I got bogged down knitting these; I finished the first sock in early April and then didn’t want to knit the second straight away. This makes finishing “on time” difficult. For now I’ll work on piling up some more single socks, and then make the mates a little later. To that end, I have a single sock in some green Tofutsies:

I made the cuff shorter than usual as this yarn makes a nice warm weather sock. This time round I didn’t find it splittly like I did the first time. The stitch pattern is “Arrow” from Charlene Schurch’s Sensational Knitted Socks.

Of all the other socks I had started in my last post, only one other made the cut, another green sock in the Ringwood stitch pattern from Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. I’m just using the stitch pattern, as the sock is sized in the book for a man. I love the Happy Forest Smooshy yarn from Dream in Color.

The above have been ripped. The top left was Sockittome from CTH, and the yarn was not nice; it felt very acrylicky–even though it wasn’t. I didn’t like holding it. The top right was a design idea that turned out to look stupid, and the bottom will soon be back on the needles but in a pattern that I can do some calf shaping with.

Meanwhile, I’ve picked out patterns for these gorgeous semi-solids: BMFA STR lightweight in Rose Quartz and Sundara Sock Yarn in Ember over Flame.

You’ll just have to wait to see what the patterns are. I might jinx it if I tell you before I’ve even cast on.

Last post, I showed the finished toes of the Gentleman’s Fancy Sock from Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. At first, I thought the Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Potluck in Blues/Purples I was using looked better in the skein than in the sock, but it grew on me. I’m quite pleased how well these turned out.

To make these for me and not a gentleman, I started at 72 stitches and decreased to 64, which I further decreased to 60 when working the gussets. I also did a slip-stitch heel flap instead of stockinette; I also did a wide toe, but I don’t know if that was part of the pattern or not (which is upstairs, and I’m lazy).

Half-way down the foot of the first sock, I realized I had changed the instep pattern to one knit row instead of two between the alternating sets of 2×2 rib. I couldn’t see a real difference, so I kept on going and did the second sock the same way. I also made sure I made these long enough before starting the toe: 1.5 inches from the total length not 2 inches, like many patterns suggest.

I liked this pattern stitch for an easy sock as it was more interesting than just 2×2 rib (doing 8 row sets of rib seemed to go faster than just measuring length), but I obviously didn’t need the pattern to keep going. I like having such a sock in progress: not too dull but not requiring a lot of mental power to stay on track. Once these were done, I didn’t feel like knitting the second Retro Rib Sock yet, so I looked for another such pattern. Luckily, Anne had just offered the Roger Sock for sale, and I knew it would look great in some BFL superwash sock yarn from Little Dog Designs. I really like the BFL yarn; it has a nice luster, and the dye job is great! The colorway is called Poseidon, and is richer than this photo suggests (it’s a billion degrees outside–I’m not going outside to photograph anything much less wool today–see lazy comment above–I am doing laundry in a 90+ degree garage).

Well, that’s enough computer time for today, as tomorrow I’ll be referencing a manuscript, which will try Archie’s and my patience to the limit. But I need to point out that M has been diligently blogging at Cocktails with M this summer! He’s had no comments. The Side Car is one of my favorite cocktails. Cheers!

As for knitting, my sore first knuckle of my right index finger is taking its own sweet time to heal completely. I’ve resprained it twice now, thinking it was all better when it was still feeling a bit piqued. Once was while knitting on the raspberry throw I started early in the year. It was just too heavy. So it is lightweight knitting for now. Luckily, it isn’t the process of knitting that causes pain just the weight of the knitting (and knitting too much through the backloop). I can knit the sleeves from my La Gran Cardi (if you want a visual refresher, it’s in the same post as the raspberry throw above), as mohair weighs practically nothing. I was certain I would have to make the sleeves shorter than the pattern specified, so I blocked the body pieces, seamed the shoulders and then tried it on. Making the sleeves exactly as the patter dictates will work just fine. My Tudor Grace scarf is done and blocked, but I haven’t been able to take a good picture of it on yet, so that will have to wait.

But I have been able to finish some socks. This is important, as my feet love handknit socks and hate purchased socks. Last winter I had to rely more on the latter than the former, and my feet decided to be drier, itchier, and colder. I finished the stockinette socks in CTH Champlain Sunset:

I tried a cable pattern with this yarn first that were staggered rope cables with no purling between the ropes. It was too subtle for this busy colorway and not stretchy enough for socks. I tried something else too, but I can’t remember what, but the yarn finally convinced me it just wanted to be stockinette. In the end, I agree it was the best choice. Moving along, I also finished the Nodding Violet socks in STR medium weight.

