Reptilian Lace Socks in Handpainted Yarn

I finally got around to taking pics of these socks! I had been meaning to for nearly a week. But my darling hubby had been tender from having two cysts removed. So I didn't want to trouble him to help me. It is kinda funny doing them myself. Propping the camera up on something and then bending over to snap the pic. *laugh* So the pics aren't as good as they usually are. But hey, they are done! *grin*

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Cast On:
January 11 2009

Completed:
February 4 2009

Pattern:
Reptilian Lace by Sivia Harding
http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/PATTreptilianlace.html

Made for:
Me - 9" circumference, 9 1/4" long

Needles:
Knitpicks Options & Harmony needles in US 3 / 3.25 mm, US 2 / 2.75 mm & US 1 / 2.25 mm
2 socks on 2 circs


Yarn:
Cosmic Fibers Bamboo Sock in Black Orchid - Dyed by me, not Dharmahey
0.9 skeins = 346.5 yards (316.8m)
Purchased at Dharmafey's Cosmic Fibers http://cosmicfibersyarn.etsy.com


I was debating what to do for the January Sock Knitters Anonymous KAL. I could do either socks with beads, an online pattern or the beaded mystery sock. I was tempted by the mystery sock. But that would have required going out and buying more beads. I really didn’t want to do that given I have a lot of beads sitting around unused.

These are socks with beads strung onto the yarn. So they are smaller than the ones I would have needed to the mystery sock. Though I want to do those some other time.

This actually fits in the KAL in two ways. It is a beaded sock & it is an online pattern. *grin*

I did write the moderator to make sure bead knitting was also okay. From what I have read, beaded knitting can mean that the bead is slid onto the stitch vs. bead knitting where the beads are stung onto the yarn. She said any sock with beads were fine.

I was curious how these will fit. The gauge says 36-sts, but then only has you cast on 66 sts. I started with a size 3 needle in hopes they would fit okay. With all the yarn overs & such, I think they will fit just fine on the leg. I went down to a size two as I got closer to the heel. And then I went down to a size one needle for the foot so it would be a tighter fit.

The funny part is that I actually wound my Schaefer Heather into balls with the intention that I would use that for the January project. But after looking at some patterns, I decided I really liked this one. I went looking in my stash for a yarn that could work well. And this one grabbed my eye as a great match.

I suspect I should have done silver beads instead of gold/copper ones I used. But I like the way the beads play off the purples. I think it does make the black look more brown. But I think they are nice.

I wish the beads had been a larger size though. The pattern said to use a larger bead size, but I have a lot of beads and didn’t want to buy more. So I used seed beads. They don’t show up a lot, but there is a nice shimmer there.

I like the way they came out. It is a nice pattern and was pretty easy.

I didn't notice until this morning that these socks match my handspun shawl pretty well! *chuckle* It is the black, purple & burgundy combo I like so much. I really think I dyed this yarn before I ordered the fiber that I used for my shawl. Too funny!

Kaylee Socks Complete

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Pattern:

Kaylee by Monkey Toes

Unfortunately, no longer available online but hopeful her husband will upload it to Ravelry sometime soon.

Made for:

Me - Size 9

Yarn:

Done Roving Frolicking Feet Superwash Wool Yarn in Fancy Footwork colorway

1 skeins = 480.0 yards (438.9m)

Purchased at Seaport Yarn in NYC

Needles:

US 1 1/2 / 2.5 mm Knitpicks Options & Harmony

2 socks on 2 circs

Started for the May Sock Knitters Anonymous KAL.

I do find it weird that the pattern has no gauge. But luckily, they are toe-up. I was able to tweak them as I went which helped.

I had to add 6 sts to each side to get them to fit. They would have been too small if I just follow the pattern. For the additional side stitches I did p2 k2 p2 on rows 1, 2, 4 & 5 of the repeat. And I did p1 k1 p2 k1 p1 on rows 3 & 6. I found that worked pretty well.

The repeat isn't as complex as I feared. Though I had trouble understanding row 5 of the pattern. Shansays on ravelry explained it in a way that made more sense.

Basically, for the middle stitches of row 5 it goes:

* Cast on 4 using backward loop cast on

* Pick up the 4 dropped stitches from the 4 previous row, knit them as a stitch

* YO

* Again pick up the 4 dropped stitches from the 4 previous row, knit them as a stitch

* Cast on 4 more stitches using backward loop cast on

I should have taken some pictures as it would make it easier to understand what is happening.

The toe is Judy's Magic Cast On. I really don't know if I will ever do another toe up toe! I love it.

The heel is a short row toe up heel. I am not really thrilled with it. There are holes along the edges. I won't be doing that again.

Not sure why I kept stalling with these. I finished them by the end of June so they will be eligible for the May KAL. But they were kinda slow going. I think I just haven't felt as driven to do socks. And the pattern was not mindless enough to be easy tv or car knitting.

I think the yarn is too busy for the pattern. It doesn't show it well. But I will still wear them as I like it.

Kaylee Socks

Pattern:

Kaylee by Monkey Toes

Unfortunately, no longer available online but hopeful her husband will upload it to Ravelry sometime soon.

Generated by Flickr Album Maker

Made for:

Me - Size 9

Yarn:

Done Roving Frolicking Feet Superwash Wool Yarn in Fancy Footwork colorway

1 skeins = 480.0 yards (438.9m)

Purchased at Seaport Yarn in NYC

Needles:

US 1 1/2 / 2.5 mm Knitpicks Options & Harmony

2 socks on 2 circs

Started for the May Sock Knitters Anonymous KAL.

The pattern has no gauge. Luckily, they are toe-up. So I was able to tweak them as I went along. I needed to add 12 stitches to get them to fit my foot. I am not sure how I will adjust the pattern for the additional stitches when I get to the leg, but I am sure something will come to me.

The pattern is really more like a stitch pattern than a full pattern. It just gives the pattern repeat & says do whatever toe & heel you want.

The repeat isn't as complex as I feared. Though I had trouble understanding row 5 of the pattern. Shansays on ravelry explained it in a way that made more sense.

Basically, for the middle stitches of row 5 it goes:

* Cast on 4 using backward loop cast on

* Pick up the 4 dropped stitches from the 4 previous row, knit them as a stitch

* YO

* Again pick up the 4 dropped stitches from the 4 previous row, knit them as a stitch

* Cast on 4 more stitches using backward loop cast on

I should take some pictures as it would make it easier to understand what is happening.

I struggled with this because this means that you are gaining a lot of stitches in this row. However, each of the previous rows is decreasing the number of stitches. So row 5 gets it back to being as wide as it needs to be.

I really like the pattern. Now that I understand row 5, I am finding it is pretty quick to knit.

The toe was done using Judy's Magic Cast On. I confess since learning this method, I really do not use other methods unless the pattern specifically states something different. It is wonderful and makes a terrific toe.

I really had hoped to cast on another Monkey Toes pattern for the Sock Knitters Anonymous May KAL. I really want to do a Brigit socks. But I am guessing that will wait.