I didn't post my progress photos yesterday for the Makiba Socks that I am making for my daughter, Moogie, so I am doing a catch up post now before I get going on them again.
I had finished the legs Friday night before I went to bed, but the light had gone (it sets late here, but it was still too late to get a decent photo), so I took some photos yesterday morning right before I got started knitting. I knit the legs 23 cm (9 in) which I hope will be long enough for Moogie's tastes.
They are now too long for the glasses I am using as sock blockers/photo props.
The detail is very pretty. And the ribbing makes them very stretchy.
I think it shows the ribbing pattern nicely. This is what it looks like from the wrong side:
I then went on and knit the heel turn from memory. I am so ridiculously proud of myself that I am able to do this now with no instructions. I just keep a stitch marker showing where the middle of the heel is, then start my turn 1 stitch after the marker.
My instructions for a heel of any EVEN number of stitches would be:
Row 1: Right Side, Sl 1, Knit to the center stitch marker, sm, k1, ssk, k1, turn
Row 2: Wrong Side, Sl 1, Purl to the center stitch marker, sm p1, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 3: Right Side, Sl 1, Knit to 1 before the gap, ssk, k1, turn
Row 4: Wrong Side, Sl 1, Purl to 1 before the gap, ssk, p1, p2tog, p1, turn
Repeat rows 3 and 4 until all of the stitches on the the heel are used.
If you have an ODD number of stitches on the heel flap, the directions are basically the same, except I put 2 stitch markers, one on either side of the center stitch.
Row 1: Right Side, Sl 1, Knit to the 2nd stitch marker, sm, k1, ssk, k1 turn
Row 2: Wrong Side, S1, Purl to past the middle to the 2nd stitch marker, sm p1, p2tog, p1, turn
proceed as with Rows 3 and 4 above.
If I want a wider heel, I make the first 2 rows, 2 stitches past the stitch markers. There is no counting involved. As long as you pay attention, you just watch for the gap created by the short rows, then either ssk or p2tog across that gap. Super simple
As I knit yesterday morning, I watched So You Think You Can Dance. This season, they will have 1 girl winner and 1 boy winner. I like more winners. However, every season, I just want the girls all voted off, and only the boys left. Really, I think all of the girls pretty much look and dance alike. Their solos rarely have anything to do with the music, and are pretty much just carbon copies of each other done by girls dancing in sport bras (why?). I know the show worries about girls only voting for the guy dancers, but that is because they are way more distinctive than the girls. That being said, I like the 3 ballet dancers, and the only girl who stands out this season is the girl ballet dancer. (I rarely learn the dancers names, just give them nicknames for the season...) I think the judges deliberately dissed the 2 guy ballet dancers, to give the other dancers a chance, because, let's face it, they have way the best technique.
So, why not watch and knit? Well, first, I can't really knit and not look at my knitting, so every time there is a performance, I have to stop knitting to watch. (Oh, yes, you might be able to tell that I DVR'd the show, which is a bit of a pain because I can never vote). This stopping-knitting-to-watch-the-dancing slows down my already famously slow knitting. But, the real problem was that I became so enthralled in the show, I love pretty much all of the 10 guys, and just want the girls to go, that I did not knit the 2nd heel flap, I just turned the heel. So I had one mutant sock. I finished it and was ready to pick up the gusset just as we were getting ready to go see the new Spiderman movie, (I really liked it, and do NOT feel that the story has already been told, who needs more Spiderman). EEEEEEK! I had to rip it back. After the movie, my husband, the Doc, and I went over to a neighbor's house for a barbecue, yum, salmon and steak. I brought my sock, and was able to knit the missing heel flap and the cup before the light got so dim in the backyard, that I was worried I would make a mistake. When we got home, I was too tired to blog and went straight to bed.
Thus the photos first thing, and this catch up blog.
Why it takes me 4 hours to take some photos, eat breakfast, start 2 loads of laundry, and write this blog I don't know.
Anyway, I am now ready to get started on the gussets. Oh, just an observation and a question about gussets. When I pick up my gusset stitches, I just pick up what seems to make a nice solid fabric on each side (using the slipped stitches as a guide), but I never ever get the same number of stitches. Never. Does anyone else have this happen? I mean, it's not a huge problem, as I just reduce the bigger side every round until they are even. It's just a weird phenomenon.
I hope to be posting another brief(er) update of these socks tonight that will have finished gussets!
Stay safe and well.
yours,
f1bercat
Shaping the planet with mutant heels.
 | |
| Fixed Heels |
