knit socks Archives - Penguin Girl

socks, finally

penny on December 8, 2016

If I admitted a pair of socks took me a year and a half to knit, would you wonder what had gone wrong?

Why I didn’t give up on them? It wouldn’t be the first pair I walked away from.

issue one: the colourway

This was named Spring Leaf Stripes and is a combination of grey, black, white, … and yellow. While I don’t like white in my socks (or my leaves), the bigger issue was the lack of green. These spring leaves need to have the mulch cleared away so they can see the sun and photosynthesis can do its magic. Once I mentally renamed it “bumble bee” I was able to knit. The photo is with some autumn foliage, the colours didn’t match them either, unless it was to pair with the roads we traveled looking at their beautiful colours.

issue two: gauge

Always. Check. Gauge.
I’ve knit this yarn base before so I just took my notes from the last time and went to town. Only after needing to make heel decision did I stop and check the fit. They were too big. The next time I stopped a bit earlier and this pair was definitely too narrow. It took until the third try for me to get them right.

issue three: heel choice

I also wanted to experiment with the heel of these socks. Given my ultimate gauge, I had to rework the numbers from Amy’s Favorite Toe-Up Socks for my stitch count and the first time I did the math in margins of the pattern while stuck in traffic (don’t worry, I wasn’t driving). That went as great as you can imagine. It took me a while to admit I had to rip back and rework. Once I did, the socks practically knit themselves.

conclusion

They were worth the wait but I’ve encountered bases I like better for hard wearing socks, such as Happy Fuzzy Yarn Corrie sock. I do like how the heel fits and it’s nice to have another pair to go into rotation. My sock drawer thinned (it’s often easier to just reknit than repair my socks. Don’t worry, old socks find a new life as cat toys).

project details

Ravelry project page
needles: 2mm
size: my size 35 feet
yarn: Patons North America Kroy Socks Stripes in #1403 Spring Leaf Stripes
heel: Amy’s Favorite Toe-Up Socks reworked for my gauge.

more socks!

penny on February 11, 2016

On Sunday I finished another pair of socks for E. He loved the most recent pair so much he asked me if I would knit him another pair. So I did.

He had a few changes for this pair, while he loves the bright colours of his Into the Whirled pair, could this pair include some blues and greys? Could the leg and cuff be longer? Of course! That’s what I love about making socks, I can modify to fit specific requests.

At VK Live last month, I stopped by the Knit Circus booth (ok, I was helping them during lunch) and purchased some Greatest of Ease in Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Sock Variation.

While to the same stitch gauge, they knit up considerably faster due to determination to finish them as close to E’s birthday as I could and because I had the other pair to use as size reference. And of course the colours are more Penny-friendly so I enjoyed knitting every stitch!

Yarn: KnitCircus Greatest of Ease in colourway Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Sock – variation, purchased at VK Live NY January 2016
Needles: 2mm (US0)
Project started: January 17 2016
Project completed: February 7 2016
Ravelry project page

These were tons of fun to knit. He’s been very appreciative of them so while the next pair of socks is for me to help replenish my neglected sock drawer, we’re already in discussions for his next pair. Mine might be a pair of knee highs in Gradient stripes and who knows what yarn and colourway he’ll choose. There are many options!

socks!

penny on December 24, 2015

Last Friday I finished E’s socks. They were worn to work this week and returned home with a favourable review. Yay! This is the fourth pair I’ve knitted him and the first pair that will be worn again.

Yarn: Into the Whirled Pakokku Sock in Palindrome Paint in colourway Ramble, purchased at NYS Sheep & Wool 2015
Needles: 2mm (US0)
Project started: 26 October 2015
Project completed: 18 December 2015
Ravelry project page

They were a fun knit and while this is a colourway I would never pick for myself it was fun to watch the colours progress. I have a skein in a more Penny-friendly colour I purchased at Rhinebeck in 2011. I’m not yet sure if I’ll knit my skein into a shawl or a pair of socks, but I do know I’m looking forward to knitting this yarn base again.

gifts exchanged

penny on January 15, 2015

Teabird and I have been exchanging handmade gifts and handwritten letters for years now. She fell in love with the Synchronicity Collection by Andi Smith and I asked her if there was anything I could knit for her as I really loved the designs.

