Designing Socks

My friend Sandi is a wonderful independent dyer and we collaborated to create a summer sock club in 2009. Most knitting clubs come about because a designer has a vision and then has yarn dyed to match that vision. Ours was backwards: Sandi designed the yarn and handed it over to me to become inspired to create a design based on her color choices.Month one I was handed a lush blue yarn. It wasn't a cold blue but a serene color with flecks of lighter and darker blues within. Before a design thought came to mind the yarn itself reminded me of running water in a warm stream during the dead of summer. As I started playing with the yarn I know it had to be made up into something with waves...cables? no we wanted to keep the club set no higher then the intermediate level and even though I love cables and think they're easy, not everyone shares my love.

I finally created a simple design with easy repeats that I felt any advanced beginner or intermediate knitter could accomplish easily.

Any Which Wave

Now to dish the dirt on these socks because i always see these fabulous designs by designers and wonder about things...well here's my dirt. In this beautiful picture above you see 2 socks artfully displayed on display feet. my husband is a wonderful photographer and has been charged with taking all our pictures for these projects. What you don't see is that the sock in the background was lacking a toe! I needed pictures and was a day away from finishing these off so we posed them in a way it appeared 2 socks were complete. they are now finished but they weren't then! But, they did only take a few days to complete from inception to finishing off. I personally write my patterns out as I create the first item and then i read it over to check the spelling and grammar, and then i use it to knit the second item as a way of checking the pattern.

We didn't have a theme established at the time of this socks creation but due to us both feeling the color and then the pattern appeared as water we created a theme for the sock club based around the elements. So what needed to come next?

Controlled burn

Fire was the next logical colorway Sandi chose to go with. i was presented with what looked like 2 odd sushi rolls of yarn. The yarn was dyed in sections so it went from yellow to orange to red instead of striped or variegated. This sock was designed to be worked top down or toe up and the pattern will match either way you chose to knit this. i created the picture above as a top down starting with the red. I had tested the pattern repeat and measured out how long my finished sock would be so I knew how many pattern repeats to do per color. I started on the red and worked until that color was the length needed and then I unwound the rest of the red from the ball and picked back up knitting with the orange for the next set of pattern repeats. Once i hit the heel area I simply picked up the yellow from the outside of the ball to create the heel. This way if you were wearing clogs you would see all 3 colors on the back. i then finished the orange section, again cut off the left over orange and finished up with the yellow. However, it was designed so someone could chose their own color lay out and people in the club have.

Now for the dirt! Originally Sandi dyed up a skein of yarn I actually love but it wasn't translating the way she had intended. She looked into flames themselves and saw the colors how they traveled from an orange into a white/yellow with the blue flame we all see. you will eventually see the originally "Fire" yarn she created as I have used it in a new design, but, for the sock it wasn't working. We discussed this and she came up with the colors you see above and then I was able to come up with Controlled burn based off the newest idea.

We had one last direction to travel in because Air well we'll say Air means you went barefoot...so earth was next.

Wandering Vines

Sandi's base yarn is a very nice wool nylon blend that holds the colors well and is great for sock making as well as any other item where you want soft wool yet the added nylon for durability and some spring! But, for her creation of earth she went to an equally beautiful yarn but something more specialty for socks an Alpaca silk blend. It's lush let me tell you!

The colors are beautiful in purples and greens and the yarn is a dream to work with, but, don't you know this was the hardest design I had faced yet! I wanted to show off the colors while designing something based around earth but anything resembling rocks or tree roots was just not working for me. Then I became inspired by my back yard.

