Second Sock... Speed-Up?

There are many knitting myths to which I do not subscribe. The most predominant has got to be the greatly bemoaned "Second Sock Syndrome."

While a cute name and oft-sympathized malady, I find my behavior to be exactly the opposite of that described by the lethargy which sets in upon completion of the first sock, especially the supposed reluctance to cast on and then complete the second sock of the pair.

Instead, the closer I get to finishing the first sock, the more antsy I am to cast on the second. Once I have worked out the amount of pattern repeats for the foot, the stitches on the heel, and the length of the leg, I cannot wait to breeze through the second sock on an autopilot-like level of gleeful enjoyment.

I'm calling it the Second Sock Speed-Up, and I will champion its cause. All the drudgery and monotony of the first sock is removed by being half-finished with the pair. Each stitch toward the second sock is faster and ultimately easier because you've done it before and there are no surprises or confusing bits left, just smooth sailing.

Which is to say... stay tuned. I have something nice to show you.

Orange Socks

Though I have many other things to show and talk about, most of my knitting is still packed in boxes from the move. I did manage to fish out some orange yarn and my size 2 DPNs to start the September Sock Knitters Anonymous Sockdown orange socks challenge.



I had planned to use this yarn for a pair of Snicket socks (Ravelry link), but I could not figure out how to do the cables without a cable needle and I was feeling tremendously impatient. I searched around Ravelry for a simpler sock that would be knit over 60 stitches and found the lovely Bella Catena Italiana pattern (here on Ravelry).



The name means "Beautiful Italian Chain" and it is knit in an Italian virgin wool, so it seems fitting upon a return from Italy. These socks are moving pretty quickly and I think I may just finish a Sockdown challenge in one month this time.

(On a technical note, I am having some mystifying issues between Blogger and the FTP upload to my server. When I look at this site, I'm seeing a post that I've deleted in Blogger, as well as physically deleted from my server... yet I can't get it to go away, hence the duplication. It's also doing flukey things with comments.

If this blog goes silent for a while, please check my sidebar or Blogger profile for notes on what's going on.)

Back to a new home

I wanted to drop in quickly and say I am back from Italy (it was AMAZING) and coping fairly well with having moved to a different state, having everything we own still mostly in boxes, and now enjoying a commute that is about 2.5 hours each way.

I would be lying if I pretended I didn't secretly relish the train time, as I'm envisioning piles and piles of knitting getting done, but it is worrying for the rest of my life.

The chill in the air is inspiring beyond belief - I am nuts about fall, and it seems I'm not at all alone in that. I will post an FO and some new WIPs soon, whenever I get to the "knitting stuff" strata of Ye Olde Box Mountain.

Arrivederci!

I am leaving for Italy this afternoon!

At the last minute, I decided not to bring any knitting, and while I'm already sort of kicking myself for that, I know it will be for the best. It will give me time to draw and to learn French for a very important exam (upon which the rest of my degree and the next year or more of my life depends).

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your summer, and I'll see you in September! Ciao!

Keeping Busy

I feel bad doing these drive-by posts where I slap up a few photos and scurry back to what I've been doing, but I am exceedingly busy with work, getting ready for my trip, sorting out a mess with my student loans, and figuring out where I'm going to live once this lease ends.

I guess the good thing is that the prevalence of anxiety and insomnia lately results in lots of knitting.

While I sort out what to do with my Eleanor socks (I am going to knit a third one to match the more open eyelets of the second sock, I think), I have continued working on my self-designed socks. Look - they're actually looking like socks!



I've decided to name these Springtide socks. In designing them, I was going for something that evoked the new life of spring growth, delicate chutes emerging from the soggy ground and vibrant leaf tips glowing in the sunlight. I hope to have these finished soon, as the deadline for their particular Sockdown contest is rapidly approaching.

I also cast on a really cool pattern for July, Scrolls Socks (Ravelry link) by Charlene Schurch from her book More Sensational Knitted Socks.



I love the swooping movement in this pattern, which is deceptively easy to knit.



It's amazing to me how such different patterns can emerge from simple combinations of knit, purl, increases, decreases, and YOs. I am utterly charmed by these.

I'm planning to bring the Scrolls socks and a few other small projects with me to work on in Italy. I am also planning to bring my newly-finished Jellyfish shrug (which we will talk about in all kinds of depth soon).

For now, a peek...



