Taliesin Socks - Finished!

And they are done!  The second sock went quickly, although I did have a couple of tinking episodes.  My pick up on the gusset on the right hand side wasn’t right, but I didn’t realize it until I had worked a couple of rows, so I had to tink that back and do it over.  The second issue was during the toe graft when my back needle slipped and I dropped a stitch and didn’t realize it right away and the stitch dropped down two rows before I caught it, but I did catch it.  I got out my neck lamp, undid the entire graft (which admittedly was only 13 stitches) and redid it.

Pattern:  Taliesin Sock by Janel Laidman

Yarn:  Madelinetosh Tosh Sock

Needle:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Taliesin Sock - One Sock Done!

Once I got to the foot, things went quickly.  I did not do the foot as it was designed in the pattern - there was some unusual shaping and I just didn’t want to deal with it.  Plus, when I’m knitting cuff down I like to shape my toes so that they actually match the shape of my real toes, which for a left foot involves doing most of my decreases on the left side as you might be able to see in the picture below.  When I get to the end of the foot I just keep trying on the sock as I go and making decreases as needed, recording what I’m doing (in this case on my Ravelry project page).  When I get to the end of the toe I graft the stitches while the sock is on my foot, so I can pull the stitches snug without worrying about them being too tight.   While it may be a tad awkward to do, when I do it this way my toe grafts always come out great.

I did discover that my gauge is not as tight as the gauge called for in the pattern.  I had already discovered that my row gauge was different when I was working the heel flap, as I only worked 26 rows instead of 32 as called for in the pattern.  I had my suspicions regarding the stitch gauge, but I needed a stretch of stockinette to get a decent stitch gauge measurement.  Once my suspicion was confirmed, I put in one of my afterthought lifelines and ripped back to the last gusset decrease and did an extra set of decreases on the top and bottom of the foot to take the stitch count down to 64 from 68 (I was making the medium size).

I do love working the heel turn and gusset, they still seem like magic to me.

This was probably the try on that led me to rip back.  I had only knit four or so rounds after the last gusset decrease.

Pattern:  Taliesin Sock by Janel Laidman

Yarn:  Madelinetosh Tosh Sock

Needle:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Taliesin Sock - Two Legs Done!

Last night I finished up the leg on sock two.  This one went a bit faster as I mostly avoided the mistake I kept making on the first leg (starting the next round half way round the sock).  The pattern on the bottom half of the leg is mostly the same, just a little four row stitch pattern on the long column of stitches, and it was hard to read (dark yarn, tiny stitches).  I only had to tink back once on the second leg.  The progress keeper attached to the sock near the end of the round definitely helped keep me on track.  On to the heel flap.

Pattern:  Taliesin Sock by Janel Laidman

Yarn:  Madelinetosh Tosh Sock

Needle:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Taliesin Sock - One Leg, and One Cuff Finished!

Finally, I’ve finished the leg of one sock.  Dark yarn, and a stitch pattern that I kept messing up despite its apparent simplicity, even after I added a progress keeper as another visual queue for the beginning of the round, in addition to the yarn tail that I typically use.  Now I will work the leg on the other sock, having already worked the cuff and the Latvian braid on that one.  Hopefully I will not make as many mistakes on that one, and it will go quicker.

Pattern:  Taliesin Sock by Janel Laidman

Yarn:  Madelinetosh Tosh Sock

Needle:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Taliesin Socks - Take Two!

So I was working on these socks this afternoon and thinking “man, this gauge is really tight, what needle size am I using?  And why?”  Well, I was using a 2.25 mm (US 1).  The pattern calls for. 2.5 mm, which is also labeled as a US 1, although Ravelry calls it a US 1.5.  I frogged and started over and it is so much easier to work, and it fits better.  This time when I did the Latvian braid I didn’t bother with casting on the extra stitch at the start.  I just worked the first stitch, put it back on the left hand needle and then knit in to the back of the second stitch and then into the first stitch.  Rinse, repeat.

Pattern:  Taliesin by Janel Laidman

Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Flashdance

Needle:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Taliesin Socks - Cast On!

Actually I cast on these socks over a year ago (best guess - November of 2023), knit 9 rows of the ribbing and then just sort of forgot about them.  I discovered them when I was setting up my project box for Tessellation Nation.  The project was hiding in a Harris Tweed project bag that I had purchased from The Woolly Thistle.  When I had stashed it in the project bag I had failed to stash the yarn label with the yarn, so the first thing I did was hunt that down.  I have a large zip lock bag that has the Janel Laidman patterns along with yarn and that is where I found the yarn label, although I did go down a rabbit hole because there was a yarn label that had Taliesin Sock on it.  That yarn was used for the Damselfly Socks.  This yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in the Flashdance colorway.  The original skein was a total loss due to evil bugs, so it was pitched.  Fortunately I was able to procure another one.  The yarn does not match what is in the photo, but some sleuthing on Ravelry (looking at project pages for the pattern) allowed me to make the match.

