September 4, 2006

I finished the socks I started before I left for vacation. I only blocked one of the socks. Can you tell which one? As I mentioned in a previous post these socks are from the Sensational Knitted Socks book. I love this book but I wasn't happy with the construction of these socks. I find that the pattern did not explain how long to make the foot before you started to knit the heel flap. It's possible I just missed where it is in the pattern but I tried checking a few times and just didn't see it.

Because of that, I must have ripped out the heel flap 3 or 4 times before I finally had enough. I still think the socks are a bit too long for my daughter but I am hoping by washing and drying them in the machine they might shrink a little bit.

I'm trying to design my first pair of socks. This is what I have managed to come up with so far. I used the Turkish cast on . The pattern is from Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls by Martha Waterman. Now I have to figure out how to work the short row heel. I am told it's easy but never having worked it before I am not quite sure about it.
Because of that, I started another pair of socks with the same pattern. This yarn doesn't show the pattern up very well because of the different colours but I will use it as a test for the heel and if I don't like the way it comes out I will revert back to my standard heel from the Basic Toe Up Socks pattern by Jackie E-S. Either way, my daughter loves the socks I knit for her and she will wear them no matter what the heel looks like. If only I could wear the socks I knit but I find the yarn to thick even when I use fingering weight yarn. My arthritis bothers me more when I used to wear my socks so I gave my entire collection to my granddaugther.

I didn't get to block my finished Clapotis. It really looks great just the way it is except for the corners. I can't stand the way the corner curls.


Other than the curling I just love the way this one turned out. It is the best of the 3 I made. The other two I gave to my daughter. This one I am going to keep for myself and use as a scarf for the winter. The yarn I used is Schachenmayr nomotta Crazy Cotton. I love the way the colours look together and the yarn is so soft. The only drawback is the cotton makes it heavier than if it would have been wool. I would still use this yarn for another project if I had more of it.