Mermaid Socks

The Lucy Project has been completed!

Name of Project: Mermaid Socks
Yarn: Knit Picks Bare Merino/Silk Fingering Weight
Yardage: one hank
Yarn Source: KnitPicks.com
Needles: Size US 1.5 (2.5 mm) and US 2.5 (3.0 mm) Knit Picks circulars
Estimated Time to Complete Project: 3 weeks
Pattern Notes: Using the Size 3.0 mm needles was a little scary to me because I was sure that it was going to be too loose. I usually use the 2.0 or 2.5 mm for all of my socks. I absolutely loved this stitch pattern. It's called an Estonian Fishtail stitch and the rhythm of it was easy and fun.

I chose the Wavy cuff option to start the sock and it also uses the Fishtail pattern. So once completing that, it just kept going into the leg. I warped this yarn (before dying it) so that the colors would be 1" in thickness. I was able to see how it knitted up in the leg and was very happy with the results.

The heel was a garter stitch short row heel which was a good idea so I didn't have to interrupt the striping of the yarn. I had done this before so it wasn't new and it's definitely getting easier each time I do one.

One of the things that was exciting to me about this sock was the toe. The fishtail pattern spirals down to the tip of the toe. It was a little tricky to make sure the heel was lined up, and to follow the stitch pattern exactly for the decreases, but the directions were easy to read and follow. Thank you Lucy!

This was the last of the patterns from the Lucy Project. It feels good to have completed my goal and now I feel I've mastered sock knitting. Between Lucy Neatby's book, her DVD's and many different sock patterns, I've tried almost everything. I've done socks toe-up, cuff down, heel flap from toe-up and cuff-down, short row toes, short row heels, afterthought heels and many different cast ons and cast offs. I've made 17 pairs of adult size socks this year and feel comfortable making and teaching sock methods without a pattern.

The socks from this project can be seen here:

Assignment 1: Simply Splendid Socks
Assignment 2: Timberline Toes
Assignment 3: Crenellated Toe-Up Socks
Assignment 4: Marietta Rib Socks
Assignment 5: Chequerboard Socks

Assignment 6: Mermaid Socks (see above)

One of the objectives of this project was to try out all the different sock methods so that I could see which one I liked the best. I know there are other sock techniques out there to try, but so far this is what I learned I like the best.

Always two at a time on two circulars. Double pointed needles have their place, but not in my sock knitting. Why make one at a time, when you can have them both at once? I know I'm from Generation Y, and we demand instant gratification, but it just seems to me like a better way to have two socks that match. Second Sock Syndrome, what's that? I wouldn't know...

To cast on for the toe-up sock, I like to use Judy's Magic Cast-on. There are no weird gaps to tighten up and it is easy to memorize once you understand what it's doing. All I need to do after the cast-on is figure out what stitch pattern I want to use, then increase (every other row) up to that number. I try to keep that number around 60 - 64 stitches. That seems to be a very nice fit for my foot.

The heel depends on my stitch pattern and yarn I'm using. I haven't gone wrong with the short row heel. One of the things I learned from Lucy's book, was to do a short row heel over 60% of the stitches and not 50%. It makes for really easy foot insertion and there is no tightness over the heel. So that requires I juggle the stitches on the circular needles a little bit, but I'm up for the challenge. This technique also helps if I don't want to interrupt the striping sequence for self-striping yarn. I also liked using a heel turn and flap if I was following a particular pattern I liked the way the heel flap looked. I learned this from Wendy's blog and have used it a couple of times. It has always come out looking great!

There were a few cast-offs I liked and it also depended on the stitch pattern and yarn I was using. The I-Cord bind-off was my all around favorite. It was stretchy enough to let your foot slide easily in and out, yet there is no saggy-ness or wrinkly-ness at the top. It was kind of hard to find a bind off that I could complete get behind, but this was a fantastic find. The other way I liked to bind-off was by knitting into the front, yarning over, and knitting into the back of the stitches to have 3 times the amount of stitches on the needles. Then I just worked a couple of rounds, then worked a normal bind-off. This made the ruffly top that I thought was cute and fun.