I did not work the Latvian braid as she called for in the pattern (and in the video link she provided), with a second strand of yarn.  I worked a Latvian braid the way I learned how, where you make a stitch, put it back on the left hand needle, then knit into the back of the second stitch, and the front of the first stitch and drop them both off the left hand needle.  Then you transfer the first stitch on the right hand needle to the left hand needle as if to knit and repeat.  A video by Romi showed me how to join when I got to the end of the round.  You do end up with an extra stitch, so I did a decrease at the beginning of my second needle (I work on two circulars).  I also changed out the beads as I wasn’t crazy about the ones that were provided with the pattern.  Fortunately I have an excellent bead stash.

Pattern:  Taliesin Sock by Janel Laidman

Yarn:  Madelinetosh Tosh Sock

Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm0

Void Socks - Finished!

I finished these up this past weekend.  I ended up having 3 joins in my second sock due to damage from carpet beetles.  I am very thankful there wasn’t more.  I am pretty pleased with the fit, although I think I could have started with fewer stitches on the cuff to make them just a wee bit more snug.

I do have several sock patterns to choose from for my next sock project, but my knitting mojo seems a bit low right now, so I think I will concentrate on finishing up some WIPs.

Pattern:  The Void Socks by Melanie Gibbons

Yarn:  madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Logwood

Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Void Socks - One Sock Done!

I finished up the first sock Tuesday, so less than one week to finish.  I am already working the gusset decreases on the second sock, so that one will be finished soon.  Knowing that I will soon have these finished I went looking for another sock project to cast on.  Over the years I have joined several sock clubs.  I have a nice series of socks based upon the Chronicles of Narnia, so I will probably be working through those next.  I did dig out an in progress sock that I had cast on just over a decade ago.  I had unearthed it when I was cataloging and organizing my yarn, and putting it up in nice plastic containers, and had set it aside.  I knew that there were issues with it as I saw evidence of carpet beetle activity.  It has been stored in a thin cotton bag.  I finally took it out last night to evaluate the damage.

Yeah, I think that skein is pretty much a total loss.  There are a few larger balls, but nothing big enough to knit a sock, and I really don’t like having joins in a sock.  I already have two joins in my second Void Sock, one because there was a knot, and one because of a thin spot where a carpet beetle had been at work.  There were actually a couple of thin spots, one I discovered very early in the winding, one I discovered just as I started the heel (I had just joined the second ball, so I tinked back and started again), and one that I discovered this morning as I was starting to work the gusset decreases.  Both joins are in spots that are not going to have much impact, thankfully.  I am hoping that I don’t find any more thin spots and that I rescued that skein in time, unlike this one.  I will be stash diving for a replacement skein, fortunately I have a lot of sock yarn in my stash.  The sock pattern is Danube by Janel Laidman.  She was a very talented designer that has pretty much vanished from the knitting scene - based on the lack of activity in her group on Ravelry.  I have some other sock kits from her that may have met a similar fate.  I have them in a plastic bag and one of these days I’ll muster the courage to evaluate the damage.

In the mean time, back to my Void Socks.  When I get to this point I really just want to keep going until I finish.

Pattern:  The Void Socks by Melanie Gibbons

Yarn:  Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Logwood

Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

 

Void Socks - Cast On!

As soon as I finished the Celestial socks I caked up the yarn for the Void socks and cast on.  I did find a knot in the skein, which is annoying, as the larger of the two cakes I ended up with is not enough to make two complete socks, and the smaller of the two cakes is not enough for one complete sock, so one sock will have a join in it.

I started out with 80 stitches, same as I did for the Celestial Socks, and just worked the extra stitches into the pattern.

I also decreased every 12 rows, during the pattern section, and ended up working 64 rows (16 repeats) of the pattern before I started the heel flap.  I worked the decreases with the first and last two stitches on each needle as that seemed to be the least disruptive to the pattern.  I also am doing a right twist instead of a left twist as the pattern calls for.  The right twist is easier to work - no trying to work into the back of that second stitch - and somehow I don’t think the orientation really matters.

Pattern:  The Void Socks by Melanie Gibbons 

Yarn:  Madelinetosh Tosh Socks in Logwood

Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)