Turned Inside In

Well, I got all those ends worked in finally! Doesn't that toe look lovely? I think the way the pattern on the top makes its way just around the toes is just...graceful.

The heel was also well designed in keeping with the rib pattern:

And I finally have the excuse to show you my new tool:
I found this wooden foot in an antique store (just $5!) and it's just my size. It makes taking those toe and heel pictures a lot easier!

And now the moment you've all been waiting for...I can reveal my Outside In socks, outside out...or inside in...whatever you prefer:

Project Stats
Started: 26 Nov 09
Finished: 01 Feb 10
Pattern: Outside In by Janice Kang (free)
Materials: Louet Gems Sport Weight in Sage Green ($17)
The socks feel good as I wear them. I'm not crazy about the colour; it's very flat. And with the ribs, I feel a bit like I have reptile feet! But they fit pretty well and they're very warm!

I really liked learning the afterthought heel, and the pattern instructions and charts were very good.

It was kind of fun knitting the socks inside out. So far I have not noticed any purls where there should be knits or vice versa. If you should see any, let's just keep it your little secret!

An Afterthought

I got my second Outside In sock knit down to the toe the other day, and today could add the afterthought heel. "Afterthought" because while knitting the sock itself, you simply prepare the location of the heel and then when the rest of the sock is knit, you can add the heel.

"Why?" you ask. Well for one thing it makes it easy to continue a fancy lace or cable pattern from the leg to the foot. For another, it may just be a way to put off to later what you don't feel like doing now. I did it for the first time in this sock because the pattern told me too! But I liked it.

The preparation is very simple. When you get to the right place, you knit half the stitches with a piece of scrap yarn. Then go back to the working yarn and knit over the scrap yarn.

It's best if the scrap yarn is kind of slippery and not fuzzy. Just a tip.

Then when you're ready to do the heel, you take out the scrap yarn and pick up the stitches that are released above and below it:
I prefer to pick up the stitches first and then pull out the scrap yarn, but do it in whatever order works for you.

When all the stitches are removed from the scrap yarn, you get a nice gaping hole like this:

This is the start of the heel.

Then you just start knitting around and around, decreasing stitches so that it gets smaller and smaller around as it gets taller.
The decreases are done on both sides--they form the diagonal line that extends up and to the right of the needles in the picture above.

When you get the heel long enough, you Kitchener together the stitches that are left:
If you really didn't like Kitchener, you could do a three-needle bind off, but then you'll get a seam across the bottom of your heel. This might not be comfortable, but that'll depend on how sensitive your feet are.

Et voila, I give you a heel:

(Remember! The sock is still inside out. Proper viewing will be given in the final post.)

Have you been wondering about all the extra loose ends you've seen on this sock?

I almost hate to get myself going, but there were 9--nine!--weak or broken spots in this ball!! I started to wonder if I had moths, but saw no other indications, and didn't think moths would carefully eat the yarn one ply at a time.

I was getting so frustrated with the yarn. I guess I know now why it was on clearance! I'm not sure it was worth it.

All for now. I have a lot of ends to work in tonight before I can call these socks done and show you what they're supposed to look like...Outside out!

Til then, keep the needles clicking!

Progress Update

Time for an update on the two projects I've got going on the needles.

First is the Woven Cables sweater for Troy. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I found a second error back in November. (You can read about the first one here.)

This time, the shaping was good but I messed up the pattern. The stitches in the red box should have been in reverse stocking stitch to match the stitches in the black box.

A little thing, perhaps. I debated with myself for a while whether it was worth fixing. But ultimately decided I had better because 1) I predicted it would always bother me, and 2) it was located at a crucial part of the sweater (right in front, part of the "framing" of the face) where the V-neck divided and asymmetry would be obvious.

So then, how to do it? I first tried the scalpel method of only raveling the stitches that were wrong. It was going to be hard because they were at the end of the row and involved decreases, but it was worth a shot.

It didn't work. In only the second or third row down, the yarn twisted around itself in such a way that I could not get it to ravel any further. I never did quite figure it out; it wasn't worth the time to continue trying.

I just got out the proverbial hatchet and ripped out the 8-10 rows to get below the bad patch.
That left me with a lot of wool to reknit. But I got it knit up by the next day and have been making very good progress since. I am getting motivated!

Here is the fixed neckline:
I know, subtle difference, right? But still definitely worth fixing to me.

Things have been moving along so smoothly that I am now up to the shoulder shaping. Before going any further, I had Troy try it on last night to be sure of the fit:
Seems to be good. (And don't forget, there will be added length to the bottom and sleeves.)

