A Toe Up Sock – The Documentary May 16, 2009

I’ve been reading the Yarn Harlot’s blog, as well as Wendy Knits and watching them knit all of these wonderful socks made me want to try it again.  If you have been a follower of this blog, you may recall my first attempt at knitting  a sock.  That ended in horrible failure.  Not because I did it badly, but I wasn’t ready to knit in that small of a gauge yet.  Also, I hated the yarn I chose and the pattern (cuff down with a heel with a gussett).

This time around, I wanted to try toe up socks.  I downloaded this free pattern from Ravelry and decided to give it a try.  Well, the wrap and turns for the short rows were throwing me.  I watched more than one YouTube video and just could not wrap my simple head around it.  I then stumbled upon a great demo for doing short rows with no yarn overs or wrap and turns.  It is FANTASTIC!  So I embarked on improving my first toe up socks.  I cast on 24 stitches using a crocheted provisional cast on and set about knitting the toe of my sock.

(Just after I finished the short rows and began undoing my prov. cast on)

So the toe was a resounding success for not using a pattern and literally just guessing.  I also decided that around the 1″ mark (after the toe) that I would switch to magic loop – so cool!  I never tried it before and I loved it!  So much easier than all those DPNs.   After continuing to knit, I decided that I hate this yarn.  I bought it from Hobby Lobby and it’s just nasty.  Believe it or not, though, prettiest sock yarn in the whole damn store.  Go figure.  Anyway, I also came to the realization that because I did not like this yarn, kntting a large sock (I have big feet) to actually wear was useless.  So, I took it to work and made my boss with size 5 feet try it on so I could gauge where to start the heel turn.

(As you can see, NOWHERE near the heel on my big feet)

So after a tad more knitting on the body of the sock, I began the heel turn.   Using the same strategy/method I used for the toe, I began knitting back and forth on half the stiches for the heel.  I like the look and feel of a mitered heel (while I do also recognize that different types of heels are good for different things), so this method really appealed to me.  Unfortunately, I began knitting the heel while commiserating with my father and brother.  This meant my attention was divided and I went a bit too far with the mitering.

(Too many things wrong to list)

So, not only is the heel only good if  you have a square foot, some how I managed to leave some odd holes (probably from not paying attention, again, go figure).  I got a little carried away with the mitering.  It’s just a lot of bad in this photo.  However, I managed to get past the nasty heel and finish the sock:

Did some 2×2 ribbing to finish the cuff and there ya go!  A finished, horrible sock!  I will knit socks again, but next time they will definitely be on 2 circulars, and 2 at a time.  I want to get Cat Bordhi’s book to learn how to do it.

I hope this post gives some great resources for people wanting to try toe up socks.

A non-sensical update for the hell of it…. May 8, 2009

TEN random things you might not know about me.
1: I have always wanted to be a dancer or gymnast.
2: I like to ride horses, but I am terrified to go faster than a trot.
3: I don’t really drink…to the point I am considered the boring one.
4: I am extremely controlling about how my house is cleaned.
5: The only other person I allow to clean it is my wonderful mother.
6: I love to run, but I am scared to outside for fear of being abducted – therefore I do not run regularly.
7: I am very old fashioned in all things.
8: I would LOVE to be able to play piano so I could play Ben Folds’ music.
9: I am extremely stubborn, sometimes to my detriment.
10: I am Christian, but think I was Jewish in another life.

NINE places I’ve visited
1: Virginia
2: Illinois
3: Massachusetts
4: Florida
5: Tennesee
6: New York
7: Wisconsin
8: Michigan
9: Ohio

EIGHT ways to win my heart
1: Be honest and accept honesty
2: Have a high degree of integrity
3: Strive to be better than your previous self
4: Love animals
5: be self-reliant
6: be spontaneous
7: enjoy the outdoors
8. love

SEVEN things I want to do before I die
1: become a mommy
2: move to a farm
3: start an organization that helps the homeless become educated/find jobs/become self relient
4: finally learn to play the piano
5: become fluent in Spanish by visiting a Spanish speaking country
6: visit Europe/Australia
7: Spend the rest of my time with my hubby

SIX things I’m afraid of
1: someone breaking into my home while I sleep
2: drowning
3: dying in a car accident
4: losing someone close to me
5: falling
6: not being the best

FIVE things I don’t like
1: anything other than bananas that is banana flavored
2: people without integrity
3: people who take advantage of others
4: change
5: cherry ice cream

FOUR ways to turn me off
1: lie to me
2: talking more than doing (this is a biggie)
3: bad breath
4: make dumb choices (and yes, I can turn myself off…lol)

THREE things I do everyday
1: tell my husband I love him
2: love on/care for my furbabies
3: smile

TWO things that make me happy
1: feeling the love
2: taking care of others

ONE thing on my mind right now
1: there are other things to do, but this is more fun.

Just a little update… May 4, 2009

Okay, so I really will update soon. I have been crazy busy with stuff and blogging is the thing that has fallen to the wayside.

I have some great pics of my MacGyver’d ball of yarn, my fat loot from Knit Picks, the beginnings of my Debbie Bliss Bolero, and much more.

Stay tuned as I have a to do list this week and a proper blog post is on it!