Friday, August 28, 2015

More Socks

Some more of the socks I've knit in the past year-and-a-half.

These were knit with a strand of Cascade 220 Fingering and a strand of Regia Creativ. The Regia yarn was a sock blank died by Regia. It's the yarn I love to hate. Sock blanks aren't my favorite to begin with, but these were dyed at a diagonal with one color at either end of the blank and the second color in the middle, which actually knits up to half the sock in one color and the foot in the second color. Weird! But at a sale price of about $2 per100 grams, I just couldn't pass up the bargain. When mixed with the  Cascade it doesn't look too bad.

The pattern is the basic sock pattern I have known since "Hector was a Pup." The leg is a simple cuff of k2, p2 and the rest of the leg k3, p1. The foot is knit with a flap heel (my favorite) and the toes are knit with the following formula: No. of stitches on one of the four double point needles less 2 stitches. If each of the four needles holds 14 stitches, the formula is as follows: 14-2+12. Dividing the 12 stitches by 2 = 6. Decrease 4 stitches every other row six times, then decrease the same no. of stitches every row until 2 stitches remain on each needle. Break off yarn, pull yarn through the remaining 8 stitches, tighten and pull end of yarn to the wrong side and sew in. If the stitches on the needle are an uneven no., e.g. 15 stitches, decrease 7 times x every other row and  6 times every row. Simple and no Kitchener stitch.

The second pair, a pair of knee socks,  is also knit with 2 strands of yarn; one strand of light worsted JoJoland Baritone (a leftover from a sweater I knit for a girl at the Akkol orphanage) and 1 strand Knitpicks Stroll Heathers and Twists sock yarn. I inserted a 2x2 left leaning cable with 1 purl stitch on each side of the cable and 6 stitches stockinette in between the cables. The cables are my own design; I think the overall sock pattern was someone else's idea but darn if I remember where I saw it.

As always "Knit on!", merrily.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Some eye candy of finished socks

My sock knitting came to a standstill when I decided that this woman needed some sweaters and tops, but I realized that I have neglected to post any socks I knit during 2014 and the beginning of 2015. So here are some photos of socks that have gone or will go to the orphanages in Kazakhstan.
These boot socks were knit with left-over Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed together with one strand of Regia Design Line Garden Effect. The pattern is fashioned after the Wisconsin Winter Socks pattern.
I am calling these socks “Doodles” because that was exactly what I was doing: doodling. After getting ready to pack a batch of socks for the Motherless Child Foundation, aka Mittens-for-Akkol, I was at loose ends and didn’t quite know what I wanted to do with this yarn. None of the thousands of patterns on Ravelry enticed me nor came I across a pattern in my vast collection of sock pattern books. So I just started to knit.
Pattern: Cast on 56 stitches, 14 stitches per needle. Cuff k1, p1 for 14 rows. 1. 4 rows stockinette. 2. For next two rows purl across first needle of 14 stitches, knit next 14 stitches; repeat one more time. 3. Knit 2 rows. 4. Repeat #2. 5. For the next six rows on fiirst needle: p2, k2 across 14 stitches, ending with p2, knit 2nd needle; repeat once more. 6. Repeat #2. 7. Repeat #3. 8. Repeat #2. Repeat 1-8 as often as needed for the leg.
Just a plain pair of socks knit with Regia Creativ yarn.

Until next time. "Knit on, merrily."