I’m making progress on the current socks. I love how the pattern looks, but am having trouble knitting it — I keep dropping stitches while pulling the yo over. So I’ve decided to knit plain on the instep – my MIL calls it “stocking stitch” and that’s how I’ve come to think of it!
I finished knitting this scarf several months ago, but just blocked it last week. Since then, I’ve been looking for the pattern I used, and haven’t found it yet! I was sure it was from Vogue Knitting, but maybe it’s from Interweave. In my search I discovered that some magazines are pretty weird about their table of contents. For instance “All Tied Up” without a description is not helpful! I started this on a plane trip to Ohio in July 2005. Not wanting to run out of things to do on my 2-week trip, I took this, another scarf to start, a pair of socks in progress, and extra sock yarn and needles in case I finished everything and needed a new project… Does everybody else do this or am I just weird? Here’s a picture of the whole thing
And here’s a close-up
The yarn is Lorna’s Laces Helen’s Lace, wonderfully soft 50/50 wool/silk. I made this from leftovers from the shawl I made during My Fair Lady, which is a story for another day. A warning, though: the yarn isn’t colorfast. This time I soaked it in white vinegar and water before soaking it in Eucalan, and the Eucalan soak still turned green.
During my first pair of socks, I decided that it would be best to knit two socks at the same time. While there are many resources on the web and in books on how to cast on using a long circular needle, I always got confused over where I was and devised this method. It might take a few more steps, but it’s easier for me to keep track of. And I apologize in advance for the poor picture quality. Directions are for right-handed peoples… Needles and accesories:
I use the Twisted German Cast On, which I can never remember, so have to look it up every time. I usually look at the hand-drawn pictures in Simple Socks: Plain and Fancy by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts for a reminder. Here is a site with great pictures for the Twisted German Cast On: Knotty Girls (PDF).
1. Using your 2 double points held together, cast on half the stitches, count the stitches, place marker, then cast on the other half, and count these also (can you tell I’m a bit anal retentive?). Here’s how it looks when you’re done with this step:
Here’s information we will use later: There is a “slashy” side:
and a “bumpy” side:
2. Now pull one needle out until you reach the marker, then push it back so it’s sticking out. Make sure all the stitches stay on the other double point. You’ll end up with this:
3. Pull the other needle out in the opposite direction. You can put away the stitch marker but don’t lose it till you’re done with the second sock. The result: (As you can see, it naturally folds in half. This picture shows all the slashes on the inside, and all the bumps on the outside.)
4. Slip stitches to the circular as if to purl. I always start with the half without the long tail:
Count as you go, just to be sure…
You’ll end up with half the stitches on the double point, and half on the circular:
5. Using the other end of the circular, slip the other half of the stitches. You’ll end up with this (the circulars just want to flop around):
6. Now for the fiddly part. There are several ways to connect the circle but I think this looks best. Turn the circular so the tips are pointed to the right. Make sure your stitches are folded in half with with the bumpy side on the inside. (You should have your long tail on the back needle.) Using one of your double points, slip the first stitch on the back needle to the front needle:
7. That was easy! Now think of this next in 2 parts: a) On the front needle, and still using one of those pesky double points, slip what used to be the last stitch over the stitch you just put there, and keep it on the double point:
b) Bring that stitch to the back needle and let go. All finished:
8. Repeat all for the second sock. When it comes time to slip it on to the circular, there are a few considerations.
And then you’re ready to knit knit knit
If you have any questions, please leave a comment. If my photos are not clear, I can try it again on my next pair of socks when my husband’s home to help!
The scarf that I ripped out last week is totally finished, hooray. This is really the first thing I’ve “designed” myself. I got the lace pattern (#232) fromThe New Knitting Stitch Library by Lesley Stanfield. I added 5 stockinette stitches, a decrease, a yarn-over, and 2 garter stitches on each end of the prefab lace design.
While I was threading the wires through the edges, the two males here forced (!) me to watch “Who Wants to be a Super Hero?” on the SciFi channel. I’m not saying I would ever watch it again, but it made me laugh. And finished, ready to wear.
Look, hardly any leftovers! It is Rowan kidsilk night: kid mohair, silk, and polyester and nylon for the shiny stuff (which is very subtle). As you can see, it’s very fine. This is gorgeous yarn, I just loved it.
And one final picture. I never saw this mistake till I was taking the picture. Oh, horrors! Well, it’s too late now, and proves that it wasn’t made in a sweat shop somewhere… oh, wait, this is Arizona…
I’ve been working on this for a few months. It’s the Tulip Wedge Shawl, designed by JC Briar, from INKnitters Winter 2004. (I don’t see tulips there, but it’s beautiful anyways.) I finished the knitting last night. Hooray! 10 rows of seed stitch on about 50,000 stitches at the bottom drove me a little nuts…
Of course, my photo colors are all messed up. The yarn is actually black. I used JaggerSpun Zephyr, which is 50/50 Tussah silk/Merino wool. It’s very soft and reasonably priced. You can see in the top left corner of this photo that I got the first repeat backwards on that side, oops! The shawl will blend in with my black stuff so it shouldn’t be noticed. Right now it’s all balled up in a bag, and when it’s blocked it will be less mushy and more shiny…
