Pans & Needles

Tag Archives: socks

3:56 pm - May 8, 2012 -

Mirror Mirror, Cable Cable

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I was going to wait for a nice sunny day to photograph these before posting, but I am just too excited! My mirror-cabled socks are done, and they are just exactly what I wanted them to be.

It is really hard to take picture of your own socks, especially when the details are on the sides of your legs.

You know how sometimes you decide what you want to knit before you find a pattern, and then you search and search and search and nothing comes up? Well, I spent a long time clicking through Ravelry patterns before I had to concede that the socks I wanted weren’t there anywhere. Maybe they’re too basic, I don’t know, but whatever the case, they weren’t there. So, I made them up. As I said, they’re fairly basic, but they’re just the blend of pretty and plain that I wanted, and although they were an easy knit, they were just interesting enough to keep my attention.

Also, I totally had enough yarn in the end. More than enough, as it turned out (remind me of this when I’m knitting my next pair of socks and have a similar fit of worry).  Just in case you wondered what happened.

I will post nicer pictures when the weather improves, but until then, here they are.

Details
Pattern: Mirror-Mirror cabled socks by Me
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock in colourway “Boticelli Red” (the real colour is somewhere in between the shades of these photos)
Needles: 2.25mm Clover bamboo dpns

I haven’t written this up as a formal pattern, but I might, since there doesn’t seem to be one out there yet. Would you want to knit these? (I have a sneaking suspicious they may become my go-to sock.)

For the first time in a long time, I don’t have a sock on my needles right now. I’ve got the sweater (goodness knows that isn’t going anywhere fast) and I’ve cast on a new project, but since it’s literally just 67 stitches on a needle right now, I’ll wait to show/tell you about that until it’s more interesting to look at.

Category: Knitting Tags: , , , ,
10:21 am - April 23, 2012 -

Nine grams of leeway

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I finished the first cabled sock yesterday, which was a moment of great satisfaction that quickly turned to concern. Knitting cables takes more wool than knitting flat. I knew that. Knitting at a really tight gauge takes more wool. I knew that too. I did both of those things anyway, and when I looked down at my completed sock and then at what was left of the 440-yard ball of wool, I got a little worried. The ball, you see, was really small. It definitely seemed like less than half of what I started with. I thought back to my wastefully indulgent long-tail cast-on, and how generous a tail I’d given myself to Kitchener the toe and I got worried. I tried holding the wool in one hand and the completed sock in the other for comparison, but it was too close to tell.

My first reaction was to head to my LYS to pick up an insurance skein. I figured I wouldn’t need it until at least the foot, but still, planning ahead can’t hurt. They didn’t have any. After that, there was only one choice: buy a scale. And look! It turns out I might be okay.

Finished sock = 45 grams

Remaining wool = 54 grams

45 grams is definitely less than 54 grams! I agree that it’s strange that the numbers are flipped, but I don’t care. That’s nine extra grams! If I can knit exactly the same sock a second time, I’ll be fine.

After this success, I basically wanted to weight everything. I thought about weighing Ganymede, but she gave me one cold look that said not a chance, so I settled on my tea cup.

Half a kilo – I guess that's normal?

Obviously, this isn’t relevant to anything. But I am pleased.

After all the weighing was over, I turned my lights out for Earth Hour and knit the ribbing for the second sock by candlelight. It turns out, oddly, that I actually don’t mind knitting 2×2 rib  as much when I can’t see it. It’s also a good rhythm, and allows you to feel your way along, knowing whether or not you’ve accidentally dropped a stitch in the dark. Also, it looks nice, no?

Bad for my eyes, but nice to look at.

Category: Knitting Tags: ,
2:03 pm - April 19, 2012 -

Turning a corner, so to speak

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A little while ago I started thinking about a pair of socks I wanted to knit. This isn’t that unusual, except that it wasn’t a pair I’d seen out there before. I poked around on Ravelry and didn’t see the socks I wanted, so I decided to hunker down and do the math and figure them out myself. Admittedly, they weren’t too tricky or fancy, and that was kind of the appeal. After colourwork and lacework, what I really wanted was a sock that was easy to knit, but not boring. I knew exactly what yarn I wanted to use (I’d spotted it on my shopping spree), so when I saw it again I snapped it up and set about charting.

Malabrigo sock in colourway Boticelli Red – it's an incredibly deep and decadent colour.

I cast on last week, and I’m pretty pleased with how things are progressing.

