crafty_packrat

I've been working on Changeling socks for a few weeks now, and frankly, I'm going to have to give up on the heels as written, frog them back to heel beginning, and do them over as short-row heels.

Why? -- because the heels as written have a lot of fabric bunching up on the top of my foot while the fabric stretches tight around my heel on the other side. That's not how socks should fit, especially if they're hand knit and made to measure.

The socks won't be quite as spiffy as they'd be done exactly to the pattern, but they'll fit better.

I'm also tempted to knit the Bigger on the Inside shawl for Con.txt -- it'd probably sell well at the charity auction, but the starting price would be a bit high, given that it is made from 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Solamente in a custom colorway...

I'm knitting the Jasmine mitts with Crystal Palace Mini-Mochi (color 101, Intense Rainbow), and since I'm 2/3rds of the way done with the second mitt I find a knot in the yarn.

A knot tying orange to *green*.

Needless to say, *that* will ruin the color progression like a ruin-y thing.

I might be able to salvage things by frogging the mitt completely, turning the yarn around, and knitting it in the other directions, because I cast on at greenish blue.

But this does disrupt my plans to make the niece socks out of Crash Into Ewe's Jewel sock yarn (in Pink Tourmaline). Admittedly, she does wear almost the exact size of shoe I do, so I can finish up the Simplicity Socks and have them ready to give if I can't get the pink socks done in time

I'm moving right along on them -- I should be finished with them tomorrow or Friday, and can cast on something else. I'm still not sure what I'll be making The Neice for Christmas, but I do want to make a new set of fingerless mitts for me -- I like this pattern: Jasmine Lace Fingerless Mitt, but I'll have to make more charts, since they only have a chart for the back-of-the-hand lace, and not the diamond-and-ribbing cuff.

I just got asked if I'd like to teach a class on knitting socks on 2 circulars by the yarn lady at the local gift shop in January.

Uhm, squee!

I'll have to figure out what sock book would be best, and then corral my knitting friends and work out a lesson plan. I think knitting an in-class mini-sock would be a good idea, but really, it's a simple technique to pick up if you already know how to knit socks.

If you just know how to knit, it might be trickier, especially if you've only knit flat before... I need to think what the prerequisite knitting skills have to be: knitting in the round, knitting socks (cause heels are tricky if you've never done them before) or just flat knitting.

I've finished and sewn up the toe on the first Goldfish sock

It's really adorable ... ( goldfish sock! )

I certainly have enough sock yarn to complete every pattern in these books...

my copy of Interweave Knits, Autumn 2009 arrived yesterday. I'm not thrilled with most of the projects, since there seem to be a lot of cropped-waists and shaping that is flattering to the smaller women. The Scoop Pullover, with its welted bust, is a particularly noticeable offender, from my perspective.

However, the cover sweater is really pretty, the Farmer's Market Cardigan has kangaroo pockets *and* darts, and the Every Way Wrap is reversible and can be a wrap, srhug, vest,or shawl-collared cardigan depending on how it is buttoned.

But the best pattern in my opinion is the Bandelier Socks -- I am really tempted to make them, especially since the pattern does have notes on how to lengthen them appropriately...

The heel modifications seem to have worked on the Koi socks I'm working on. I anticipate being finished with the first sock sometime this week.

I think I'll make myself another pair of Koi, this time out of Regia Cotton in this Java colorway -- it looks sufficiently goldfish-y, no?

Pretty good for only 80 minutes a day, at most, huh?

( Finished gusset, moving towards toe at a high clip )

I don't need to make the Kniestrümpfe socks again, do I? They're so pretty and tempting, and I'm a much better knitter than I was when I made this pattern years ago...

But I still have weirdly wobbly ankles and calf muscles that no one accounts for in writing sock patterns. But I have two 100g balls of Regia cotton/wool sock yarn in white, so... maybe?