Versus Arthritis March Knitting Challenge 2022

Versus Arthritis (which used to be Arthritis UK), like other charities, has frequent fundraising challenges. Last year I noticed a knitting challenge but was too busy trying to tackle the jungle garden. Since my hands started showing clear evidence of osteoarthritis a few years ago, I find it increasingly easy to overdo things, just as it is when it comes to the effects of physical activities on my feet and knees. So when I saw something on Facebook about a March Knitting Challenge 2022, I wondered what the terms were for the challenge. I've shied away from walking challenges, because I know that the 'walk a mile every day for a month' type of challenge would leave me immobilised and in excruciating pain within a week.

I was relieved to see that the challenge wasn't prescriptive; there were no requirements as to what was knitted (or even crocheted), how many items, or hours - all that was left up to the person doing it, your own personal challenge.

Sitting in the living room, I could see half a dozen knitting and crochet projects without turning my head, works in progress (WIPs), hibernating while I summon the inspiration and energy to pick them back up again. Winter normally sets off my urge to craft, but it didn't happen this winter. A pair of socks which I started while waiting for my Covid booster in December had reached a point of working the toe of the first sock over Christmas, and I'd forgotten how, and became distracted by something else while I was looking for my notes. I think it was using the same yarn for some visible mending on a wrecked jumper, another UnFinished Object (UFO) slung on the side table, looking at me accusingly.

I decided to look around and in my craft notes book to see what I had lined up (don't even look at the wishlist that is the Ravelry queue, it's over a thousand items long, but it really is more for inspiration than to complete all those projects. I could easily find a dozen projects and knew that was the tip of the iceberg. A ball of blue Aran yarn with a cable needle stuck in it has stopped me closing that drawer on the coffee table for months, since I frogged it, having found that the technical editing in my glossy knitting book had utterly failed and that even the errors and omissions corrections I found online had errors and omissions themselves! All the WIPs just add to the clutter and the feelings of guilt and stress I get from seeing them drain my motivation further. But woe betide if I put a project away - out of sight is truly out of mind. And I remembered I had actually done that, packed a couple  of projects neatly and safely away when I moved house in 2015 and hadn't seen them since.

I decided that by joining the challenge, I could raise funds while holding myself to account by getting knitting again. I would try to knit a bit every day and complete at least one project while progressing several others, just to move things along. And then perhaps that progress would help reduce some of the anxiety which has been eating away at me for the past couple of years.

I joined the challenge and found the Facebook group, where knitters were already excitedly sharing what they were knitting or planning to knit. And to my grateful relief, some of my friends decided they would sponsor me. 

So now I've no excuse. I just hope I can keep up the momentum and turn some WIPs into FOs.

Create 366 January

Following on from last year's Create 365 paltry output, I restarted the clock from the winter solstice. It's a leap year, so it's Create 366! Even if I don't manage to create 366 items, the aim is still to do something creative every day and then brag, sorry, blog about it. It will also be a continuation of the destash, getting projects and ideas off my chest and out of my overcrowded head.

I've made a good start, I think, over the first six weeks (although it could be better, of course!). While I was fetching the Christmas decorations, I came across a bag of bags of works in progress (WIPs) and there's nothing like a spot of knitting or crochet in front of the TV on a winter night for some some relaxing, happy, flow time.

The process of working out patterns is perhaps not so relaxing. Trying to get the decreases on a hat (to match the cowl, below) while keeping the pattern going, the frogging (that is, unravelling, ripping back) has got to me. It's sitting by the side of the sofa, looking at me accusingly, while I remind myself that I must pick it up again - this is the way that works in progress become hibernating Unfinished Objects (UFOs). As usual, I aim not to have UFOs and finish the WIPs, because these posts are all about the finished objects (FOs), but it really takes an effort of will. It's still a good idea, it just needs some persistence.

The WIPs included bags of knit and crochet motifs; sets of different coloured leaves, to be attached to a scarf (yet to be worked out and knitted, or possibly 2 scarves, depending ...); a bag of flowers in pinks and pinky-purples, with some leaves, to be made into a flower scarf; another bag of motifs in orange and yellow shades, with some greens for leaves, to be made into a summer jumper - better get on with that! I started all of these five years ago. FIVE! High time they were finished. So I've picked them up again and in so doing, made a start on another idea which has been lurking in my subconscious for a while.

Create 366 

Here's the 'January' output:
'Hillview Road' cowl. The textured stitch is absolutely scrumptious. I shall do a separate blog post on this when I've sorted out a hat pattern, providing I can get my head around the decreases, and possibly mitts too, if I have enough yarn,
A 'destash' crochet square.
A double layer flower knitted with the last of the Stylecraft Cabaret. It needs a matching leaf or two before it becomes a brooch.
Various knit and crochet leaves: 9
Various crochet flowers: 5

Create 366 totals:
Total this month: 17
Cumulative total to date: 17

The Sock Addiction Continues: Tarn with German short row heels

This is a time-warp post, having languished in draft for years, because I mislaid my design book with the notes for a while, then found I hadn't dated them. Note to self, put dates in the book when you make notes! I think they were completed in January 2017, as they were completed before the 'Strong' Heel socks and had been worn and washed by the time I took the photo in March 2018. And now it's January 2020 and I'm just completing it, having unearthed my design book.

This was then ...
However mild this winter has been, and however impatient I've been for finer weather so that I can get out into the garden, I must admit I have been enjoying the colder weather as an excuse to wear wool socks.

They feel warm as soon as I slip them on, in a way that the commercial cotton-rich socks I would otherwise wear do not. There is an inexpressible feeling of snuggly comfort, and a few times I've taken them off when getting ready for bed, only to find half an hour later that my feet now feel too cold, and I slip some bedsocks back on. I find the warmth does wonders for reducing the arthritic pain, often stopping it altogether. I know, I'm repeating myself. If you're a fan of wool socks, you'll know what I'm talking about, and if you're not, perhaps the way I rave about them gives you a clue as to what you might be missing.

Since I'm loving them and wearing them, I reckon I'm allowed to knit myself another few pairs, to replace some of the worn-out cotton socks. The trouble is, a pair of the wool socks takes up about twice the drawer space of a pair of cotton socks, so I'll have to retire two pairs of old socks (at least) to make room for the new wool socks. Or decide I need a second sock drawer.

My 'everyday' socks are definitely my comfort zone, although they could perhaps do with some tweaks. Just so that I don't get too set in my ways, I decided to do a different heel, choosing German short rows for no particular reason.

A local shop had a lonely ball of Wendy Roam Fusion in Tarn, predominantly blues and greens plied with all sorts of other colours. The main colours tend to pool, but the plies create drifts of different coloured flecks and I love it. I was late to the party with this yarn, and, in typical fashion when I find something I like, it's now being discontinued. I looked at the yarn reviews are there were complaints about its quality. I haven't had any problems with the balls I bought, but I find it knits up 'large', as if the yarn is slightly thicker than, say the DROPS Fabel (although that grows a little on washing).

I cast on 72 stitches on my usual 2.75 mm dpns, 12 rounds k2, p2 rib and 48 rounds stocking stitch for the leg.

At this point I would normally start a Sweet Tomato Heel, so it was no problem to switch to German short rows instead. I watched some YouTube videos and found the technique quite easy and straightforward. I followed my usual shaping, using half the total number of stitches for the heel (leaving half for the instep) and then decreasing on a third of the stitches on either side of a central third. I knit clockwise and begin my rounds at the start of the heel stitches. On the last heel round, where the round starts with a double stitch, I knitted that round as the last round of the heel shaping, marking the next as the first round of the foot.
The resulting heels are quite smart with neat diagonal lines of decreases, but even though I knit tightly, the decrease line is slightly more open than I would like. The heels don't sit quite as well on my round heels as the Sweet Tomato Heel, so that remains my favourite.

Since the yarn knits up a little bigger than usual, I decreased one stitch on each side of the foot on rounds 1, 3 and 5, and knit 59 rounds for the foot. The sock fits well enough, but in a yarn which knits up smaller, I think the decreases should be on rounds 6, 8 and 10. On row 60 I decreased another single stitch each side to leave 64 stitches, redistributing them so I had 32 stitches each for the instep and sole.

I knit to round 64, then started the toe round 1 (on what would have been round 65), decreasing using SSK at the start of the heel and instep sections and K2tog at the end of the heel and instep, to reduce by 4 stitches on heel rounds 1, 5, 8, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, leaving 24 stitches.
Kitchener grafted toe (12/12). I noted at the time this may have been a little wide, but haven't noticed it since and Kitchener stitch of 12 instep to 12 sole stitches has become my standard.

