Another Free Sock Pattern

I have been called a technical knitter by someone who is not at all.  A talented friend of mine says this about me and compared to her, I am a very technical knitter as she is very free-form and never rips out or redoes anything.   She just turns a mistake into a design element.

In some respects, she is right, I do like technical knitting and find it challenging.  I do have a tendency to rip out and re-knit until I get it right.  This can be hard on hand-spun yarn and also on the nerves.  Knitting is supposed to be relaxing, right???!!!  But I have taken this to a new level with my latest project.  I got a skein of hand dyed yarn on etsy from Wildethyme Art who had done a lovely rainbow yarn.  Here is the skein, on the left.

 My friend Cindy from work had gotten a skein and made Peds with it and I loved the way the colors arranged themselves on her footies.   Here is her version.

SO Coool!  She is a one at a time knitter and I am not, EVER.  I tend to have a weak spot for rainbow colored anything, especially yarn.  So I had to have it even though there was only 180 yards in it.   I bought some Koigu that matched it well enough to do toes and heels (above on left), and am keeping my fingers crossed.  So I started off making a pattern off Ravelry, can't remember the name of it now, but it was lace.  The picture is below.

  But the yarn didn't look right with it, or I didn't like it as well.  So I ripped it out and found a nice pattern that was just a simple knit and purl pattern called Hermione's Everyday Socks which looked kind of cool in the yarn and different than Cindy's.

But they seemed a little big around and I decided to make them a few stitches smaller.  So I ripped out yet again back down to the toes, and then some.  Then after I knitted the first row of rainbow yarn again I decided that I wanted to make my OWN pattern for socks, that I was tired of knitting other people's patterns all the time and I should make my own.  Plus I liked ribbed socks.  So I came up with a diagonal pattern that I thought might be cool.  Test knit?  Bah!  That's for sissies!  So I charted it up and off I went.

Well, it is looking OK so far.  However, the diagonal effect I wanted is totally eclipsed by the strong coloring of the yarn.  Doh!  But hey, it's OK, is ribbed and looks fine.  Just has a little surprise of lace in the purl valleys, and a left twist on the knit hills which sort of draws diagonal lines that you can't see.  I'll have to do it in a plain yarn to see what the effect is.  But I totally think I could write a pattern with it and will put it up on Ravelry when I get it done.  I'll offer it for free because my other free pattern was very popular and this is another not too tricky pattern and I like sharing.

Here is the new version so far.  At about the same place....

Better right?  Of course!  I am knitting from both ends of the ball of yarn and it makes them look a little different, but close enough for me.  When I get them on, the lace pattern might be more apparent, but then again, maybe not.  But it's been fun and I'm going to continue this version because I always have to have a sock pattern on the needles for travel knitting.  Plus it's easy to remember.  

I am on a mission to find a pattern that is fun to knit and also looks good in a strongly patterned yarn.  I get so bored with knit or plain ribbing.  I like a challenge!

New Sock Pattern Almost Ready

I'm designing a new pair of women's socks.  I love lace and cables, so I am using a pretty easy 4 row lace pattern that I added a cable to the rib.  I made one pair for a friend and am now making a pair for myself to validate the problem.  Here is Gloria in her new socks.

She loves them and I am sort of envious.  I might have to get another skein of Manos del Uruguay Alegria for myself.  I used a Sweet Tomato Heel designed by Cat Borhdi for this pair but will include a regular gusset and slip stitch heel with the pattern.  I made my first YouTube video for Judy Becker's Magic cast on that I use for all my socks.  I love her method and am grateful to Judy, Cat and all the other knitting pioneers that help me get better and more creative with my knitting and designing.  I will be offering this sock on Ravelry.   My sock pattern for my husband has 160 downloads which I thought was way cool.  He loves his socks.

Writing patterns is addictive and I will need to step away after this because it is so time consuming that I don't have time for regular knitting.  I have a sweater to finish and presents to knit for Christmas.  Not too soon to be thinking about presents.  I always start too late!

