Dial K For Knitter

Trying to learn short-row heels

2008-07-28T21:49:00.003-05:00

I finished the Vandyke lace panel socks this weekend so in preparation for Ravelympics 2008, I decided to learn to do short-row heels. I've tried several times in the past, without success, but I found this video tutorial showing Priscilla Wild's no-wrap, no-yarnover technique. It looked easy! It seemed easy while I was doing it! But somehow I ended up with more stitches than I start with. That shouldn't even be possible, because you only ever make a new stitch after knitting two other stitches together. You create one stitch for every one you reduce away--no more, no less. It's like you have a basket of 30 apples. Every time you take one apple out, you put another apple in. No matter how many times you do this, you should theoretically still have thirty apples. Not thirty-two, as I did.

I ripped the whole thing out and will try again tomorrow. Or maybe the next day, because tomorrow I have to concentrate for work a little.

My Twilight Zone Sock

2008-07-25T21:57:00.002-05:00

Today, I wrote about Leonardo DiCaprio looking for story ideas for a new Twilight Zone movie he wants to start up. Well, how's this one, Leo? It's a story about a sock that stays the same length no matter how many rounds you knit!

I swear, I try on my Vandyke lace panel socks every ten or so rounds and each time it looks like they're the same length. I am no closer to reaching my toes than I was fifty rounds ago. At least that's how it seems. Maybe some evil kid with supernatural powers is messing with my mind.

Insert crazed cursing here.

2008-07-20T11:15:00.005-05:00

Something went horribly wrong with my Vandyke lace panel socks. Several things went horribly wrong. In fact, shy of not bursting into spontaneous combustion on my needles, everything went wrong with my socks.

I dropped a stitch or misplaced a stitch or a stitch was abducted by aliens somewhere in the lace panel. I tried to fix it, but the more I tried to fix it, the more things went horribly, horribly wrong. I cursed like a drunken, crazed sailor at a Drunken Crazed Sailor Cursing Contest. I had to resist the urge to frog the whole thing and feed the remains to any hungry moths that passed by.

You see, I don't know enough about lace to effectively fix things when they go wrong. When a stitch drops in stockinette, it's no problem, because they drop in a very predictable way. When a lace stitch drops, it does the Hokey Pokey and it turns itself around. In the end, I just pulled out a few rounds until a circle of mostly plain-looking stitches poked up and I picked them up.

Everything is fine now. I suppose the upside is that I have a little more confidence in myself to fix errors now. On the downside, I still have a lingering hatred of lace.

Flaws

2008-07-14T22:14:00.004-05:00

In high school, I knew this girl who always looked very chic. She had this one particular outfit that was like this... black stretchy catsuit... thing. She wore a sash over her hips and ballet slippers. It looked very French. I always was impressed by how slim she looked in this outfit. I was born with a poochy belly, you see, and no number of sit-ups ever made a dent in it. This girl confessed that her catsuit thing was, in fact, concealing an assortment of supportive undergarments. She had control-top pantyhose, a girdle, and possibly a waist cincher. She was actually the bearer of a pooch and cellulite. She said one of her big fears was that she'd get into a car accident and the EMTs would end up exposing all her infrastructure. You'd think she would be more worried about injury, but we were 17. We had different priorities then.

Anyway, I thought of this today as I started the second picot hem of my Vandyke socks. Somehow, even though I was doubly careful with this hem, I ended up with many more difficulties than with the first. I tried to fix the mistakes as best I could, because the thought of starting over was too much to bear. The outside of the hem looks pretty good, but the inside of the hem--like the inside of Catsuit Girl's outfit--is full of structural secrets and flaws. The inside of this hem is all cellulite, but you have to look really really closely to tell.

If anyone that close to my ankles while I'm wearing these socks, I'm going to kick them.

Perplexing Picot

2008-07-12T08:12:00.002-05:00

I finished my Canyon Socks and decided that my next pair would be something kind of lacy and fancier than the other socks I've made before. After much deliberation, I chose the Vandyke Lace Panel Socks by Kristin Benecken. (I downloaded the English version.)

Because I can't leave well enough alone, I made the following changes: I increased the stitches to 72 (I have big feets and I knit pretty tightly) and started with a picot cuff.

I don't know why I went with a picot cuff. I hate crochet cast-on because I hate picking up stitches. Well, I started and finished the picot edge last night, and it's a wonder I didn't lose my mind. Somewhere along the way, I wound up with too few stitches, and then too many. I think I fixed it, and it looks great, but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that the whole thing doesn't fall apart like cotton candy in a toilet.

Yeah, I don't know what that means, either.

Anyway, notes for myself: 72 sts, start with 2.5mm needle. Knit five rounds, knit picot round (yo, k2tog, repeat), knit five more rounds. Fold in half, knit stitches from both halves together. Knit one round plain. Switch to 2.25mm needle on first round of pattern. For sl1/k1/psso, I slipped as if to knit. I also changed the stitches around so that I had 35 on the instep side, and 37 on the heel side. That way, the 17 pattern stitches have an equal number (9) of plain stitches on either side.

