Pastel Candy Sock June 13, 2011

It occurred to me the other day that for as much as this blog is about knitting, I don’t really blog about what I’m knitting very much. I will confess that it is due to an equal mixture of laziness and busyness. Because, to blog about what I’m knitting means taking pictures. There are so many wonderful knitting bloggers out there who are excellent and diligent about this, some of them taking pictures of such profound beauty that it makes you think they’re wasting their talent on knitting and should become professional photographers instead. Unfortunately, I don’t fall into this category.

However, I decided to challenge myself and share a recent project known affectionately as the Pastel Candy Sock. I call it that because the yarn colors reminds me of pastel candies you get in the spring around Easter, especially the purple hued socks, and the garter chevron pattern sort of forms Ms.

Pastel Candy Sock in the large size.

Pastel Candy Sock in the small/medium size. No one near me has small feet so I couldn't have it modeled.

There are several things I love about this pattern:

1) The undulation of the garter chevron makes it fab for variegated yarns, unfortunately this doesn’t eliminate color pooling if that is the sort of thing that bothers you.

2) No Kitchener stitch toes.

3) Easy two round repeat for this awesome result.

4) Boomerang heel – my new favorite! This will be a recurring theme in all my sock patterns henceforth.

5) Did I mention no Kitchener required?

6) Stitch pattern is super easy to memorize.

7) Features a rounded toe.

8 ) You don’t see many garter stitch socks out there.

Unfortunately, I wrote the pattern for Bernat Sox yarn, which I later discovered was discontinued! Blarg! But, you can still find it on Amazon, so there’s always that option. Otherwise, the pattern can be knit to any sock that falls on the thicker side of things.

I am still finishing the final sock (the fourth) and then I will be done with the pattern and will get it posted!

Wrapped Stitch vs. Double Stitch February 2, 2011

Wrapped stitch and double stitch short row heel turns go toe to toe (get it, hehehahahoho) in this blog post.  Who will be the winner?

Part of the reason I ventured into toe up sock territory is because my last few socks were knit with a boomerang, or short row heel, and I thought that gave me a leg up on toe up already. (I am so punny today! Sorry, I’ll stop.)

But, never one to sit idly by and repeat the same technique, this time I wouldn’t do the double stitch short row heel turn. You might be wondering what a double stitch short row heel is, and I will blog about someday, but at this moment am boycotting because the ill-fated computer crash of November lost all my hard won double stitch heel turn pictures! In the interim, this blog has pictures, and I think it’s best described thusly; when you get to the stitch where you turn your work you knit that stitch, turn the work, slip the stitch purlwise onto the needle, and then yank the yarn hard until the two legs of the stitch wrap over the needle and form a double stitch.  You later knit these two legs together eliminating the need for a wrap.

But, I am a glutton for punishment and decided I would try the more widely known wrapped stitch short row heel turn.  This technique is oft maligned and I was curious if it warranted the animosity.

I read the instructions in my go-to sock knitting book. And I thought, ‘Ok, this makes sense.’ Slip, wrap, continue.

And then I got to the part where it was time to add the stitches back into the heel. There was a lot of wrinkle deepening brow furrowing at that point. Wrap it again? Two wraps on a single stitch? That’s just insanity! And then I got it. Or, at least, I think I got it. Judging by the finished result I am not sure if I did it right. What do you think?

 

This is how the heel turn looks on the knit side of the short rows.

 

 

This is what is looks like on the purl side of the short row turn. It's weird to me that they don't look the same on both sides, which is why I think maybe, just maybe, I did something wrong.

The thing that bothers me about this heel turn is the following 1) You can see the extra wrapped stitches. Error on my knitting part or just the nature of this heel turn, either way, I don’t like it. 2) Once you start dealing with two wraps it is really cumbersome and I got to the point where I couldn’t even tell if the original stitch was facing the right direction on the needle as I struggled to pick up both wraps.

Enter the double stitch short row heel. So elegant in it’s simplicity and I think the end result is more elegant in design also.

More elegant, easier, and the same on both sides. I present, the double stitch short row heel.

And the winner is? Double Stitch Short Row Heel!!!!!! Hoorah!!!

Like you didn’t see that coming. I am interested in your experiences. Have you tried both heels? What were your results? And, did I do something wrong on the wrapped stitch heel?