Basic Toe Up Socks 6 - Finished!

I've been getting a bit of knitting done at work lately - reading documents, and listening to training videos, so I managed to finish up my second sock, binding off this morning.  I deliberately did not try to make them match - in the past I've gotten a little obsessed with them matching, but I like the way they are complimentary, rather than matching.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Basic Toe Up Socks 6 - One Sock Done

I keep a small project bag in my work bag for emergency knitting.  I've been keeping a sock project in there because it is easy to pick up and put down.  I started this one on the drive back from our annual Christmas trip to Florida.  I finished up the foot on December 28 and it has taken me all this time to finish the rest of the sock and then snap a quick picture (not the best, I know, but you get the idea).  I haven't had much knitting at work time - no endless telecons to knit to, but I have been doing some reading of technical documents, and knitting while I read always helps me stay focused.  I finished up the knitting on Monday and did the bind off tonight.  I haven't posted much this past month, but I've been working on a test knit, which I couldn't post about, and a sample knit, which I somehow never got around to posting about.  It's been one of those months.   But we should get back to our regularly scheduled program.

There are some exciting things on the horizon.  Biscotte has asked me to write up my shrug modification to the Traveling Zebra pattern, and they are even paying me for it!  They sent me a beautiful yarn pack to knit the sample in.  More on that later.  I've also been playing around with some design ideas, and I need to start my next Tudor Roses project.  So stay tuned - much yarny goodness to come.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Basic Toe Up Socks 6 - One Foot Done

After I had finished up the last pair of Basic Toe Up Socks that had been riding around in my work bag for approximately 10 months, I had placed a fresh cake of yarn in the bag for the eventuality of casting on another pair.  Having a small, easy project on the needles or available for casting on at a moments notice is an essential in my book.  Yesterday I was faced with the problem of what to work on during the car ride back from Florida.  I didn't really want to work on any of the main projects that I had brought with me, so I pulled out my little project bag from my work bag and cast on another pair of toe up socks.  I made it through to the heel shaping before it go too dark, and then finished up turning the heel after I got home.  I still find sock knitting, especially the whole turning of the heel to be magical.

I really like the colors of this one.  Sometimes when I start knitting the skein up I wonder why I bought those colors.  I did manage to find this one on the Biscotte web site.  The color is Paturage.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Basic Toe Up Socks 5 - Finished!

After riding around in my work bag for the better part of a year these are finally done!  I have no idea what the colorway is, although I did try to figure it out by searching through my old email receipts.  I'm not sure what I want to cast on next for my mindless carry in my work bag project.  Probably another pair of basic toe up socks, because I really do need something that mindless to keep in my work bag for telecons and reading boring documents.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Basic Toe Up Socks 5 - One Sock Done

I've been working on this sock off and on during odd moments riding in cars, listening to telecons, waiting for Bruce, and I finally finished it up this morning.  I immediately cast on the second sock and knitting that through the toe increases.  As simple and repetitive as this pattern is I still screw up occasionally.  On the last pair I knit I somehow started the ribbing half a round early, and on the second sock of this pair I managed to increase during a rest round on half of the sock.  I discovered this when I was on the second to last increase round and I counted my stitches and half of my sock had 26 and half had 28.  I did not rip back, I just did the increases on the half that only had 26 stitches and called it good.

I still don't know what to call these socks, and I don't know what the colorway is called.  I've searched their website and can't find it (I bought the yarn several years ago) and I even searched my email and found an old receipt that might have it, and it might be Cupcake, but somehow I just don't think this yarn looks like a Cupcake.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Basic Toe Up Socks 5 - One Foot Done

I had a couple of telecon meeting this week so I was able to get one foot done on my fifth pair of basic toe up socks using the Biscotte & Cie Felix yarn that I bought several years ago.  I have no idea what this colorway was called, and have not thought of a good name for them.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Piglet Socks - Done!