We have a length of sidewalk running down the back yard hill that has many annuals planted along it; hostas, ferns, morning glories, sweet peas and the like. Towards late summer early fall the intruding vines that look like the leaves of a morning glory over take this area strangling the other plants unless you are diligent about weeding....we'll we all know my joy of gardening so yeah I'm not really dilligent, but, I find it just as beautiful to see these leafy vines over take the back yard before winter hits. the leaves go everywhere, up lilac trees, over the fencing and cover the pathway. our club was for socks one could create knitting top down or bottom up and i did manage to create a pattern that would look the same in Controlled burn no matter which direction you started in, but, for this sock I wanted there to be a marked difference because the wines in my back yard don't grow in one direction so when you knit one top down and then one toe up your vines look like what i see every fall. Theres a faux cable running up each side with some stitching done to mimic a rocky pathway between the fron and back of the leg. And, the leaves run back onto the heel instead of having a traditional patterned heel.

The dirt on these would only be that I have yet to finish sock 2. the club had ended and i moved on so this is part of my WIP's I have to complete before starting any new projects.

These are patterns listed for sale through myself for the pattern or through sandi for the yarn or a kit of yarn and pattern. You can find her on etsy at Twiggi knits

Another Bag, More Socks and Mittens for the hubby

So as one can see from my sidebar I have a waiting list for bags. I wish I could make them faster and as I do each bag I do get a wee bit faster with them and then listen to feedback on what could or should be changed/added/deleted etc.

So here was the latest bag delivered this morning and the recipient was so happy she bought yarn to match her bag...which we all noticed also matched her current project bag, and yarn and her car!

Heathers Bag

I also realized about 30 min before my Monday Morning knitting group I really had nothing portable on needles so I had to remedy that! I have some beautiful Araucania hand painted sock yarn and no idea what it wanted to be. So I brought my cake along, in one of my sock bags of course, and cast on a toe while I was there. I am using size 1 (2.25mm) needles and generally like 64 stitches around on these needles, so figured I'd cast on and increase to 64 stitches before I came home to decide what the socks would be.

I decided on Express Lane socks (linked in the side bar) as it would give me a slight pattern to hold my interest while knitting, but, would be enough straight knitting to really showcase the beautiful yarn.

Express Lane Socks

I also had some Alpaca left over from the Hemlock Ring Afghan I made for the Olympics. I had to open a new hank of yarn to bind off the last 2inches of the afghan leaving me with about 108 yards of yarn to use on something.

My husband liked the feel and warmth of the yarn so I made him some fingerless/convertible mittens. I started with the Pele pattern but soon discovered that pattern just didn't work for my husbands hands (I'm not sure whose hands it would work for as they were about 4inches to short and 10inches too wide) So I used that pattern as inspiration but did a lot of modifications I noted on my Pele Project Page on ravelry.

Now they well fit like a glove and will keep his hands toasty warm and he has no excuse not to shovel this winter!

Hubby's Convertible Mittens

I also had started 3 times a pair of socks out of a beautiful Brooklyn Handspun yarn that Mardi gave me in exchange for her bag. I ended up settling on the Pablo Blue socks which I loved to knit, they were fun and interesting, however, a bit small for my foot using the pattern directions. This is alright though because they are a Christmas gift for my mother in law whose foot is about 1/2 a size smaller then mine so will fit her beautifully!

Pablo Blue Socks

So thats whats been getting done, craft wise, around here the last week. I have more bags cut out and more projects in mind. I do start my college semester oh in about 8hrs and expect with school, kids, homework and such things will slow down a bit on the craft front but not all that much! I find it very therapeutic to craft during school and such because it's kind of time for me away from a computer, kids, text books, TV's etc.

More bags and a Barter

I had sewn up a prototype bag I jokingly call the worlds most perfect sock bag. Well the women I knit with LOVED it and have been asking me to make them ever since. I had started about opening a store but I always go back and forth as to if I want to make my hobby into a job or not. So one begged and prodded me with goodies to make her a bag and here it is!

She supplied the material, which I normally wouldn't do because sometimes people give you really a fabric that could never work for a pattern they have to have, but, I know she has impeccable taste and already knew it was upholstery weight and perfect for the bag.

