Finally...success!

I know that's an odd angle, but it was my best photo of the yarn and stitch pattern. I managed to put together a pattern that I liked for the pretty Franz Wollmeise yarn. There is a larger stitch pattern that runs up the center of the front and back of the sock. On each side of that, there is a smaller stitch pattern that sort of mimics the bigger one. I'm pretty happy with this and I'll probably write this one up soon.

I had to mess around with the stitch count while knitting this pair. I was afraid that the lace would make the sock too loose, so I altered the stitch count in some places. Luckily, there are purls that can be purled together here and there.

After knitting these socks, I learned something from my camera. I have a Canon xsi (digital rebel). When I first got it, I was worried about not having a swivel lcd. That's how I used to take most of my sock photos --myself. With the xsi, I learned that I can take photos with the lcd on. It's not the same as the swivel screen, but I can get a better idea of whether my whole foot is in the shot or not. ;-)

Pair #32 in the 52 Pair Plunge II
Pattern: Swarm by me
Yarn: Wollmeise 100% sockenwolle in Franz
Needle: size 0 (2mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Method: magic loop, 2 at once, toe-up with Turkish cast-on, short row heel
Notes: stitch count changed to accommodate pattern and fit
Start: February 23, 2009
Finish: February 26, 2009

I've already scribbled another design out on graph paper. I need to dig through my yarn to see guess which one will look the best with the stitch pattern. The socks below are mini-socks to fit my daughter. I knit these with the idea of releasing those patterns soon. I have Fallin Ribbons (the upper sock) ready to go. Cables and Corsets is giving me a headache. The heel is just complicated and I can't figure out a non-wordy way to explain it in the pattern. These are #29 and #30 for the 52 Pair Plunge.

I'm still knitting away on socks for the 52 Pair Plunge. I think that I'll make it. 20 more to go! When phrased that way, it sounds like a lot. I do have three pairs of socks that are half completed, so I am a little closer.

Busy starting and stopping, ugh

I have a few skeins of the much coveted Wollmeise yarn. I was only able to buy these back before it became insanely popular. I was tired of having the yarn just sitting around and looking pretty that I wanted to use it. This is the Emil color. I tried some twisted stitches mixed in with plain stockinette and was not happy with the result. The yarn self striped at the stitch count and gauge that I used. This has been ripped and I'm searching for another pattern to use with this pretty color.

This is Franz. It also wanted to stripe a little and I didn't like the pooling at the heel gusset. I guess that I'll have to stick with a short row heel for these two yarns. I was knitting both of these over 66 stitches around. My gauge was 9 stitches and 13 rows an inch. This sock didn't look too bad under the right light, but it was also too tight getting it on my foot. I've changed the charts and tried it again.

This next sock fits a lot better, but it still pulls in a little. I'm using a lot more stitches that I thought I would need.

This yarn is a basic 4-ply Opal solid. It is slightly thinner than the Wollmeise yarn, but great for showing off a stitch pattern. I love how the diagonal lines grow out from the cables on either side of the foot. I do plan on writing this pattern out. I just need to figure out how to make it for multiple sizes. I wanted something different at the top and settled for a picot edge. I think it caps the top of the sock off nicely.

Details:
Pair #31 in the 52 Pair Plunge II
Pattern: Twist Me by me
Yarn: Opal 4-ply in red (62 gms used)
Needle: size 0 (2mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Method: magic loop, toe-up, Turkish cast-on, patterned gusset heel, picot cuff
Start: February 18, 2009
Finish: February 22, 2009

Red is so hard to photograph. I'll have to take better pictures for the written up pattern.

I've started a new sock with the frogged Wollmeise Franz yarn. I think it's working out. The stitch pattern doesn't seem to be fighting the striping too much.

I've also been busy reading too. I'm reading romance books for a competition. I probably can't mention what contest, but it's a yearly thing. I'm reading books for 4 categories and that resulted in 17 books! I got them earlier this month and I'm down to my last 4 books. I have until mid-March to finish them. This is my second year reading and I'm enjoying it. I've gotten books that I wouldn't normally pick and I've found that it's fun reading something different.

Constrictor

Constrictor is one of my favorites. Despite being another pattern with large charts, this pattern is pretty easy to follow and knit. This pattern combines lace with cables. The lace alone would make the sock very stretchy, but the cables pulls it in to control how far it will stretch. I don't usually like to knit patterns more than once, but these were fun. My daughter is especially thrilled to be receiving so many "fancy" socks.

The pair above was knit out of Enchanted Knoll Farm yarn in Chai. I've said it before on my blog, but I love this yarn. It's very springy and bouncy with a very good twist.

The pair on the left is Lime & Violet in Ginger Rogers. I'm a huge fan of Fred and Ginger movies, so I had to buy this color. The yarn was very nice to work with and not too variegated for this pattern.

I try to write my patterns to fit many different sizes and this one is written for three sizes. Each size has two charts that mirror each other. It's available for download...

Twisted Arrow

I'm slowly working my way through the socks that I knit last year during a design-your-own challenge. Twisted Arrows is up next. Just about anyone that knits socks probably knows about the Wollmeise craze. I love the colors too, but sometimes it's hard to find a pattern that will play nice with them. This twisted stitch pattern looks good with variegated yarn and isn't a complete bore to knit.

The first pair were knit with Wollmeise 100% sockenwolle in Raku-Regenbogen. The pair to the left was knit with Perchance to Knit in Citrus Grove. The second one has more contrasting variegation, but the stitch pattern still shows.

Twisted Arrow is written in two sizes. Because of the super stretchiness of twisted stitches, those two sizes should be sufficient for any number of feet. The pattern is completely charted for each size.

Available for download...