This is actually my first cable project (so it still qualifies as a socks-as-learning-tool project), which added a little bit more daring to the design. I’m also knitting at a really tight gauge (about 11 stitches to an inch), which I’m hoping will make for a long-wearing sock.

What really pleases me about this project, though, is that for the first time, my ssks look just like my k2togs. Seriously. Maybe you don’t have this problem, but for me, my decreases rarely match. They’re close, absolutely, but they just aren’t quite equal. It always seemed that no matter what I did, my ssk had a floppy arm. There, I said it. It was imperfectly formed, and although I’m sure no one else noticed, I noticed, and I bugged me.  It turns out, though, that there’s a solution: Cat Bordhi devised a way to make “slim and trim ssks” (YouTube link) and you know what? It totally works. I will never ssk without a “hungry stitch” again if I can help it. Just look at this:

ssk

k2tog

I thought the cables would be my favourite part of the socks, but you know, I think the ssks are jockeying their way forward. They’re so tidy. They’re so trim. They’re so indistinguishable from their k2tog brethren. I’m excited to get to the toes where their matchy-ness will really be on display. This is an incredibly nerdy thing to be excited about, but I just found out that, after months of thinking ‘there has to be a better way,’ it turns out there is. I am thrilled!

Category: Knitting Tags: , , , ,
12:53 pm - April 11, 2012 -

Weekend socks

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As I mentioned, I finished the Happy-Go-Lucky boot socks on the weekend and I am mostly pleased with them. I was a little worried I wouldn’t have enough wool to get them done, though, because halfway through the second foot, I was looking at this weeny little balls and wishing very much that I had a scale at home. I managed to squeak them out, though, and have barely enough of either of the stripy colours to fill a thimble.

Worried. So worried I took a photo.

I have some quibbles with the way the pattern is written, but first, pictures!

Count 'em: two finished socks!

L and I are both going to work on our sock photography/modeling for next time.

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, here are the details:
Pattern: Happy-Go-Lucky boot socks by Véronik Avery, from Sock Knitting Master Class
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Sport in colourways 1910 (blue), 859 (teal), and 803 (purple)
Needles: 2.75 mm Clover bamboo dpns

Blocking really helped. You can see how smooth the blocked sock on the left is, compared to the unblocked and bumpy one on the right.

In terms of modifications, I did a few things this time and have others planned for next time around. First, though, let me explain something fundamental: This pattern is only written for an 8.5-inch foot. My foot is 9-inches around. I knit this anyway. I increased the gauge slightly, and, mathematically, that should have done it. However, these socks are quite, erm, fitted, and as I said previously, I was actually worried I wouldn’t be able to get my foot all the way in. Clearly, I can, but it’s a strain, and it pulls the stitches, and the colourwork doesn’t look as pretty as it ought to. So, that’s the background, here are the modifications:

Actual mods: Besides changing the gauge, I also added an extra pattern repeat to the leg because I wanted it to be a little higher, and when decreasing the gusset I only went down to 34 heel stitches (instead of 30) because I don’t think my foot width is really that much narrower than my ankle/leg width.

Future mods: This is a little tricky, because I’m just not sure what to do about the heel area. In theory, I want to add an extra six stitches (one diamond) to the pattern, which would give me a little more space. But, that either means creating a bottleneck in the ankle again, or having a foot that’s 72 stitches around, which is too many (baggy-footed socks are not appealing). I think, what would be best, is this: Rather than decreasing six stitches at the ankle, simply divide the stitches so there are 36 on the heel flap and 30 on the instep; work an extra repeat of the heel pattern (although I’d be tempted to just work a regular slip-stitch heel) and deal with the extra stitches in the gusset decreases (I would decrease to 34 again, I think, because the foot fit well). Most of my problems with the sizing came as a result of the ankle/heel, so that’s where I would centre my changes.

All of this being said, if you like the look of these socks/this pattern, don’t be scared off. It was a wonderful mix of easy and interesting, and if you’ve never tried slip-stitch colourwork, it’s a great primer. It’s actually a good lesson for stranded colourwork in general, because it allows you to get used to the idea of maintaining floats while only having to manage one colour per row. Here’s the wrong-side of the work, where you can see the floats that run behind the slipped stitches.

I think the pattern on the inside is kind of pretty, actually.