Notes for my future self when working the second sock: Cast on with waste yarn instead of using crochet cast-on. Slide cast-on stitches to spare needle before attempting to knit them with new stitches. Less chance of losing stitches that way, I think.

Yarn: Regia 4-ply, light blue
Needles: 2.5mm, 2.25mm Knit Picks and HiyaHiya
Method: Magic Loop

Heel adjustments

2008-07-01T19:05:00.004-05:00

Although I love "afterthought" heels, I felt like there was a way I could make them fit my incongruously small heels just a little bit better. The heels on the other socks I made fit pretty well, but I thought I could do better. So I just left out three rounds of plain knitting, and voila! No sag at all now.

My "Canyon Sock" in progress, with heel done and starting the rest of the foot:

Previously, I had done the heel as follows: Knit three rounds plain, knit a decrease round (six decreases), repeat until I had half the stitches I started with, and then decrease every round until I was down to six little stitches, draw the yarn through the loops, and it's done.

This time, instead of waiting till I got to 36 sts (half of my original 72), I started decreasing every round when I got to 42 sts.

The Secret of My Sock Success

2008-06-27T08:48:00.004-05:00

I'd wanted to knit socks for years, but my early attempts discouraged me. I tried using DPNs and every attempt was a spectacular failure. I think I'm too clumsy, and I lose things too readily to be trusted with that many little needles at one time.

Then I read Knitting Rules!, which gave me the inspiration I needed to look outside the box. I'd taken to DPNs because that's what my limited exposure to sock patterns had called for. I decided to try EZ's "Moccasin Sock" since it was partly knitted flat on two needles. Soon after, I discovered I really hate picking up stitches and sewing seams. It's a brilliant design, but for someone with my particular aversions, it wasn't a good fit. My one completed sock sits unmatched and alone in a drawer.

Then as luck would have it, I almost simultaneously came across information about the Magic Loop technique and Afterthought Heels. I only have to pick up six stitches per sock and I never lose my needles! I'm on my seventh pair of socks now, but if Magic Loop hadn't worked for me, I would have kept looking until I found something that did.

A letter to a sock.

2007-10-21T08:15:00.000-05:00

Dear Opal "Magic" Sock,

Why are you so fugly? I'm putting a lot of tender loving care into knitting you, and you repay me by turning into this horrible thing. You look like a Venus Fly Trap ate a whole mess of bees and then regurgitated them onto my needles.

You look slightly cuter in this listing, but the picture is very small. How was I supposed to know what you look like close up? You're like those people on Yahoo! Personals who post pictures of themselves so tiny that no one can tell what they really look like. Not that I've ever used Yahoo! Personals. But I feel you were a little deceptive. You led me to believe you were cute (or at least presentable) when in reality you are barfed-up bees.

Perhaps I shouldn't be so shallow. Maybe all that matters is that you'll keep my feet warm this winter. Goodness knows I dated a man or two for lesser reasons. I guess I'll give you a second chance. If I still find you unappealing, I can always wear you in the dark.

Yours in mingled anticipation and disappointment,

A knitter.

DUH!!!

2007-10-15T18:48:00.000-05:00

I had a huge "DUH!" moment today.

I like making my socks with "Star Toes" because you finish it off (cuff down) with running the yarn through the last six to eight stitches and there's no grafting. But I've been lamenting the fact that the toes of both finished socks have visible lines of decreases going in the same direction.

Just as an example (with an imaginary 28-stitch sock), here's how I've been doing my decreases:

Rnd 1: *K5, k2tog, rep from *. 24 sts rem.
Rnd 2: Knit plain
Rnd 3: *K4, k2tog, rep from *. 20 sts rem.
Rnd 4: rep rnd 2.

And so on.

Today it dawned on me that if I reverse the order of knits and decreases, I'd have a line that went the other way. For example:

Rnd 1: *K2tog, K5, rep from *. 24 sts rem.
Rnd 2: Knit plain
Rnd 3: *K2tog, K4 rep from *. 20 sts rem.
Rnd 4: rep rnd 2.

I'm sure every other knitter on the planet already knew this, but for me it was quite an epiphany. I'm so excited that I decided to start working on the tweedy green socks again.

Done!

2007-10-13T18:10:00.000-05:00

My Crazy Color socks are done!

Unfortunately, Blogspot is refusing to put up the pictures I just took, so that will come later. For now, I'm basking in the afterglow of completing a project.

Recycling

2007-10-02T11:04:00.000-05:00

After reading a post about ecological recycling on the Knit Witch's blog, I got to thinking about a sweater recycling project I had recently undertaken. Long story short: I had decided to take some thrift-shop human sweaters and turn them into dog sweaters.

Here's what happens when you get a slightly felted L.L. Bean sweater and cut it out then sew it into a more-or-less canine shape:

And here's what happens after you chase a small terrier around the house and make him try on the sweater:

I'm not really a huge proponent of dressing up dogs. They're dignified creatures, after all. It's hard enough to maintain your dignity when you're compelled to sniff other creatures' butts all the time without being made to wear frou-frou garments. But I tend not to run the heater much in the winter and I have cold-natured dogs, so making them elegantly understated and practical sweaters seemed like a good idea.