So my plain socks pattern exploration and refinement continues.

The Last of the 2019 Create 365

As the weather turned colder, so grey, rainy, windy and miserable, doing some more knitting appealed more and more.

I found a tear in my turquoise sequined tie top, so I mended that before it got any worse. The pale green lightweight hoodie doesn't get worn much - it's my size, but the arms are disproportionately skinny. The last time I wore it, one of the arm seams came apart, so that's now mended too, ready for a glimmer of an idea I have to get more exercise ....

I made a few more tinsel trees for a craft fair that I was too under the weather to go to, in the end. I also finally got my pattern for swirly trees together (although I haven't got it written up and posted on Ravelry and as a tutorial on here - that will have to slip to the continuation of the craft output next year). They come with two options, for an open bottom or a cork/bottle topper bottom.

And knitted (another) pair of socks, this time with a pattern of pine trees on.

I found the tail end of the Cabaret used for the Virus Shawl earlier in the year and decided that it would make a lovely flower, with a few leaves as the yarn shaded to green and red, add beads and a brooch back as a present for my closest friend, (who received the shawl; now she has a matching brooch!)

I made another swirly tree, this time with the off-white Hobbyknit Alpine Spark. I'd used the green colourway when working on the pattern. It, and the red and blue I used for the Fibonacci inspired lounge socks, are a slightly heavyweight DK. The off-white is slightly heavier and stiffer. I also have a ball of a muted blue with a blue metallic thread which I used to try out a crochet shawl pattern, which turned out to be a yarn-eater; the 200g ball wouldn't go far enough, so I frogged it. I then tried it on a lace shawl, but it really didn't suit, so I frogged that too. I suppose it counts as daily creativity, and I might learn something but have nothing to show, or count!

While I was making the swirly trees, I was intrigued by the way the inside of the tree looked. I played a little and found that by not knitting the point of the tree and flattening the knit upside down, it made a stylised rose. So I made a couple of those (patterns and tutorials to come, too) and a few leaves to make them into rose brooches.
So that's it for the year.
6 tinsel trees, 5 swirly trees, 3 flowers, 7 leaves, 2 items mended and a pair of socks.

Create 365 2019 totals:
This batch of things: 24
Cumulative total: 61

A far cry from 365, so I hope to do better next year!

Spreading some colour!

Yesterday I saw a note on my To Do list - 'Check Zazzle and Add something!' . It must have been there for months.

Zazzle is a print-on-demand (or POD) site based in the USA but with an international marketplace. People can create their own templates or upload images for use on various printed and personalised products, and also sell their designs. I was starting to get to know my way around it (and other POD sites) better, when my old computer crashed terminally and I lost access to Photoshop Elements, which I used to use to manipulate images to create digital art.

Amongst the deluge of messages into my inboxes, at some point there will have been a 'we are changing our policies' message, which prompted me to add the job of checking it out to the list. But, as usual, I didn't get around to it for months. When I checked my account, there was a minus figure! Wait, what? 'Non-contributing account fees' have wiped out the paltry balance I had from sales commissions, because I hadn't been in there to do anything but look for since their policy change back in April.
Zazzle also have a policy of expecting their users who sell to create 'collections', curating designs they like from other Zazzle users, and sharing on social media. This way, you complete your user profile and raise your visibility. If you don't, your designs are consigned to the bottom of the search pile. It's fair enough, the products need to be promoted and POD sites have a huge number of designs, all vying for attention.

So, okay, lesson learned. I shall have to be more active, and that will be okay, because over the past few months I have been learning how to use GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program). I also have a new image to go.

I remembered that I didn't find the POD sites easy to navigate as a designer/seller and had written myself some notes. These came in handy so that I could upload the image easily, but when it came to applying it quickly across a whole range of products, the system only came up with 20, and only a few suited the image. Hmm. I suspect Zazzle's 'quick create' option over their range of products left them with huge numbers of items, some of which weren't ideal for the image. They want their designers to think a bit more about what they offer and that's fair enough. It might also be a difference between working from Zazzle.co.uk instead of Zazzle.com, as most of the designs are made up in the USA, hence a UK Sterling price which makes me gasp a little, so that's another thing to look into.
I went through to my existing products list, and found most of it hidden from the public, so it wouldn't come up in a search or be available for sales. That's not good, I thought I'd left it all public; perhaps this is another difference between .co.uk and .com? There were also some products which were being discontinued, so I deleted them and a few other items (like dartboards and baseball caps) which I don't really want to offer my designs on.

While thinking about what I do want to offer, I had a look at my 'collections', started several months ago. Some were empty, and I know I hadn't left them that way, so probably the items I'd previously added had been removed by their designers. I created a few new collections, including one for cushions, not that I can afford them, unfortunately.

With a bit of work, I found my profile completion had gone from 25% to 60%.

While I've been playing with kaleidoscopic art, one of the issues is creating a nice image on a rectangle; a square seems to lend itself much better to the reflections and repetition of a kaleidoscopic image. I tested out my new image on a square cushion and liked it, so completed that for sale (although it will take 24 hours or so to show up).
Then I loaded another image (which I thought I'd already loaded, but couldn't find it) and did another cushion. I'm biased, obviously, but I think they look lovely. There are options for two sizes and different fabrics.

I checked my profile completion and it had gone down to 55%. How does that work? A bit more product 'tidying', and it bounced up to 75%. I looked for my cushions so that I could copy their links into this, and the profile completion had bounced back down to 55%. I visited my store description, replaced the banner with a neater one, and the completion rate is up to 65%. And my products' visibility depends on this?

Aaargh!

With the amount of work involved here (it's not as simple as just uploading something!), I claim 2 creations.
Create 365 totals:
This batch of things: 2
Cumulative total: 37

Create 365: The First Set of FOs

It's been something of a slow start, despite my various WIPs and UFOs. And yet, this is a learning journey as well as creative exploration.

The first FO (finished object) was to create space, have a bit of a clean and tidy, and decorate for Christmas. Even though this is only a temporary thing, it counts as a creation for me; with no friends or family visiting, it would be so easy not to decorate. Putting up the tree and some decorations, if only for myself and for a couple of weeks, gets me out of my rut a little and creates some seasonal cosiness. There is a nostalgic sweetness in unpacking the decorations; some of the baubles are at least 45 years old! It also meant that I took the time to swap around a cupboard and a bookcase, which I've been meaning to do for months, and which makes the living room look a little larger. The decorations are now down and put away again, except for the cards, which I shall come to soon.

The first set of Create 365 FOs

In mid-December I started a pair of plain socks in Stylecraft Head Over Heels 'Etna', because I'd made a pair to sell and loved the yarn colours, so wanted a pair for myself. Having finished them and unable to resist, I made another pair (King Cole Zig Zag 3158 Pinecone, a blue/brown print). The burgundy print socks are the 'desk drawer socks' I made a back in 2014 (blog post here)  which needed some mending at the angle of the heel and instep.

The next item on the bottom row is the 'Wellen Baktus' (Wavy Baktus) scarf, which was technically finished before the start of Create 365 (so it doesn't really count). I had intended to use the faulty dyed, white bits of yarn I'd cut out as I was knitting to create a couple of tiny snowflakes, one for each end, but there wasn't enough yarn even for a couple of tiny pom-pom snowballs. So it's finished except for a hand-wash to test for fastness.

The silvery blob in the lower right corner is a little cork/bottle topper tree. I made a few of these in King Cole Tinsel Chunky for the craft market in mid December, but forgot to write down what I did, so I made another and wrote it down before I forgot! I'll write up the pattern and find out how to list it on Ravelry as a separate 'creation'.

Top right is a mended scarf. There is a Japanese tradition and art called Kintsugi or Kintsukoroi, of mending broken pottery with lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver or platinum. The mend shows and is beautiful in itself, reflecting change and imperfection. Having attempted to darn the holes in this scarf (and wondering why I was even bothering, considering it's just a cheap, viscose scarf which crocks dye even after several washes) and found the loose weave just pulls apart, I decided to use a coppery metallic embroidery thread and cover the holey areas with chain stitch. I could never darn this to disguise the holes and make it look perfect again, so the embroidery both mends and embraces the imperfection.

Centre back, an attempt at a crochet motif. The brushed acrylic yarn was donated, and I thought I might use it to make some sort of crochet, snowflakey baby blanket, but I lost patience with the catchy yarn (and I needed to use a larger hook, but that's already in use for something else). So the motif, and the yarn, can be donated to the Yarn Bombers. No doubt they will be able to create something wonderful. #alwayslearning #lifestooshort.