I finished these up early yesterday afternoon while watching "For a Few Dollars More", the second film in the Man with No Name Trilogy.  I love those movies, Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone are an amazing combination.  I think my favorite film of theirs is "Once Upon a Time in the West", which is truly operatic.  Once I finished up these socks I cast on the next pair and worked through the toe increases before setting them aside to work on my Elizabeth Woodville.  I haven't decided what to call them, so right now they are just "Basic Toe Up Socks 5".  I must confess that I'm not sure what I was thinking when I bought those skeins of self-striping yarn.  The color combinations are pretty wild.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Piglet Socks - Two Feet Done

Last weekend was a wonderful four-day long weekend of snow and knitting, but even when I went back to work I managed to get some knitting done during telecons and while reviewing a document.  I finished one sock on Wednesday and finished turning the heel of the second sock yesterday.  From the first sock that I knit I have always loved turning the heel, it still seems magical to me.  I am almost done with the second sock and will likely finish it up this morning.  The next cake of sock yarn is standing by to be cast on.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Piglet Socks - One Foot Done

Of course, once I bound off my Summer Breeze socks and I had to cast on another pair.  I grabbed the next cake of Felix and was confronted with the question of what to name the project.  The colors reminded me of Piglet, from Winnie the Pooh, so that is what I called them.  We had all of the stuffed animals when I was growing up.  Pooh was much loved, and a little the worse for wear.  Kanga was disemboweled by our dog Minnie, so Roo ended up an orphan.  Tigger was not a plushy, he was small and firm and his body was filled with sawdust - a fact I discovered when his head came off.  Piglet had cardboard pieces in his feet so he could sort of stand up on his own.  He provided my sister Liz her first opportunity at small animal surgery when the cardboard pieces shifted in his feet, and one of his ears started to come off.  I'm happy to say the surgery was a complete success and she is now an extremely good small animal vet.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Summer Breeze Socks - Done!

I finished up my Summer Breeze socks last weekend, well, last Monday, actually, but it was a holiday, so it still counts.  The weekend was not a very good one in other respects as I had a nasty head cold the whole time, one which I'm still getting over.  Plus, I gave it to Bruce and it hit him harder than me.  He was home sick most of the week, but is finally on the mend.

I wore my Carousel Socks to work on Tuesday.  The purple in them went with my Lilac Pullover, which I was also wearing.  I was briefing the program office, so I had to dress in mufti, which for me is slacks and a hand knit sweater, as opposed to colorful leggings and a tunic, but I can't resist wearing some color.  I'm happy to say I wasn't the only person wearing striped socks at the meeting, but I bet I was the only one wearing hand knit socks.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Summer Breeze Socks - 2 Feet Done

Actually one sock is complete - I finished it up last weekend - and yesterday I turned the heel on my second sock.  I decided that I'm not even going to worry about matching up the stripes.  They're crazy socks, so I'm letting them be crazy.  I keep this project in my work bag so I can pull them out when I'm on telecons, or when I'm downloading big files.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Summer Breeze Socks - One Foot Done

After finishing up my Brilliantine Socks I immediately cast on my next skein of self-striping Felix yarn from Biscotte & Cie.  The tag on this one did not have a color name, but as I was knitting the toe a line from the Seals & Crofts song Summer Breeze kept going through my head "Summer Breeze, makes me feel fine, blowin' through the jasmine of my mind".  I've never understood those lyrics, but I like the song, and the picture also contains part of my cat Jasmine, so I guess it all fits together somehow.  It was seasonably cool this morning and Jasmine was having her morning nap in front of the space heater.

Just your standard toe up sock, but this self-striping yarn is a little different from the others in that it has little flecks of dark green scattered throughout.  My knitting mojo has been a little low lately, so I've been enjoying the small project size and the mindless knitting of these socks.  I can also read while knitting these and have been enjoying the Phryne Fisher novels by Kerry Greenwood.  Absolutely delightful reads.  The video adaptations are also quite good, I just love the clothes, but they have to leave a lot out.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Brilliantine Socks - Finished!

The second sock went very quickly, and I'm happy to say that my tension control is back to normal, so they are the same gauge.  I didn't quite manage to start the second sock at exactly the same place in the color cycle, so the stripes are a little off, but not much.

The whole thing got me thinking about gauge and how we control it.  I am always seeing people comment on Ravelry that "they are a loose knitter" or "tight knitter" as if they have no control over it, when, in fact, they do.  I used to be a loose knitter because I didn't control my yarn.  I let it hang loose between stitches, which of course led to loose tension in my knitting.  Now I tension it by wrapping it around the fingers of my right hand - over the index finger, under the middle finger, over the ring finger and then once around the pinkie.  Since I've been doing that I get very consistent tension, and with main line patterns can usually get gauge.  I don't always get gauge with the independent designers, but I think that is due more to the vagaries of their knitting, rather than mine.

Tight knitters might have more of a challenge, but I know that when I consciously tried to loosen my knitting on the second sock I succeeded, and ended up with a bigger sock.  I have also always thought that tight knitters must be stressing their hands.  Perhaps the best advice is what I learned when I took fencing in college.  You want to hold the hilt of the sword gently and in a relaxed manner, as if you're holding a little bird.  Too loose and the bird will fly away, too tight and you will strangle it.  I think the same can be said of knitting needles, or crochet hooks for that matter.  In fact, I even hold both knitting needles and crochet hooks in the same basic manner that I used to hold a fencing sword.