I didn't just learn things pertinent to socks this year. Because of Cookie's Twisted Flower socks, I learned how to cable without a cable needle. I had to because there were just too many twists and turns to work out while trying to use a cable needle. Now, I'll never go back. It makes me feel like a magician when I use just two needles and create beautiful twists and cables. Plus the instant gratification thing, it's WAY faster.

So there it is. And according to Lucy Neatby's book, I have achieved Sock Goddess status.

I AM KHALILA
MASTER SOCK KNITTER

That is, until I go to Cat Bordhi's sock class on January 8.

Lucy Project #5

I'm sorry to say that this is where the road ends for these babies. They are just not very fun for me. For one thing, I like to make my socks two at a time. And secondly, with the weaving and floating happening on the inside of this sock, it is so incredibly slow-going, that I have no patience left for anything else after a few rounds of this. Which, since I don't live alone, isn't good.

I was trying to go for kind of a stained glass effect when I paired these two colors of yarns together, but I'm not sure that's what I got. And this is Koigu so I think it might better be re-purposed elsewhere.

I don't feel bad about not finishing this pair of socks because the whole point of the Lucy Project was to learn new techniques so I could have a grasp on different ways of doing things. With this project, the only thing that was sort of new for me, was the checkerboard pattern. I've already done a garter stitch short row toe AND a garter stitch short row heel (Timberline Toes).

So I'm moving on, to the last of the Lucy Projects, Project #6 the Mermaid Socks. I'm really excited about these because of the Estonian Fishtail stitch pattern that is used. It looks like a rib pattern that spirals around the sock. But even these will have to wait until I'm a done with...

My Wicked Socks
Starting this Tuesday with updates to follow. :)

Marietta Rib Socks

Lucy Project #4

I've got two more socks to make to finish my Lucy Project. This one was really fun because of the color of this yarn. I knew it was going to be perfect for the ruffles. It's just so happy looking that I'm calling them my happy socks. No one can be sad when they see these. :)

Name of Project: Marietta Rib Socks from Lucy Neatby's book Cool Socks Warm Feet
Yarn: Plymouth Sockotta Sock Yarn Bold Stripe Effect, Color 5616, 100 grams/414 yards
Yarn Source: Yarning For You
Needles: Size US 1 (2.5 mm) Knit Picks dpns
Estimated Time to Complete Project: 6 days
Specifications: These socks start at the cuff, and you cast on 3 times as many stitches as you need, then decrease down to the number you are going to work for the sock. That's how the ruffle forms. Then there are a couple of stockinette rounds to get the turning of the ruffle. After that you just work in ribbing down the leg, do a heel flap and turn, then proceed down the foot until the end of the toe. The toes are grafted.

The big thing I learned while making this sock was that the longer you make the heel flap, the more frequent you have to do the decreases on the gusset. So you have to decrease every round on the gusset if the heel flap is longer and it makes a sharper angle. If the heel flap is on the shorter side, you can decrease every other round for a more gradual angle. I chose to make a shorter heel flap with this sock and decrease every other round.

The other thing I changed a little about these socks was the pattern says to stop 1.5" from end of foot and then do the toe. Well, I measured a couple of the other pair of socks that I've made and the toes on those are 2" long. So I stopped 2" from the end and did the toe with decreases on every other round down to 10 stitches and they fit nicely. I think if you stop at 1.5" you have to decrease every round and it makes a sharper angle.

Lucy Socks #3

These are the third pattern from Lucy Neatby's Cool Socks Warm Feet book called Crenellated Toe-Up Socks. I used my Knit Picks Size 0 (2mm) circular needles with Sockotta Sock Yarn Color #6669. These start with a Garter Stitch Square Toe which is also called a Bosnian-style toe. After the foot is long enough, you use waste yarn to do an Afterthought heel. Then a Garter Stitch cuff with a Picot (crenellated) bind-off. The cool thing about that kind of bind-off is that you could do all sorts of design things with the picots depending on how long you make them and how far apart you space them. I've made socks with an afterthought heel before so that wasn't new to me. The Bosnian-style toe square adds a different element that I think would look neat if you made it in a different color than the sock was in. These socks only took me two weeks due to the high amount of traveling we've been doing. I got the idea for the Sock Blockers made out of hangers from Debbie Stoller's Stitch 'N Bitch Nation book.