Back left, a 200g ball of super-chunky acrylic, which is also destined for the Yarn Bombers, as it will make a nice something-or-other, like a tree trunk out of a lamp-post. I experimented with seed stitch and linen stitch and different needle sizes and stitch numbers to make a rufty-tufty, manly cowl, but found the yarn colours too drab and the yarn made my eyes itch!

I need to pick up the pace, but can't spend all day crafting!

Total so far: 7

Create 365

I'm in awe of some of my arty friends, who are so productive and create such loveliness. Even some friends of mine who have been posting about what their naughty Christmas elves have been up to, complete with pictures.

Glancing through old posts, especially those from this time of year, I despair at myself; the same old aims pop up time and again. Lose weight, exercise more, earn some money, learn how to do all sorts of things, get everything sorted out, get a grip!

I spotted a post in which I talked about peyote stitch bezels around stones and the offending articles are still in the UFOs box, where I left them years ago when I couldn't decide how to create the bails. I had another look at them when a crafty friend came round for a cuppa and decided that I would not be able to get a pinch bail or even a jump ring into the beadwork, (because I didn't 'cheat' and use a strip of double-sided tape around the stone, so the beadwork is as tight as I could make it). Beaded bails it is, then.

With the turning of the year at Yule, and thinking about my recent creative impulse, I set a goal. I need to be more productive and to do a major de-stash, so I am going to make, create, renovate, repair, alter and complete 365 things.

I have an appalling record when it comes to personal goals, as they often dissolve and disappear within a month, displaced by important and urgent stuff or other interests. Given that I need to be smarter about the goal setting, I decided posting every day and having a photo of every object would be unfeasible and unsustainable, so I'll post periodically and keep a running total. Although 365 is one object a day, I probably won't complete one a day, but I shall have to try to produce more or less 30 things a month just to keep on track. If I run short of time I might start making lots of earrings (although that at least will help de-stash the beads and give me something to sell!).

I've a long list of crafty things I want to try, and have been saying for years that I should pick my art things up again.

Choreographies will count. Making/repairing elements of the garden will count. Making everyday meals will not count, nor will making a mess (something I can do with no effort at all!) I've also decided that blog posts won't count unless they are tutorials or patterns, but I do need to complete a lot of draft posts too.

So that's a major aim for the year, to bring things back into use and create lovely things. How do you think I'll do? Feel like joining me? Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Knee-high everyday socks

Last winter, I made a pair of socks while I was testing out my 'everyday' sock pattern, with my Mum in mind. She didn't know, but told me when I was fishing for present ideas that she didn't need any socks. Ah. Hmm.

She and my Dad visited at the start of December, and I gave her the socks anyway. They fitted perfectly and she was thrilled with them. So much so, that she asked if I could make a pair of knee-high socks too.

Well of course, my pleasure! I'd been looking for an excuse to use Drops Fabel Lavender Print (#904).
I started by using a Drops pattern as a reference for number of stitches around the cuff, but I can never get their gauge. I referred to a couple of other patterns and the suggested 84 stitches would stretch, but seemed a bit too tight. The decreases to shape the calf seemed a bit off too, and I got halfway down the first sock leg before I thought it really wasn't going to work, and frogged it. Time to do my own calculations and pattern, then!

Gauge and Calculations
My approximate gauge for 4 ply on 2.75 mm needles is 9 stitches and 12 rows to the inch/2.5 cm. I know for the foot and ankle, a 64 stitch sock will fit her more slender feet and ankles. So it would be a matter of calculating the starting number of stitches for the cuff and decreases to shape the calf down the ankle for a sock which would be comfortable on a 14.5" calf and 15" high (bearing in mind that widthways stretch reduces length.)

Working on the basis of rounding up the calf measurement for comfort (15"), multiply by 9 (stitches per inch) = 135 stitches.
Then decrease this by 25-30% for negative ease and adjust the result so it's divisible by 4 (for the k2, p2 rib cuff) = 92 or 96 stitches.
As I'd already rounded up, I cast on 92 stitches, distributing them 23 stitches on each of 4 needles.

Cuff
16 rounds k2, p2 rib (starting with the heel needles, designated N1 and N2, which is my preferred way of working, even if it's not perhaps a good technique. If you work differently, pay attention to where you place your centre back decreases as they need to align with the centre of the heel.)

Leg
40 rounds straight stocking stitch.

Decreases to shape the leg are in sets of 8 rounds. Reset the round counter and/or place a removable marker in the first stitch of the next round, which is a 'round 1' decrease round.
N1: knit to last 3 stitches on the needle, ssk (or k2tog tbl), k1
N2: k1, k2tog, knit to end of needle
N3 and N4 have the 'shin' stitches - knit all stitches.
Rounds 2-8 - knit all.
There are a total of 14 sets of 8 rounds to decrease 28 stitches, taking the total from 92 to 64 stitches.

Check the length and knit straight stocking stitch until it's time to start the heel. I added another 12 rounds at 64 stitches.
My preference is for Cat Bordhi's Sweet Tomato heel. If you're working a heel flap, you may not need the extra rounds.

Heel
For the heel, I have half the total number of stitches (=32) on the first needle.
Slip the first stitch purlwise on the first row, to help avoid a hole, then (for this number of stitches) work 5 pairs of stitches either side of a central 12 stitches.
I work three 'wedges', knitting the instep stitches after each wedge, and keeping the stitch tension very tight as I go from one needle to the next.
After the right hand pairs of stitches have been worked in for the last wedge, finish the round.

Foot
The next round starts the rounds for the foot. Reset the counter and/or place a removable marker in the next stitch to count the rounds for the foot. For this size, a UK 7/7.5, I worked 74 rounds.

Toe
The next round is the start of the toe shaping. Reset the counter and/or place a removable marker in the next stitch.
I use a paired decrease shaping; ssk or k2tog tbl at the start of the sole and upper needle(s) and k2tog at the end of the sole and upper needle(s) on rounds 1, 5, 8, 11, 13, 15, 17 (all stitches are knitted on the other rounds) and then decrease every subsequent round until you have a total of 20 stitches left.
With 10 sole stitches on one needle and the 10 'upper' stitches on a second, kitchener stitch the toe.

Start your second sock. (I find this helps avoid second sock syndrome, especially as longer socks take longer to knit.)

Weave in ends, give them a first wash and block to even out any loopiness in the heel shaping and other decreases.

Despite my best efforts to create a matched pair, differences in the dye pattern of the yarn meant that there were differences at the toe end. Oh well, best laid plans and all that.

Note, these were designed not to be very tight and the feedback was that they fitted perfectly, warm and comfortable, just right!

No elastic to cut in, no seams to rub, just warm toes and legs on cold winter days and a bit of happiness!

'Strong Heel' Socks

I can't believe I started these socks a year ago, and I've no idea when I finished them (probably only a couple of weeks after I started them). Then I got busy in the garden, and gave them their first wash before wearing, and months later blocked and photographed ... and then wore and washed them several times more ... and completely forgot to write up my notes. So, with apologies for the long post, here goes!

My Ravelry queue (for which, read wishlist of interesting things to knit and crochet) has over 1000 items on it, of which 200 or so are socks - just ridiculous! I need to have a cull, especially of those patterns I first queued up a few years ago when I was first learning to knit socks and experimenting with magic loop, toe-up, two at a time, and so on until I settled in a comfort zone of cuff-down on dpns. And then I stumbled across another pattern in Knitting Squirrel's blog for 'Strong Heel' socks.

I added it to the queue and then decided perhaps it was time for another pair of socks for myself. (Yes, I have other WIPs to finish, but I've realised I just like having several things on the go at once, so I can flit between projects as the mood takes me.) I'd been dithering about whether to have a pair in Drops Fabel 151 'Guacamole Print', (am I ready for orange and lime green?) then thought, to hell with it, why not have some zingy colour on my feet?

As Nicolette of Knitting Squirrel explains, the 'Strong Heel' sock is so-named, not  because it is a reinforced heel, but after its originator, Gerdine Crawford-Strong. It's an easy heel to work, because instead of a heel flap and pick-up-stitches and gusset, it's created by increasing the number of stitches on the heel needle, then working short rows (although they get longer) with decreases to turn the heel. The bottom of the 'flare' created by the increases effectively sits on the line where you would measure from the point of the heel across the instep/front of ankle and back round to the point of heel again, a critical measurement for those of us with wide heels and ankles.

As always when I come across a different technique and pattern for socks, I am uncertain about how well they might fit me. So I read through the pattern, paying attention to the size of needles and gauge, comparing this to my usual 72 sts on 2.75 mm dpns with an approximate gauge of 36 sts and 48 rnds  to 4"/10cm. (I think I may have mentioned elsewhere that I have something of a death-grip when it comes to knitting tension.)

