The little bit...

So, here are some pictures of where I'm at so far. It's not much yet, but I figured that I love looking at other people's pictures, so maybe someone wants to look at mine. The color of these pictures sucks. It makes it look like I'm knitting blue and yellow socks. arg. In real life, the "yellow" color resembles split pea soup, and the "blue" is mostly grey. You can't even notice that there is blue in it unless you hold it under a bright light. Okay...so that's my color disclaimer.

The yarn I'm using is only 3-ply (the vintage stuff that I found at the Mill End), but I was able to get gauge with it on the US #1's, so I figured I'd go with it. As you can see, it's a little bit "see through" because the yarn is so small, but I actually kind of like it. The only thing that bugs me a bit is that my first couple of tiers of the entrelac are a bit loose around the edges and it really shows with this yarn more than it would with something a bit thicker.
I am pretty stoked about that knitty Magic Cast-on because it made the seam in the sock really rounded and smooth. It fits well over my toes. I'm sure that the Middle East cast-on would have done the same thing, but those directions in the IK weren't working for me and I'm nothing without a tutorial!!I'm pretty worried about this sock being long enough, after having read about other people's struggles with that. Most of what I have read has says that the sock is not fitting a size 7 foot. I'm 8.5, so I'm pretty sure that I'm going to have to throw in 7 CC tiers or so. I'm up to 3 now and it's not even fitting to the halfway point on my foot.
I've got a bunch of really subtle mistakes. You know, places where in the past I would have ripped this thing out a million times to make it perfect. However, in yoga we are working on how everything we do resembles life, and in my life...I never see anything perfect, so I am on a mission with these socks not to frogg them. Every project that I have ever done has been ripped out and repeated a million times and I am deciding with this one that it's harder and more challenging for me to keep going than to rip it out and re-do it. So, I'm up for the challenge and we'll see what happens. I know that the second sock is going to be better than the first. It wouldn't matter how many times I frogged the first one. Still, the second one would be better. So, I'm going to accept that and keep going. What mistakes I have now will not be noticeable to anyone but myself (and possibly those of you who are doing this KAL). I'm breathing through that. hehe. This is going to be amazing. I've only done 3 CC tiers so far, and I can already see a drastic improvement in my entrelac skills. The edges are getting tighter and more defined. The stitches are floating better. I kind of like that I will be able to look at these socks and see my progress and growth in entrelac.

Okay...no more of this novel. I will be back!

An Introduction

I just joined the KAL, so I figured I should introduce myself to all of you, and say thanks to Shannon(Twinsanity) for linking me here. I am Jackie and I am also an entrelac/garterlac junkie (but I'm not as bad as Twin....LOL)

I was just past the heel on my sock, but it turned out to be too snug and I could barely get my foot into it. After 5 CC tiers, the foot of my sock was just too short. I wear a size 7 shoe, so even though my gauge was spot on on my swatch, it just didn't turn out properly. So, This morning, I finally frogged down to just before the heel. I am going to add another set of tiers and then do my heel. I took this pic just after the frogging. I am using Knitpicks Gloss yarn in burgundy and sarengetti, and KP size 1 dpn's.

My Obsession

As soon as I saw these socks in my new IK, the rest of the magazine disappeared. Hello, my name is Shannon F. and I am obsessed with entrelac and "garterlac" (entrelac done in garter stitch). Witness here and here (hee hee--it's not really a lampshade) and even the last paragraph here for the threat of intervention.

So. Of course, I HAD to make these socks.

Being on a tight budget these days, I ordered some Essential from knitpicks.com in Pine and Fawn. Only two balls of each because I don't like long socks. Not sure about the tassle thing either.

I couldn't wait for my package to arrive so I could cast on. The big day was last week.

Oh. My. I am used to doing socks cuff down, two at a time on two circs. What the heck is a Middle East-wrap cast on??? "See Glossary, page 122" Oh. OK. Uh. What the heck is a Middle East-wrap? Translation, please? "Knit across stitches on upper needle." Uh. Which end is up?