All in all, it’s a good pattern and I’m sure I’ll knit it again (truly, the colour combinations are endless!). I’ve ravelled it here, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: , ,
10:52 am - April 9, 2012 -

Easter write-through

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My plans for Easter weekend ended up being all jumbled, and I wasn’t entirely sure it was going to work out at all. First, I was planning to go away with L to spend the weekend with his family. But, then I had to work on Friday and he had a meeting on Monday morning, so it didn’t seem worth it for me to drive all that way for a night. Then, my sister and her friend were going to come for the weekend, but due to her thesis work, Jenny decided to just come for Saturday. And just like that, my entire Sunday was wide open.

I haven’t had a whole day to just myself in a long time, and even though I didn’t think I wanted it, it turned out to be awesome. I baked. I knit (my Happy-Go-Lucky socks are done! More later). And, best of all, I went on a solo bike ride all around the fancy neighbourhoods north of our place (this was all the nicer after my mum called to tell me it snowed in Nova Scotia on Saturday night).

Man oh man, what a gorgeous day.

Trees are in blossom all over the place.

I love the way the brightness of new leaves pops. This may be my favourite colour.

See what I mean? Gorgeous.

Bicycle!

Yes yes. Sometimes you just need a day to yourself.

Category: Out and about Tags: , , , , ,
10:53 am - April 8, 2012 -

Reset

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This is basically how last week felt (well, at least how the end of last week felt):

A hilarious (and, perhaps random?) Etsy error page. I love the frowning ball of yarn.

No, no, I did not completely destroy my sweater (this sort of mistake would imply that I was knitting arms, while I am still circling around the waist) or any other knitting, but you know that feeling you get when you’re knitting along and suddenly realize that somewhere along the line you dropped/picked up a stitch, or moved your chart one stitch to the left, or whatever, and you’re faced with having to tink back for (potentially) hours and redo it? And then you just wonder how you didn’t notice sooner? Well yeah. I had a weird week.

But today it’s Easter Sunday and I have the house to myself (well, myself and Ganymede) and there isn’t anywhere I have to go, or any timeline for the things I have to do, and I am excited. It’s a gorgeous day (high of 16) and I have all the ingredients for hot cross buns (I can just squeak them in under the Easter wire) and I have a sock to knit and a bicycle to take for a spin. I am officially resetting myself for the week ahead, and whatever you’re up to today I wish you something just as wonderful.

Happy Easter and Happy Sunday.

Category: Out and about Tags: , , ,
10:32 am - March 26, 2012 -

A Cautionary Tale

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Yarn splurge

Last weekend I went into Lettuce Knit to exchange some wool (I had an extra, unwound skein of the wool I used for Almondine, so I thought I’d plan ahead and get something for the next pair of socks). I had just started the Happy-Go-Lucky socks, and thought I’d ask Natalie what she thought – I’m still new to colourwork and wanted to make sure I was doing things properly. For the record, this is how far along I was:

Happy-Go-Lucky

Just a bit of top.

At that point, I could get my foot through without any trouble. Nonetheless, Natalie took one look at them and said “be careful.” Her warning: She has highly-arched feet and there are some socks she just can’t get her foot into. I thought about that for a minute and then decided to just got for it. I was knitting above gauge, I thought, surely that will save me. Still, her warning haunted me all week, and when I Friday rolled around and I was halfway through the foot I thought I should check. The heel did seem small to me, and I was (secretly) a little worried. I couldn’t get my foot through. It was because the socks were still on the needles I reasoned, and plowed on.

Still, I was worried. I went to work that night and then spent all my downtime on Ravelry looking at projects I could start on the weekend in case these socks decided not to fit. I need to do this. I need to plan for the worst so that if it doesn’t happen, I can rejoice, and if it does I have something else planned already so no worries. I picked two patterns (this one and this one) and decided that I’d finish the Happy-Go-Lucky toe on Saturday morning and then go buy the necessary wool for the other patterns. No big deal.

Of course, then the sock fit. Only barely, to be fair, but I got it on and it was comfortable and lovely. Perfect, right? Well, yes and no. You see, in all my planning for ways to not be horribly disappointed in case they didn’t fit, I got kind of excited about these other projects.

Happy-Go-Lucky

Half of a pair. Secretly, I'm pretty pleased about how this looks – especially the surprise stripes on the sole.

That meant I went to the yarn store anyway.

Yarn splurge

Three skeins each of Cascade 220 Heathers in colourway 4008 (for the scarf) and three of Malabrigo sock in colourway Ochre (for the sweater).

I have been swatching ever since. I will cast on the second sock this week, but I might also cast on a sweater. Maybe today. Maybe right now. You see what happens when you preplan for disaster?