I cast on my usual 72 stitches and did my usual 12 rounds of K2, P2 rib and 48 rounds of leg. Looking at the pattern, I realised that contrary to many patterns which have the heel stitches on needles 3 and 4, I've got into a habit of putting all of my heel stitches on one needle and designating it 'needle 1', starting my rounds with the heel stitches. This may not be a good way of working, so don't take this as a recommendation, but it works for me!

I reset the round counter for the flare shaping to help me keep track. I used kfb (knit into the front and back of the stitch) to do the 'M1' (make 1) increases in the 2nd and penultimate stitch of the heel needle on alternate, odd rows. This is where I had another waivery, doubting moment. If I just followed the pattern based on a  60 stitch sock, with 26 stitch/26 rounds of increases, would it fit? I needed width but not length. What was the logic behind this? I followed the link to Aaron Clark's instructions to see what that was about.

The explanation was that, assuming you were using two heel needles which each have a quarter of the total stitches, the heel needles should each end up with an extra number of stitches which is two less than the number they started with, nearly doubling the number of stitches.
So on a 60 stitch sock, each of 4 needles would start with 15 sts.
Two less than that is 13 sts.
So if you knit an increase round and a 'straight' round for every increased stitch, that's 2 x 13=26 rounds. (And across two needles, 26 extra stitches.)

So if I followed the same calculation, assuming I was using 4 needles, not 3:
72 stitch sock, divided over 4 needles = 18 stitches per needle
18-2=16 sts,
16 sts x 2=32 rounds.

Only a half inch longer, but a total of 36 stitches across the instep, 36 original heel stitches and an additional 32. 104 stitches in total.

That seemed huge; if I work at 9 sts per inch unstretched, it would fit an instep of 11.5 inches unstretched. I generally calculate a negative ease on my socks of (give or take) 25%, and if/when my ankles are a bit puffy, the socks need to stretch to 14". 9 sts x 14"= 126 sts, 25% (a quarter of which) is about 32 sts, so 126-32=94 sts. Otherwise the sock might be baggy and swim around my heels.
72 original stitches, plus 26 as originally suggested would be a total of 98 stitches and should be enough!

So, 26 rounds, 26 extra stitches (so my single heel needle had the original 36 stitches (half of 72) plus 26 extra equals 62 stitches on the heel needle).

The next little moment came when the heel starts on a wrong side and because I work 'heel needle first', there didn't seem to be any point in knitting the instep stitches after the increase row 25, let alone completing row 26 (I really don't need the length, not that one round makes much difference), as I would have had to knit across the heel stitches again before turning to start the heel. I compromised by completing the last increase round and then just knitting across the heel stitches, rather than completing the even numbered round too.

Turning the heel, I had to translate the pattern into a single needle's worth of stitches. It starts by working across the wrong side of what would have been the second heel needle and a few stitches on, the turn creating a gap between the worked and unworked heel stitches. (I've done this before, but it seems so long ago that I thought it worth documenting.)
R1 (WS) sl1, p31 (i.e. half of total heel stitches), p2tog, p1, turn
R2 (RS) sl1, k3, ssk, k1, turn
R3 sl1, purl to stitch before gap, p2tog ('over the gap' - decrease using stitches before and after gap), p1, turn
R4 sl1 knit to stitch before gap, ssk (over gap), k1, turn
 ...and so on, until all the stitches have been worked in. It finishes on a right side, so I completed the round by working the instep stitches.

I found that if I knitted everything back to the ends of the heel needle, I would have 32 stitches on the heel needle plus 36 on the instep needles, a total of 68.

The flare shaping of the heel brings you a good 15 rounds further down the foot than an all-in-one type of short row heel such as my favourite Sweet Tomato heel, so I did 45 rounds of foot before starting the toe shaping by decreasing to 64 stitches total and decreasing by 4 stitches, one each at the start and end of the heel and instep on rounds 1, 5, 8, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19 20 to leave 24 stitches to Kitchener 12/12.

The first sock wasn't a bad fit, the heel shaping and decreases very neat, except that decreasing on the end stitches of the heel needle left holes when working around onto the instep stitches, which I hadn't noticed at the time. The longer leg meant it was a bit tight at the top. I decided to tweak a few things on the second sock, starting with 4 fewer rounds on the leg (so 44). The foot needed to be just a little longer, too.
Then I got a little hung up again on why 2 fewer stitches per heel needle? Sizing includes proportion, where did 2 stitches come from? All right, let's do a little more maths. (Don't be scared now, it's only numbers!)
For that original 60 stitch sock, half the stitches for the heel is 30 and the total increase was 26, which is an increase of approximately 86%.
So for a 72 stitch sock, the heel half is 36 and an 86% increase is an additional 30 stitches.

I decided to do those extra 4 sts, (and extra 4 rounds), as the length would be in and around the heel rather than the leg length, and the additional decreases would lengthen the foot a little.
On the heel decreases, I stopped a stitch short at each end of the heel needle, then started the instep with ssk, and used decreases on subsequent rounds to get down to 66 sts before starting the toe.

'Strong' heel socks in Fabel Guacamole print yarn

I think the second sock was better, even though it was only a matter of a few rounds and stitches here and there. I'd knit this heel again, even though it felt long during the back-and-forth increases, it was actually not a lot of fuss.

I recommend The Knitting Squirrel blog (linked above); well written and full of lovely photographs, tutorials and creative inspiration.

Happy Whatever

My friend Chrissie and I share a birthday and see eye-to-eye on many things. In one of those strange twists of fate, it turns out that when I was going to a town several miles from my school for elementary-intermediate ballet lessons on a Saturday morning, or private lessons at my ballet teachers' house on a Saturday afternoon, Chrissie was somewhere else in that same town, perhaps helping with the shopping or hanging out with her friends and siblings. She's been belly dancing for longer than I have, although prefers not to perform and is very modest. (When I complained that I still couldn't get diaphragm flutters, she said, "What are they? You mean, like this?" and demonstrated.) She now lives in the same village and pops in occasionally to put the world to rights over mugs of tea.

She's an experienced crafter, too. Amongst other things last year, she made her daughter's wedding dress. As I was rifling through a stash of un-named yarns which someone had recycled in my direction, I mused that she seemed to be knitting for everyone but herself, in an attempt to provide cosy Christmas and new baby presents on an extremely tight budget.

My hands closed round a 100g ball of chunky yarn in a pinkish lilac colour. It would tone with her purple coat (we may share a birthday, but our skin tones are different!). Perhaps she'd like a buff, to snuggle her neck or keep her ears warm on a chilly morning? 100g should be enough. A quick search on Ravelry brought up this pattern for a cabled cowl.

The pattern was based on aran weight yarn on 5mm needles. No problem, as I was going to be using larger yarn and needles. I did test swatches with 6, 7 and 8 mm circular needles and decided that the fabric from the 6 mm was best. The pattern was easy to follow, although the resulting width of the cowl was quite narrow - more a neck-warmer. At my usual death-grip tension, aran on 5mm needles would have been too tight around the neck! The Ravelry pictures show two and a half pattern repeats, or thereabouts, so I did that too. The instructions suggest five or six repeats, but the knit would have to be much more soft and squooshy for that to work - who has a neck that long? The finished cowl used up just over half the ball. As I put my hands into it to hold it out to admire, I realised that it was roughly the right size to cover both hands. So there was probably enough yarn left for a pair of short mitts to match, although it was going to be close.

I started on the left mitt, using the pattern for the back and knitting the palm in stocking stitch. I reversed the order of the cable pattern for the right hand mitt, so that it would be a mirror-image. I used the purl row (and a purlwise cast-off) for the edges at the wrist, the top of the palm, and the thumb hole, so the mitts looked a match to the cowl pattern. I had to reduce the number of rows and pattern repeats, using the kitchen scales to keep a check on the amount of yarn used and remaining. There was just enough.

The mitts are quite large, so I'm hoping they won't be too big, but should provide some protection against a cold steering wheel whilst allowing the fingers to grip it.

By our birthday, the weather will be warmer, so this present can't wait until then.

Happy ... whatever.

Little Victories

Since well before Thanksgiving, the Gratitude/Happiness/Memories Jar memes were doing the rounds of Facebook (again). I've no idea when this tradition started, but, since it seems to include reading back all the memories, happy moments and things to be grateful for at Thanksgiving, I expect that it's more of a 'thing' in the USA.

The rules are simple, because they're basically whatever you want them to be.You take a storage or preserving jar, a pen, a stack of small note-paper strips or squares. You label and decorate the jar if you like. Daily or occasionally, you record something you're thankful for, a happy moment or memory, and pop it in the jar. Then, at the end of the year, or whenever you're in need of cheering up, you read the notes.

