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)