I have these socks on as I write, and the medium weight STR will work in some of my shoes, but I think these will be best as I am wearing them now–with my fleece-lined slippers when my feet and ankles are like ice cubes. In addition to finishing these two pair, I have two single socks also completed: a Spring Monkey and a Gentleman’s Fancy Sock.


I love everything about the Monkey sock: yarn, pattern, colors. I’ll definitely be knitting this pattern again. I have the second sock started. The Gentleman’s Fancy Sock, which I’ve slightly modified from Nancy Bush’s pattern in Vintage Socks, is more of a disappointment. The colors knit up aren’t as pretty as the yarn in the skein. The duller shades of grey-blue stick together and the more intense purple-blue is then left on its own. This remained consistent though the leg decreased from 72 to 64 stitches, and the foot has only 60 stitches. I’d like better mixing. Oh, well. I will knit the second sock, but not just yet. Since I feel a desperate need for blue socks, I started a Retro Rib Sock from Favorite Socks in Knit Picks Essential Tweed in Blue Ox. That is going much better.

I also started a shawl in some stashed Sea Silk I had on hand, as I realized we are going to an evening wedding in June in the mountains by the ocean. But that will have to wait for another post. I should go clean out a closet of things that I don’t really want to take to a seventh state. M is at work; I can throw more things away when he isn’t around.

So during the two days that haven’t been rainy and sodden, M’s parents were here visiting and we went up into the Sierra Nevada Foothills to Placerville. Placerville was a gold rush town, and so it is chock full of historical buildings and things to do. It even has a yarn shop! I got to go to Lofty Lou’s. Here Nancy and I head into the little shop:

M and his dad, Bob, weren’t that thrilled with the thought of crawling through a yarn shop (Crazy! I know.), but Lou had anticipated this. There were chairs outside on a little patio, and they had a good chat and did some people watching while Nancy and I shopped. There were a lot of novelty yarns and sock yarns, but I had a couple of scraps of sweater yarn I want to get coordinating yarn to knit scarves with. And I found a winner! Trabajos del Peru, a new merino yarn from Plymouth Yarns was scrumptious!

It’s aran weight (4 spi on size 9 needles), and two skeins had nearly 300 yds of yarn and cost less than $20. A real deal. It’s hand-dyed and single ply like Malabrigo. I wonder if the dyers from Uruguay (Manos del Uruguay), Paraguay (Malabrigo) and now this yarn from Peru feel a sense of competition. Do they look at each other’s color cards and make snide comments? Well, these colors are lovely, and the greens match my Wool of the Andes (Peruvian yarns rule!) in Fern.

My current plan is a February Lady Sweater in the Fern and a chevron/feather and fan sort of motif for the scarf. But all that could change!
Well, before my headache really becomes a migraine, I should wish all of you a great weekend, and now I’ll get off the computer.

While knitting the first pair of Christmas socks in a 4×4 rib, I realized that if I didn’t get any sock blockers, I was going to have awful photos.  The socks were too narrow for my feet, so I asked Cristi, the turtlegirl, if she’d make me a pair of  blockers.  Cristi usually puts rulers on the blockers, but I didn’t need that, so she asked if I wanted anything else.  Well, I had a ladybug tape measure and a beehive pincushion (see below), so I thought something keeping with the “good bugs” theme would be cool.  Cristi did dragonflies, and I couldn’t be more pleased.

So, the first pair of Christmas socks, which I finished in August, can now have their FO pic on the blog.

The yarn is Fleece Artist Merino in Lily Pond. I knit on 2.25 mm (size 1) needles, which with my tension the FA yarn made for a very durable fabric. I don’t think I’ll do that again. Plus, on size 1 needles, the Eye of Partridge heel took 42 rows for 21 picked up stitches. I’m somewhat surprised that the gussets worked out as well as they did. But they are DONE!

I also finished the second pair of Christmas socks in a K3,P1,K1,P1 rib for the leg and a stockinette foot. These turned out nice in Fleece Artist Seawool in Burgundy.

I wasn’t enthralled with the Seawool; it felt a little artificial, but the knit fabric turned out very nice. So that’s IT on the Christmas socks. I have one hat to knit for a gift. I already knit a hat, but it is too small for the recipient, so I ordered new yarn. The too small hat should fit a grad student in lab who is a size 0 and grew up in Phoenix, so she finds northern California cold. She’s agreed to a photoshoot if the hat fits, and then she can keep it.

I have to show you my bottle cap pin cushion (the support is a bottle cap from a 2 liter soda bottle) made by Very Big Jen, which I bought at her etsy shop, Schmaltzy Craftsy. It is so cute! (and I’m usually pretty immune to cute) I haven’t been able to stick any pins in it yet. So it currently functions as a objet d’art. With the dragonfly sock blockers and my ladybug tape measure, the trio makes quite a nice little “good bugs” grouping. Good bugs, of course, are those bugs that eat the bad bugs that bite me (or provide the world with food by pollinating plants and eating crop pests–I suppose that’s almost as important as eating the bugs that bite me).