It seems to fit right. The neckline seems to start at the right place. And I haven't noticed a "backward" cable yet. Things are good!

The other project that was rather neglected for holiday projects are my Outside In socks. I finished the first sock on January 5. (Notice that is well after any holiday deadlines.)

The finished sock is still inside out--remember, I said

I wouldn't show it correctly until they were all done!

I cast on the second and am making slow progress. (I really am getting absorbed by the Woven Cables sweater.)

It's nice to be over all the holiday projects and be able to simplify down to two projects. One good for travel and the other good for sitting in front of the fire. Nice.

PS: I ordered the wool for the Whistler Olympic sweater. You knew I couldn't resist doing it during the Olympics, right? I've joined Team Michigan in the Ravelympics and can't wait to cast on!

Tiny Compared to What?

SPOILER ALERT: IF, by chance, you are a member of my family and think I just might have your name for Christmas, and IF you do not want to know what you are getting from me, you should stop reading and save this post for later. Like after you open presents. IF you don't care if you know ahead of time and could enjoy the knowledge guilt-free, you are welcome to continue reading.

/END ALERT

After finishing up all the projects and last minute details for the Red Purl holiday sale, I suddenly found myself without a travelling project. (I also had another "setback" with the Woven Cables Sweater and until I have some time to sit and give it some remedial attention, it was not getting worked on.)

I was still working on the February Fitted Pullover but with the size of the project, the lace pattern, and number of stitches to keep track of it was not a good travel project either.

So I cast on a pair of socks I had yarn for and had had my eye on for a while. It is "Outside In" by Janice Kang from knitty.com. I first saw the pattern very soon after thinking that I had to make some socks which had the knit stitches on the inside. They're softer and smoother and would feel lovely against my soles, I thought.

And then I saw this brilliant pattern which indeed has the knit stitches on the inside. Normally this would mean that you had to do a lot of purling. (Generally not people's preference over a knit stitch.) But instead, Janice has you knit the sock inside out. Simple solution, right? You get to knit the stitches, but when you turn the sock inside out, your sole gets to enjoy them. Best of both worlds.

Janice admits that she didn't think this up as a solution to that problem. Rather, she was designing a sock with a different idea in mind. The design wasn't working out very well. As she was about to rip it out and forget the whole thing, she saw that the inside of the sock was beautiful. So she finished the pattern and just turns the sock inside out at the end. Brilliant. She's a rock star.

My pictures of this project will only show the sock how it's knit. I will not be giving you any sneak peaks of the "right side." If, however, you really can't wait til I finish them (you'll see in a minute why that might not be right away), then click on the pattern link and you will see how gorgeous socks from this pattern are.

I'm using a sport weight yarn, actually. (I was thinking it was sock weight when I started using it.) I didn't quite get gauge so I went down a size and it seems to be working. Knitters reading this will laugh when I tell them the leg has a charted 8 row pattern repeat--and that's what I pick to take travelling with me! Ok, so it takes up a little more attention than I normally consider for public knitting, but I seem to be managing.

To get close to gauge I am using the second smallest needles I have in my KnitPicks Harmony sock needle set (size US1/2.25mm). This felt small until I started the project I really should be working on...

You see, I still had a Christmas gift to knit! My mind played a trick on me to cast on more projects when I had already bought supplies and had a pattern ready for the truly gorgeous "Vinterblomster" mittens from Heidi Mork. (I am assuming Vinterblomster is Norwegian for Winter Blooms--good guess, don't you think?) I put them off in November for other projects, but now that December is here, they really do have priority over the Outside In socks.

A gauge swatch determined that I should be using the smallest needles from the Harmony set (US0/2.0mm) and the yarn is much smaller (fingering weight--sock yarn). When I work on the mittens and then switch back to the sock, the sock needles and yarn seem huge!

Working on the mittens has been a lot of fun. I love seeing the charted pattern emerge in yarn and the colour changes of the one skein are really pretty.
It is, however, fiddly to be working on-the-go with two balls of yarn and a chart to follow for all the colourwork.

This yarn is extremely slippery on the ball, and the outside wraps were continually falling off and getting messed up. My solution: wrap a knee-high nylon around the outside of the balls:
It's not pretty but it's working like a charm! It will keep them cleaner too when I have to set them down on "questionable" surfaces. (Always an issue with travel knitting!)

I'm still hoping to get both done on time, but if not, I'll wrap one up so she'll know they really are worth waiting for!