Little Purl of the Orient

Old Pathway for This Sock Knitter

During one of the previous knitting meet ups with my local pals, I had a chance to look at Ingrid's New Pathway for Sock Knitters. What a mind boggling array of new sock architectures! One day, when I'm not so work-tired, I might invest in the book and attempt one of those techniques but right now, the old pathway is the way to go for me.

Figure 8 cast on 16 stitches, increase until the sock fit my around the foot (in this case, 52 st) and then mindless stocking stitch, my favourite no-wrap short-row heel and more stocking stitch, ribbing and sewn cast off.

Ta-da. A new pair of tall socks for JY. Aren't they lovely?

JY has not been able to take them off during the nights and the socks have been keeping her feet warm this past cold winter. I wish there was more self-patterning or striping yarn in my sock stash for more socks like these.

Details: 1 ball of Patons Self Patterning yarn and some Sundara sock yarn leftover from this pair Mad Color Weave socks. Clover size 1 needles.

So I got 2 pairs done this year. Time to think of the March pair.

And the crochet slipper found her mate too. I'm going to give them to eldest sil. A recap, the pattern is from this Japanese pattern book, the yarn is Brown Sheep Handpaint Originals in the Sunbaked Earth colourway, and I used size 8/0 hook.

There are a few more small FOs that are still not yet photographed. On top of that are lots visits to the frog pond visits. Next post, maybe.

Foot Note

I've finally arrested my procrastination and finished the first Mad Color Weave sock. Not that I'm not enjoying the pattern or the yarn (delish Sundara yarn) but knitting the toe involved Decision Making, having to make up my mind if the foot length is now long enough to begin the toe. Being one who is not very good with measuring, coupled with too much thinking during the day for work led to a stalemate and the poor sock-to-be just sat there in the pile for months. Now that one is done, the second sock hopefully could be knitted in a relatively shorter period of time, provided that I don't stray.

It looks like it might be a difficult task. I've added more WIPs to the already ample pile. Here's one lonely slipper waiting for its mate. I was thrilled to find a simple enough pattern to showcase the lovely Brown Sheep Handpaint Originals (this is the Sunbaked Earth colourway).

And the pattern is from this lovely little book which has 8 irresistible footwear patterns like these:

And in the earlier book that contained the crochet scarf pattern are these slippers. The Japanese just seem to have a thing for these foot warmers.

These slippers also attracted me to add this book to my library.

Now that we've reached the 'foot' of the year, (and what an eventful year this has been) hope that you'll enjoy viewing these knitted/crocheted footwear as much as I do.

Happy 2008!

Sending out a little sunshine

JY's current favourite colour is yellow because it reminds her of the sunshine. This post didn't make it for Socktoberfest for me, hectic, hectic work schedule and I know I still owe lots of people emails, sorry. Anyway, here are a pair of Conwy Socks are for Olga, hoping to bring some sunshine into her world and keep her warm this cold season. See them on her feet here.

The pattern is from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road. And I love to knit the little cables. It is not obvious here but I messed up the toes. The yarn is Rio de la Plata, washable merino. I highly suspect the washable property as the yarn end from the cast on was already felting when I finish knitting the sock. But I do love the subtle colour changes in the yarn.

With some leftover sock yarn, I doubled it with an odd ball of lime yellow sports weight yarn to make little hats for charity. I love the mottled effect of doubling two different yarns. A knitted one and a crocheted one. I might still have some yarn to make a small pom pom for one of the hats. Hope they'll bring some sunshine to some little kiddos too.

There's another pair of socks on the needles now, the Mad Color Weave Sock in Sundara sock yarn. Both pattern and yarn are beyond delectable and I'm having such a hard time concentrating on the Minimalist Cardigan. But I shall.

I got some sunshine myself too. A lovely piece of yellow elephant fabric from Joy from her recent trip to Tokyo.

And the biggest sunshine of all is the wonderful news that nephew has his port for chemo removed from his body! The latest CT scan after the surgery showed very positive progress and there's no more need for chemotherapy. A million cheers!! Thanks very, very much for your all warm thoughts and kind words these past months. We'll continue to wish a good road to full recovery for the little fighter.