Oh, and remember that little twirly flick of the blade that you see in movies that disarms your opponent?  It works.  I did it during my fencing final.  Quite by accident.  Or maybe I was just channeling my inner swashbuckler.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix in Brilliantine
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Brilliantine Socks - One Sock Finished

I finished up most of the first sock on the drive down to Florida (St. Augustine) on the 23rd.  It was a horrible drive down, raining until we were half-way through South Caroline (or Slow Carolina, as we took to calling it, because of the traffic).  I finished up the ribbing Christmas Eve, and then went back to working on my test knit, which I also finished on Christmas Eve, except for the bind off.

The second sock, however, has been giving me fits.  I am now on my third go at it.  The first go my gauge was too tight.  Bruce attributed it to my migraine, I thought maybe the stress of travel and visiting may have been responsible, but now I think it was the extreme humidity making my hands stickier.  I finished the foot and laid it next to the completed sock and was shocked to find that it was noticeably smaller, so I ripped it back.  I worked on it on the drive back up (far more pleasant than the drive down - although the south bound traffic was heavy for most of the way back) consciously trying to be more relaxed in my knitting and loosen up my gauge, only to find when I go to the ribbing that I had loosened up too much.  The second sock was a good quarter-inch longer!  I ripped back to the ankle to redo the leg and when I picked my stitches back up and counted to make sure I had the right number on each needle I discovered, much to my chagrin, that I had 29 stitches on the top of the foot, one stitch more than I needed or wanted.  So I sighed a sigh, pulled the needles back out and ripped all the way back to the beginning, again.  On the bright side, I do have the pattern memorized.  I am hoping that third time will be a charm.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix in Brilliantine
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Brilliantine Socks - One Foot Finished

I cast on another pair of socks after finishing up the Carousel Socks.  I have 8 skeins of the Felix Self-Striping yarn in my stash and have decided to knit them all up into basic socks.  I work on them when I don't feel like working on anything else.  They make a great car project.  I have a project bag just for my socks that Carol Perrenoud makes.  The strap hangs perfectly on the door handle of my Element.  As a safety precaution I do lock the door just in case the bag gets tugged so I can't accidentally open the door as we're going down the road.

Here is a not so good shot of the first foot.  It is a dreary day here.

And here is a shot of the other skeins of my self-striping Felix, all caked up and ready to be turned into socks.

I went ahead and made project pages for all of them so all I have to do is update them when I start working each one.  Unlike my other two skeins these ones have no color names on them.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix in Brilliantine
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Carousel Socks - Finished!

I finished the first sock the weekend before my father died, and knit most of the second sock on the drive to Yellow Springs and back.  Simple socks were really the only thing that I could manage at the time.  I've cast on another pair in another skein of Biscotte self-striping yarn.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix in Carousel
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Carousel Socks

A couple of years ago I caught the sock bug and joined several sock clubs and accumulated a lot of sock yarns.  One of sock yarn producers that I became enamored of is Biscotte & Cie.  Honestly, how could I resist the black cat with the green eyes playing with the yarn?  And the colors!  I recently completely revamped my wardrobe, replacing slacks and plain knit pullover shirts with tunics and leggings, and color, lots and lots of color.  I have long been known for my fun store-bought novelty socks but I decided that I needed some fun hand knit socks.  I also decided that I needed to start bringing a small, portable project to work with me so I would have something to do while on telecons, or rebooting my computer, or uploading files, or reviewing documents.  And so, in a perfect storm of creative possibility, I pulled out some colorful sock yarn and caked it up.

But what kind of sock to knit?  I knew that I wanted to work toe up so I went to my crafting library and looked for a good technique book.  I started with Wendy Johnson's "Toe Up Socks" but it didn't quite go into depth enough for me, so I picked up Kate Atherley's "Custom Socks".  This is a fantastic book for a science type like me.  I read through the front matter quickly, flipped to the Basic Toe-Up Sock pattern, did some measurements, figured out my gauge and got started.

It fits pretty well so far.  I haven't decided how tall they should be yet, I would like to use up as much of my skein as possible, so I weighed the skein before I started and I'll probably just keep knitting the leg until I've used up about half, increasing the number of leg stitches as needed.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix in Carousel
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)