Weaving socks and some mystery

This is my latest sock. Every now and then, I need a simpler pattern. This one was perfect. It was simple enough to not need a chart, but it wasn't boring. This pattern could probably be done in a more variegated yarn too.

Details:
Pair # 14 for the 52 Pair Plunge II
Pair #9 for Summer of Socks 08
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in Nightwatch
Needle: size 0 (2mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Method: magic loop, 2 at once, toe-up with Turkish cast-on, gusset heel with patterning
Pattern: Weaving (pattern to be written later)
Start: July 30, 2008
Finish: August 1, 2008

I've been asked to design the September mystery sock for Sock Knitter's Anonymous (ravelry group). This pattern will be released in four parts, once each week during September. I've been digging through stitch dictionaries and working up a few different ideas. I think that I've finally gotten down what I want. Something interesting, but not too complex since there is a wide range of skill levels on the SKA group. The only requirement was that I use orange yarn. Pretty cool to have such an open ended range of what I could do. By the end of this week, I should have a good rough draft of the pattern.

I can't really say much about the pattern. I've been asked about using variegated yarns. I think a slightly variegated yarn would work. A yarn that stripes subtly might work too. I really don't think that yarn with bold stripes would work.

Falling Ribbons and Constrictor

Names... I don't enjoy picking names for my patterns. Most of the time, I don't have a name until the sock is finished. Even then, I have to stare at the sock for a while before a name comes to me. I try not to associate the name with the yarn or the color of the yarn. Most of the time, I try to name it based on what it looks like. It's sort of a game. What is the first word that you think of when you see this? --type of game.

Words that came to me with this sock are bound, tied, wrapped, swirl, etc. I finally decided on Constrictor as the name. It looks like a boa constrictor is wrapped around your foot the way the cables pull across. The cables look tight in the photo, but they're not uncomfortable. I chose not to wrap the cables all the way around the leg thinking that would be too binding. That was a good decision. As knitted, these socks are snug, but not too much.

I tried doing something different with the gusset. I did my fancy count backwards type heel on these. I love how the heel looks, but it's probably not the best sock for closed shoes. These socks would be best for clog type shoes.

I have to talk about the yarn. This is Enchanted Knoll Farms yarn in the Chai color. I LOVE this yarn. It's a 4-ply and that makes it super smooth. I've been looking for a yarn that has a similar smooth base to Wollmeise, but easier to get. I've found it and bought some more. The colors aren't as saturated and rich, but I love how they're more subtle in their variegation. I can't wait to try a twisted stitch pattern with this yarn. I think it will look great.

Details:
Pair #13 for the 52 Pair Plunge II
Pair #8 for Summer of Socks 08
Yarn: Enchanted Knoll Farms in Chai
Needle: size 0 (2mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Method: magic loop, 2 at once, toe-up with Turkish cast-on, my fancy gusset heel
Pattern: Constrictor (my own to be written up later)
Start: July 27, 2008
Finish: July 29, 2008

This sock took me longer than expected to finish. My parents were visiting while I was working on this sock and not much knitting was accomplished that week.

This yarn is Conjoined Creations Flat Feet yarn. It's the yarn that comes knitted in a giant rectangle. You can separate them to knit two socks at once. I did take a picture of the yarn before I knitted, but the coloring was all off. :-( This flat was dyed with the colors going at a diagonal. That resulted in very subtle and thin stripes--no pooling at all. The yarn is strange to knit with because it's basically frogged yarn. I found that it didn't really affect my knitting or gauge. It did feel a little rough because of the texture, but that didn't bother me.

Details:
Pair #12 for the 52 Pair Plunge II
Pair #7 for Summer of Socks 08
Yarn: Conjoined Creations Flat Feet
Needle: size 0 (2mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Method: magic loop, 2 at once, toe-up with Turkish cast-on, short row heel
Pattern: Falling Ribbons (my own to be written up later)
Start: July 18, 2008
Finish: July 27, 2008

Up next... I have no idea. I've been looking at my sketches and I can't decide which one to do first.

Summer Sliding and This End Up

I've decided to just skip the vacation photos and get on with posting the rest of the socks. These sock patterns are popping up in my brain faster than I can knit or write out the patterns. I am taking a lot of notes with each sock. The hard part about writing the pattern is figuring the charts and numbers for the sizes that I'm not knitting.

After knitting Magic Mirror, I still have zig-zags on the brain. A lot of sock patterns just have small chart that you repeat until the sock is your size. Right now, I'm interested in patterns where the stitching moves and the charts barely repeat on the sock. This results in large charts, but I like large charts.

This sock has a smaller zig-zag on it than Magic Mirror. I also wanted one side of it to be more solid than the other. You can wear these socks with either side facing out. I like it with the open areas on the outside parts of the leg. I'm calling this one Summer Sliding. It could be slides at a playground or at a water park.