It's a lovely idea, definitely something I would do if I had children. I toyed with the idea of starting a jar this year and can easily find a jar, but where to put it? And considering that I can always find something to be grateful for or happy about, how big a jar might I need?

Mulling all this over, I thought about how I'd forgotten what I'd achieved last year. What and how much do I learn over a year? All the little skills or bits of knowledge which I acquire in the course of crafting, teaching, learning, doing, or simply because something arouses my curiosity so I go and look it up. Some things I forget completely, sometimes I remember them and 'know what I know', and others become embodied and automatic, as if there wasn't a time when I didn't know them.

So I am going to record them (when I remember to - no absolutes here!), in a diary rather than a jar. Not just some of the bits and pieces I learn, but the Yay! moments, no matter how small, whether it's managing to do tummy/diaphragm flutters (still working on that!), finishing a piece of work or doing a job I've been avoiding (for me, that's generally anything which needs me to get the stepladder out). It doesn't matter what others would think of them, because the important thing is their personal significance.

If reading back the notes in a gratitude jar can lift the spirits, then perhaps reviewing all the little victories of daily life can give a real boost to motivation and self-esteem.

Christmas Socks

Oooh, my freezing toes! I spent the solstice planning a workshop on the use of the feet and floor in dance, and it made me start to think about Norwegian-style stranded colourwork socks to lounge about in. I found several designs by Drops, but decided to have a go at these using some of my acrylic DK stash, just to see how the yarn performed and to practise my stranding technique. Instead of the traditonal red and off-white shown on the pattern, I went for blue and cream.
Apart from the fun of the colourwork patterns, DK knits up so quickly compared to 4 ply! Once I got to the solid-colour foot, I was wizzing along and knitted a pair of socks in a couple of sessions. Unhappy with my sloppy stranding, as well as a noticeable 'jog' (discontinuity in the pattern) between rounds, I frogged my first attempt at the colourwork. Various YouTube videos provided guidance on stranding techniques and advice on how to avoid the jog. While my stranding was easy to tidy up, I'm still not jogless, although I've tried lifting the first stitch of the second row, tightening the last and leaving the first stitches loose, knitting the first stitch twice ... they might work with thick stripes, but I need to find out more and think about how to manage this with more intricate patterns. One piece of advice was just not to worry about it, on the basis that once you've pulled the stitches about to block the item or wear it, it will look a bit more even.

Even with tidier stranding, my tension tightens a bit over colourwork, so I went up a needle size with the decrease for the leg after the cuff, for ease. I tried these on once they were finished, and on my chunky ankles and legs, I think I would need to go up a needle size again.

Pattern and modifications summary:
Cast on 56 sts with blue on 4 x 3.75 mm dpns (14 sts/needle)
knit 1 round  blue
knit 1 round  cream
12 r k2,p2 rib in cream
Change to 3 x 4 mm needles for decrease round (k5, k2tog) 8 times, leaving 48 sts (16sts/needle)
knit 1 round in cream before working chart A.
Redistribute stitches (without working) by popping the last 3 from needle 1 and the first 3 from needle 3 onto needle 2,  to leave 22 on instep (needle 2) and a total of 26 for heel.
Knit needle 1 sts and turn to start the heel flap on a purl (WS) row.
13 rows heel flap
Heel decreases (square heel) worked well, neat and no holes. Knit across needle 1 and pick up 11, work instep, pick up 11.
Knit a round after the pick-up round, putting the last stitch of needle 1 and first of needle 3 onto needle 2 to get 24 sts on instep and count this as foot round 1
Start gusset decreases on the next round 2 and on rounds 4 and 6.
Foot total 40 rounds before working toe decreases, leaving a total of 8 sts for the gathered toe. (I’ve changed my mind about gathered toes - it looks very neat.) Foot length is just about 24 cm, so size 38/39.

Working on these socks reminded me that I was going to write a post comparing the various makes of acrylic DK I had used on the colour sampler blanket, because I noticed significant differences. So it was on these socks; the cream acrylic was Woolcraft New Fashion DK, a whole ball left over from the colour-play crochet blanket. It's quite thick for a DK and a little coarse and fuzzy. I'm not sure I would use it for socks again - the legs on these can almost stand up by themselves. The blue is Hayfield Bonus DK 'Sapphire', which is thinner and softer, and rather lovely because the colour isn't quite solid. Although the foot length is right for me, the ankle/leg width isn't, so I'll offer these for sale at my Dancing Feet Workshop.

'Maidenhair Fern' Socks

I ended up buying a circular 2.75 mm needle with a long cable so that I could start the two-at-a-time, toe-up, magic-loop technique socks and found a couple of instruction videos, first for JMCO from Knit Purl Hunter and another for Liat Gat's Limitless (long-tail) Cast On for two at a time, magic loop socks. I decided to go with the JMCO, since I learned how to do it on dpns and I like it better than a long-tail cast on (although I may use the latter if ever I get down to doing my legwarmers!). A few rows in, I started to wonder why magic loop is thought to be quicker than dpns. The idea is that there is less 'adjustment' of the yarn and needles, but I was finding getting the stitches from the cable back onto the needle to be an absolute pain, and using two balls of yarn, which needed to be kept on their respective sides, meant further fiddling about. After a couple more rows, I realised that the problem with remounting the stitches was that the joins between cable and needle tips weren't smooth.  It's a Pony fixed circular, and just not up to the job of sliding stitches back and forth over the joins. I frogged the few rows I'd done, and started to wonder about how to smooth the join while I cast on another pair of cuff-down socks, from a pattern called 'Maidenhair Fern'.

I didn't realise from the picture, but this is an interlocking leaves lace pattern and doesn't look much like maidenhair fern to me, but I love leaves so it's not really an issue. I picked up the Drops Fabel 'Forest Long Print' (#650) which is a self-striping yarn. I love the way it's made up of different colours plied together, although it is a bit splitty and I'm not sure about the bands of pale brown against the greens - the pattern would stand out more with a solid colour.

I usually need to cast on 72 on my usual 2.75 mm dpns in order to cope with my chunky legs and ankles, so increasing to 75 sts for the pattern repeats around the leg didn't seem outrageous (although I forgot about how stretchy lace patterns can be). I prefer ankle socks, so did 12 rounds K2, P2 rib for the cuff, followed by 40 rounds for the leg, which was two and a half pattern repeats, achieved by starting on row 9 of the pattern.

The heel was worked over 2/5 rather than half the stitches, due to the multiple of 15 sts needed to continue the pattern down the instep. Probably because I was working on my own gauge and larger needles, the suggested heel flap seemed long so I only did 31 rows and picked up 19 sts along each side of the flap (including the corners to eliminate holes).

The increase to 81 sts for the foot after the gusset decreases seemed very strange - why have a larger foot than leg/ankle circumference? I decided to continue the gusset decreases until there were 20 sts for the sole and 45 for the instep pattern, leaving a total of 65 sts for the remainder of the foot, which was plenty.

The foot was 64 rounds (4 pattern repeats) from the start of working in the round again after the heel decreases to the start of the toe decreases, with the gusset decreases happening over the first 40 rows.

The socks fit quite well, although I need a broader sole for my wide feet and don't really like the lace design wrapping around the sides. I think, if I were to do it again, I might tweak the leaf pattern in some way, with a narrower instep pattern and wider stocking stitch sole. The leaf pattern isn't so obvious when looking down from the wearer's point of view. Perhaps I should set up a mirror on the floor to photograph my socks!

Basic Toe-Up Socks, Part 2

So, last week's post left me in need of yoga to restore my calm after finding that the 64 stitch basic toe up sock with the decrease bind-off from the ill-fated Origami Socks pattern was too tight to get onto my foot. As you may have seen from this post, I didn't even get to yoga class because of the severe weather. Oh, well, these things happen.  At least I could put my feet up and have another go at the socks!

Having unravelled back to the last row of the foot, I increased by 8 stitches (to 72) and then set the heel up over half of those stitches (36, over two needles, so 18 on each). I redid the heel, transferred the stitches onto a cable and checked the fit. Yay! So I finished the leg and this time did my usual cast off in rib (knit or purl 2, pass first stitch over, then knit/purl the next and pass previous stitch over) which turned out rather stretchier than the other bind-off. I pulled the loop out wide and left the yarn ball attached, to try it on. Oh no! It may be stretchier, but not stretchy enough! I couldn't get the sock on. However, this time, I knew it was a problem with the cast-off (bind-off), so went in search of something stretchier.