Yeah, I'm pretty happy about that.

Almost Eleanor

Well this has never happened before.

I made a pair of socks, in a pattern and a yarn I absolutely adore, but I am not happy with the socks. I finished these on June 30th, and I've been unhappily thinking about them since then.



(Please excuse the lousy photo - I was rushing to submit it for a Sockdown entry.)

I love almost everything about these socks, but I made one big error. I tried to make the eyelets mirror images of one another, so they would cascade from the center down to each foot. Unfortunately, the way the pattern progressed, it made one set of eyelets (at left) very open and well-formed, the way they were intended. The second (at right) are smaller and tighter, more like a squinting aperture than a true eyelet.

I knit the smaller eyelets first, and as I saw the pattern changing on the second sock, I liked it so much that I figured I'd deal with the difference and try to compensate for it with a severe blocking of the first. Nothing doing. If I want these socks to match (and I do), I have to re-knit one of them.

As much as I love knitting socks, three of a kind may be too much for me.

FO - Cropped Raglan Sweater for Elise

I am very glad to have finished Elise's cropped raglan sweater today.



I took photos before blocking, but I think you can see I'm pretty happy with it.



Pattern: Cropped Raglan Sweater (Ravelry link), free pattern from Lion Brand
Size: Large (41")
Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Worsted 10-ply worsted weight, color #8067 Sea Spray (dye lot 3740), 60% Pima cotton 40% Modal; I used just under eight 50-gram balls, totaling approximately 400 grams/14.08 oz or 600 yards/552 meters.
Needles: Knit Picks Options interchangeable circular needles, in US size 7 (4.5 mm) and 8 (5.0 mm)
Recipient: my aunt Elise
Modifications: none

Started: February 1, 2008
Finished: June 27, 2008

The usual disclaimers apply, in that I started this months ago and put it down for a long time, then finished it this week.



My aunt lives in Hawaii and works in an air-conditioned hospital. She mentioned how her shoulders and upper arms often freeze at work, so I wanted to make her something light and appropriate to the tropics, but substantial enough to keep her warm. I also wanted a soft and easy-care yarn, and I knew she adored this cotton/modal blend when she was admiring my grandmother's shawl.



One of the most interesting aspects of this project for me is that I've made this pattern before, a little more than a year ago, and in acrylic. I really enjoyed knitting it in cotton and seeing the way it was intended to drape. As much as I love my first version, I found the cotton to be swoon-worthy in wonderful ways.

There were several technical differences this time around as well. Apart from general speed and confidence, now that I know how to seam, I knit the sleeves flat rather than in the round on DPNs, which I found made them go a lot more quickly.



As I only just learned how to properly pick up and knit stitches last week, it was quite a different experience doing the front band ribbing. I picked up 2 stitches for every 3 rows, which gave me about 74 stitches when the pattern called for 94. I feel like if I had picked up more stitches (as I'd done in my acrylic version), the ribbing would sag in the heavy cotton.



I used a stretchier bind-off on the arm and waist ribbing to make for a more comfortable fit. I learned this bind-off from toe-up sock knitting and figured it would work as well for upper arms and to give the waist some stretch. I wanted this sweater to be easy to pull on and off, fitting with the easygoing drape of the cotton. I worried that this bind-off made it flare slightly, but I can happily say that all evened out with blocking.



I think this is a great pattern. Because it's such a versatile design, I find I wear mine all the time, over girly dresses or casual tees. I chose this soft greenish blue color because I think it's beautifully subtle. I hope it will function almost as a neutral with the rest of my aunt's vibrant wardrobe, making it easy to coordinate and enjoyable to wear. I also thought it would look great against her lovely tan complexion and blue eyes.



I am completely thrilled with the yarn. It is so nice to use and makes for a decadent finished project. I got to see how well it held up with my grandmother's shawl, so I know that my aunt's sweater will look great for a long time too.

My only concern is that this sweater may be a touch too big for my aunt. I tried it on myself to compare it with last summer's version, and it's slightly looser and more drapey all over. I think it'll be okay, if a bit more casual in feel than mine was. I really hope she likes it! I'll try to get photos of her wearing it when I give it to her for her birthday this weekend.

(By the way, for any Cure fans out there, I can't look at this project without thinking of "A Letter to Elise," but yknow, a sweater for Elise. Heh.)

Previous Entries on this Project:
- So close
- WIP it Out
- About those resolutions...