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It's all about socks

Last week, after arriving home from Italy, I finished both the Spiral boot socks and the striped socks for Hanna. They both went blocking, and came out with smoother surfaces and clearer stitches.

jogs.jpg
In the striped socks I knitted for Hanna I tried two different ways of making the rounds more jogless. Under the foot I used a method of knitting the first stitch of the new colour with both colours, and then adjusting the unwanted colour stitch on the next row. This creates a pretty straight line, but it is, as you can see, hard to keep the tension even. On the inside of the leg portion (this sock pair is having a left foot and a right foot, both with the jog on the inside of the leg part) I used a method where you knit the first row of the second colour just like normal, but on the second row pick up a loop the first colour and knit it together with the first stitch of the second colour. The tension was easy to keep up, but I don't think the jog is as good. Or perhaps I knitted something wrong here? I have a feel it's not looking like it's supposed to. So please, since I feel neither of these methods is perfect, if you do know about a better way to avoid the jog, would you like to share it? I would really appreciate it!

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These socks were also knitted using the magic loop technique. It is the first time I have used it for completed socks, before this I have only used magic loop for the toe portion. And I think it will stay that way. The heels were fussy to make on magic loop, and there is clear signs in the sides of the socks were the rows have started and ended. Since I never get any marks when knitting with the old-fashioned trusty double-pointed needles, and the speed is also of quite an other world, I think I will stick to the dpns for the future. And use magic loop for toes only when I'm starting socks that way.

Project details:
Pattern: my own, knitted from the toes up using magic loop. A basic way to knit toe up can be found here.
Yarn: Regia cotton sockyarn, 41 % wool, 34 % cotton and 25 % polyamide, about 75 grams.
Needles: 2,5 mm addi circular needle.

spiral.jpg

The Spiral boot socks then? Finished with the knitting and blocked. They still need some kind of elastic or perhaps a beautiful ribbon would be enough in order to stay up. The lace in the cuff is too elastic to stay up without any help, and my leg not shaply enough. But the socks were funny to knit, and I think the pattern is pretty cunning, the way it looks like there is only one pattern on the leg. Click here to see a picture where the decrease points are marked with two lines! If you look closely you can see were the decreases are made, but when you just look in a normal way, they look like having just one pattern. All in all it is a very well fitting sock, the foot is just perfect for me.

spiralside.jpg

Project details:
Pattern: Spiral boot sock by Evelyn Clark for Interweave Knits Summer 2007.
Yarn: Novita Nalle (a Finnish sock yarn), 145 grams.
Needles: 2,5 mm double pointed needles.

Before starting our trip to the archipelago on Monday I dug out three balls of Regia Silk in a denim blue colour, 2,5 mm dpns and Nancy Bush's Folk socks book. The pattern I chose is the Chalet socks, with it's roots in the sock pattern with traveling stitches found in Bavaria, Tirol, Alsace and Norway. I once lived in Munich and stayed with a family very fond of the traditional Bavarian way to dress, and since I have liked the traveling stitches in socks very much. I in fact found not long ago a very traditional pattern, but since it will look better in a light coloured yarn I decided to let that pattern wait a while, and I chose the chalet socks instead. In this pattern there is something as unusual as mistakes in the charts. The center pattern should start with two twisted knit stitches that on row number two are crossed. This way you'll have circles that every second time twist around once and every second time twice. The way the pattern is charted was very hard to understand in the beginning, not being like what I'm used to, but I'm starting to get the grip of it. And now the knitting flows, I'm past the heel already. Look look!

chalet.jpg

I hope you'll have a nice day, filled with laughter and joy! I'm now off to clean the house, tackle the last of the archipelago wash mountain and do some work in the garden.

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Comments

I love both socks - escpecially the knee high ones.

wow love those spiral boot socks. They look lovely. Can't wait to see the Bavarian ones!

Oh my. Both pairs are beautiful! I love the sweet colors of the 1st and the design and color of the knee-highs!

I love them! All of them. :)

Wow Maud, you are inspiring me to get back to my sock knitting again (and maybe try something new). They are all so beautiful!

Qute socks - both the summery and the rustique ones. And the ones you're knitting on looks promising!

That is the only Nancy Bush book that I don't have - What a beautiful sock!! Oh how I love traveling stitches!
You have so much on one post...The Spiral Boot socks are beautiful and Hannah's softly striped socks are lovely too. I've tried jogless jogs without too much luck - I just let the stripes jog and don't worry about it (I put the jog on the inner leg). I definitely get the lines on the sides of my socks with magic loop knitting and the heels are a but if a pain, but the good outweighs the bad for me - 2 socks at once/fewer joins/faster knitting and no double pointy ends sticking out.
(sorry about this novel length comment!)

bit of a pain

Hi Maud, The socks are great! I've done mittens before, but never a sock and you are probably the inspiration to get it done. The pictures from your trip are beautiful. Where ezactly is the Archipelego? We did a overnight trip on one of the beautiful cruise boats from Stockholm to Helsinki - would we have passed through the area you were at? It looks simliar to what I remember - rocky and beautiful. Have a great day!

Hej, vilka fina sockor du har stickat!
Du frågade om jag ska skriva en rapport från symposiet. Jag var inte där. Hela juli månad har gått åt till datorstrulet.

Great socks! I'm so lazy I have never tried to hide the jogs -- I should definitely learn how...

My daughter would like a pair of the Spiral Boot socks. I may try a different top even though the lace is very pretty. If it doesn't hold the sock up, it isn't doing it's job!

Your socks are beautiful. I especially like the knee highs. A pretty ribbon would be a nice way to keep them up, but it might start to hurt after a night or day on your feet. Sewing in some matching elastic thread might do the job without hurting your legs.

Oh, I love your socks. I am a beginning knitter and would love to try socks, but they all look so hard. I have never used dpn either, or stitch markers - I keep praying that God sends me a mentor to help me...as knitting socks really is my hearts desire.

Kimmie
mama to 6
one homemade and 5 adopted

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Welcome to my blog! My name is Maud, and I spend my free hours grooming Afghan hounds, knitting, cooking, and growing bonsai trees. I am since the summer of 2012 reporting from Stockholm Sweden, entries before that are from Esbo, Finland.

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