Category: Knitting Tags: , , , , , ,
2:02 pm - March 19, 2012 -

Happy Go Lucky

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Happy Go Lucky, fresh out of the gate.

Wherever you are, I hope your weekend weather was a beautiful as the weather we enjoyed in Toronto. It’s March, remember, and it should be miserable, torturous weather throwing rain and slush and days no warmer than 5C at us; instead, though, we’ve been enjoying days of 15C, 16C, and 21C days! Deep down I know that this cannot last, and snow will likely fall once again before we’re fully free of winter, but right now I don’t care. This weather is incredible!

So, how do you knit in weather this delightful? My answer last year was not to. This year, my answer is take small projects outdoors. Thus, despite having just cast off one pair of socks, I cast on another. Meet the Happy-Go-Lucky boot socks from Sock Knitting Master Class, my current project go-to.

Happy Go Lucky, fresh out of the gate.

Happy Go Lucky, fresh out of the gate.

I’m knitting these in Cascade 220 Superwash Sport in 1910 (blue), 859 (teal), and 803 (purple). I am loving this wool. It is soft and buttery and it seems that 2.75mm needles are the perfect size because, in my hands anyway, the stitches feel almost like they’re forming themselves. I short, I am loving this project.

Anyway, because the weather was so gorgeous, and because I got the entire weekend off, L and I spent pretty much the entire weekend running all over the place and being outdoors. Except, the running (at least on Saturday) was actually bicycling. Oh heaven.

Old vs. new

Old and hard vs. new cushy and new.

This is my new old bike, and on Saturday morning L put a new cork wrap on my handlebars and then we took off all over the city. In no particular order: We went to Lettuce Knit so I could exchange some wool, to the Ex to throw a frisbee, we watched planes land on the Island, we went for fancy sandwiches, we went to one of our new favourite coffee shops – in short, we did all kinds of things we’d been talking about doing for ages and finally did because it was such a gorgeous day.

I took many pictures of this plane coming in to land, but this one looks the most like an action shot. (It was much sunnier that day than this photo would have you believe.)

In theory, this meant I didn’t have much time for knitting, but in practice, it all worked out fine (small projects, you see, are very portable). So, on Friday before work I spend three and a half hours knitting on a café patio with Zoe. Then, to cap on Saturday’s bicycling, Wendy and I met up for beer and sat knitting quite happily in a pub – much to the apparent amusement/confusion of a woman sitting at the bar, who turned around to stare at us for a quite some time. It was St. Patrick’s Day, though, so maybe she as just confused  as to why neither of us were knitting in green. Who knows.

Cafe knitting.

Cafe knitting, crappy cellphone photo.

What I do know though, is that if this weather keeps up, knitting through the summer will be an absolute pleasure because it will involve bicycling, coffee, beer, and lots of time out of doors with people I love.

Heel flap

Despite the busy weekend I still managed to get the heel flap finished (and now turned).

Categories: Knitting, Out and about Tags: , , , , ,
1:01 pm - March 15, 2012 -

I Can Feel the Seasons Changing

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Hot Cross Buns
Crocuses – a sure sign of Spring.

Crocuses – a sure sign of Spring.

I can always tell when spring is here because overnight my mood shifts. Last week, for example, I was anxious and frustrated and simultaneously bored with and all-encompassed by my projects. I couldn’t wait to finish Almondine, but I also couldn’t stand to look at them anymore; the apartment needed cleaning but the sight of the broom made me chafe, etc. On Monday, this funk was transformed into a super-productive get-shit-done mode. I finished my book. I finished Almondine. I finished a tea cozy that had been languishing since January. I cast on something new. I cooked. I baked. I went for a big walk in sneakers with my jacket sleeves rolled up.

This spurt of positive productivity (that is, getting stuff done that I wanted to get done – not just doing what I had to do, but enjoying it) definitely coincided with a shift in the weather. It has been gorgeous in Toronto this week and, although I know it’s March and therefore, more snow is likely, I can’t help but be excited by the prospect of spring. L and I went biking on Sunday and it was glorious.

So, that’s one reason I know it’s Spring. The other reason is that for the past two weeks I’ve been craving hot cross buns something fierce. It’s weird, because the rest of the year I don’t think about them (I’m also someone not tempted by shortbread unless it’s Christmas), but something trips in my head when the weather perks up and I get into Easter mode. I’m not religious, nor am I a super fan of pastels, nor do I have children excited for an egg hunt, all of which means that what I love most about Easter is the food, and particularly the baking.

Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Buns, fresh out of the oven and right after the lemon glaze went on.