As for bugs biting me, let’s just say that when asked what sort of insect repellent he uses, M says, “I stand next to my wife, and they are too busy biting her to bite me.” Nice.

But even with all the book craziness, I do have a FO: the Stansfield 27 socks are done! These are for my friend Nancy, who takes exquisite care of her hand knit socks, but also wears them regularly. She also notices fancy toes, stitch patterns, heel architecture, etc. So, she is definitely a good person to knit socks for.


The photo of the socks on my feet show the Raspberry color of the Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino the best. Charlene Schurch in More Sensational Knitted Socks includes this 10-stitch repeat pattern from Lesley Stanfield’s stitch dictionary. The only thing I changed was to change needle sizes from 2 to 1 part way down the leg for some pseudo-shaping, and I used the Star Toe of Three Points from any one of Nancy Bush’s sock books. That toe is a little longer than a standard toe, so I was able to end the pattern where I wanted, so it starts at the top and ends at the bottom of the sock at the same place, but I was still able to get a sock the right size for Nancy.

It is a nice stitch pattern to knit. Every other round is just knit, and it’s easy to count the garter ridges of the basketweave pattern. Here’s the pattern stitch up close.

So, now after a wash, I’ll be able to give them to Nancy for her birthday which was July 31st, and she’ll tuck them into a drawer until the end of October when it might get cool enough for her to wear them.

Well, August 27th was my second Blogiversary, and I plan to have a belated contest to celebrate, but I’m still working out the details. I the meantime, while I dither, knit on!

The Twisted Flower Socks were part of the Single Sock Swap, and Jean of Golden Purl knit the first sock, and then sent me it, the yarn and the pattern. The yarn is Lana Grossa/Meilenweit Seta/Cashmere (65% wool/15% silk/16% polyamide/4% cashmere) in a lovely light navy, and of course the pattern is by Cookie A. I managed to knit the second sock so that it is identical to the first!

Even up close!

So this swap was a long time ago blogwise (but not so long when considering earth plate tectonics), and I received the package from Jean last November. I put off knitting until after the holidays, and then things went pretty well until I got to the heel flap, which had SSPs on the wrong side rows. The sock asked for a time out before I killed it. That purling two together through the back loop after twisting the stitches was, shall we say, unpleasant. After a couple months rest, I went back to the sock in a fit of guilt, and now all was easy. Even the twisted motifs, which had been doable, but I was looking at the chart almost every other stitch, now seemed logical. How could I have ever been so confused before? My brain did something in that intervening time; I don’t know what, and I’m not asking. I did check, and I can still do long division of two digit numbers into 4-5 digit numbers in my head, so that wasn’t what went in gaining understanding of what twist goes where. I can still sing the alphabet song too, but I’m sure something vital has flown the coop.

Anyway, I’m even contemplating knitting another pair of socks with twisty patterns in the future. I was going to also post the Stansfield 27 socks today, as they are also done, but they need a little bath and some blocking to be camera ready.

Plus, NELOSYS the first is done and blocked, but it has been too hot for modeled shots, so that has been on blog-posting hold too. And I have made several acquisitions, and I have a couple more on the way. But Archie, my computer, is again sick! It is something different this time, which even M doesn’t understand (this is very hard for me to understand as M thinks like a computer–he usually makes Mr. Spock seem overwrought with sensibility). Archie, when running on his battery, knows he has battery power left, but he shuts down anyway. He’s not overheating, he just goes to a black screen. Sigh. And then he won’t restart unless he’s plugged in. I’ve calibrated the battery and both his battery indicators indicate that he still has battery power. I fear Apple will want to see Archie again, and then I’ll be away again from the blogosphere. Good thing I have a lot of yarn…

