On-Your-Toes Socks Finished

Pattern: On-Your-Toes Socks by Ann Budd from IK Summer '07 issue
Yarn: Tofutsies - Partie colorway
Needles: US 2 Addi Turbo's Circular
Started: June 22, 2007
Finished: July 17, 2007
Notes: Note about photo, socks are really the same length. The light was funny that morning and that pose was the best that could be done. I had some serious trouble with the Middle-eastern wrap method of casting on. But found a super tutorial with detailed photos at the hello yarn blog. This made the whole thing much simpler to understand. Truth be told, I really like this method of casting on. No crochet hook or waste yarn to work with/carry around/muck up my knitting bag. Side note, the waste yarn always gets tangled around another WIP, no matter what I do. So to completely leave it out of the travel knitting bag is a welcome relief. Back to business, I also like the shape of the toe this cast on creates. It seems to me to be less pointy and more round in shape. I mentioned here that the toes seem very roomy. They are and it's ok with me. Once I got farther into the sock, things seem to hit my normal sizing and changing needles was not necessary. Summary, this is definitely a cast on method I will continue to use.

The yarn was more fun to work with that I expected. Since I gifted them the minute they came off my needles, I don't know how it is washing up. But while knitting it seems firm to work with, but created a nice soft fabric. In the simple ribbed pattern the colors looked great, with the yellow and grey making a nice pop of color in all the purples and pinks.

So all in all, I am happy with these and can count them in the 52 Pair Plunge.

What to Say?

Caution ~ extremely long catch up post ahead. Missed you all and I am glad to be back!

Wow, can I get a fabulous guest blogger or what?! My big head is taking up most of my living room right now. Thank you JJ for the kind words, they left me speechless (which as anyone who has ever talked to me knows, can be virtually impossible).

A word about JJ. Don't let her fool you, she is kind hearted, emotional (in a good way), eloquent (check out her new blog, mum's the word if you don't believe me) and the best sister anyone could hope for. Though we haven't always seen eye to eye (understatement is strongly implied here), I will always loved her. BTW - She was not as naughty as she would have you believe . . . dealing with past grief in an uncomfortably tense situation is hard on anyone. I give her substantial credit for staying as cool as she did.


Like fish, family house guests begin to stink after a few days. I'm not certain that's how the saying goes, but it works for me. I'll be the first to say Arizona at 104 degrees, mom having surgery, mom's 70+ smotheringsignificant other, and a three hour time difference and hospital food all add up to Very. Stinky. Fish. Yet Mom is recovering nicely and life is returning to normal. Plus I got to see LG - a lot. I just love him and he never got stinky. His #@&! doesn't stink.

So on to some things I learned while in Arizona:

1. NEVER ride with 70+ people in a vehicle if you need to be somewhere fast. Standard driving speeds . . . 5 miles BELOW the speed limit. Yep, slow, rotting torture in a vehicle with minimal air conditioning.
2. You know it's truly not hot until you have sat on a porch drinking coffee at 6:30 am with temps already in the 80's . . . knowing it will get up to 104+ in only a few short hours.
3. Grass is a truly beautiful thing.
4. Tucson has a drug store on every corner - it's true.
5. When you want to go somewhere with my mom, start getting her ready two hours before so you will only be 20 minutes late.
6. You can get lots of knitting done while waiting in hospitals.
7. Some neuro-surgeons are really good looking.
8. Every house in Tucson is some shade of . . . brown. Call it brown, tan, beige, taupe, camel, whatever it's still all the same. No offense to any Arizona residents, I just couldn't believe all the brown.
9. If you are going to haul a baby from hotel to hospital some seven thousand times, a car seat bungee corded to a luggage cart makes an instant stroller. CJ, you saved our lives on that one.
10. Upon arriving home, my definition of clean and RM's definition of clean are two entirely different things.
11. All sorts of things can go amok at home when I was gone. Toilet repairs, water softener replacements, boards on deck broken/repaired, no-show sitter, truck dies - purchase new one (yea, you heard me right), and install surround sound in the living room. RM was a busy, busy man while I was away.
13. In Arizona there is no time during the course of 24 hours a can person run outside - it's just too damn hot.
12. Purls is a fabulous yarn shop! I did make some fabulous purchases.

Did I mention it was hot there?

In knitting news, I completed the Marigold socks, JJ's Jaywalkers and Mom's On-Your-Toes Socks. Sorting out all the photos I took is taking some time, so they should be posted in a few days.

It's good to be back in temperatures I can stand . . . by the way, it was hot there!

Helpful

Why not just call it the figure 8 cast on? That I can search on Google. But a search for a tutorial on Middle East-wrap method of casting on was a big bust. The other night I seemed a little too groggy to follow the IK directions and need more help. Hello Yarn has, in my opinion, had more detailed directions here.

Very helpful indeed.

Donna, thank your for commenting the other day on my post about crabs. I wanted to answer your question about sizing, but was unable to link back to a blog for you. Not sure if it was late night woozies or blogger. So here is what I am doing about the size. After referring to the chart and doing a gauge swatch (reality, I measured the false start from last night before my dip in the frog pond), I am going to knit an Adult M at 8 sts per inch. Truth be told, like you I am a little worried about 72 stitches and the socks being too large. It makes me slightly dizzy just thinking about that many stitches . . . in 2x2 ribbing. My hope is that the ribbing will pull the sock snug to my foot making it all good. Never have I knit a sock at 72 stitches around. Yet I am choosing to forge ahead, trust the pattern (Ann Budd did write this one) and try my luck.

You know. . . now that I have posted that last sentence - I'm doomed.

The thing I enjoy about knitting is that it is fluid, always changing during the process. My knitting tends to be really fluid - as in too-many-trips-to-the-frog-pond-fluid. So Donna, for the short version, trust the pattern and try it at 8 inches. If it doesn't work, take a dip in the frog pond and start over. The water's fine, I've already been in.

PS ~ Mine are knitting up roomy (to say the least) in the toe and instep. But after I studied the photo for a few minutes, the socks pictured seem roomy and loose in the same area. If this continues up the leg, I will have to change to smaller needles because I have skinny ankles.

Cast On - Smashed On

Ok. So I'm giving the IK Summer 07 Middle-East-wrap method of casting on a try. For my first attempt, not too bad. I say first attempt because I am not totally happy with my work. Bumps, a hole and the M1 left and right are reversed - I think?! Anywho, I am starting over.

First, I am going to bed . . . it's 12:52 am (hence the crappy flash photo). Finally . . . I feel sleepy. It's said that lack of sleep can cause one to make careless errors. So what's my excuse when I am well rested?!

PS - so far, I love the yarn!

Sweet dreams.

Crabs and Shrimp

But no melted butter. On Sundays, RM and I will have a crab boil with gobs of melted butter. My little slice of heaven (unless you count the tequila with a beer chaser, but that's another thing all together). We eat and eat until it's uncomfortable. Naturally, I always have a stomach ache the next day. Could it be the shots of melted butter I tend to take with each bite of crab? Possibly.

So when I saw this yarn, I had to buy it. This Tofusies yarn was purchased during a trip to Threadbender in Grand Rapids (sorry, I couldn't find a website, so no link). My thought is to make a simple pair of k2, p2 rib socks with it. I have been reading Ann Budd's toe up article in IK's summer issue. Very different cast on method (for me) and a new way to do short rows have piqued my interest. But I already have four socks on my needles, so this will have to wait until I get a pair or two complete.