Six Sox I Heart Gansey Progress

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I made a lot of progress on the Gansey socks during my yard sale last Saturday. It rained on and off all day, and there weren’t too many customers. It wasn’t much of a sale, because I forgot about a whole closet full of junk I’d been collecting. I sold the food dehydrator for $3.00, so the event was a total success!  I’m using Fortissima Cotton yarn on a 40″ long 2.0mm Addi Turbo.

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Six Sox Iris Garden Finished

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I love these socks! I’m wearing them right now. They look kind of funky off the feet, but they fit well. Actually, the heels are a little too long, but that’s my fault. The more I knit, the looser my gauge got. Things I learned from knitting this sock:

  • How to break away from absolute perfectionism… The make 1 left took me about 5 minutes each time, so I just started doing make 1 rights instead. And told myself it’s okay because they were on the sides of the toe and nobody will ever know. Well, you know now…
  • How to do an afterthought heel. It turned out to be much less complicated than I ever imagined.
  • How to do a crochet bind off. Very nice and loose!
  • How to get a braided effect by having the floating yarn in front. Very clever!

The pattern was designed by Rae Blackledge of Rae’s Yarn Boutique. Thanks Rae!

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6Sox Iris Garden Progress

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This is a great pattern, and I think the socks will be very pretty. I’m using Elann Essential 4-ply solid in purple, and Blauband MaxiRingel for the contrast color(s). I finally figured out how to keep yarns from getting totally tangled when doing 2 multi-color socks at once on one circular. You arrange the balls of yarn in a gallon ziplock bag thus: the first sock’s main and contrast, then the second sock’s main and contrast. The bag is the right size to keep the skeins in a line so they don’t wobble around. The Blauband was a silly purchase. It’s very soft but the dye job is pretty bad – the yellow is full of splotches from the other colors, and the darker colors have faded spots. In my defense, I was looking for solid colors and they didn’t have any; I wanted something wacky; and (most of all!) I couldn’t leave the store empty-handed. The color imperfections enhance this pattern.

I’m just starting the cuff, and of course I changed the pattern on the instep because I didn’t feel like concentrating…

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Finished just in time

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Kelly may have her baby this Friday.  She’s been on complete bedrest for 2 weeks and they may induce labor on Friday. This is made from Elann Sock-it-to-me sock yarn (this color and pattern isn’t available at Elann today, so the link is to their home page), using the free Opal Baby Cardigan Set pattern.  You should have a little experience with socks because the sock pattern is just a chart for numbers of stitches. I made the set all at once on one circular!  I used 2 skeins: one for the hat, and pulling from both ends of the other for the socks.

 

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Lily Chin socks

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This is a pair of socks I made in July 2005, mostly on a trip to Ohio. The pattern is from Lily Chin’s Knit and Crochet With Beads. The yarn is Lorna’s Laces Shephard’s Sock, which is some of the softest sock yarn around. They provided comfort during our brutal winter.  Don’t laugh, we have tile floors…

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How I Cast On 2 Socks on 1 Circular (Cuff Down)

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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:

  • 1 Addi Turbo 40″ circular in the appropriate size (insert Brenda Dayne’s Addi Turbo sound effect here)
  • 2 double points in the same size
  • a stitch marker

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.)

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4. Slip stitches to the circular as if to purl. I always start with the half without the long tail:

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Count as you go, just to be sure…

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You’ll end up with half the stitches on the double point, and half on the circular:

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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):

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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:

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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:

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b) Bring that stitch to the back needle and let go. All finished:

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8. Repeat all for the second sock. When it comes time to slip it on to the circular, there are a few considerations.

  • Because the 40″ needle is generous, you can move the first sock down the cable so it doesn’t get in your way. Just be sure the two halves don’t get connected.
  • It’s kind of hard to tell which end of your cast-on is on which needle. (Which is good, you don’t want it to be obvious when you’re finished.) So:
  • Pull the tail. One stitch will move. This is the end of the circular that you’ll use for Step 4 above.

And then you’re ready to knit knit knit

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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!

Six Sox KAL Progress

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Progress on the current Six Sox Knitalong pattern, which is called Color Blox by Sheron Goldin. I’m just using one skein of Reynold’s Swizzle and not going wild with leftovers. One sock is coming from the inside of the skein, and the other from the outside, so the stripes go in opposite directions! Kind of subversive in a very quiet way…

The techniques for the toes and heels were new to me, so they took a little longer than usual. But I’m zipping right along on the legs. Done on one long circular needle, 2 socks at the same time. And the actual color of the yarn is a dark grayish blue, not this primary-looking blue!