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With just 3 days to spare, I managed to finish my last pair for Summer of Socks 2007: the Radioactive Jaywalkers!

• Pattern: Jaywalker (ravelry) by Grumperina from September 2005 MagKnits
• Yarn: 2 x 50g of Novita Wool (100% merino)
• Needles: 3.0 mm 80 cm aluminum circular needle
• Mods: Knitted toe-up using sport/DK weight yarn in * k-f/b, k6, dd, k6, k-f/b * pattern (34 sts in instep, 28 sts in sole). Revisited Widdershins heel with the following numbers: B28, C44, D12, E20, F8. (They’ll make sense when you read the instructions. :) Increase to 34 sts on the heel/back needle, knit cuff in modded stitch pattern.
• Other: Sixth and final pair for Summer of Socks 2007, Sockdown: Ravelry September 2007 challenge (Grumperina or toe-up)

At the start of Summer of Socks 2007, one of the goals I set for myself was to knit some of the super famous and popular sock patterns that were published while I was away from knitting for a couple of years. I’ve done Monkey, I’ve done Pomatomus — now it’s time for Jaywalkers.

The yarn was dyed with food coloring. I can’t for the life of me get the photos to represent the colors the way they are in person. They’re sort of bright. Like see-from-space-bright. You know that color they use in The Simpsons for nuclear rods? Yeah, that bright. I’m surprised the socks don’t glow in the dark. :D

Minitomus anklets are done!

• Pattern: Pomatomus (ravelry) by Cookie A. from Knitty, Winter 2005
• Yarn: about 60 g of Novita Nalle Colori (75% wool / 25% polyamide), colorway #813 (aqua/light blue/denim)
• Needles: 3.5 mm 80 cm aluminum circular needle
• Other: Summer of Socks 2007 pair #5, Sockdown: Ravelry August 2007 challenge (Sockbug or lace) pair #2

Mods:

• Toe-up, ankle length.
• Revisited Widdershins heel in the k2tog tbl, p1 stitch pattern that was in the original pattern.
• The biggest mod is that I used sport/DK weight yarn so I had to downsize the pattern. In the instep, I had one less horizontal pattern repeat plus 1 st on each side (= 26 sts). 26 sts also on the sole so 52 sts in total.
• Decreased the extra 4 stitches after the heel so that I had 4 pattern repeats horizontally (= 48 sts).
• Continued in k2tog tbl, p1 ribbing on the heel needle until I reached row #1 in the stitch pattern.
• Made a cuff of one full pattern repeat, finished off with an applied I-cord edging.

The Zephyr Socks turned out, unintentionally, knee-highs! The pattern is stretchy and very economical as far as yarn consumption is concerned. I was able to crank out knee-high socks of just two 50 g balls. The yarn doesn’t even have exceptional yardage. In fact, it has less than the wool blends I used for the previous socks.

• Pattern: Zephyr Socks (ravelry) by Domesticat
• Yarn: 2 x 50 g Regia Cotton Jacquard Color (41% new wool / 34% cotton / 25% polyamide), colorway #5436 (blues and grays)
• Needles: 2.5mm 80cm aluminum circular needle
• Mods: Toe-up, Revisited Widdershins heel. Increased one pattern repeat (9 sts) on the back needle above heel to a total of 63 sts. This made the cuff slightly loose in the ankle (but also very easy to put on) but it evened out as I worked further on the cuff. The stitch pattern is very stretchy so I didn’t need to do any calf shaping. Ribbing according to pattern.
• Other: Summer of Socks 2007 pair #4, Sockdown: Ravelry August 2007 challenge (Sockbug or lace) pair #1

I worked diligently on the Zephyrs over the weekend because I wanted to cast on another pair of lacy socks for the Sockdown: Ravelry August challenge. (Poor MacPalmikkoneule must be feeling neglected.) This is Minitomus, Pomatomus anklets made of sport weight yarn. I have a small leftover skein (from Rainy Day Socks) of this variegated aqua that I think will make great Poms. It’s not enough for a full-size pair but worked toe-up might just make a pair of anklets. I’ve never done Pomatomus before but that doesn’t stop me from modding it on the first go. :D

More flame wave socks

(Source: ravelry.com)

Wow! I did it: I finished another pair of socks in just four days. The Flame Wave Socks are the fastest pair I’ve ever knit. Cast on Friday morning, cast off Monday evening. 

