Tag Archives: socks

10:26 am - February 10, 2014 - AngelaH

Game Plan

I wasn’t going to do any Olympic knitting this year. I love the Olympics (Canadians, in general, really love the Olympics, or at least love watching), but this year I found the political back-drop so deeply troubling I thought about not watching at all.

This isn’t a political space, so I’m not going to get into it, but suffice it to say that same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada for my entire adult life, and I while I know that isn’t the case in most other countries, I find Russia’s anti-LGBTQ laws deeply troubling. Certainly, this is not the first Olympics to take place in a country with a sketchy human rights track record, but I think Sochi is different for a few reasons: one is that the images of the oppression and crackdown are widespread and disturbing and targeted at love, and certainly another one is that we see Russia as western and developed, and so we expect more from it than a country we perceive as developing. There are a lot of other reasons, but I think those are two big ones.

Anyway (I did get into it) I didn’t really watch the opening ceremonies on Friday, but then on Saturday two Canadian sisters won gold and silver in the women’s moguls and I lost my resolve. I love watching countries come together in what is, generally, friendly competition, full of respect for the accomplishments of their competitors and pride in their own achievements. Watching people do amazing things is exciting, and I’m just as happy to watch Canadian sisters win as to see a Swiss man come back from injury to win the men’s 30km skiathalon in a a crazy sprint. It’s wonderful, and I think I/we can celebrate the athletes without celebrating the politics of the country that is hosting them.

All of which is to say I’m knitting rainbow socks. I cast on yesterday, they may not get finished during the Games (I have some mittens on the needles too), but that’s fine. I dug around in my stash and came up with the Three Irish Girls colourway Love Wins, released after the tragedy in Newtown. It’s perfect.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Olympics, socks

1:20 pm - February 4, 2014 - AngelaH

Still winter

There was a brief moment last week when I thought the end was in sight. The temperatures crept up to the -9 to 0 range (15 to 32 F) and I spent the weekend in my pea coat instead of my parka for the first time in ages. But winter is back. It’s going to snow and snow this week, and although the temperatures aren’t going to drop horribly, it is definitely still winter.

I am such a fan of this colour.

The one up-side to all of this is that it means I didn’t knit these super-warm socks in vain. These are Rye, by tincanknits, one of the great (and free) patterns from their Simple Collection, knit up in Tosh Vintage in the Amber Trinket colourway.

I may not be totally over the thrill of how quickly worsted-weight socks knit up. These took a week. A week in which I worked six of seven days, and worked long days for about half that stretch. These socks took a week from start to finish without even trying. I swear, if you just hunkered down, you could probably knock out a pair of these in a weekend.

For some reason, when I first saw this pattern, I thought the garter stitch panel looked like it would be bulky, or uncomfortable to wear inside boots or shoes, but I was totally wrong. The texture is a great way to show off a fun colourway, but the garter nestles right in and doesn’t add any extra bulk. Plus, combine a two-row repeat and worsted-weight yarn and, well, I mentioned they were fast, right?

Weirdly, both cuffs/legs of the socks were knit from the same skein, despite looking totally different. The feet (top photo) are different dyelots, though. (I should also say that the socks are in the same order in each photo. So, the right sock has a light leg and a dark foot, and the left sock as a dark leg and a light foot. The entire right sock and the left leg are all knit from the same skein.)

I used just over one skein of yarn (you can definitely see the difference in the dyelots) and I’m already planning another pair, using these leftovers for contrast cuffs/heels/toes. I was predicting a long cold winter back in the fall, so if I find myself casting on another pair of these, I won’t beat myself up about it. It’s still winter, and another pair of warm socks won’t go amiss.

Details
Pattern: Rye by tincanknits
Yarn: Tosh Vintage in Amber Trinket
Needles: 3.25mm
Notes: I used the small needles for the whole pattern, rather than changing after the ribbing. I also did my normal slip-stitch heel, rather than the stockinette heel in the pattern. I stopped the foot pattern 1/4-inch before indicated so the toe would be smooth, and if I go ahead with my contrast-toe plans I might stop the garter a few rows earlier still. Ravelled here.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: Madeline Tosh, socks, winter

9:45 am - January 14, 2014 - AngelaH

Toasty toes

I still haven’t taken photos of the first official FO of the year, so instead, how about some socks? I finished these on Friday and even though the weather has improved, I’ve already been wearing them like crazy.

Last year I knit two pairs of Stepping-Stones (the excellent and free Clara Parkes pattern from her equally excellent book The Knitter’s Book of Socks) for my mum. I’ll admit to not being totally convinced about the pattern after the first pair (although I quite like how they look), but after the second I knew I wanted a pair for myself. That it got so friggin’ cold here just pushed me to knit them sooner.

