches wrong.  I was supposed to be slipping the first stitch, and I'd knitted it.  And of course I didn't notice until I was done with the whole flap.  But at least for that I was able to pull out only the flap.  Not that saving 2 inches of leg tube is saving a ton of work, but it's just beyond demoralizing to go back to empty needles after all that effort.  So, I've got the heel flap completed *correctly*, the heel turned, the gussets done, and I'm in the home stretch.  I've got about 14 rounds to do before I can start the toe decreases.  These socks might, maybe, hopefully, be done soon.

 

6/23/2015: I'm on the toe decreases.  FINALLY.  And of course I did two decrease rounds in a row, even though I'm supposed to have a plain knit round between them.  But that's just going to add to the character, right?  Either way, I'm not tinking it.  It's only one round.  It'll be fine.  Just fine.  Grrr.

 

6/27/2015: Toe chimney completed on second sock!  Next up: grafting both toes, closing gaps in 4 ankles, weaving in 4 ends.  I can do this.

 

6/29/2015: DONE!

 

 

My husband's knitting puts mine to shame

I taught my husband to knit in November.  I didn't expect him to go very far with it, it just seemed like something to occupy his time for a little while.  Especially since he'd thrown his back out, and knitting is a good way to occupy the hands without hurting the body.

But the man went insane with it.  I taught him throwing, since that was the method I knew.  But I'd wanted to learn picking, so we watched the Craftsy class together.  He converted without any trouble, and now that's all he does. 

Last week he watched the class on cables, and for his first "swatch" he designed a traveling cable pattern and knit a hat in the round.  Holy smokes.  Who does that?!?

 

 

Since we live in Southern California, we just don't have much need for warm clothing.  But hats are all the fashion, so he sticks to making those.  Lots of them.  He promised one to my dad and one to my bonus-dad, so we went to a yarn store this weekend and bought him some good quality yarn.  (I'm still using acrylic, but he's got enough skill already to justify using the good stuff.)  Yesterday he made my dad's hat.  Seriously.  He cast on and had it finished before he came to bed.

Meanwhile, I've still got my mom's cowl and my niece's scarf staring at me accusingly in their incomplete states.

Did I mention he's also busted out a lacy hat for his mother?

 

And a warm, striped one for himself.

 



And those are just the ones I can grab pictures of right now. 

Insanity, I tell you.

My *actual* first sweater, I hope. A bolero.

1/9/15:
The other sweater I started is... not calling to me.  I think it's the color.  So I'm starting something else.  This is a simple bolero in a lovely, rich burgundy.
Today I made a stockinette swatch and threw it through the washer and dryer to block it.  (It's acrylic yarn, and I've been assured that this really is the right blocking method.  I'm nervous though.)
Assuming my blocked swatch looks and feels good (it's still in the dryer) I'll get cracking on the real thing tomorrow.  Eek!
Update: It's completed a full wash and dry on normal settings, no babying of any kind.  It's completely unchanged.  No shrinking, bleeding, pulling, warping, anything.  Whew.
My gauge is 4.5 sts/in and 5.5 row/in.  I think I'm ready!