• Pattern: Flame Wave Socks (ravelry) by Ann Budd from Favorite Socks, size: woman
• Yarn: 64 g of Apleks Superwash (superwash merino, I think) in yellow
• Needles: 2.5mm and 3.0mm 80cm aluminum circular needles
• Mods: The usual: worked toe-up, Revisited Widdershins heel. Started slip-stitch reinforcing for the heel at the same time as the gusset increases. The pattern instructs you to do the upper half of the cuff on larger needles (which I did) but I then switched back to smaller needles and did 3 rows of garter stitch before binding off.
• Other: Summer of Socks 2007 pair #3

Maybe I’m doing something wrong but to me the stitch pattern looks kind of messy. There are a few rows in the stitch pattern where I think there must be an error — the flow of the pattern is disrupted. I think the flames would look better if the M1’s were YO’s instead, and I’d like to tweak the placement of some of the decreases a bit.

Another thing is that the socks tend to twist like a corkscrew. That bit where the bind-off row starts and ends twists from the side of the leg to the front — just about the most visible place possible!

The yarn was not my favorite It’s very loosely plied 2-ply which means that there was some splitting. It’s also quite unforgiving: knits up unevenly and shows every imperfection. It also feels coarse to knit but when they’re on, they’re much less itchy than I expected. Odd, that.

Tomorrow is the official launch day of Sockdown: Ravelry. I think I’m going with lace.

I must be delusional to cast on yet another pair of socks just a few days before Ravelry Sockdown starts. But these are knitting up amazingly fast so I think I just might make it.

The pattern is Flame Wave Socks by Ann Budd from the book Favorite Socks. The yarn is one of from Apleks in Estonia.  It’s supposed to be superwash merino but it feels coarse and, umm, shall we say rustic. It’s somewhat splitty because it’s very loosely plied 2-ply and it knits up quite unevenly.

I’ve been slacking with the Summer of Socks 2007 updates lately. How come it’s taking me so long to finish a pair?? Anyhoo, here comes: Blueberry Lattice Socks are finished! I’m really happy with how these turned out. The yarn is yummy and soft, and the socks fit perfectly. I shouldn’t have doubted the pattern re: ankle increases.

• Pattern: DROPS 100-19: Socks with cable pattern in Alpaca (ravelry), size 38/40
• Yarn: 100 g of Zitron Trekking Pro Natura (75% new wool, 25% bamboo), colorway #1607 (blues and purples)
• Needles: 2.5 mm aluminum circular
• Mods: Worked toe-up, Revisited Widdershins heel, otherwise according to pattern
• Other: Summer of Socks 2007 pair #2

This is why I love toe-up socks: no leftover yarn. :)

I finally got down to trying my hand in stitch marker making. I’d ordered some frosted stars…

… and some purple hearts and seed beads.

The lady I ordered the beads from had also included three glass butterflies gratis and I made 2 of those into stitch markers as well. I’m not very handy at making them, and I suck especially in tugging in the end of the wire so that it won’t snag the yarn. The largest ring size the shop carries is 5 mm, which I can fit on my sock needles but nothing larger. For the frosted stars, I ended buying some 8 mm rings from the fishing department of a department store. :D I guess they’re used for lure making.

I haven’t completely abandoned the blueberry lattice socks, though. They’re knitting along quite swimmingly and I’m enjoying the pattern and the yarn. Gusset increases are finished and I’m ready to turn the heel.

I have a FO to report in: the Midsummer Monkeys are finished — and I’m wearing them right now. :) I’m still not a great fan of the color but it works quite well in the stitch pattern. You should’ve seen my swatches… or maybe not. The socks are a little snug, especially around the calves (that just means I have to work out more, haha). They’re also a bit itchy but I can’t usually wear wool against my skin so that’s normal. But, they haven’t been washed or blocked yet, so I’m hoping I can stretch them out a bit and make ‘em softer.

