bioengiknitter

Still knitting things I can get done quickly...

I had gotten some Tofutsies in an effort to branch out in my sock yarn for the Summer of Socks last summer. I didn't manage to use it during the summer, but finally got to it this month. It was Ann Budd month in Ravelry: Sockdown, so I chose the On Your Toes Socks from the Summer '07 issue of Interweave Knits. Since the yarn has a lot of cotton content, I made them anklets. I've worn them several times, and I like them a lot! I have to say, though, the yarn was really splitty. I didn't particularly enjoy knitting with it, but I like the variegation in the colors and I like how the sock feels now that it's done.

click for bigger

click for bigger

My usual stockinette sole shot:

click for bigger

One breakthrough with these is that I finally got a short-row heel to fit. I haven't done that many of them, primarily because my first attempt wasn't too successful. Those socks fall down under my heel every time I wear them. I figured it was because they don't have the structure of the heel flap to keep them up, and I've avoided short-row heels since then. With February being "new heel" month as I said last time, I had wanted to give short-rows another chance, but didn't get to it. The Ann Budd pattern I chose for this month is toe-up with a short-row heel, so I got to do it this time around. At the suggestion of Debi in the group, I followed her instructions to make a mini flap before starting the short-row heel, knitting the heel as written, and then picking up just a few stitches along the flap at the end and decreasing them out. The heel fits MUCH better than my previous attempt, and although I have to admit that they sort of feel like they're falling down sometimes, they're actually not. They don't move at all, and I'm really happy to finally have found something that works for me!

I'll note here, too, that the other thing that always turned me off of short-row heels? Picking up wraps. I HATE it. The yo short-row heel in the pattern was the first time I'd tried this method, and I'm totally sold. The p3togtbl on the purl side can be tricky, but I'm more than willing to put up with some purling through the back loops if it means I don't have to pick up wraps.

click for bigger

Pattern: On Your Toes Socks, by Ann Budd, from Interweave Knits Summer 2007
Yarn: SWTC Tofutsies, in #736, Under Foot
Needles/Gauge: 8.75 st/in on US0/2mm needles
Dates: 3/8/08 - 3/24/08
Notes: I used the cast-on in the pattern, but I like Judy's Magic Cast-on much better. And as I mentioned above, I knit a mini flap of 8 rows before starting the heel. I knit the yo short-row heel per the pattern, and added the eye of partridge pattern to the heel per Deb's suggestion for durability. I like how the EOP turned out in the yarn. Finally, I made them short.

And still more short socks! These are kid socks to boot. My friend who I made the BFF socks for has two daughters. They were recipients of two of the pirate hats from last Christmas. The older one also inherited my First Socks Ever after that unfortunate run-in with the dryer. She's been wearing them as slipper socks this winter. The younger daughter mentioned to her mom that mom had socks, sister had socks, she didn't have any socks. A problem which must be remedied! I had 30g of the Smooshy left over from the BFF socks, so I thought I'd try and squeeze some anklets out of it for her. I started out doing another Ann Budd pattern, the Mock Wave Cable socks from Favorite Socks, thinking I could get a second March Sockdown entry in. But alas, the first sock was taking way too much yarn. Lace was definitely in order. I had seen this pair of toe-up Hedera socks a while back, and stored it in the back of my mind. Faced with limited yarn and the need for toe-up, this was definitely the pattern for me. I modified the chart by taking out the outer two columns of purl stitches to make the repeat 8 stitches instead of 10, so that I could fit three repeats along the top of my 52-stitch sock.

As it turned out, it was really close. I was concerned enough about running out of yarn that after getting as far as I dared on the first sock, which was one repeat of the lace pattern as the cuff, I didn't bind it off. I left it connected to the ball, and knit the entire second sock from the other end. That way if I got to the end of the second sock and didn't have enough to complete the whole repeat, I could rip back the first sock and use that yarn to get the second sock to the same point. It wasn't needed, I had enough to do one repeat on each. I only had yards left after binding off, though! Phew.

I haven't given them to her yet, and C staunchly drew the line at me asking him to put on pink footies for a blog picture. So you get "on the counter" shots instead.

click for bigger

As always, the stockinette is beautiful, too:

click for bigger

Pattern: Hedera, by Cookie A, from Knitty; heel done using number calculator and instructions from the You're Putting Me On sock form
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy, in Cool Fire
Gauge/Needles: 8.5 st/in on US1/2.25mm
Notes: I used the chart from this post, making it an 8-stitch repeat by omitting the outer two purl columns. I went toe-up starting with Judy's Magic Cast-on (linked above), and increased to 52 stitches. I did the heel flap per the You're Putting Me On socks, because there's the handy chart there for figuring out how to do the heel flap with all different numbers of stitches.

So although New Heel Feburary Sockdown is over, I've continued my journey in new sock heels, learning both the yo short-row heel (and the mini flap to improve the fit) as well as a new way to knit a toe-up heel flap. The only one of those I'd ever done are last month's Widdershins, which incorporate the heel flap as you knit it, while the You're Putting Me On socks are more traditional, knitting a flap and picking up stitches. I really love learning new things, so this has all been really fun for me. And that new yo short-row technique is coming in really handy for my new socks on the needles...more to come!

click for bigger