FO: Loop De Loop Socks

pattern: Charlene Schurch's Yarn Over Cable Socks from Sensational Knitted Socks
yarn: Fearless Fibers' Superwash Sock in the Discipline colorway
needles: Addi Turbo US 1 circs I knit socks with using the 2 circ method
gauge: 9 sts/inch
size: US 9 medium
modifications: The heels are stockinette stitch. I always had 40 stitches on the instep instead of 41 like pattern called for after knitting the leg.
start: May 3, 2008
finish: May 20, 2008

This is the 3rd pair of socks I've made for my Pay It Forward commitment. I committed myself to make 4 pairs of socks. I made this pair for Opcola. Fearless Fibers' Discipline is rapidly becoming my favorite yarn. I love the color and I want to keep every pair of socks I make with it. My last pair of PIF socks is for Frogalot. I'm making Lace Rib Socks from Sensational Knitted Socks.


I bought 3 skeins of Dream in Color Smooshy Midnight Derby to knit 2 of my nephews socks, US size 14 wide and 9 medium shoes, for Christmas. I thought the colorway was navy blue. Well, there's purple mixed in it so I cannot use it for 2 teenage boys. Its a burden I'm willing to take on and I'll use the yarn to knit myself a few pairs of socks. I amazed myself by knitting a gauge swatch. With US 2 Addis and magic looping, my gauge for the yarn is 8sts/inch.


Pattern Surfing: Easy Flame Scarf by Wendy B. of Knit and Tonic
I saw a partial section of the scarf that Knottyknitter40 knitted on the Multitask 9-5 Ravelry group I belong to. She's making it with Malabrigo Geranio. Its lovely and I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks when she completes it.

One last thing...... I found this tutorial in an online British knitting magazine today. If I had known about it yesterday I could have sent a link to the novice sock knitter instead of writing all that stuff out yesterday. lol There's a cute sock pattern, Clover, and a scarf/stole pattern, Wild Strawberry,in the magazine too.

Magic Looping

Here's my response to a call for help by a novice sock knitter on the Yahoo Socknitter Group. She wanted a generic sock pattern to her first pair of socks using magic loop. It helped me get my mind organized on how to do a toe down sock using magic loop. I want to use magic loop to make Nancy Bush's Conwy Socks (in Knitting on the Road) and Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern(in Knittin Vitage Socks). Of course I won't be able to knit socks until after I finish Frogalot's PIF socks and my Dad's Father's Day socks. Let me know what you think.

Magic Loop Generic Sock Pattern

Note: I used the following as references for the pattern and techniques:

1. www.knittinghelp.com/videos/advanced-techniques Amy’s videos on magic loop and heel/gusset of a sock.
2. www.knittinghelp.com/videos/knitting-tips Amy’s video on Kitchener stitch
3. http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/FEATsocks101.html Kathy Atherly’s Sock 101
4. Charlene Schurch’s Sensational Knitted Socks book

Cast on

The number of stitches you cast on depends on your gauge and foot circumference. Gauge = 8 sts per inch. Foot circ = 8 inches. So you cast on stitches are 8 x 8 = 64 stitches. Cast on 64 stitches(using a loose long tail cast on) and join the ends. Begin knitting using the magic loop technique. You should have 32 stitches along the 1^st half of the cable and 32 stitches along the 2^nd half of the cable. After knitting a couple of rounds of the cuff, place stitch marker to note the beginning of the round

Magic Loop

Using a circular needle that has a long, flexible cable(>= 40 inches), cast on the number of stitches you want to use to knit your sock. Example: 64 stitches. Move those stitches to the middle of the cable. Divide the stitches in half (32 + 32 = 64). Place a stitch marker between the 32 and 33 stitches. Pinch and pull the cable between those two stitches. Now you're ready to join the ends. Move the separated stitches back on the needles close the endpoints. Be careful to not to drop any stitches and twist the stitches. I join my ends by moving the first stitch to the opposite needle and moving the last stitch to the opposite needle. Now you're ready to knit the cuff.

Cuff

K2p2 for 12 rounds. Approximately 1 inch.

Leg

To make things easy we’ll do a stockinette stitch leg(all knit stitches)

Knit around until your sock measures (cuff plus leg) measures 6 or 7 inches total.