I was able to create a working pattern and test it then went to town on her bag using this pattern. I cut down some of the sewing time from about 12hrs of sewing and fitting to now about 8. Theres a lot that goes into these bags, every inch is fully reinforced and lined with 6 pockets, zippers gallore, inset snaps you name it.

But, I was thinking for myself I wanted an even smaller version so created the perfect 1 sock project bag.
It has the basis of the design from the larger modle but would only hold 1 sock project with the pattern on index cards or folded paper. You could though throw in a credit/debit card into the internal pocket, cell phone, cash and keys and use this as a knitting on the go/purse...like for Rhinebeck?

Inside the 1st photo of the small bag is a cake of Brooklyn Hand spun currently in use for a pair of socks. This is one skein given to me by Mardi to make her bag. She gave me the material as I stated, and then below:
A skein of Mama-E's C*EYE*BER FIBER Sock in Winter Sunrise (top blue/red hank), A Skein of Brooklyn Handspun in Tropical Punch (orange/peach hank), 2 skeins of Panda cotton in roses ( burgandy/pink/green skiens), 2 skeins of Rowan handknit cotton in Red (2 skeins bottom right), a skein of Froebe Fibers hand Dyed in Watermelon Bombe (Top right pink/green skein) and the Brooklyn hand spun in the bag was Leafy Stalk.

So if wondering if I will barter with you the answer is yes I love to swap/barter...but the bars been set pretty high for pricing. It's really because 1. she likes to spoil people. 2. the bag is well made and takes a lot of time 3. the raw materials I supplied to put in the bag bring the cost pretty far up and 4. just cause she wanted to keep giving me yarn.

Some knitting

I've made a few socks lately! This is a sock I started oh in October of 2007 but got mad at so put them in time out while only the 1st sock was partially done. I picked them back up last month and finished them off!

Pattern: Menehune Cobble Stone Socks
Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Panda Cotton
59%bamboo 25% cotton 16% elastic nylon
Colorway: Rose water
Love this yarn even though it is splitty


Then I had been eying a free modular pattern and decided to give it a go.

These are colorful socks and have no give so they look wide but they do fit pretty well

Pattern: Domino Diamonds
Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock
70% wool, 30% nylon
Colorway: S180

Then for the knitting plurkers out there you know WendyKnits offered a free pattern for a limited time. You would have to be on plurk to appreciate the importance of the nanner. Here is Wendy's rendition of Nanner socks, I called mine unripe nanners though due to green yarn

Pattern: Nanners
Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Panda Cotton
59%bamboo 25% cotton 16% elastic nylon
Colorway: Sprite Green

And now, to avoid casting on my afghan for the ravelympics I decided to do another pair. These are in progress so I'll give more info once done.

Silk Socks

Yes Silk! They feel like a dream. I think it was more fun petting them then working on them!

Ok so a lot of people know the saga of the gray sock, but, in case you don't I'll share. The hubby whined I make everyone else things but him and he wanted socks. So I said ok and STUPIDLY let him chose the yarn and pattern. Not only was I that STUPID I let him chose the leg length as well. Yes yes he chose gray, all gray, not a moddled gray, not an ombre, solid frigin gray wool! Then he chose the worlds most boring pattern full of purls, THEN he wanted the legs a good 7in long. Keep in mind as well he wears a US Mens 11 so 7in leg, so thats at least 18inches of this horrible pattern all in gray and the toe and heal UGH!

The first sock took me 3 days, the second 2 months. He whined and complained but finally got them and loves them to death. I have no pictures I hated those socks so much by the time i got them done I threw them at him and grumble every time they hit the wash pile!

Now his birthday comes and Fathers day and he wants another pair of socks. This time I was SMART! I picked the yarn out and gifted him the skeins, because really the socks were hinted to he didn't outright ask. Then I told him this pretty silk/wool blend was too busy for any pattern that I would be doing them in a nice stockinette stitch to really highlight the yarn! I know smart right? Then I told him he'd be getting 4in legs because this yarn is pricey and I didn't want to risk having to buy more, and of course find the right dye lot (totally made up I had enough I still have 3/4 of a skein left)

So I made his socks, he loves them, I love them (tried to steal them but they look like wilted elf shoes on my feet) and I finished them in a week woohoo!