I found a video for Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off (JSSBO) and it made sense. It adds more yarn into the cast-off row by releasing each stitch off the needles with an accompanying yarn over. It took me a few moments to work out which way to wrap the yarn overs to be correct for the next stitch, as the video is demonstrated by Cat Bordhi working in continental style and she picks the yarn up around the right-hand needle so quickly, it's difficult to follow. For future reference, the trick is: put the yarn in the correct place to work the type of stitch which is next on the left needle (so at the back for knit, at the front for purl). For knit,. it then follows that you have to bring the yarn forward over the right needle and around to the back again. For purl, you have to take the yarn back over the right needle and around to the front again. (Note, Over the needle.  They're not called yarn-overs for nothing!) Once you're sorted with that JSSBO is easy. Okay, it takes a bit longer, and uses two rows' worth of yarn, and the resulting corrugated edge is quite visible (I've discovered some people are into invisible bind-offs). But, and this is the essential thing, it is surprisingly stretchy. And crinkly, squooshy and comfy. I tested it with the yarn ball still attached and it was easy to put the sock on, and lovely to have an edge which doesn't dig in.

So, I started the second sock straight away and finished it in just a few sessions. I sorted out the angle of my needles to make Judy's Magic Cast On (JMCO) less fiddly on dpns. I increased by 4 stitches on the last two rows of the foot, placing the increases a stitch away from the ends of the instep and either side of the heel needles (thus on the inside and outside of the foot). Having done Cat Bordhi's Sweet Tomato Heel a couple of times on the first sock, there was no need to refer to a pattern. Rather than put all the heel stitches on one needle as the pattern suggests, I worked then over two needles, dividing the 36 stitches by thirds, so 12 (6 on each needle) as the centre set of stitches. Easy, and it seems to fit me well. And having done JSSBO once, and got my yarn-over directions sorted out, that was easy too. Success, at last!

The only thing I might change is the width of the toe and therefore the number of cast-on stitches, as it is just a little long and pointed, but I haven't decided on the best number of stitches per needle to start with. At least 12, I think, rather than 10. I might have to have a play with that when starting another pair of socks.

Cable Entertainment

I had planned to start some toe-up, two-at-a-time, magic loop socks (to learn how!) but finding, as per the law of the stash, that I didn’t have the right circular needles, and unable to resist casting on for another pair of socks, (and generally loving cables) I went for the Candy Twist Cable Socks pattern on Ravelry. When I queued the pattern, I thought maybe I would need to buy a solid-coloured sock yarn in perhaps a turquoise (NOT pink!), but in the end decided to use the Texere Jura ‘Leather’ in my stash. I don’t know why it’s called ‘leather’ as it’s a lovely golden-green-brown, ticking all my boxes for colours which don’t know exactly what they are.

I planned a little knitting session on 12 October and looking at the pattern reminded me that I had queued a project for a cable needle holder. Out came the remnants of the old, cream Aran yarn and the cable needle holder was whipped up in no time at all. Such a good solution for holding the cable needle between rounds.


That reminded me about another queued project, an owl bookmark as a gift for a friend. Using a little of my stash DK and a couple of shirt buttons, unravelling a length of yarn into singles to use as thread to sew them on, it also took no time at all. I got a bit bored with the long section and despite slipping stitches as directed at the start of each row, I can’t get it to lie flat. I think it will need steam blocking before I wrap it up. No tassel - I think it looks better without.

Then I made a start on the first sock. The ‘candy twist’ cable is not very stretchy, so while the number of stitches seems a lot for the ankle, it’s right. The heel and toe both seem a little long and narrow, but the number of stitches as per pattern gives the correct size for my foot on 2.75 mm needles. The first sock was finished in a week. After that I was a bit too busy with other things to sit and knit, so the second sock wasn't finished until the end of the month.

They look a bit strange, lying there on the blanket, but it's only because the ribbed and cabled leg looks narrow compared to the stocking stitch foot, which hasn't been blocked.  It took me a while to work out why it was called a candy twist cable. Then I realised the design looks like an oval boiled sugar sweet in a twist of cellophane.

I'm finding the 'Jura' quite a coarse yarn. It's okay to wear, just feeling a little hard when I first put it on, especially the square heel. This 'leather' colour is a little softer than the 'pistachio' I used on the Estonian Crossroads socks.  Time will tell how well it washes and wears, and whether it will soften a bit (although the Estonian Crossroads socks have been washed a few times now and don't really feel any softer). I'm not sure I'll buy any more. The colours are lovely, but I was a little shocked to see that the 100g cones I bought for £3.99 each in June are now £6.50!

Aran Stash Slipper Socks

How long before I yielded to the urge to start another pair of socks? Not long at all!
Sorting through my stash revealed approximately 145g of natural/cream colour Aran yarn. I remember buying the unbranded skeins in a Bradford wool shop in 1981 or thereabouts (in what seems like another life) for an Aran jumper.  I think it was something like 40% wool, 60% acrylic.  The jumper shrank and felted a very little each time I washed it, however carefully, until I gave up and gave it to a petite friend who wanted a thick jumper

I browsed on Ravelry for aran-weight, ankle socks patterns. Cursing myself a bit for not having learned to do toe-up two-at-a-time, which would have allowed me to knit up the leg until all the yarn had been used, I settled on one by Drops with a cable design down the instep. Even though I didn't know the yardage of the yarn, I reckoned that 145g should be enough for a pair of ankle length socks.  First problem - no 4.5mm dpns. Typical, isn't it? Even after adding to my sets of needles, I still don't have the size I want to start a project.  I found a set of four 5mm dpns and decided to go with those. A swatch (20 sts/26 rows to 10cm) revealed that I would probably have to go up to 5.5mm dpns to get their gauge with their suggested yarn, so I cast on for the middle size, given my chunky feet and legs, and hoped for the best.

I had to read the pattern through a couple of times first. It's not as if the pattern is complicated, but I found the way in which it's written and laid out difficult to follow and frankly irritating. Looking at some of the pattern and project comments, it seems a number of people found the same. I read M1 and further on, M2.  What? Make 1 or 2 stitches? Why? Then I realised the charts were labelled M1 and M2. You get to the bottom of the heel flap and have to go back up to read a previous section of text above the main pattern to find the heel decreases. You reach the toe decreases, but there's a section to read through first before you can carry on. The text says work M2 over M1, but I think that 'over' means 'instead of' because there is no way to work the cable pattern and decrease on the same stitches. The decreases create a nice leaf shape at the end of the cable.
Several people also noted the baggy cuff, but mine was enormous and the number of rows made the back of the sock slouch downwards. So I frogged and cast on the smallest size.  I got as far as the pattern start and decided I didn't get the two rows of knit to start, or like the change from the rib to the pattern, so frogged again to think about what to do.

After these couple of false starts, without which this would undoubtedly have been a fast knit, I decided not to follow the pattern so closely and decided on the following:
Cast on 42 sts.
6 rounds knit (instead of 2, creating a thin reverse stocking stitch curly top, and this could have done with being 9 rounds, perhaps.  Or additional rounds of rib, and if I'd had the smaller size needles, I would probably have switched sizes to make it a little less baggy).
6 rounds P3, K3 rib. I started the rib with the purl, so that the purl panels continue unbroken when the pattern starts.
6 rounds with instep pattern (1 pattern repeat)
14 rows heel flap - I may have been able to get away with 12
Pick up 10 sts on heel flap edges before and after instep pattern row 7 (although if I went for 12 rows, I guess I would pick up 8 sts each side).
Start  gusset decreases on instep pattern row 8; K2tog before the instep pattern section, SSK after, decreasing on even rounds until there are 21 stitches on the sole section again.
A total of 48 pattern rows - 8 pattern repeats, then toe decreases. I could probably do with fewer, and the 'leaf' shape would still work if the toe decreases were started after a pattern row 4 instead of a full pattern repeat.
Row 10 of toes S1, P2tog, psso, but somehow (watching TV and not concentrating!) I ended up with 6 stitches top and bottom on the first sock and 7 on the second.  I Kitchenered, but think perhaps a gathered toe as in the original pattern would work better.

All these modifications set me wondering; how many changes does it take before you effectively have a different pattern?

They were quite big on me when I first tried them on, and I could perhaps have gone down to fewer stitches in the foot as suggested in the pattern.  Testing for shrinkage, I gave them a quick hand wash and they smelled so much of wet wool, I wondered if the yarn might be 60% wool. They didn't seem to shrink at all, but they are baggy enough to cope with a little. The cream colour means that they are definitely socks for when I have my feet up! They're nice and warm. All I need now is a cup of tea (and perhaps a woodburner to warm my toes by!).