I did do the gusset heel on these socks again. I changed the way the increases and wraps/turns are done. They came out nearly invisible! I was pretty excited about that. Dwight just looked at me funny when I was showing it to him. ;-) He probably looks at me funny a lot when I'm talking about knitting.

Details:
Pair #10 for the 52 Pair Plunge II
Pattern: Summer Sliding (my own)
Yarn: Wollmeise 100% sockenwolle in Frosch (90gms used)
Needle: size 0 (2mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Method: magic loop, 2 at once, toe up with a Turkish cast-on, gusset heel
Start: July 11, 2008
Finish: July 13, 2008

This is the sock that I just finished today. This was an easier knit and the chart was easy to memorize too. The frustrating part was trying to photograph the sock. There was something about my camera, the sun, and bright red color of the yarn. This is one of the better photos.

I'm calling this sock This End Up after those arrows you see on boxes showing you which way to stack them.

Details:
Pair #11 for the 52 Pair Plunge II
Pattern: This End Up (my own and will be written up later)
Yarn: All Things Heather in Maraschino (70 gms used)
Needle: size 0 (2mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Method: magic loop, 2 at a time, toe-up using a Turkish cast-on, short row heel
Start: July 14, 2008
Finish: July 16, 2008

If you look over on the right, I've added my Hidden Hearts pattern. I've also changed the Magic Mirror pattern. It's a new pdf and this one has three different sizes. The small and large sizes have not been test knitted, but I did go over the numbers a few times. I also tried to get the charts clearer in the pdf while keeping the file size down.

Catching up x3

It's been a while. I've finished three socks since my last post. I wanted to finish writing the patterns too, but that's taking longer than I thought it would.

I finished Purl and Zag while I was getting ready for our camping trip. Ideally, I wanted to have the pattern written before we left, but I've decided to write it for at least three sizes. That means making three different charts and adding those sizes to the directions.

I think it's a lot easier to design a sock pattern for solid yarns. Throwing variegated yarn into the mix makes it a bit harder to find a stitch pattern that will look good and cooperate with the various colors. I think this stitch pattern is bold enough on it's own, but also lets the colors show off too.

Pair #6 for the 52 Pair Plunge II
Pattern: Purl and Zag by me
Yarn: Great Adirondack Silky Sock in Onyx (70 gms used)
Needles: size 0 Knit Picks Classic Circular
Method: magic loop, 2 at once, toe-up, Turkish cast-on, short row heel
Start: June 21, 2008
Finished: June 24, 2008

This is another pair that I started and finished before the trip. I'm not sure how to write this pattern. This was a challenge for myself to use a gusset heel on a toe-up sock and to incorporate the stitch pattern in that heel. That meant counting and working backwards.

I was successful at knitting these socks with the fancy heel, but writing it? I'm not sure how to explain how to count backwards on the chart to figure out how to do the pattern on the heel. I can see why cuff down patterns are more common that toe-up. It would be a whole lot easier to explain if I just knit the other way, but I'm stubborn. ;-) Look at that heel...

#7 in the 52 Pair Plunge II
Pattern: Cables and Corsets--pattern to be written out later
Yarn: Wollmeise 100% sockenwolle in Brombeere (87 gms used)
Needle: size 0 Knit Picks Classic Circular
Method: magic loop, 2 at once, toe up, Turkish cast on, gusset heel
Start: June 25, 2008
Finish: June 28, 2008

This sock was started and finished on the trip. The stitch pattern plays nicely with the variegated yarn and it's easy to memorize too. That's always a big plus for an on-the-go knitting project.

I did the gusset heel on this sock too. This one fits me just a little bit better than the previous sock. I still don't see the big advantage of this type of heel over the short row heel. The gusset heel can be prettier, but the short row heel is easier to memorize. With the gusset heel, I have to refer to the written directions to turn the heel. Maybe it's because I've done so many short row heels and that's why it comes so easily. I'm not sure if I'll continue to do the gusset heels. They make pattern writing difficult. ;-) But they look so pretty...

#8 in the 52 Pair Plunge II
Pattern: Twisted Arrows-pattern written later
Yarn: Wollmeise 100% sockenwolle in Raku-Regenbogen (90 gms used)
Needle: size 0 Knit Picks classic circular
Method: magic loop, 2 at once, toe-up, Turkish cast-on, gusset heel
Start: June 28, 2008
Finish: July 3, 2008

I'm working on another sock right now. It's a mindless knit since I'm using a pattern out of More Sensational Knitted Socks. I'm still working on the patterns for the socks in this post. I really want to focus on writing them in more than one size. I know that I'm usually a little disappointed when a pattern only comes in one size, even if it says it's "very stretchy." Some of these stitch patterns aren't that easy to resize. I usually end up having to draw a new chart for each size.

My next post will be vacation pictures...