Socktoberfest 2006 – Knitting Box

Now for a matching pair…

Child’s First Sock is no longer mate-less. I finished the second sock last Saturday. This sock has really been an enjoyable knit and I love how the shell motif look. This pair took just 1 ball of the Grignasco Bambi yarn, with plenty left over. I probably could have added one or two more repeats if I wanted to. But I’m happy with the length as it is. They fit well too, except that the cuffs are a bit loose. That’s my fault, I should have casted on fewer stitches when I decided to make the socks shorter. Oh well, I still like them.

While I didn’t finish many socks in Socktoberfest, I did get inspired to knit more socks! Next up, I want to make myself a pair of the famous Pomatomus, in a semi-solid coloured yarn, I think. But that will have to wait until I have my gift knitting done. I just realised a few days ago, that I only have about half a month to finish the Jess cardi for my mum and hats for my nephews so that I can send them off in time for Christmas.

14 November 2006

A tale of two socks

My oh my, Socktoberfest is over, but I am yet to show you any completed socks. Well, the good news is, I have completed a pair of socks in October! The bad news is, well, they’re not a matching pair.

On the left, is the Oak Ribbed Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush, and on the right is Child’s First Sock from the same book.

When I started out with Socktoberfest, the main thing I wanted to learn more about was the different construction techniques. I picked the Oak Ribbed Sock pattern because the combination of the french heel and the round toe seemed interesting and unusual. Well, I guess having never knitted top-down socks before, any heel/toe combination would be pretty unusual to me. The other reason I picked this one at the time, was because I wanted a project where I can just do some mindless knitting. Well, I can report that this pattern served well in the mindless knitting department. Just some ribbing, except for when I was doing the heel and toes, of course. But after days with the ribbing pattern, I got rather bored with it and wanted to do another sock pattern before returning to do its mate. Hence the non-matching pair you see here.

The french heel fits me quite well (just as well as my first sock which has short row heel). The Nancy Bush book showcases a number of different types of heels — french heel (aka classic round heel), dutch heel, welsh heel, german heel — all of which use heel flaps. I wonder, those people who like to knit socks with heel flaps, which type of heel do you mean when you say “sock with heel flaps”? Or do different sock patterns use different types of heel?

The round toe, I feel, is not so round, but more ‘pointy’. Well, I guess it’s kind of round, as in, the decreases are spread evenly around the toe instead of just at the sides, making the toe rounder, like the top of a hat. It also seems longer than the average sock’s toe, and is started earlier in the foot. I still think it looks rather pointy though, and rather narrow. If you have pointy toes, this type of toe construction would fit you well. As it is, my toes are rather wide, and this feels rather tight to me.

Overall, it’s a well written pattern. I’m not actually sure whether I’ll go back and do its mate, though, maybe I’ll just try out the other sock patterns with different heels/toes.

The second sock, Child’s First Sock, I picked because I was smitten with this. I had a single ball of Grignasco Bambi, and I wondered if I could make a pair of socks with just this one ball. The yarn has a very good yardage (225m / 50g), but I know it wouldn’t be enough if I make the sock as written in the pattern. So I decided to make these into short socks. I wear lots of short socks, so I know I’ll like it. And it really is an enjoyable knit. After finishing this one, I wasted no time in casting on for its mate. In fact I’m almost done with that one too. So I’ll write more about that when it’s done. Enough rambling for now 🙂

8 November 2006

Another Sock

Here’s a riddle for you. What can wear a sock, even though it has no feet at all?

…

An iPod! Hahaha! (Bad joke, sorry…)

One of hubby’s brothers asked me to knit him an iPod sock for his iPod Nano. I hardly ever have anyone ask me to knit something for them (hubby himself doesn’t want me to knit anything for him), so I’m happy to oblige. (Plus, we’re on Socktoberfest, so what better thing to knit than a sock?) So this is my version of the sock. Oh, and he wants a scarf too. But that’s for later.

This one is very quick to whip up, just a simple tube with 1×1 ribbing on 3.25mm DPNs and then finished with three needles bind off. I used small amounts of Jo Sharp DK Wool in ‘Winter’ (dark grey), ‘Silk’ (cream/light brown), and Elle Pure New Wool DK in light blue. Well that ought to keep the iPod nice and warm!

17 October 2006

Joining In

I don’t often join knitalongs. Not because I don’t like them, but because I’m usually late to the party. By the time I get the yarn I need and ready to start, everybody else have finished theirs. So I just work at my own pace. But this past week I couldn’t resist joining, not one, but two!

I’ve joined the Serrano KAL (got my yarn already), and Socktoberfest!

Serrano KAL Socktoberfest

For Socktoberfest, I’m going to start with the Oak Ribbed Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. I love learning new techniques, and this sock intrigues me as it has a French heel and a round toe — not quite the average sock. My first (and only) pair of socks were toe-up, with short row toes and short row heels. So I’d like to know how the different heel and toes would make a difference in the wearing.

I’m knitting this with Paton’s Big Baby 4 ply, on 2.5mm bamboo DPNs.

And while I’m on it, I thought I’d answer the sock history questions. Although, with me having made only one pair of socks, it’s not much of a history…

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?

I started my first pair of socks in December 2005, after getting a kickstart from the Sock it to me Summer/Winter knitalong. I taught myself using Wendy’s toe-up sock pattern. Oh, and this sock tutorial from Knitty.

What was your first pair? How have they “held up” over time?

It was the Mirabella Socks, made with Elle Pure New Wool DK. They’re nice and thick, so I wear them a lot on chilly evenings, and also as my bed socks. They still fit well, and are still very comfortable to wear. The yarn has become slightly fuzzier, and there are some pills here and there, which is understandable given the fact that I wear them a lot.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

Can’t really answer this one, as I’ve never worked with sock yarns. The yarn that I used for my first socks was nice to work with, but it’s rather thick for everyday socks. I just tend to buy general-purpose yarns… But someday I’d love to try “specialised” sock yarns — perhaps they’ll hold up better? Or those yummy handpainted sock yarns… yum…

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?

Now that I’ve gotten used to using DPNs, I quite like it. I don’t know how to crochet, haven’t had much luck with Magic Loop (I’ve tried, but my stitches look wonky with it), and using 2 circulars seems too fiddly to me.

Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)

Well, I like the short row heel… But I haven’t tried the flap heel yet, so I’m about to find out.

How many pairs have you made?

Umm… let me count… Oh, one.

9 October 2006