I have a baby present that needs to be knit for a friend's baby that is due to arrive in September. One of the blogs that I read, Abby's Knits made a sweater called Easy Baby Cardigan that is just beautiful. It's from the top down and the only seaming is on the hood. Just what I was looking for! I'm hoping to hit up my LYS soon to get the yarn. :)

I keep seeing everyone talk about the website Ravelry and I would really like to get on there to see how cool it is to use. I'll just sit here and wait while everybody on their podcast talks about it and everybody on their blog writes about it and wait my turn.

Lucy Project #1 Complete

The first assignment from my Lucy Project, the Simply Splendid socks, have been completed. They took about 9 days to complete from cast-on. I used Socks that Rock Mediumweight in colorway Chapman Springs, two size 2 circular needles and knit them both at the same time.

I like the way they turned out and if my feet were rounder they would fit great (I had a sizing issue). I wasn't sure why they didn't feel right at first but after going over my notes I made I figured out my mistake. I had received Lucy's Sock Technique DVDs and saw where you were supposed to measure for your ankle measurement. I measured too high on my ankle and it put my ankle measurement at 8.5 inches. If I had measured correctly it would have been 8 inches. So they are not going to be wearable to me the way they are because they are too loose around the ankle and foot. I have two choices - 1) frog them and start over or 2) find someone with really round feet and give them away. It's just too early for me to frog them so I'm just going to wait a few days and see how I feel. The fact that I've spent 9 days on something to just have to rip it out is so harsh right now.

In the meantime, I've started two new projects. The first is the Sahara Sweater. I'm cautiously diving into the pattern because I don't want to overlook something important. The second is the Falling Leaves sock pattern from Knitty. I'm using two size 1 circular needles and Lang Jawoll superwash sock yarn in Lavender. I'm really excited to have new projects on the needles as they are both something I have been waiting to cast-on for. I did finally get my 3 hanks of socks that rock yarn yesterday. Woo hoo! :)

The Adventure Begins

Here is the first mini sock of the pattern Simply Splendid Socks. I learned how to do the Channel Island cast on and it is beautiful. It seems very stretchy and just looks wonderful. I think this will be the perfect pattern for this colorway also because I think any fanciness would get lost in the colors. I'm using Socks that Rock Mediumweight in colorway Chapman Springs and two size 2 circular needles. I contemplated going down to a size 0 or 1 (because my gauge is a little loose) but I used size 1 with my last pair of socks and it's just so dense I didn't enjoy the feel of it. Sure they may last longer because they won't wear as much but if I don't like knitting it, what's the point?

I like knitting two socks at a time on the two circulars so they are both finished at once. Let the first pair of Simply Splendid Socks for the Lucy Project begin...

The Lucy Project

I've decided to expand upon my knowledge of sock knitting and give myself some training. It will be called "The Lucy Project". I have the book "Cool Socks Warm Feet" by Lucy Neatby with all the different techniques and ways to make socks (all of which I don't know now). I'm going to go through and try all of the techniques and make each project. There are only six but it's all new so I know it'll take awhile. I've seen that there are two companion DVDs for the sock techniques that are available from Lucy Neatby on her website. I plan to go to my LYS and see if they have them before buying them online. I want to see how far I can get on my own, but I'm thinking it will go faster having the visual of the techniques right in front of me.

Right now, I'm in the yarn acquisition phase of the project. I've ordered Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock in colorways Lemongrass, Rhodonite, and Thistle. I already have Chapman Springs and that's what I'm using to start the first pair of socks. By the end of 2007 (hopefully it won't take that long) I will be known as:

Khalila

Master Sock Knitter

The Six Assignments will be as follows - I will knit the miniature version of each sock first and then complete the pair for each pattern. I will post my progress for each assignment and hopefully it will keep me motivated to keep learning the skills I might be having difficulty with. My tenative timeline is one month per assignment.

Assignment 1: Simply Splendid Socks

Assignment 2: Timberline Toes

Assignment 3: Crenellated Toe-Up Socks

Assignment 4: Marietta Rib Socks

Assignment 5: Chequerboard Socks

Assignment 6: Mermaid Socks