Have you Monkeyed?

For a moment while taking photos of my own sock-clad feet, the image of the super versatile acrobats in the Beijing Acrobatics Troupe which we saw back in Easter came to my mind. It definitely would have helped if I'm half as malleable. Sock knitters who take their own sock/feet photos should know what I'm talking about. Long story short, only 1 modeled shot to show you as the rest came out rather blur with my hands shakey trying to bend over this way and that.

Monkey socks, free pattern from Knitty, which has taken over Blogsphere after the sensational Jaywalker and Pomatomus socks, among others. They are knitted for my friend, O. After washing and blocking, the Wildfoote (Tom Cat colourway) yarn does become less synthetic and nicer to touch. I used Clover 3s for the ribbing and Clover 2s for the main part. Very trouble-free knit, the stitch pattern is interesting and easy to remember and I just wanted to keep going.

So here's one a stationary (but rather over-exposed) shot.

Sock 64 and little WIPs

The second sock went really fast. The cooler weather this week (which means dry palms for me) allows good progress to be made on my daily commutes and nothing is quicker than mindless stocking stitch plus some ribbing. Now I have a pair of 64-st socks. And the foot is 64 rows long.

The pattern is Wendy's toe-up gusset heel socks (pdf) pattern. Yarn used is Regia Bamboo Colour (#1065). I used the new Clover aluminum 1s that Maryann gave me and I'm sure those made the knitting speedier too.

Adaptations:
Cast on: I used my preferred figure 8 cast on. Really convenient and easy to execute.
Leg: Threw in some K3, P1 ribbing as the Bamboo yarn is rather inelastic so ribbing should make the legs huggier.

How long to knit the leg? I read somewhere that the perfect leg length is equal to the foot length when the sock is folded at the heel. And coincidentally, that is 64 rows of ribbing for this pair.

As for the cast-off, again my preferred method of sewn cast-off (EZ style). For the first sock, being lazy to get off my butt to go get my darining needle, I did a regular cast off but it turned so tight I had to undo it and re-sewn cast it off.

If you know me, you'll know that leftovers bother me a lot. I need to know that the leftovers have found good uses or I cannot stop thinking things up. Look at my bunch of reddish WIPs.

I've got 11g and 12g respectively leftover from the 2 balls of Regia Bamboo and I'm experimenting to see if they'll be enough for some very cute Saartje booties (pdf), knitting together with a strand of Rowanspun 4 ply leftover from the Tumbling Blocks cushion. That's the WIP at the top left.

Here are some other footsie patterns that I would like to try:
- Magic 28 Sock (pdf)
- Simple Shoes
- Ruby
- Infant Socks
- Crochet booties

So, please feel free to share if you have good patterns, links, ideas for leftovers thick or thin and they don't have to be for the feet only.

Some links, if you haven't visited Knitting Daily, do check it out, it's a good free Interweave pattern source.

If you love knitting squares for charity or have yarn to spare, check out Wrap with Love posted at Whip Up.

Some Sock Talk

While Joy just finished 3(!) pairs of socks, I completed a single one*. Well, that is if you count 2 halves equal one sock. And speaking of whom, hop over to Joy's blog to see the blanket that Joy, Marjorie and I knitted for Eva's wedding.

My colleague, O, who knitted the Bow-knot Scarves for my kids has been asking me if there's any sock yarn that is not so warm. She isn't asking me to knit her socks just asking about sock yarn but I feel like knitting her a pair. So I'm experimenting with the Regia Bamboo (from Joy) using Wendy's new toe-up gusset heel socks pattern.

Just look at those beautiful colours of the bamboo yarn.

I'd always thought that a pair of socks needs to be at least 72 sts in sock yarn to just fit my (and also O's) rather generous calves. So every time I see a 60-something sock pattern, I hold back, no matter how much I like the pattern. Wendy's pattern is written for both 64 st and 72 st and I thought if 64 st is not big enough, then I'll just continue to increase until I hit 72 st. Either my perception is wrong or my knitting must have loosened, 64 st on Clover 1s is already big enough and turned out too roomy for O. Don't ask me about gauge, I didn't measure.

