Friday, June 30, 2006

SMAK June - done!

Yikes -- I almost forgot to post my June socks! My "first ever toe-up" happy blue Koigu sock has a mate.


I used the EZ sewn cast-off and wasn't completely happy with it. It is certainly stretchy enough, but it seems to flare out a bit when it's not being worn. Which, in the long, makes no real difference, I suppose, except it's mildly annoying. As well, it's a bit fiddly and takes a lot longer than grafting a toe.


On the other hand, casting on for the toe-up is a lot quicker than casting on for a top down. Not being totally sold on the whole other-way-round thing, I did the mate top down.



Now that I have had a chance to wear them a bit, I will reluctant admit that I actually kind of like ... koff koff prefer koff koff ... the feel of the toe-up. Egads. I guess further experimentation is in order. I'll try it again, but with a different bind off. I'll try it out on the brown & blue Koigu I found hiding in a box.



These aren't the socks that I was planning/hoping to finish in June for two reasons. One, I got side-tracked by the toe-up thing, and two, the other previously anticipated June socks require a bit more brain power than I'm prepared to give to them at the moment. In lieu of a pic of an anticipated July sock, just consider the previously anticipated June socks to be the new anticipated July sock. Unless I get side-tracked again, that is :-) .

On a possibly related topic, the condo next door has been for sale for about three weeks. I noticed this morning that, although there is no sign, the condo upstairs has a lockbox on the door. I'm hoping neither of these factoids has anything to do with my early morning forays onto our joint front porch to take pictures of my feet and pretty-coloured string. Although I may be eccentric, I don't really need that confirmed throughout the neighbourhood.

14 people had something to say:

aija said...

Great heels, both up & down :) They look great!

I often catch the rolled eyes of the neighborhood when I take pics of my feet, of yarn in the trees, etc :)

Anonymous said...

Dave,
Great job on the toe-up(s). I actually prefer the toe up now, bit I haven't mastered the heels yet. Yours came out excellant. Great colors, too;)

Anonymous said...

Wonderful socks! I've had the same flaring problem with the sewn bind off, and how I managed to solve it was by turning the sock inside out and then sewing the bind off as usual. It solves that curve at the top (and I like the "back" side of the bind off better anyway!)

lexa said...

Great socks - beautiful colors!

I'm sure my neighbors give me weird looks wondering, "What the heck is she doing?" when I go outside to do the sock pic thing!

HPNY KNITS said...

very cheerful blue. perfect for summer/June. I like the heel, interesting. I am et to try toe-up, but it seems inevitable sooner or later.

Laura said...

Julia's idea is awesome for the sewn bind-off. I love what I learn from blogging!

Dave, did you do a Turkish cast-on for your toe-up sock or a provisional one and a short row toe? If you haven't tried the Turkish cast on you should. It makes you feel clever. Like blocking lace.

sheep#100 said...

I'm liking that colorway!

Persnickety Knitter said...

Your short-row heels are lovely. Do you use any special method to prevent a gap in the corner?

And I like your idea of knitting one sock toe-up and one top-down and comparing them. What specifically do you like better about the feel of the toe-ups?

Zee said...

They look lovely! Can you please share exactly how much yarn did you use for the pair? Or how many skeins?

Dave said...

zee: I tried to find an email addy to reply to you but couldn't, so I hope you see this. I used a little less than one skein of Koigu for each sock, and full details can be found here:

http://criminyjickets.blogspot.com/2006/05/smak-may-done.html

Dave said...

zee (part 2): Sorry, meant to include that the comments to the post mention above have the details, not the post itself.

Wollkistchen said...

Wonderful socks in a wonderful colour. You did a great job.
Happy knitting

Kristin from Germany

Anonymous said...

I still haven't tried the toe up thing but I think I will give it a go on the next pair. Your ad hoc June socks look great.

Anonymous said...

I still haven't tried the toe up thing but I think I will give it a go on the next pair. Your ad hoc June socks look great.