Free Men's Sock Pattern

I put up a new pattern today on Ravelry.  It's a free pattern for men's socks in a DK weight because my husband has very slender long feet and slender calves, and also needs very cushy socks.  So I designed this to fit his feet and slim calves.  Plus I wanted a pattern in a sport or DK yarn that would be a faster knit because his feet are so LONG!  Check it out for Free!  Download Now

My husband has long slender feet and slender ankles and calves.  He loves and wears the socks I make him and I finally decided I had to find a way to get the best fit for him.  He also needs cushy socks and so I determined I needed a DK weight or sport weight yarn pattern to get that extra cushiness and to make them go faster.  I didn’t find much out there in the way of patterns and as I have made many socks, I decided to design a pattern myself.

I am a fan of Cat Bordhi’s socks and have her wonderful e-book “Cat’s Sweet Tomato Heel Socks” which I highly recommend.  She has wonderful videos to compliment her e-book and I have made several of her patterns already.  I decided that I would use her sweet tomato heel for my husband’s socks.  But I am writing this pattern with a heel flap because I don’t want to step on her work or mislead anyone on how to do that wonderful adaptation.

I also use toe up construction almost exclusively now and knit two at a time magic loop.   Very Pink Knits has a nice tutorial about Magic Loop.   I find this the easiest way to get two socks the same and also get them done in a timely fashion.  You can of course knit them singly and from the top down but I recommend you try it my way.  I love having both socks be finished at once and look exactly the same.  I will give hints and links to videos with help and I am always available for questions. 

Feel free to try on the socks as you go to get the best fit.  I made my husband try them a lot before I decided how and where to put the increases and decreases.  If they don’t fit right, then they slip and aren’t as nice to wear.  I did put the ribbing in the instep but sometimes he gets confused about which one is right and which one is left so I might leave that out of the next pair.  

A Sweater Odyssey

I have this wonderful long black sweater that I bought somewhere and decided I\'d like to make one like it. I have not written a sweater pattern before but why not! It looked simple enough.

I had some brown lace yarn spun from a beautiful soft dark brown cloud llama and a big bag of the fiber so I decided to use that.

I knit the back flat out of stockinette with a new provisional cast on. Then I started on the sleeves. I decided to use a lace pattern as stockinette was too boring. I ripped the sleeves back 4 or 5 times to get the right size shape and pattern desired. Then I ran out of that ball of yarn around the elbows.

Next I ripped back the back piece to redo it in pattern. Hopefully I kept good notes on how I shaped it. More later as I knit an I\'ll add pictures.

Dragon's Paws Fingerless Gloves

I finally have a new pattern to share.  I call it Dragon's Paws because the stitch reminded me of a dragon.  I did the first pass in an alpaca sock yarn and they were soft and warm but a bit loose, so I took a stitch repeat off and did a second one in "scorched lime" sock yarn a bit smaller.  So the pattern has two sizes S/M and L, XL.  This pattern is ribbed so it is forgiving in it's fit and hugs the hand nicely.  I love ribbed designs for my fingerless gloves. 

The edges are picot at the wrist and at the top so the pattern includes a picot cast on and picot cast off.  I include links to YouTube for any techniques that I use.  That way even less experienced knitters might see how it's done.  I would consider this an intermediate pattern but if you like a challenge, even a beginner should have success.  You can always ask me for help and I will be glad to give you any hints you might need.

I am also working on a cable and lace version.  Then I must start designing new items.  But I do enjoy the fingerless gloves as they are fun and don't take too long to make.

Latest Doings, Fiber necklace

 This is a new item in my etsy shop.  It is core spun yarn that is spun around a cotton center with beads strung on it.  Then I twisted it up and added a clasp after wire wrapping the ends to hold it.  The fiber is periwinkle blue and the beads are brown with blue and tan. 

This is some felted soap that a friend made from roving I sold her .  She makes the soap and then uses roving to felt it.  So pretty and you don't need a washcloth.  If you want to buy some, go to her etsy shop Treefort Naturals and check it out!

New Scarf From Yarn

I ended up knitting up the yarn I posted last time as a thin scarf.  Picture above.  It turned out pretty nice.  I needed more color in the yarn though.  Not a bad example of what the combo yarn I learned to spin from Kathy does when knitted up.  Her's is still prettier as she has more practice and is so good at combining colors and things.  I'm learning though!  She is still such an inspiration to me and sounds like she is doing well out in Maryland.

I am crocheting again as I found some cute patterns for baby shoes.  They will be great for summer and can be seen on my Etsy Shop  or my Facebook page.