This heel is interesting to make, there are no stitches to pick up and no short rows save for the heel turn. And look at the sock blocker peeking from there, it's handmade by the resourceful Maryann. The tutorial can be found here.

Instead of ripping back the too-long bamboo sock, I started another sock. It's the 64-st Monkey that I've been dying to knit. If it fits my shapely calf, it should fit O's but it'll be a warm pair in wool. The yarn I'm using is Brown Sheep Wildfoote in the Tom Cat colourway. There is not a lot of discussion about this sock yarn. This is a nice colourway, with a strand of charcoal grey, slate and mauve twisted together. But the synthetic content in it is a bit pronounced and the yarn on the whole feels not quite yarny enough.

*I've since finished the first Regia bamboo sock and it's really big. Wendy's pattern tells us to knit the foot until 2-2.5" less than desired length before knitting the heel but the sock turns out far too long. I think I'll start the heel 3" before desired length for the next pair. Or maybe I'll try Wendy's even newer slip-stitch version.

BTW, the new Knitty is up. Go see the beautiful creation, Zinzin, by the beautiful and talented Olga.

Uptown Boot Socks

Remember my random fact #6? I have a digital weighing scale but it is nicely tucked in the high hanging cabinet in the bedroom and not fully made good use of.

Case in point, it would have helped if I had weighed out the hank of Sleeping Dragon sock yarn before I started knitting and then fretting that I would have insufficient yarn. Look at these 2 balls, the smaller one is from pulling out the extra repeats of the first leg, the bigger one is the leftover. It is apparent that I need not have ripped.

Without further ado, here they are, the Uptown Boot Socks for my friend, P. We haven't met but P is always there to offer me comfort and advice for sewing and other things in life through her emails. She even sent me a very beautiful watercolour painting of my 2 girls which is being framed now.

The pattern from IK Winter 2003 and also Favourite Socks. The mods are: Double-start cast on (which is a happy coincidence), and a shorter leg than called for. A closer look here at the stitch pattern.

The yarn is a joy to knit with. It is 100% washable merino and what a lovely, yarn-y yarn it is. I wish I know where to get more. In my earlier euphoria while knitting with it, I mentioned that it doesn't pool but looking at this photo, it seems to be pooling ever so subtly.

I've moved on to other socks, I think I caught the sockitis from Joy and Terhi who are knitting really fabulous socks.

Here are some recent patterns that I like:

Marigold Socks

Crystalline Lattice Socks

WIPs and Yummy Yarns

The Uptown Boot Socks have come to a point where I'm starting to wonder about yardage, the probable insufficiency, that is. Long story short, I cast on and knitted the second leg instead of ripping the first leg right away to see if my worry is founded. As you can see, I've turned the heel for the second sock and I've opted for a shorter leg (6 inches instead of 8 inches long). I hope I would have enough yarn like this. The Sleeping Dragon yarn is very nice to work with. It reminds me of Lorna's Laces Sheperd Sock and the best part of all is, there's no pooling whatsoever.

Work has resumed on the tea cosy. Yes, it's a tea cosy, and could you guess which pattern is it? Thanks to Olga who sent the rescue yarn. The Karabella Gossamer that I ordered from ebay didn't turn up but the seller was kind enough to give me a refund. I should really hurry up on this otherwise our friend's tea would not be getting cold so easily even without the cosy as the weather has really warmed up a lot these days.

Not only has Olga sent me the sparkly mohair, she sent along some magnificent Habu Cashmere Nep and Tsumugi silk too! And then there are also the magazines.

I'm sure you want a closer look at the Habu.

Any idea what I could use this precious little bundle of Cashmere Nep? Click on this photo to see how tiny it is. Any suggestions would be gladly welcome.

Tsumugi Silk. To be turned into a shawl. I have a feeling it would grow up to be a Shetland Triangle one day.