The Worlds Perfect Sock Bag...almost

So all us crafters see these wonderful, and sometimes just really plain simple, bags for oh $30-$600! If I was going to spend $600 on anything it would NOT be a knitting bag or any other type of craft bag! So I asked around for ideas on what people would like to see in a knitting bag.

I don't sell my things for now, thinking about it, but, asking others for input is nice because I have made items in the past, shown them to people and they go "Oh thats great and if it had X it would be better" so why not just ask first then design and create?

So without further ado, here is my worlds almost perfect sock project bag!

(these are all clickable link photos so click to see a larger image of each)




This is the outside you can see the front view with a clear pocket for a project sheet and the side width. I like a nice structured bag and this is a very nice rectangular bag standing all on it's own!




The vinyl exterior pocket is the prefect place for either a pattern book, index cards or regular sheet of paper with your pattern printed onto it. This came from asking how people carry their projects around. Most seemed to do what I do, print off a pattern on regular paper or scan and print it off, but some liked having the book or index cards. Here it doesn't matter, the clear pocket will keep it well protected. Added bonuses are that the pockets large enough to hold a few more things and you can write on it with a dry erase marker and wipe off to keep track of where you are.




Again, taking suggestions and what I wanted in a bag, we have an attached scissor minder with a pocket to protect the tips of the scissors and your projects from the scissors themselves. This accommodates from a small pair of travel scissors up to a regular pair of seamstress scissors. On this same side a welted zippered pocket that can hold up to 9in dpns or circular needles, also a measuring tape, post it notes, pen, several sets of dpns or circs.

I also included an elasticized pouch. This way when you need to put that sock away it can go into the pouch staying neat with the needles right there and won't just get mangled bouncing around in the bag!





Then I added 3 yarn minder pouches. Each allows you to see how much yarn you have left on a skein, holds up to a larger skein of sock yarn (ie noro and sockatta pictured) or 2-3 skeins in 1 pouch of something like panda cotton, melody, even 2 cakes wound on a ball winder per pouch. So you could hold more then one sock project at a time if you chose (or even a few dish clothes, scarf, smaller projects).

Each pouch has a zippered top so your yarn won't fall out or be damaged, dirty etc. Then I added grommets to feed the yarn through. This way your yarn stays neat and tidy and would also be perfect for working 2 socks at a time and keeping that yarn from tangling all up.






Here it all is opened up! You can see the pouch to hold your WIP is right near the minded yarn. Because the bag is structured you can easily set it on a table to view the pattern and feed the yarn out the bag, or set it on the floor when you don't need to have the pattern in the bag or view it.

I'm excited to start using it, but, now I probably should finish the husbands socks you see pictured. I took a break to make a new bag to put them in!

Day 2

Day 2:
My partners one big wish was a knit beret and fingerless mittens and thats exactly what she got for day 2!

I looked at so many beret patterns and had so many to decied from, however, I had no idea which style beret she really wanted. I took my chances and went with just the classic beret with the thingamabobbie on top. End's up she loved it and said she always wanted one with a thingamabobbie.

Here's a close up of the fingerless mitten's that she took. I chose green because it is her favorite color and I figured this color which had a slight variation to it, would hold up well no matter the use or circumstance. The pattern was neat as well as the twist on the cables is reversed for one glove so there is a right and a left hand.

Then I received my big wish SOCKS!!!! I love hand knit socks
She asked if I minded she counted each sock as 1 and a pair was day 2 and I said NO WAY! she knit these in this cool self striping yarn thats german on size 1 US needles...size1!!!! For those that don't knit, thats an itty bitty needle and I know these took forever to make. I put them on immediately and loooovvvveeeee them!