Estonian Crossroad Socks

I’ve become a little obsessed with sock making and wanted to know more about the traditional techniques, so having seen Nancy Bush’s Folk Socks recommended in a couple of places, I treated myself to a copy. Leafing through, I immediately liked the 'Estonian Crossroad' socks and had to start them. Even though they were another pair of top down, heel flap (I keep telling myself that my next pair are going to be toe-up, but I haven’t got there yet!) I’ve learnt a new cast on, three new stitch patterns and had the heel I worked on my previous sock project, the Seven Colour Socks, confirmed as a square or Dutch heel.

I bought some Texere Jura 4 ply (although I see it's listed as 5ply/Sport weight on Ravelry) 90% wool/10% nylon to add to my sock yarns stash. The 'Pistachio' colour felt a little crisp, rough and hard under my fingers (and feet) and I’m wondering whether it will soften a little once it’s washed. I also bought the 'Leather' colour, and it almost looks like a different yarn, much softer. I should remember to look for yarn reviews on Ravelry, although there isn't much about Jura.  A couple of people noted that their yarns were crisp and one commented that it shrinks, so I think I had better wash these socks by hand.

The book contains instructions for a long tail cast on, but no instructions on how to calculate, or estimate, how long a tail you need for the number of stitches! Thinking about it, I reasoned that perhaps if I wrapped the yarn around the needle the same number of times as the number of stitches to be cast on, plus a couple of inches, I should have enough. On the first sock, I only just had enough yarn to finish casting on. On the second, I overcompensated and had about 20 cm spare. I'm sure there's a way to work this out, so will have to do some research. In the meantime, I gnash my teeth at authors and editors who don't realise that the instruction to 'leave a long enough tail' begs the question 'how long is long enough?'

Temporarily forgetting a previous pair of socks where I found that 66 stitches on my preferred 2.75 mm dpns was about my minimum, I cast on 64 sts, 16 on two needles and 32 on a third (for the instep, as it's easier to do the pattern all on one needle), rather than the 56 stitches as written. The chevron stitch leg is just about stretchy enough, but a bit snug across the front of my ankle. I really hope these socks don't shrink!

The extra 8 stitches were worked as extra knit stitches into the chevron pattern so that the pattern repeat became:
P1 slip 1 K1 psso K5 yo K1 yo K5 K2 tog

When it came to the cable and cross pattern down the instep, the extra 4 stitches on the instep needle were worked in as an extra K2 at the start and end of each chart row.

As I had done a 10 stitch square heel on the seven colour socks, I did the same for this, although the original pattern is fewer, and of course in 4 ply yarn it comes up narrower than in DK.  With 32 sts on the heel needles, the 10 stitch heel is roughly a third of the starting stitches, but in 4 ply, I felt I could do with a wider heel and will have to remember this if I do another square heel.

To get the foot length, I did an extra 10 rounds of stocking stitch ( a total of 70 rounds when counting from the start of the instep pattern). The extra stitches meant an extra row or two of the 'star' toe decreases, as I started with a repeat of K6 K2tog (instead of K5 K2tog as in the pattern). This time I gave in and did a gathered toe as suggested, and was pleasantly surprised at the result.

I used 76g of the 100g cone. I don't think my photo does them justice - they're much prettier in (on?) person!

Seven-Colour Socks Pattern Translation

These are the socks I wrote about in June. I was looking forward to wearing these socks to keep my toes and ankles warm between dance workshops, but so far have forgotten to take them with me, probably because it has been so warm. I am thinking of developing a pattern without the stranded colourwork and with a shorter leg and fewer colour rings, as they would make lovely lounge socks for dancers (and anyone, really).

Meanwhile, here's the pattern, translated from Norwegian into English.  My additions and comments are included [in square brackets]. You will need to refer to the original pattern charts on the Ull.no website for the colourwork (click on the hyperlink with the pdf symbol under the heading 'Last ned gratis'). I've included a list of the original colours at the bottom of this post, although you can choose your own colour combinations.

Rainbow Socks
Design: Borghild Kolas

Rainbow socks with many colour variations.
Sizes: 6/8 - 10/12 years - adult/women's
Yarn: Embla Hifa 3, 100% pure new wool, approx 201m per 100g
Fjell Sokkegarn (Mountain Sock Yarn) 3, 80% wool/20% nylon, approx 167m per 100g
Yarn pack contains enough yarn for two pairs of socks. [Ull.no offers yarn packs for these socks.]
Suggested needles: 4mm dpns
[Tension: 10 x 10 cm
Fjell Sokkegarn 3    22 sts. x 29 rows on 3.5 – 4 mm needles
Embla Hifa 3        20 sts. x 27 rows stocking stitch on 3.5 mm needles/20 sts. x 23 rows stocking stitch on 4 mm needles]

Yarn colour and quantity:
[I've included the suggested quantities, but I think they refer to the yarn supplied in the pack. Although acrylic is lighter than wool, my pair of socks only weighs 103g in total. See below for a list of the original colour variations. I used acrylic DK in the following colours:

50g   Colour 1  Camel
100g Colour 2  Dark Red
100g Colour 3  Burgundy
50g   Colour 4  Claret
50g   Colour 5  Copper
50g   Colour 6  Old Gold
100g Colour 7  Dark Brown

With colour 1, Cast on 40 - 44 - 48 sts, (10 - 11 - 12 sts left on each needle) on 4mm needles. [I cast on 56 sts for my chunky legs, 14 per needle, although the main thing which will restrict the stretch is how tightly you carry the yarn between stitches for the colourwork.]
Work 8 - 9 - 9 rounds stockinette.
[Change to colour 2.] Continue in pattern on chart 1.
[The cross pattern is worked over rounds 3-5 of 7 rounds in stockinette.  There is one stitch of background colour between the crosses (which are 3 up, 3 across). The Cross pattern is interspersed with 4-4-5 rounds of background colour in purl/reverse stockinette.
So the pattern proceeds by adding the next colour to do the cross pattern with that colour as background and the crosses in the previous colour, and then 5 rounds purl with the background colour, then adding the next colour and repeating until you have used 6 colours.]

When the chart is complete, work 7-8-9 rounds with colour 7.

Heel
"Parish Decrease" (or knit your usual heel) [This is a square heel]:
The heel is worked in the same colour as the ribbing (= the colour you have on the needles). Work back and forth over 20 - 22 - 24 stitches (10 - 11 - 12 on each needle) [or in my case, 28 sts, 14 per needle.] with a pattern as follows:
1st row (RS): Slip 1 Knit 1 rpt
2nd row (WS): Slip the first stitch and purl rest of the stitches.
Repeat these 2 rows, approx. 4 - 4.5 - 5cm

Continue the ‘parish decrease’ as follows: [to turn the heel]
RS: Slip 1 Knit 1 etc. the first of the two needles. Slip 1, K1, Slip 1 on the other needle (3 stitches), dec 1 stitch. [I thought I should have a wider heel, so did S1K1 twice on the second needle - 4 sts before decreasing using K2tog.]
Turn.
WS: Purl back and [then] 3 stitches from the next needle , dec 1 st . Turn. [For me, 4 sts on the second needle, P2tog decrease.]
Repeat this until you have decreased on both sides, when you have 4 stitches left on each needle (all knit). [The K2tog/P2tog decreases are worked 'across the gap', leaving a central heel section of 8 sts for the original pattern, 10 sts for my wider heel.]
Pick up stitches on both sides of the heel so that you again use four needles and knit around in stockinette.
Decrease in "curve" on the side (at each side of the ankle) so you have 10 - 11 - 12 sts on each needle (= total 40 - 44 - 48 sts), less if you want a narrower foot.
[This is where the original pattern assumes you know how to do all this. How many stitches you pick up depends on how many rows you did for the heel flap, plus a couple for the corners. I did 14 rows, so picked up 9 stitches on the first edge of the heel flap onto the same needle holding the heel stitches, knitted the instep stitches onto another 2 needles, picked up 9 sts on the other side of the heel flap and continued to work half the heel sts onto the last needle (Needle 4) so that the rounds started mid-sole. There were 16 sts on heel/sole needles and 14 on instep needles. I wanted to decrease to 12 sts on all needles and worked as follows:
N1 Knit until 3 sts remain, K2tog, K1
N2 K1, SSK, knit the rest on that needle
N3 Knit until 3 sts remain, K2tog, K1
N4 K1, SSK, knit the rest on that needle
Then knit a round without decreases.
Repeat this decrease row and plain round, until all needles have 12 sts.]