Heel Flap

Refer to Amy’s video(note the way I’m telling you to do the heel flap, heel turn and gusset are slightly different than Amy’s; no worries)

To make thing easier for you for your 1^st sock, rest the instep stitches in a stitch holder. You can keep the stitches on the cable but it may be confusing since this is your 1^st sock. It will be easier for you to pick up the instep stitches when decreasing the gusset if you use a plastic or metal stitch holder.

For simplicity sake, let’s consider the back of the sock that has the heel stitches the 32 stitches that you knit last; the part of the cable that has the last stitch you knit. The instep stitches(32) are the other side of the cable. You’ re making a stockinette heel with a German selvedge. The German selvedge is the slipped stitches at the edges of the row. With the instep stitches resting in a stitch holder, (1)turn your work, slip the 1^st stitch(the last one you knit) then purl to the end of the row. (2)Turn your work, slip the 1^st stitch then knit to the end of the row. Repeat 1 and 2 until you have 32 rows then turn your work. Remember you slipped the 1^st stitch(32 of them) of every row of the heel flap so when have to pick up and knit stitches along the selvedge you’ll only have 16 to do.

Heel Turn

You need to do this at one sitting. Its can be confusing if you put it down then pick it back up.

(1) Slip the 1^st stitch, purl 16 stitches then p2tog, purl 1 then turn your work(you’re creating a gap) look closely

(2) Slip the 1^st stitch, knit 3 stitches then ssk, knit 1 then turn your work(your creating a gap) look closely

(3) Slip the 1^st stitch, purl to the 1^st stitch before the gap, p2tog(the stitches before and after the gap), purl 1 then turn your work

(4) Slip the 1^st stitch knit to the 1^st stitch before the gap, ssk(the stitches before and after the gap), knit 1 then turn your work

Repeat 3 and 4 until all the stitches on needle have been worked. You should have 18 stitches left after knitting the heel flap

Gusset

The key to picking up and knitting the stitches along the selvedge(heel flap edges) is to count and identify them before you do it. Remember you made 32 rows for heel flap and slipped the 1^st stitch at the beginning of each row. That means you have 16 stitches to pick up. You’ll start magic looping again now. Ok, pick up and knit 16 stitches along the heel flap edge. There can be a hole at the top of the gusset so pick up and knit 2 stitches between the last heel flap edge stitch and the instep. Place a stitch marker. Knit the 1^st 16 stitches of the instep in pattern. You’re magic looping now so consider the 16 selvedge stitches, 2 extra stitches and 16 instep stitches along the first half of the cable. ( You’ll divide the heel turn stitches after you pick up the other side of the selvedge.) You’re magic looping now so we have to knit stitches on the 2^nd half of the cable. Look at and identify the stitches you’ll pickup before knitting them. Knit the other 16 stitches of the instep. Place a stitch marker. Pick up and knit 2 stitches between the instep and the first stitch of the heel flap edge. Pick up and knit 16 stitches along the heel flap edge the knit the first 9 stitches of the heel turn. You should how have 2 rows of stitches along the halves of the cable. Each row should have 43 stitches. Along the 1^st half of the cable, you should have 9 heel turn, 16 heel flap edge, 2 extra, and 16 instep stitches(9 + 16 + 2 + 16 = 43). Along the 2^nd half of the cable, you should have 16 instep, 2 extra, 16 heel flap edge, and 9 heel turn stitches(16 + 2 + 16 + 9 = 43). You’ll decrease each half to 32 stitches(64 total stitches).

Gusset Decrease

You need to pay close attention because the first couple rounds can be confusing. Along the 1^st half of the cable, knit to 2 stitches before the stitch marker, ssk, slip the stitch marker then knit 16 instep stitches in pattern. Along the 2^nd half of the cable, knit the 16 instep stitches, slip the stitch marker, k2tog then knit to the end of the row. You’ve closed the hole at the top of the gusset. Now its time to do the decreasing.

(1 a) Along the 1^st half of the cable, knit to 3 stitches before the stitch marker, k2tog, knit 1, slip the stitch marker then knit 16 instep stitches in pattern.