• Pattern: Monkey (ravelry) by Cookie A. from Winter 2006 Knitty
• Yarn: 100 g of Max Gründl Hot Socks Laola (75% wool, 25% polyamide), colorway #653 (yellow base color with minty green and pink stripes)
• Needles: 2.5 mm aluminum circular
• Mods: Worked toe-up, 15-stitch pattern repeat, Revisited Widdershins heel, calf increases.
• Other: Summer of Socks 2007 pair #1

I also cast on for the second pair of SOS2007 socks. The yarn (Zitron Trekking Pro Natura) is this yummy mix of blueberry, blackberry, and steely blue. It’s a wool/bamboo blend and although it’s not super soft on the ball, it’s got this subtle sheen when knitted up. It’s softer but also thinner than the Hot Socks I used for the Monkeys and the color is so soothing. I’m using sock pattern no. 100-19 from Garnstudio DROPS, which has a cute cable lattice on the instep and three 3-by-3 cables in the back of the foot. The yarn looks like it’s self-striping but it’s pretty tone-on-tone so I’m hoping it won’t completely drown out the cable pattern. We’ll see how it goes.

About those monkey mods: When I mentioned on Flickr that I tweaked the Monkey stitch pattern to fit my feet better, Maia Spins asked me whether I re-wrote it for toe-up. It’s not as much a re-write as me mashing up different patterns as I went along. Here’s what I did:

Toe

Cast on 12 sts on a circular needle using the Turkish Cast-On. Increased to 30 sts on instep and sole (60 sts total), and worked in stockinette until toes were covered (about 6 cm).

Stitch Pattern

I prefer the way the stitch pattern looks when done cuff-down, when the “branches” flow downwards. So, the first thing I did was to try to reverse the stitch pattern to have the same cuff-down look, only doing it toe-up. Didn’t work: it ended up looking like cat yak. The stitch pattern just didn’t have the same flow as Cookie’s original. But, judging by the comments on Wendy’s post on June 25, many, many people have tried it and failed. Sarah has a detailed, analytical post of why it can’t be done. The chart refuses to be reversible.

So, the stitch pattern can’t be reversed. I still had to tweak it, though, since I had 60 sts instead of the 64 in the original pattern. (On hindsight, the socks are slightly snug so I think I could’ve been just fine with the 4 additional stitches. Oh well.) I needed a 15-stitch repeat instead of 16 sts so what I did was take out 1 st on each of the “branches” and added a column of purl stitches in the purl triangles/wedges. The original stitch pattern is symmetrical so my mod is slightly off-kilter. It’s only by 1 st, though, so it’s hardly noticeable.

The chart was created with Jacquie’s Java KnitChart. Kara has created a symmetrical 12-stitch mini-Monkey chart and she didn’t reverse it either.

Heel

Instead of trying to do the heel backwards, I substituted for the Revisited Widdershins heel (which I looooove). Started gusset increases when the sock was about 7.5 cm (3”) less than the length of my foot — that’s about 16 cm for me. Followed the chart numbers on the row for 30 sts and increased to 52 sts total. Then just placed markers, turned the heel, and did the heel flap per instructions.

Cuff

I continued in the lace pattern on instep stitches. The stitch pattern was in mid-repeat after the heel so I did a few rows of stockinette on the heel/back stitches until I hit row 1 again in the pattern. After that, it was pretty straightforward. After 8 repeats in stitch pattern (that’s about 24 cm from the sole), I hit the point where my calves begin. Incresed 2 sts on the back needle on row 1 of the stitch pattern, then worked to the end of the repeat in a slightly wonky pattern. Then increased 2 sts again on row 1 of stitch pattern on back needle — now I had two 17-stitch repeats on the calf that were like the original stitch pattern plus that extra purl column. Worked to the end of that repeat so I had a total of 10 pattern repeats in the cuff. Based on the yarn I had left, I decided I’d better start the twisted rib. I got slightly more than the 1” of ribbing but that was OK. Finished with the Russian bind-off… and almost ran out of yarn on sock #2! The stretchy bind-off uses more yarn so I had to do a regular bind-off on a few stitches to be able to finish. A close call!