Change colour [to colour 2]
And knit 5-6-7 rounds stockinette.
Continue pattern from chart 2.
[Add colour 7 as background, 2 rounds in col 7, 1 round alternating sts of cols 7 and 2, 2 rounds col 7, 3 rounds with crosses pattern in col 2, 2 rounds col 7, 1 round alternating sts of cols 7 and 2, 2 rounds col 7.
Change to colour 4 and repeat the 7 round 'crosses' pattern, using colour 5 for the crosses.]

After completing the chart, continue the toe in colour 3
Work 4 - 6 - 8 rounds Stockinette or desired length (depending on how long you want feet).

Decrease for toes:
Round begins mid-sole of foot.
Needle 1: K until there are 3 sts left, knit 2 together, knit the last st
Needle 2: K1, SSK, knit the rest of the stitches on the needle
Needle 3: As needle 1.
Needle 4: As needle 2.
Knit a round without decreases.
Repeat these 2 rounds until you have approx. 8-10 stitches left.
Cut the thread and pull it through the stitches and sew/bind off. [I used a kitchener graft.]

Sew in all loose ends.
Knit second sock the same.

The original colour variations are as follows. The codes in brackets are the yarn types - Embla Hifa 3 are 4 figure codes starting with 6, the other codes refer to Fjell Sokkegarn:
Colours and quantities: 1/50g, 2/100g, 3/100g, 4/50g, 5/50g, 6/50g, 7/100g
Rainbow: Purple (Lilac) (6077), Purple (Mauve) (519), Cobalt Blue (518), Green (6024), Yellow (6069), Orange (6070), Red (505)
Mountain: Mottled light grey (6054), dark grey (130), medium grey (115), light grey (110), unbleached white (100),  Charcoal (6056), black (511)
Sun: Maize yellow (6002), cognac brown (525), dark red (513), Red (505), Orange (6070), Yellow (6069), Ochre (526)
Sea: Light blue (6081), Denim Blue (507), navy (506), turquoise (512), bleached white (504), Cobalt Blue (518), Cobalt blue/black (538)
Rose: Lilac pink (6044), Dark lilac pink (S524), deep pink (521), Purple (Mauve) (519), bleached white (504), grey-purple (523), Pinky-lilac (520)
Forest: ochre/black (536), light olive (529), olive/black (539), black (511), unbleached white (100), cognac brown (525), dark green (510)
Autumn: Purple-brown  (6099), Ochre (526), dark green (510),  light olive (529), dark brown (6010), dark terracotta (6503), cognac brown (525).

Owl Socks Finished, Time to Reflect

I've finished my fourth pair of socks,  how did that happen?
I'm sure when I decided to knit a pair of socks, it was because I had been told (and therefore believed) that socks were challenging, difficult to knit because of the heel shaping.   Like so much else I had been told or read about knitting, it has proved to be wrong.  Or at least, if not wrong, then not completely right.

I should remember my own mantra: Lots of other people do it, how hard can it be? In this case, really not hard at all.  As suspected, the self-patterning yarn makes the owls difficult to see (oh, well, that's owls for you!). I also discovered that on 2.75 mm dpns, 66 sts as per the pattern is the lowest I can go for the cuff and still get the sock on my wide (24.5 cm) foot and ankle, although the cables do reduce the stretch a little.  If I were to make them again for myself, I would add some stitches, perhaps make it 4 stitches between owls instead of 3 to cast on 72, so that the owls aren't stretched out of shape as they are currently. And get some beads so that they can have eyes! And make the toe less tapered by starting it a little later and then decreasing every row for the last few rows. (I'm tempted to make another pair for me, as they knit up so quickly, but the next pair I make will be as a gift and the pattern as written will suit her foot size and shape just fine.)

While I was looking for socks to knit and before I had remembered these in my queue, I saw the phrase 'standard slip-stitch heel' on a few patterns. As it turned out, these socks have a slip-stitch heel flap - a new stitch for me (but there's plenty of scope there!).  This was my fourth pair of socks, but the first pair with a slip-stitch heel.  So it's probably not really 'standard' then?

Finding out that you shouldn't believe all you read, and that what you thought you knew isn't quite correct, can have an unsettling effect.  I have books which show me how to hold the needles and yarn, how to cast on and off, increase and decrease.  But now, with YouTube and various websites and blogs, I have access to a whole new world of information. There's no single, correct way to hold the yarn and the needles. You can approach stitches differently, twisting or not if you like, based on how they are mounted on the needle (whether the leading leg of the stitch is at the front or back). Instead of the three methods for casting on which I knew, (knit-on, cable and thumb, although I couldn't get the hang of the latter), and the single way to cast off, there are loads of them, with fibre artists inventing new ones from time to time. You can even knit backwards if you know what you're doing. And crochet isn't confined to rows, circles or afghan squares, but anything goes!

So, rather than feeling unsettled, I'm finding a new confidence in knitting and crochet.   I'm enjoying the exploration enormously. There are several patterns in my queue which I've decided are possibly a bit too advanced for me at the moment, but their time will come.

Looking back, I realised that my lack of confidence didn't stem from only knowing a few basics, but from a few incidents which left me wondering why I bothered to knit, coupled with a lack of practice.  For example, I was sitting knitting some interminable beige thing during a family garage sale in my teens and an older woman stopped by and came over to watch me knitting. After a couple of minutes, she grabbed my needles, held up my work and declaimed for everyone to hear that I was not holding the yarn or my needles correctly, that it was a horrible yarn in a terrible colour, that I was twisting the stitches and, in short, was just doing the whole thing completely wrong. She may have been right about the horrible yarn, but not about anything else, and what a nasty thing to do to anyone, let alone a teenager!

In my early 20s, after making a couple of sweaters for myself and friends, I made the mistake of knitting for my then boyfriend. Soon after the sleeveless, 4 ply V-neck and gorgeous, cabled  Lopi sweaters were finished, he left me. The sleeveless V-neck was requested, but the beautiful, expensive sweater was not.  It wasn't until years later that I ran across the concept of the 'Sweater Curse'; that knitting a sweater for your boyfriend (or significant other) can be the kiss of death to the relationship.  It may feel like a curse at the time, but it's probably a blessing. Whatever, it stopped me knitting for a few years until I decided to knit a 4 ply cabled cardigan for myself, but then agreed to test knit a DK cabled cardigan for a local wool shop. Knitting against time burnt me out and the 4 ply cardigan went into hibernation (and is still there, so much for finishing all my WIPs!)

As the saying goes, that was then. Now for the next pair of socks ....

Top Down Vanilla Socks with Afterthought Heel - Finished

'Vanilla' as in plain, unpatterned, which amuses me as the yarn is Drops Fabel blue-mustard print, a self-patterning yarn with only a little vanilla colour in it!

I've taken my time over these, what with using crafting time to do a flower and the colour centre of a block for the colour sampler blanket per day, doing some gardening, trying (and so far failing) to find the source of the smell of something dead in the bedroom (ugh), taking a day out a week for an ECDL course, and writing/reviewing my adult ed course proposals, also reviewing my CV and applying for a job. It's good to stay busy!

I decided I could do fewer stitches so cast on 68, 17 per 2.75 mm dpn.  12 rows of 2/2 rib and 40 rows on the leg, then 65 on the foot before doing the toe shaping.  I don't really like the 'star toe' shaping, as it doesn't suit the shape of my foot.  The 'afterthought' heel is a better size and shape than the two styles I've done so far, but I found it such a faff to pick up so many small stitches and unpick the waste yarn.  Definitely trickier than picking up stitches along the side of a heel flap.  If I were to do it again, I would be tempted to leave the 'top' (leg) stitches on a stitch holder and cast on the same number to continue the sole. Or maybe instead of knitting the waste yarn in, perhaps threading it through the stitches with a tapestry needle?

I don't like gathered toes with a little hole, so I left 10 stitches top and bottom (rather than 8) and did a kitchener graft. I did a couple of extra rows on the heel so that I was left with 16 stitches top and bottom as suggested in the pattern. The only issue I have with kitchener grafting in these self-patterning yarns is that the colour seems to change just at the point that the grafting starts, so that I get a line of a different colour.  It's not really a problem - no-one is going to see it except for me. I used about 70g/1.4 x 50g balls.

I put my new socks on yesterday to enjoy my cosy toes, and was washing up after lunch when the sun came out. Deciding that the washing up could wait until I had done a spot of bramble bashing, I put my work boots on and found my gauntlets, opened the door ... and it started to rain. Grumbling to myself, I took my boots off and was nearly knocked over by a couple of cats making a dash for the door as it started to rain harder, until it was pouring down. As I finished washing up, I watched the sky change from light to dark grey and decided there was only one thing for it on a rainy Sunday afternoon ...

... put my feet up with a cup of tea, and take a photo of my socks!

Decisions, decisions ... which colour, techniques and pattern for my next pair?