(1 b) Along the 2^nd half of the of the cable, knit the 16 instep stitches, slip the

stitch marker, k2tog then knit to the end of the row.

(2 a) knit to stitch marker, slip stitch marker, knit instep stitches in pattern

(2 b) knit instep stitches, slip stitch marker, and then knit to end of row

Repeat 1 and 2 until you have 32 stitches on each cable half. That’s 10 decreasing (1) rounds. It will help if you write down 1-10 and mark off each round. Looking at your ssk and k2tog stitches and their position will help if you don’t want to keep track on paper.

Foot

It’s easier to knit the foot if you keep the instep and sole stitches separate. Now after you’ve knit the last round of the gusset decrease, knit to the stitch marker. Remove the stitch marker. This marks the beginning of the instep stitches and the round. You’re doing magic loop here. Knit the instep stitches. Join both part of the instep here. Remove the stitch marker. This mark the beginning of the sole stitches. You should have the instep stitches on the 1^st half of the cable and the sole stitches on the 2^nd half the cable. Knit the foot to the desired length; heel to the base of the toe.

Toe Decreasing

Now we’re almost done. Standard toe decrease has you decreasing 2 stitches per cable half then knitting around then next round until ½ the total stitches remain. Then decreasing every round until ½ those stitches remain.

(1) Instep: knit 1, ssk, knit to 3 stitches before the end of 1^st half of cable, k2tog, knit 1. Sole: knit 1, ssk, knit to 3 stitches before the end o the 2^nd half of the cable, k2tog, knit1.

(2) Knit around the instep and sole.

Repeat 1 and 2 until 32 total stitches remain then repeat 1 until 16 total stitches remain. Now you’re ready for the Kitchener stitch.

Kitchener stitch

Use Amy’s video to see how to do it. I’ve officially run out of steam

FO: Great Barrier Reef Socks

pattern: Charlene Schurch's Double Lace Ribbing from More Sensational Knitted Socks
yarn: Fearless Fiber's superwash sock yarn in the Coral Pink colorway
needles: Addi turbo US1
gauge: 9 sts = 1 inch
modifications: stockinette stitch heel



I started these socks in March then stopped knitting them to make the Broad Spiral/Vortex Socks. After I frogged them, I restarted them in April so it took me about 3 weeks to knit. I'm pleased with how they turned out and I hope Lushorama likes them. Now I only have 2 more PIF pairs of socks to make.

Pattern Surfing: Marigold Socks by Pamela W. aka Flint Knits

When I saw this pattern, Marigold Socks, it made me want to do another pair of toe up socks. It's lovely! I'll even do a short row heel(which I'm not a fan of). I discovered the pattern while looking at pictures of the Child's First Sock on Ravelry. Flint Knit's has a gorgeous pair that she made using a purple semi-solid Koigu.

Frustrated Knitting

Clue2 Finished:
After an unfortunate accident and a fix it job that looked wonky, I ripped back to my lifeline(please excuse my perfectionistic tendencies). I pressed on and I've finished Clue 2 of the MysticLight Shawl. I'm 2 clues behind but I think I'll be done with it by May 1st. That's my goal. My SIL's birthday is May 16th. I should have plenty of time to block it and mail it to her.

Adamas Shawl:

Remember this shawl? Well I still not done with it and the kal is over. One of my goals for my vacation is to get done and blocked and start the Angel shawl for my other aunt. Oh yeah... I decided to give them their shawls on July 26th.. That's Aunts and Uncles Day. I changed my plans because the Adamas was taking me so long the knit and I won't have the Angel shawl completed by Mother's Day. I have to give them the shawls at the same time I won't hurt anyone's feelings.

What do you do when your lace knitting frustrates you?
I knit a dishcloth. I saw the Vortex Dishcloths over on Knitty Kitty.
She's knit the Vortex 5 and 6. The dishcloth I knitted and took a picture of unblocked is the Vortex 5 Dishcloth. First to Five has designed 3 Vortex Dishcloths. If I get frustrated next week, you may be seeing the Vortex 6.


One last thing...