These socks took a week, almost exactly, which was great. I can knit a pair of fingering weight socks in a week when I really want to, but these socks felt like they were knitting themselves, and they flew off the needles. My original plan was to give them contrasting toes, because I was pretty sure one skein of Tosh DK wasn’t going to be enough for my big feet and because I wanted to use up my leftover Hudson, which was a pretty good match.

As it turned out, contrasting heels and toes would have been a better plan, but oh well. I kind of like the asymmetry of these socks, which are still clearly a pair, despite their differences.

Details
Pattern: Stepping-Stones by Clara Parkes
Yarn: Tosh DK in Cosmos and Jill Draper Makes Stuff Hudson in Chestnut
Needles: 3.25mm
Notes: I followed the pattern pretty much as written, though I changed the heel because I’m set in my ways and like a slip-stitch flap heel best. Ravelled here.

It has gotten warmer over the last few days, but I’ve been fooled by January before. I’m not totally over my love of this pattern, but I’m thinking I might try Rye by tincanknits for my next pair of quick and thick socks. I already have the yarn and everything…

Tosh VIntage in Amber Trinket. Two skeins this time.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: socks

10:56 am - January 6, 2014 - AngelaH

Weekend getaway

I tend to look forward to the weekends as time I get to spend at home. After a long week (and some weeks are longer than others) the prospect of an unplanned, low-key weekend is really appealing. For me. L often has other ideas, since he recharges in a totally different way. He tends to draw me out and get me to do things I might not otherwise choose, and generally, I’m thankful for it.

This weekend, which would have been my first full weekend at home in a month, I was ready to return to routine – farmer’s market, do stuff around the house, snuggle under a blanket and knit, etc. – when our friend Josh, home from Germany, invited us to to his parents’ place in the country to spend the weekend cross country skiing. It was an offer too good to pass up, even when I was wistful for a quiet weekend, so early Saturday morning we set out, along with Josh’s friend Anna. And you know, I’m so, so glad we did.

Wooly cows!

Josh is a good friend, and someone we don’t see often enough. He came to spend New Year’s with us, though, so that plus a weekend away was pretty fantastic. He’s an excellent host, and the weekend featured great food, new games (Tichu!) and lots of outdoors time.

There was too much storm damage to ski through the woods, so on Saturday we set off across the fields. There was a thing layer of surface snow over hard-packed try snow, over a thick layer of ice, so tracks weren’t really necessary and we all skied together. I’m not a very experienced cross country skier, but we weren’t doing anything technical and it was nice to get out all together.

It snowed Saturday night, making for much trickier skiing on Sunday. Neither Anna nor I are all that proficient, so after Josh’s binding broke we decided to go for a wintry hike through the woods instead. I’m so glad we got to do both – there’s something magical about the woods in the winter. It’s so quiet in there, and the colours are so stark. We were out for over an hour, and I’ll admit to being quite cold by the time we got back to the house. L jokes all the time about wanting a pair of knitted long johns, but I think I need them more than he does.

Stepping-Stones in Cosmos, with surprise toes in Chestnut leftovers!

Speaking of knitting, I manage to get in a little bit in and around all the other activities of the weekend. I cast on for a pair of Stepping-Stones (for me!) on Friday night, and cast off the first one last night. I’m knitting these up in some stashed Tosh DK in the Cosmos colourway, and they’re ticking right along, which is a good thing, because the temperature is going to take a dive tonight (they’re calling for -25C, which is -13F) and I’m going to need another pair of thick socks.

Categories: in progress, Knitting, Out and about Tags: photos, socks

7:05 pm - December 29, 2013 - AngelaH

Holiday socks

For the last three years (basically since I started knitting) I’ve taken the holiday break to knit myself socks. Two years ago (the first year) those socks were only the second pair I’d ever knit and I still wear them (you can see them here). Last year, I knit these, and after they stretched in the wash I gave them to L, who wears them quite happily.

The stripes look off in this picture, but they’re actually a perfect match until the tips of the toes.

For me, holidays socks needs to be a couple of things: They need to be good for social knitting, since I spend a lot of knitting time with family and friends; they need to be at least a bit interesting – I haven’t knit plain socks since that first holiday pair, and even they had surprise toes for interest; and, perhaps most importantly, the knitting needs to last about a week. I always pack a back-up project, but in general I like my holiday socks to last for just about the whole time I’m away, which tends to be about a week. The combination of social knitting and not-too-quick can be a little tricky, but Jaywalker fits those requirements nicely.