The last Blue and Grey

Have your days (and nights) suddenly become shorter? Mine certainly have and it was almost impossible for me to come to this space. The storms came today and the temperature suddenly plunged by substantial degrees to pull out the woolies again but my Maggie Tweed is still not done. I'm still catching up on my blues and greys and here goes.

Catching up might not be quite correct as I actually started something new. I'm one who never wins at any lucky draw. But look! This hank of Sleeping Dragon Sock Yarn managed to find its way to my home, thanks to Jennifer who drew my name from the list of participants that completed and posted their cably knits for the FallcableKAL2006. My mil, on the other hand, is a person who wins at all kind of lucky draws but that's for another day.

This colourway, called Pool, is just my type of colours and I can't wait to knit it up into a pair of socks for my friend, P. Now which pattern? There are at least a dozen sock patterns that I'm dying to knit but when it's time to choose one, I just can't make up my mind. I want to knit them all but of course I've got to choose a right type of pattern for this slightly variegated yarn.

Rpm? Or Monkey? Rpm? Merino Lace Socks? No, Monkey. Denmark? No, no, Canal du Midi but would it be too variegated? Ok, let's cast on for Rpm.

Just when I reached for the needles and yarn, my hands went to the Knitting on the Road and cast on for Canal du Midi. The images of Kathy's gorgeous pair just stuck to my mind. I made the double-start cast on as written for the pattern but had to do it 3 times as the stitches kept dropping during the first row which I always find it the most difficult row. After I completed 5 rows of the K2, P2 ribs, the yarn is looking too variegated for the stitch pattern. And the lesson learnt from my Embossed Leaves Socks came to mind.

BTW, some brave ones have been posting about their Knitting Nightmares at this Flickr Group.

I'd better change to another pattern and what else but another Grumperina inspiration. I hope the Uptown Boot Socks would work with this yarn. I haven't got the Favourite Socks book but I do have the Interweave Winter 2003 issue where this pattern was first published. And how convenient that this pattern also calls for 72 stitches and begins with K2, P2 ribbing just like the Canal du Midi sock, no need to rip back to scratch. I do like the double-start cast on, nice and stretchy. The 8 row repeat is made up of 6 rows of knit, and just 2 rows of cables and I'm enjoying the pattern.

That's the Blue and here's a glimpse of the Grey.

It's a request from our friend and the first part has been done ages ago. I've ordered yarn from an ebayer like a month ago to make the embellishment to complete this but the yarn got waylaid in the mail. Still waiting ... ...

Socks

Another thick-yarn sock done, all scrunched up and badly in need of a good block. One more to be knitted and I could cross another item off the list. This pair is intended for my mil. My initial idea was to knit the Cowgirl Socks from the IK Winter '06 but while flipping through Marjorie's knitting books last Saturday, the Log Cabin Socks from Handknit Holidays came across as a good idea.

This sock is knitted out of the last hank of Dyed in the Wool hand-dyed yarn I bought from ebay. If my memory is right, this batch of yarn was my first ebay purchase and I found an old photo on my hard disk. The 2 hanks on the right were knitted into Odessas and a stripey beanie, and I used the hank on the left (Pebble colourway) for this pair of Cable Twist Socks (pdf) for my sil.

Knitted over 42-st , these socks fit my size 6 feet, so I thought a 48-st Log Cabin Sock in the same DK weight yarn should fit my mil's size 4 feet despite all the cabling. It turned out that not all DK weights are created equal, the Azure is thinner than the Pebble and the Log Cabin Sock turns out rather tiny that I thought of giving this pair to my 6-year-old and knitting another pair for mil. And the ball of yarn is cutting really, really close. Then I sought help from my knitterly colleague, R, who also has tiny feet and the lone sock fits albeit a little teeny, weeny bit too short on the foot. 2 more rounds or even 1 would make a better fit. I'm forging ahead with the twin sock and see how far the yarn will go. If there's enough yarn, I'll just undo and re-knit the first sock toe.

And JY has been asking about her scarf too, I really should quickly get that done but the hank of Yarntini yarn seems to have incredible yardage and no end is in sight. Then there are 3 sweater patterns that I must immediately cast on … … the grey knitted coat from the earlier post is one of them.