And it went downhill from there. Lessons learned so far--

• the Easy Toe (found at knitty.com) really IS easy.
• I don't like the shape of the easy toe (though starting with 8 stitches out of 72 was probably a bad idea)
• AH HA!! toe up socks do not necessarily need to start at the tip of the toe (yes, it IS a tad pointy, I may ungraft and tink back a couple decrease rows)

• it's impossible to knit these two at a time on two circs
• it's almost impossible to knit these one at a time on two circs
• it's easier just to back down and break out the DPNs
• slipping the first stitch on the free edge (as opposed to the decrease side) of each unit makes it a breeze to pick up your stitches (though sometimes, such as the first unit of a tier, you will have one less slipped stitch than you need...but it's not hard to fudge another)
• if you start and frog twenty-something times, each time will get a little easier and will (usually) produce an even better result

at a point where I still suffered from the delusion I could knit these on 2 circs

another of the earlier (post toe freak out, pre-final toe solution) attempts

help with cc, please

i don't understand the directions for beginning with cc. so you pick up and knit 6 stitches along the selvedge edge. i can do that. but then it says to purl 5 and then p2tog - wouldn't that require 7 stitches total? and if each time i am decreasing by p2tog, then how can i repeat the purl 5 part each time? it says all the stitches will be "decd" away. i am confused.

hemming and hawing

I am still trying to decide if I am going to order yarn or just pack up my kids and head to the yarn store. I like the knitpicks merino fingering weight yarn, but I would have to dye it myself and I have never been satisfied with kool aid dyeing and am kind of bored with that.

looks like the yarn store.

I plan to practice on the tutorial tonight a bit.

I cast on last night!!!

Whooopeee! That felt so good. I didn't get that far, just into the increasing rows and whatnot, but it felt so good to get these on the needles. The middle east cast on instructions in the IK glossary suck, so I found a couple of tutorials on the web that are fantastic and you can find them in the links if you need them.
I actually used the knitty magic cast-on...I guess because I had to be contrary, but it ended up looking great so I just left it at that. I am 98% sure that the ME cast on is also called the Figure 8 cast on, so you can also find a tutorial for that from Hello Yarn.

As soon as I get a couple tiers done I will post pictures.

accckkk

it took me a while to find a description of the me cast on. i found it as the turkish co. same, same i think. i am on inc rnd 4!!! yeah! i love knitting for many reasons and one of them is this: if you will just follow the directions, it comes out fine. that's a tough one for me, i always want to protest, "but that doesn't make any freaking sense." and yet it does, in the end.

here's hoping i don't suck

ready to try...

I AM READY!!

I got my yarn and the pattern is here: I am counting on tonight...
yippee!

In like Flynn

I have my yarn too!

I am however in the midst of wrapping other stuff up. It'll be interesting how much takes a dive into the frog pond. At any rate, the yarn that I am using is from Fearless Fibers, she has an Etsy site and is local to Oregon. The skeins I have are a powder lemon yellow and a summer sky blue. This will be the first time I've done sox toe up. The cast on looks ... ummmm .... somewhat intimidating.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained and how cool will these be when they are finally done?! ***CV

Special Yarn

So, I was at the Mill End Store the other day looking for some fat quarters. I decided to mess around in the yarn section for a little while. They've got the stuff you'd find at JoAnns, but then there is always something special back in the corner, like banana leaf fiber yarn, etc... I thought I'd see what they had for sock yarn and I found these spools of 2-ply and 3-ply yarn for 3.20. It looked like a great deal, and it was 100% wool.


I needed to know if there was enough yardage for the Entrelac Socks though, so I asked the store woman. She told me that she had no idea about the yardage and that these spools had been spun in the 60's when the Mill End was actually a spinning/textile mill. How awesome. So, I'm going to make the socks with this yarn.
There was a nice cream color, but I talked myself out of it and instead chose an olive-type green and a blue-grey color that just really didn't look like they should ever go together. I have faith in the beauty of these socks though, and I think that they will be able to bring these two colors together in splendid glory!! haha