Jaywalkers have a nice two-row repeat that is easy to memorize and, once you’re a few rows in, requires no counting. Because of their structure, though, they need way more stitches than a normal pair of socks (I’d normally cast on 64 or 68 stitches for plain socks; for Jaywalkers I use the 84-stitch size), which means they take longer to knit. As a bonus, when using self-striping yarn the pattern looks very dramatic.

I’m very pleased about this heel.

And can we just talk about the yarn for a minute? I was all geared up to use stash yarn for my holiday socks, but then I was on Etsy and this Gynx yarn caught my eye. It’s Gynx Strong Sock in the Christmas Bells colourway and it was a total pleasure to knit with. I used almost the entire skein, with just one repeat of red leftover. The yarn is soft and squishy, and the stripes blend so seamlessly between colours that there’s no jogging or obvious break points anywhere. I loved this yarn so much that I’ve been keeping an eye on the Etsy shop just to see if more self-striping yarns will be added.

I would have loved these socks anyway, but somehow the drama of losing them and then getting them back and still finishing them on time (on the plane home, with hours to spare until my self-imposed deadline) makes them that much better.

Details
Pattern: Jaywalker by Grumperina
Needles: 2.25mm Addis – I knit these entirely with a magic loop, not my preferred method, but so much better for travelling.
Yarn: Gynx Strong Sock in Christmas Bells
Mods: None really. I cast on for the small size and knit the ribbing and then increased evenly up to the next size for the rest. The next time I knit this pattern I’ll probably go up a needle size, as these are a bit tight to pull on over my heels. I’m really happy about how matchy they are, and I’m especially pleased about the heels. I’d pretty much resigned myself to having the heels mess up the stripe sequence, so when they totally didn’t, I was thrilled. They’re ravelled here.

I know I should be annoyed about that little red toe, but I kind of like it instead.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: socks

3:38 pm - December 24, 2013 - AngelaH

A Swissmas miracle

Thank you all for your crossed fingers and sympathy! I’m never sure whether to post about bad news, but sometimes you just need to talk to people who understand. Anyway, this is a story with a happy ending: I got my knitting back!

Holiday socks!

The day after it went missing, my dad, Jenny (my youngest sister) and I went to skiing at Verbier. We left early, so I didn’t have a chance to go into the village and look for my knitting. I was pretty sure all was lost (I’m optimistic by nature, but sometimes it’s best to prepare for the worst), so on the way home, we searched around for a knitting shop where I could at least get another set of needles. It took a while, but we managed to get to a Migros, which is sort of like a Swiss Walmart, and they had needles! The selection was limited, but I wasn’t in a position to be fussy, so I snapped up a set of grey 2.5 mm dpns.

When we got back, though, my mum and Connie (middle sister) had big smiles. They’d been into the village to make some inquiries. Their first stop was the ski outfitter, where I was sure my knitting had fallen out of my bag, and it was there! Apparently, when they owner had arrived in the morning, my little knitting bag was sitting on the windowsill. They were apparently totally baffled by magic loop, but thought the self-striping yarn was cheating!

I finished the first sock this morning and am a couple of inches into the second one. I won’t have a new pair of socks to wear tomorrow, but I suspect I’ll finish them before my flight lands in Toronto on Thursday.

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope your holidays are wonderful (and wooly)!

The view from the refuge (at about 3,000 metres) where we took a coffee break yesterday. (Photo taken by my sister Jenny)

Categories: in progress, Knitting, Out and about Tags: Christmas, socks, Switzerland, travel

11:49 am - December 20, 2013 - AngelaH

The view from here

On Monday, I finished all my gift knitting. I can’t believe it took me this long to say it. I think, as crazy as this will sound, that I was worried that saying it out loud/in writing on the Internet would be the trigger to realize I’d forgotten about people and leave me scrambling. But that didn’t happen (yet) and now it’s too late – I’m in Switzerland.

The view off over the village. It’s like a Christmas card over here.

Surprise! Yesterday, I left Toronto in huge scrambled hurry: not only did my sister realize her passport was expired – thank goodness we’re dual British citizens! – but it turned out my flight was not at 10:15 p.m. as I thought but instead at 5:30! Yeah, we’re disasters all around. But, it all worked out (holiday miracle!) and this morning/the middle of last night (depending on your point of view) we landed in Geneva. Tomorrow my other sister joins us and all five of us – my parents, my two sisters, and I – will all be together for the first time since last Christmas. Very exciting.

We dawdled on the way from the city to the little town where we’re staying, and the market in Lausanne had yarn for sale at the first booth, which I take as a good sign (I didn’t buy any, because I didn’t have any Swiss francs. Sigh) It got dark about an hour after we arrived at the apartment, but I’ll have more photos soon.

It’s late in the day so the light is kind of crappy. The green isn’t actually quite that dark, but you get the idea.