These are the socks that wouldn’t end… I’ve been frantically trying to finish my first pair of SOS2007 socks but the yarn just keeps going on and on and on. By now I can do the Monkey in my sleep! People have been turning in finished pairs left and right in the Flickr group, and the blog round-up for the first week is just overwhelming. So much sock-knitting going on! :)

The thing is, I’m determined to finish the entire ball of yarn on these socks. I could just decide that the cuff is long enough and bind off. But I’m not gonna because I’m sort of stubborn that way. I want to use the entire ball because

1. I want to see how much sock I can crank out of 100 grams
2. I hate having leftover sock yarn, especially in this colorway (although it’s growing on me) and
3. I want to make knee-highs someday and I’m curious to know how much yarn I’d need (see #1).

Off to knit some more now. There’s still a couple of hours of knitting time left this weekend.

I must be the last knitter on the planet not to have done Monkeys, Jaywalkers, or a Clapotis. Well, not anymore: my first project for Summer of Socks 2007 is a pair of bright banana-yellow socks that I’ve dubbed Midsummer Monkeys. They’re modded, of course, since I like to work toe-up but Monkeys nonetheless.

This is what I had 12 hours into SOS2007. That’s not 12 hours of knitting — although I would’ve been happy with that. :D The starting time, 5 a.m. EST, was 12 noon for me so I cast on on my lunch break on Thursday.

Here’s the situation 24 hours later, on Friday night. Some progress, sure, but not as much as I’d hoped.

And here’s Sunday afternoon. I got sidetracked with baking. :) Mmm, sock knitting and cake!  My unofficial goal was to finish the first pair over the first weekend but looks like I’m not gonna make it. You can’t really see it in the picture but I’ve already finished the heel on the first sock and I’m currently working on the heel flap of the second one. As far as goals go, I try to…

• Finish at least a pair — hopefully two pairs — per each of the three months of the -along.
• Try different yarns and fibers. I don’t have a big stash, not even sock yarn, so I want to try out stuff I’ve never worked with before. Handpainted stuff, bamboo, soy-protein fibers, stuff like that. And hopefully accrue a decent size sock yarn stash for the winter. ;)
• Knit some of the really popular and famous sock patterns I haven’t tried yet, like Pomatomus, Baudelaire, and yes, those Jaywalkers too. :)
• Knit some intricate cabled socks.
• Enter the design contest! With cabled socks, perhaps?
• Knit for someone else other than myself. I’m a really bad gift knitter so I want to work on that and maybe finish some Christmas presents early. :)

The Rainy Day Socks are DONE and I’m really pleased with them. The lace stitch pattern is really simple, knits up fast, but looks cute.

The yarn is typical Novita and nothing spectacular, but it compliments the stitch pattern nicely. It also behaved nicely and didn’t pool. Instead, I have these funky ladderstep/lightning-shaped stripes in the sock soles. :)

• Pattern: Rainy Day Socks (ravelry) by Yuliya Sullivan, from March 2007 MagKnits
• Yarn: 150g ball of Novita Nalle Colori (75% wool / 25% polyamide), colorway #813 (aqua/light blue/denim)
• Needles: 3.5mm 80cm INOX aluminum circular needle
• Mods: knitted toe-up, anatomically shaped toe using Turkish cast on and asymmetrically placed increases, K2Knits’ revisited Widdershins heel

Now I’ll take a week’s pause from sock knitting (although I did swatch a bit lot for my next project) because… Summer of Socks 2007 kicks off June 21st! I already have the first pattern and yarn picked out but I’m gonna have to do some tweaking with the pattern cause apparently my gauge is way off (that’s why the furious swatching).

What’s on my needles (and hooks) these days:

I just know I’ll have a super crappy and busy week next week cooped up in a classroom so I had to cast on Rainy Day Socks as comfort knitting. We had *one* rainy day last week but after that it’s been nothing but gorgeous, sunny spring days. On that socky note, I’ve considered joining in the Summer of Socks 2007 but haven’t signed up yet cause I’m such a procastinator.

Other projects: cable purse from DROPS,

toe-up toe socks that are totally suffering from the dreaded Second Sock Syndrome,

and an amigurumi bunny in the softest bamboo blend yarn. I’ve also done some dye experiments with food dyes…