A new take on the old

Way back in April, I was skimming threads in the Ravelry group, Sock Knitters Anonymous, when I saw a post announcing a sock design contest by Lorna’s Laces.

After reading the rules, I remembered I had some leftover Shepherd Sock from the Slytherin socks. It seemed like a perfect project to work on during the forthcoming weekend’s trip up north. So I packed myself a “design kit” plus one extra project (you never know, right?).

You see, ever since I knit the English Crystal Design from Kinzel’s First Book of Modern Lace Knitting, I’ve thought it would be interesting to rework this motif for socks. So I decided I’d try and give form to my visualization during the long weekend.

It took a while; two challenges I struggled with were 1) not second-guessing myself (should I let the stitch pattern spiral, or not?), and 2) figuring out a nice transition between the large and small motifs. Much tinkering, knitting, tinking, re-knitting, and frogging ensued until I achieved the result and look I wanted.

This. more »

Itchy Feet

The past two weeks have been pretty much a blur. I had an infected ankle (of all things!) during the Memorial Day weekend. It all started with itchy feet. No fun.

I’ve also been itching to start a new project, but restrained myself to Ornette. And now I can show you them, because they’re done… tada! more »

Spring Green

For the past few days I’ve only been working on these. more »

Two and a half

That’s how many pairs of socks I knit while writing/testing this pattern! You’ve already seen the green and gray pair I knit for my Hogwarts secret pal last year. Here’s a better picture of the stitch pattern that I didn’t show you at that time. Amelia’s socks were size Medium.

I used the leftovers (Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Pewter) to test the Wide size. What you don’t see in this picture is that I ran out of yarn. No surprise there, since I didn’t have an entire skein to work with. Only the toe needed to be completed, so I had my Mom try them on, and they fit very well. more »

Slytherin Socks

It took a long time but I finally finished the socks for Amelia, my Hogwarts Sock Swap TWO pal. We had exchanged emails at the beginning of the swap where she indicated that, because she received a pair of Gryffindor socks in the previous swap, she was open to receiving a pair of socks in another house’s colors.

Based on her feedback and comments, I decided to knit a pair in Slytherin House colors. My original plan was to knit a pair of Nagini socks. However, I got the feeling Amelia was interested in knitting that pattern herself someday, so I decided to design something new for her.

I still need to work out a few last details (and pick a name!), but I plan to have the pattern available next year. My holiday and charity knitting have me busy until the end of this year.

more »

Hufflepuff Progress

I’ve finished both cuffs/legs of the sock for my pal in the Hogwarts Sock Swap. Today is Show and Tell Friday, and we get House Points if we blog about our socks-in-progress for our pals. Go Gryffindor! One more quick thing, Rebecca plans to host a Hogwarts Sock Swap TWO later this year (Aug 1-Oct 31); if you missed the deadline for the first one, you have another chance! Signups will open July 14.

Back to my Hogwarts socks… remember the snafu with the dyelots? Even though I’m using the same stitch count and needle size, the difference is obvious between the two skeins of Lorna’s Laces Bee Stripe.

more »

Hogwarts, we have a problem

This is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Bee Stripe from a kit. Actually, there are a couple problems with it…

more »

Not the Usual Suspects

Another pair finished! I’ll update my sidebar after this.

I used a lone Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock skein in the Bucks Bar colorway. You can see in the below picture how subtle the colors blend and stripe.

more »

Unexpected Delay

Not Math Smart

Madder Ribbed Update: I’m experiencing that sneaking feeling that I will be frogging these. I’m keeping them in their travel bag for a couple more days until I take a good look and make my decision.

A few days ago I said I was going to take a break from socks… at the time I typed that, I was thinking it wouldn’t be until early-mid-May before I started a new pair.

more »