Top Row (left to right):
1. Christmas Socks I: 4×4 rib (total snoozer), eye of partridge heel flap (42 rows to get a 2″ flap!), and FA merino in Lily Pond (very pretty). One sock done. Sock two started, but I have to bribe myself to knit on it.
2. Christmas Socks II: K3,P1,K1,P1 rib (looks nice stretched), slip-st heel flap, and FA SeaWool in Burgundy (nice colors, but the yarn feels a bit funny to me). One sock done. SeaWool is thicker than FA’s merino, so I used size 2 needles (2.75 mm) and only need 48 stitches around, as recipient has very narrow feet.
3. Stansfield 27 Socks (More Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch): Knitting these for a friend’s birthday gift. Sock one done. Sock 2 on gusset decreases. Love, love, love the Fearless Fibers merino in Raspberry. Will finish these soon (birthday was July 31, but weather is hot here, and she got to try on the first sock, which fit!).
Bottom Row (left to right):
4. Making it up Seed Stitch and Rib Socks: Got this pattern idea from a sweater swatch I was knitting and HAD to try it out. Black Bunny Fibers Merino in Aquamarine. This is the third sock try with this yarn; I hope it’s the charm.
5. 2/2/2 socks: Cool cables, but rather complicated to knit for the effect (e.g. two cable needles for one cable and moving stitches from front to back half way through the cable for the other). Is all this fuss worth it? Or should I frog and try something a little simpler? BFL yarn in Poseidon from Little Dog Designs. Opinions?
6. Plain Stockinette Socks: CTH Supersock in Champlain Sunset. After trying to be clever and either getting a non-stretchy fabric (braided cables with no purling between the braids) or pooling ugliness (4 colors–2 striping on one side of the sock and the other 2 on the other side), I determined that stockinette on 2.5 mm needles (60-st sock) was just the ticket.

I have enough needles to put the plans I have in mind for these three yarns in practice.

CTH Supersock in Cabin Fever: Has been frogged once, but I think I learned my lesson.
Merino Tencel in Baltic from someone’s dye pot–I have lost the ball band. It’s pretty!
Claudia’s Hand Painted in Eat Your Veggies. I keep giving away the socks I knit from Claudia’s yarn. These will really be for me.

The goal is to get the gift socks DONE, and some of these multi-colored yarns knit up in simple patterns for myself, as I don’t even have a week’s worth of handknit socks. Then I have some plans for more complex socks, like Laura’s new Algernon pattern and Taina’s Paraphernalia (Ravelry link), using some semi-solids and solid yarns I have. I’m also making up patterns in my head. But which yarn for which pattern?

Left to right: Creatively Dyed Merino Sock in ATS3, Dream in Color Smooshy in Gothic Rose, CTH Supersock in Amethyst, Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino in Thoroughbred, and CTH Potlucks in Blue/Purple.

You can see why I say it’s a slippery slope.

Second, I am trying to finish a couple of old projects. One of these is a counted cross stitch picture of an autumn harvest scene done in an American Primitive style from The Prairie Schooler. I’ve been “working” on it for three years. My goal is to get it finished by mid-October for autumn hanging. I’m not much into this style of art, except for things like Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday decorations. I’ve done the central three of five buildings, and there will be a horse and wagon and a whole lot of pumpkins and more trees in the foreground. We’ll see if I can hang in there and get it done. Yes, the “evergreens” do turn autumn colors in the design.

Third, I’ve started Christmas knitting in a pre-emptive strike against relatives “placing orders” as they put it last year, which made me unseasonably crabby. My goal is to have all orders done with the yarn I want to use before anyone thinks of telling me what to knit them for a gift. My friend LC thinks my plan is the way to go. So here is the start of a 4×4 rib sock in Fleece Artist Merino in Lily Pond. The recipient does wear a lot of light colored clothing and open backed shoes, so I think this is a good choice that she would not think to ask for but would like receiving.

Fourth, I finished the first Stanfield 27 sock using a star toe of three points which takes 3-inches to complete, so I could end the basketweave pattern where it would be symmetrical with the beginning. I’ve even got half the leg of the second sock done. I had my camera set wrong, so the colors are wonky (this is a “corrected” copy); but I show it anyway to prove my progress.

Fifth, our local U-pick farm has started to get ripe berries, and M and I went on Saturday morning to pick some early Marion berries. Very tasty.

Finally, a reading update. It’s all orange-covered books here at Molecular Knitting. I’ve finished the latest Dick Francis thriller, Dead Heat, which he co-wrote with his son Felix. Not bad, but not vintage-quality Francis either. Too much exposition.

I’m really enjoying The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman. If you’ve ever thought you’ve taken the worst exam on the planet, and it wasn’t the Certified Master Chef exam at the Culinary Institute of America, you should check out the first section of this book. Less than one third of the chefs who take the exam pass it, and it is 10 days long, and each day is 12-16 hours long, and each section of the exam gets critiqued and graded in front of the chef, and the chefs pay over five grand to take the exam. Now don’t those qualifying/board exams seem easy peasy?

For serious reading, I’m pleased to report that I am making good progress on my goal to re-read all my Calvin and Hobbes books this year. Weirdos from Another Planet is my current endeavor. I think it’s important to re-read the classics from time to time to gain new insights on the human condition.

That’s all the random for now.  I’d better go cross-stitch a red evergreen tree.  Hope all is well with you!