In the meantime, check out the progress on these Christmas socks! The striping is just perfect, if I do say so myself – they look just like the vintage Christmas balls that (I’m guessing) inspired the colourway.

Categories: in progress, Knitting, Out and about Tags: Christmas, socks, Switzerland, travel

10:51 am - December 10, 2013 - AngelaH

Now is not the time for complicated

For a while there, I thought I was crazy for leaving a pair of men’s socks to the end of my planned holiday knitting, but there was a method to that madness, and I’m remembering it now. Plain stockinette is really relaxing. I’m just close enough to my deadline (Dec. 19), with just enough to do between now and then, that I’m a touch distracted. Not very distracted, but the kind of distracted that could, for example, lead you you to forget a yarn-over, or get off-course in slightly irregular ribbing.

Just an inch from dividing for the heel on sock #2. What do you think of my heel stripe?

It’s not the kind of distracted that leads to big mistakes, it’s the kind that leads you to think that you’re find until you realize your stitch count is off without providing an obvious answer as to why (little mistakes are often so much harder to find). The answer to this is plain stockinette, which allows your mind to wander without any potentially frustrating mistakes.

That being said, of course, I got off by one stitch in the heel of the first sock and there’s a line. I didn’t notice until I was picking up the gussets (clearly I should look down at my hands once in a while) and decided not to rip back. I might try to match it on the second sock so it looks intentional, or I might leave it as a handmade reminder. I’m torn between annoyance and being slightly charmed – what do you think?

This isn’t quite my last holiday knitting, but the last thing on my needles before the holidays is very hush-hush, so you’ll just have to wait for that reveal. A little secrecy at this time of year just makes it more fun!

Surprise! (Are you tired of looking at the same projects all the time? I am a bit.) I have big plain-stockinette-socks plans for after the holidays. This Koigu features prominently.

Unrelated, gratuitous yarn photo! (Are you tired of looking at the same projects all the time? I am a bit.) I have big plain-stockinette-socks plans for after the holidays. This Koigu features prominently.

(Ps. Thanks for all your commiseration on my last post! My new computer is working out quite nicely and not at all the reason I haven’t blogged since.)

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: gift knitting, socks

7:27 pm - December 1, 2013 - AngelaH

Peace out November

Let me just say, I am not sorry to see the back of November. It wasn’t an awful month, but it was an annoying one: On Nov. 2 I lost my transit pass (worth $128, and necessary to replace) and that just started the month off for disaster, which ultimately struck last week when the pipe to our bathroom sink’s hot water faucet broke and (unrelatedly, but on the same day) my laptop died. Basically, this was the most expensive month possible for boring and annoying reasons.

I knit two rows past this point, decided they were too big, and ripped. I’m almost back to that point and feeling much better.

BUT, now it’s December, and I’m starting fresh. I finished both L’s socks (on the day I posted about them) and my mum’s shawl (last night) in November, so now I’m working away on my dad’s socks, which are the last big holiday project. I did have to rip them out (I cast on last night and should clearly have known better), but I restarted on a smaller needle and everything is ticking along.

All of which is to say, I have a good feeling about December. I have 17 knitting days left before I need to be done, and right now that feels totally doable. How are you feeling?

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: gift knitting, socks

10:37 am - November 26, 2013 - AngelaH

The benefits of one-on-one attention

I think it’s safe to say we all know one-on-one time is important in relationships, but as a not-very-monogamous knitter I sometimes forget that the same can apply to my knitting.

I’m hoping to finish both the holiday projects currently on my needles by the end of the month, which is also the end of the week. I can never be sure how much knitting time I’ll get during the week, but I figure if I get one thing done now, I can buckle down on the other over the weekend.

I am still so in love with this colourway.

I just started the toe decreases for the second of L’s socks, so I think it’s safe to say that they’ll be finished by the end of the week (possibly the end of the day, but I don’t want to jinx myself).

I never thought I’d be so enchanted by ruffles.

The shawl is another matter. My plan is to double the number of edging repeats in the body. I want this to be easy to wear, which means it needs to be long enough to comfortable drape over both shoulders without needing a lot of readjusting. My Oaklet ended up being 49 inches long, and I think that’s the shortest I’d want to go. This does have a slightly curved shape, which tends to fit a bit better than a straight-across triangle, but still. I’ll probably gain a couple of inches in blocking, but I don’t want to count on that to make the minimum. So, repeat, repeat, repeat until I hit the 20g mark, which is when I’ll have to start decreasing. Each row is about the same as a round on a sock, so unless the weekend becomes insanely busy, I think I’ll be okay.

That’s the game plan, anyway. Do work out little schedules and deadlines for yourself? Do you ever manage to stick to this timelines?

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: gift knitting, shawl, socks