There was. She also had the most perfect yarn she wanted me to use. The yarn arrived and I knitted a White Pond Cowl.

Isn’t it lovely? The yarn is Holiday Yarns FlockSock in Vanilla and Bruised ego.

In turn she asked if she could knit me a pair of socks.

I confess I couldn’t say yes fast enough. My sock drawer is looking a little lean these days. I still wear wool socks with the same frequency as I always have but I don’t have as much sock knitting time as I used to, especially as you can now find me behind the wheel. While I do mend my socks, adding to the rotation helps.

We talked a bit about fit preferences and all I was told was I would love the colourway. The package arrived this afternoon.

Yes. I have not seen such a perfectly Penny colourway in a while. It is the November colourway and yes, it’s very much November and the colours I gravitate to with browns and greys and hints of deep rich gold. They fit perfect and I am in love.

In the letter, she said there were two cat toys. I was quite confused because I found a second pair of socks. They had apparently felted and no longer fit her.

The thing is, they fit me. Perfectly. They are barely felted compared to many of the socks in rotation. The new plan is I’ll wear them for a while and then I’ll turn them into bright happy cat toys.

She also included a few partial skeins of sock yarn to turn into cat toys. I will be talking more about that project and the types of items I’m looking for soon.

Thank you Teabird!

spring and summer socks

penny on April 24, 2014

Recently most of my knitting has been for others, so it was nice to join a group test knitting for the awesome Miriam Felton. That pattern is now available and I’m really excited about it. My sock drawer has become thin of late. So it was a nice bonus to knit two pair of socks for me, and I’m carrying the yarn for a third in my little swift.

Footie socks provide just enough coverage to be comfortable with clogs, toms, or just wandering around the house. Yes, I’ve knitted two pair so far and see many more in my future. They’re a little like popcorn, you can’t stop at just one…

The absolute genius of Miriam’s newest design is that she includes sizing for the whole family over a wide range of yarn weights from a fine fingering to a DK (6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 stitches per inch)! There is also a useful reference sheet you can download to keep track of important information for each pair you’re working on.

I was delighted to test the penny-friendly sizes both for gauge (9 and 10 spi) and foot (circumference 7″, foot length 8.5″). Both pair hug my feet and fit perfectly with my clogs. I’ve worn them out and about with no slippage and just as importantly no blisters at the end of the day. Each pair uses very little yarn, so little in fact that I will be able to knit myself (I have tiny feet) three pair from that one skein of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine! This is a great warm weather project, there’s not much sock to have on your lap while knitting or wearing.

You can view my project pages with some additional notes for both pair at:
9 SPI (2mm needles): Ravelry | Craftsy
10 SPI (1.5mm needles): Ravelry | Craftsy
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in Steel Cut Oats (#1214)

Note: It’s quite possible that your knitting tension is different from mine so it’s unlikely you’ll need to use incredibly tiny needles for a light fingering yarn.

The PDF pattern is available for purchase at both Ravelry and Craftsy, and you can learn more at miriamfelton.com.

But wait! There’s another new pair of socks in my drawer! Back during those long days of wondering-when-will-it-end winter, a few friends jumped on the self-striping craze and I became smitten. I was delighted to learn that Patons Kroy Socks line had some (new-to-me) colours and I set out to make my own pair. My new plan is that unless I have a specific deadline, my errand running project will be socks for me. A round here, a round there, and I have a new pair of socks. With that plan in place, yesterday I finally finished them and I’m wearing these new socks today. The Kroy wears well and it’s easy to find for those days when nothing in the stash will do. The colours make me happy though I wish I had cut out all the white bits.

It’s exciting to finally see spring colour (and warm sun) outside and not just in my yarn choices.