What seemed like a bad idea was spending a lot of time knitting sweaters from scratch. The thought of spending weeks on a neat fair isle outfit only to have it end up covered in poop and leaves and mud after a brisk chase session in the yard was too much to bear. So I bought a few woolly sweaters for $3 and under and dragged out my grandmother's sewing machine, which heretofore I had only used once in life, the end result of which was to make myself a pair of shorts with mismatched legs.

But the dog sweater turned out quite nicely, I think, and so cheaply, which is a bonus. I didn't even have to spring for a pattern. I just measured the dog and after I cleaned up all my bite wounds, I was good to go.

Give me a break

2007-09-27T07:20:00.001-05:00

I had to take a break from the tweedy green socks. I think the stretchless single-ply yarn was hurting my fingers and thus slowing me down considerably. Instead, I'm now working on these:

Yarn: Some Regia 4-ply "Crazy Color" I got from a Knitting Reviewer's destash
Needles: KnitPicks 32" nickel-plated 2.5mm and Hiya Hiya 40" stainless 2.25mm
Pattern: 2X2 ribbed cuff and random garter ridges on leg (A.k.a. "Making it up as I go along")

I didn't set out to use two different needles. I started out with the 2.5mm on the cuff, got about .75" into the thing and realized that despite my earlier gauge swatch, things were going to be too loose. Being lazy as I am, I decided to switch to a 2.25mm needle to work the rest of the cuff and leg rather than frog what I'd already done. I think it's going to work out well, because the top of the cuff is loose enough that I don't have to strain the stitches when pulling the sock over my heel, and the rest of the cuff is tight enough that it won't slouch unintentionally.

The Never-Ending Sock

2007-09-19T18:37:00.000-05:00

OHMYGODWHYISTHISSOCKTAKINGSOLONG??!

The tweedy green cable socks from my previous posts are just taking forever to knit. I'm a "process knitter" (someone who enjoys the experience, the process of knitting) for about the first day or two of any project and then I become an annoyed wants-to-hurry-up-and-get-it-off-the-needles knitter for the rest of the time. I'd like to think this makes me complex and interesting but I think it just makes me all mixed up.

Afterthought heels

2007-09-15T07:30:00.000-05:00

In the previous post, I professed my love for the Twisted German Cast-On. Today I'd like to say how much I enjoy the Afterthought Heel (AKA, the Peasant Heel). It takes me so long to knit a sock that the thought of wearing holes in the heels makes me cry. And me when I cry is not a pretty thing--red nose, puffy eyes and lips. It's like Ronald McDonald with a hormone imbalance.

Luckily I learned how to do a completely re-heelable sock from Dawn Brocco's site. I had tried the brilliant and practical "Moccasin Sock" from EZ's Knitter's Almanac, but I hate both picking up stitches and grafting with equal animosity. But with the Afterthought Heel, I only have to pick up six stitches (I pick up three in each corner rather than the four DB recommends) and since it uses a star pattern decrease, there's no grafting, either. It's the perfect sock for someone as impatient and uncoordinated as I am.

Here's a picture of the instep side (I'm Magic Loop-ing it):

And the temporary heel stitches which will be pulled out and rearrange on the needles:

My love affair with a German

2007-09-14T06:44:00.000-05:00

I'm in love! The new love of my life is German, and, well, a little twisted. But in a good way!

I'm talking about the "Twisted German Cast-On". With some help from the internet, I recently taught myself this method of casting on for cuff-down socks and I love it. It's stretchy but not floppy, and it looks fantastic.

Here's a very helpful how-to video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=BfFadEumBak

And here's the cuff of a sock I'm working on, having used this cast-on:

A knitting dream

2007-09-12T06:59:00.000-05:00

Well, it wasn't really a knitting dream, per se. But last night I dreamt that I was in some kind of horrible, post-apocalyptic future world, sort of like a cross between The Handmaid's Tale and Bladerunner.

Amid all the horrors and tortures I faced in this unfamiliar wasteland, there was a handsome young man in a beautiful heathered-red sweater. It had a V-neck, raglan sleeves, and was made of cashmere. I remember touching it and thinking it was the softest sweater I'd ever felt. I complimented him on it and told him it was his sweater that attracted me to him.

That's right, even in a post-apocalyptic nightmare I am hitting on cute guys and lusting over knitwear. I may be incorrigible.

Dialing...

2007-09-04T08:21:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to set up a knitting blog for a while but I couldn't think of a name. I'm a writer by profession (most of the time) and it's the same when I'm writing a story: If a character doesn't have a name, I find I can't write about him or her.

So yesterday I was sitting at my computer, waiting for a song to download from iTunes, and to pass the time I knitted a few rounds on a sock. Suddenly I realized how much knitting I get done while waiting for web pages, files, and images to download. It's one reason I've resisted switching to a high speed connection. With my pokey old dial-up, I get a lot done between You Tube and Download.com.

That's how I finally came up with Dial K for Knitter. And here I am. With my socks and my old modem. Welcome!