Thus, yesterday I made hot cross buns – my first of the season – and half the batch is almost gone. When I was making them, L (who is not a super fan, but will indulge a bit) sand “Hot crossed buns, hot crossed buns, see how they run” and then stopped, because he knew he’d gotten mixed up somewhere in there (obviously his nursery school failed him). Anyway, these are Lemon Currant Hot Cross Buns, from the LCBO Food & Drink magazine from Spring 2009 (yes, I keep all the issues stacked on my shelf) and they are delicious! I didn’t have currants, so I subbed in raisins and pecans and they worked out perfectly; next time, though, I will find some currants because they really are delicious.

Primroses

I don't have a garden, so I bought some primroses to keep me company inside.

What signs of Spring have you noticed? Have the seasons changed for you yet?

Category: Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
12:10 pm - March 13, 2012 -

Lacy Socks: Almondine is finished!

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Can you tell I’m excited? I have been knitting these socks for nearly a month, which seems like a crazy long time for a pair of socks, but I am nonetheless pleased with the results. (I should perhaps add that I have not owned “lacy socks” since I was a very little girl, at which time their wearing was restricted to when I was also wearing a “party dress.” This history makes these socks feel very everyday fancy and fun.)

Almondine!

Almondine!

These strike me as the perfect kind of socks for Spring because the lace means they’ll breathe well and the merino wool they’re made from means they’re actually still quite warm. Also, as the weather gets warmer (it’s 16C in Toronto today!) I will return to wearing skirts and dresses and thus be able to show off my fancy work.

Right side, wrong side.

Right side, wrong side.

The pattern is, as you can see from the title of this post, called Almondine, and it’s from the book Sock Knitting Master Class by Ann Budd (the pattern is designed by Anne Hanson) – once I’ve knit a few more projects, I’ll write a little review of this book, but so far I quite like it. When I bought this book back in January, it was for two main reasons. First, I pretty much always have cold feet, so knitting socks seemed like an obvious way to keep myself busy and productive; after knitting a few pairs of basic socks, though, I decided I needed to spice things up, hence a book of patterns. Secondly, I wanted to expand my repertoire of knitting techniques, and it seemed to me that the repetitive nature of sock knitting would be a good place to do so. Thus, I have been making an effort to try new things. For example: I learned how to do the long-tail cast-on for these socks, which were also my first lace-work project. I also forced myself to concentrate on Kitchener stitch, which I had tried before but never felt very confident about.

Anyway, here are all the details:
Pattern: Almondine by Anne Henderson
Wool: Indigodragonfly Merino sock in colourway My Boyfriend had a Bicentennial (Buffy) – this colourway has almost a dozen gorgeous, subtle variations of purples and reds and pinks (my favourite of which was the cranberry-tinted mid tone) and I loved working with it. It isn’t a soft yarn, but it is smooth and even and perfect for socks.
Needles: Clover bamboo dpn in 2.75 mm

My Boyfriend Had a Bicentennial (Buffy)

My Boyfriend Had a Bicentennial (Buffy)

Modifications is getting its own line, because it includes things I learned about my own knitting strengths and weakness, as least insofar as they relate to knitting lace.
First, I suppose, it that once I figured out the logic of lace (the relationship between where a stitch is added to where one is decreased), the pattern became simple enough that I could put away the chart.
Second, that swatches are really important when you’re doing anything new. Maybe this should be point one, but whatever. I swatched this with 30 stitches on toothpick-thin 2.25 mm needles (as recommended) and ended up with a little tube that fit snugly around my thumb. Clearly, this was much too small, so I went up a needle size and delightfully found myself exactly on gauge. Imagine if I hadn’t swatched!
Third, when it comes to moving between needles, some connections are better than others. Knit to knit, fine. Purl to purl, fine. Purl to knit, fine. Knit to purl, loose and ugly. Because of this, I ended up with ladders along the “seam” of needles one and two all the way up the foot of my socks. In this pattern, it’s actually not noticeable when I wear them, but I know it’s there and I am annoyed. I have ravelled my solution to this.
Fourth, lace is really impressive. I knit these socks at home, on airplanes, in a bar, and at home, and everyone who saw them (knitters and non-knitters alike) thought them quite fancy. As a knitter, this is very satisfying and makes me want to knit nothing by lace in public (lesson: I am a little vain).

I will now, I suppose, learn lesson number 5, which is about blocking (something else I’ve never done). More on that once it has been (I hope) successfully accomplished.

Category: Knitting Tags: , , , , ,