If you've read my More about Me post, you'll know that I enjoy playing scrabble and compile word lists so I can increase my score. I was talking to a buddy that I play unrated games with on Scrabulous.I beat her playing this word, QUIXOTRY. I was telling her that I was in the process of reading Word Freak. There's a variation of the word in the book and that's how I was able to add QUIXO to her TRY (triple word score) to get my own triple word score. I suggested she read it too. She told me about this funny short story about scrabble, Death By Scrabble , that I had to read. Please read it. You'll enjoy it. Thank you for stopping by and have a good weekend! :-)

Vortex

Presenting the Broad Spiral Ribbing Socks aka Vortex knitted with Fearless Fibers superwash sock yarn in the Disipline colorway.



I love these socks! I knitted them for a special work buddy. If they weren't for her, I'd keep these socks. I love them that much. The Vorex takes the place of the Twist&Shout socks I made for her last year that didn't fit. The pattern features a tw2r stitch. I was confused about the stitch until I saw the video on AllButtonedUp. The tutorial author features the stitch in a pattern thats very similar to the Broad Spiral Ribbing.






I frogged and recasted on the PIF Great Barrier Reef socks for
Lushorama. I don't know how I did it but the front and back of the socks switched. I tried tinking a few rows thinking I could find the mistake and correct it but I couldn't so I ripped. I'd like to get them sent out to Lushorama in Australia in May. That's when winter season begins there. The Great Barrier Reef socks are the double lace ribbing socks found in More Sensational Knitted Socks. I'm using the Fearless Fibers superwash sock yarn in the Coral Pink colorway.
The color reminds me of watermelon.

Don't you think so too?






Pattern Surfing: Leyburn Socks by Pepperknit
I've been blogstalking Kelpknits and she just finished knitting these socks. The Leyburn Socks are toe up socks with a lattice stitch pattern. They should be knitted with no ease or even a little positive ease because they aren't stretchy. What drew me to the pattern that it looks gorgeous using variegated or solid yarn. I think whenever I knit the socks I do what Kelpknits did and use Judy Becker's Magic toe and toe up heel flap. (Maiaspins has a excellent toe up gusseted heel tutorial.)

One last thing.... If you need a laugh, head over to Downeast Yarn Ho and see how shes feeling about the weather. LOL I feel that way when its August and just taking out the trash makes you break out into a sweat. (its not for a kid's eyes)

Mystic Light Shawl Clue 1 Completed

It's pretty so far. My SIL will love it! I shot the pic with a blue background.Thats why it looks creamy white instead of pale blue. I need to take a photography class or find a tutorial online. Does anyone know of one?

Your Element Is Water

A bit of a contradiction, you can seem both lighthearted and serious. That's because you're good at going with the flow - but you also are deep. Highly intuitive, you tune in to people's emotions and moods easily. You are able to tap into deep emotional connections and connect with others. You prefer a smooth, harmonious life - but you can navigate your way around waves. You have a knack for getting people to get along and making life a little more peaceful.

What's Your Element?

?Am I knitting the wrong element shawl? lol I'm thinking of making Anna's Mystic Waters Shawl my summer shawl project. Hopefully I'll be done with it before she comes out with her next element. Ann's has debuted a new pattern.... Luscious Forests Lace Shawl. Maybe when I do a few more lace on one side shawls I'll be ready to tackle it. :-)

Sock It To Me Part Deux Loot

LOOK WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL!!!!


- 3 skeins of Sugar n Cream Cotton yarn
- Araucania fingering weight yarn in Ranco It's screaming at me to make the Lace Ribbon Scarf in the Spring 2008 knitty
- 2 skeins of Drops Design's yummy Fabel sock yarn
- True Blue Spa's Shea isn't so and Toe the line to make my feet look purrty
- Nice notecards
- The first 2 books of James Patterson's Women's Mystery Club, 1st to Die and 2nd Chance Just what I wanted
- Ginger Snaps to feed my GS addiction lol
- Trail Mix yay
- Ferrero Rocher to feed my chocolate addiction lol
- a nice hello postcard from Oklahoma
- and lastly a pair of very comfortable socks




I'm relaxing, reading 1st to Die and munching on some ginger snaps. Dawn made me these pretty socks. They're stockinette stitch socks using Regia sock yarn in the galaxy colorway.

THANK YOU SO MUCH DAWN! :-)