Pink Pablos

The Pablos are done. I am really happy with them and they actually fit. It was a very easy pattern to follow, with a six row pattern repeat. I followed the pattern for the foot, substituting a short row toe, until after I had turned the heel and knit the heel flap.

I then had to increase to 72 stitches to get the sock up over my heel. I think that if I had added extra length to the heel flap I may not have had to increase the stitches. It is still a tight fit over my heel and I do have tug quite a bit to get them on. Saying all of that I am still happy with how they fit once they are on.


I really love the heel. There are increases for the gusset and then the heel is turned on half of the stitches in the center and the heel flap is knit at the same time as 'picking up' the rest of the stitches from either side of the heel, by knitting or purling two stitches together. So there are no stitches to be picked up and you still get the look of a heel flap.


These are my first toe-up socks and I think they may be the way to go from now on. I used Elizabeth Zimmermann's Sewn Cast Off and it worked out great. Really stretchy. I was cutting it a little fine with the amount of yarn that was left over after I had finished it, and it was a little hard to weave in the ends, but I managed.


They are currently having a good long bath in some wool wash because the yarn is a little scratchy. I am hoping it will soften after the wash.

Pattern: Pablo Blue Socks by Knitting Pixie
Yarn: One Fat Slug Fingering Weight Sock Yarn in Roses
Needles: 1 2.5mm Knit Picks Circular

A Land of Extremes

My thoughts go out to all those who have lost family members and property in the devastating bushfires in Victoria and New South Wales and to those who are still wading through flood waters in their homes in North Queensland.

Also I am very thankful for the tireless efforts of the CFA and SES volunteers. They do great work and we can always depend on their hard work and support.

Two Reasons

I haven't made a lot of progress on the Pablo's in the last few days. I have turned the heels, and completed two more repeats. That may sound like a lot, but each repeat is only six rounds.

There are two reasons why this is so:

1. It is too damn hot to knit - and it is only going to get hotter, and the people who look after defence housing obviously think us Army families are tough and don't need little things like ceiling fans or screens, and
   
2. the socks are very tight over the heel and I don't know how to fix it.

So I am waiting on the 20 degree drop in temperature that is due here on Monday to rip it back and try again. That is after I do some research on just how to fix it.

February's Sock

So it is the first of the month. That means my very first shipment from my personal sock club. As I said yesterday I am one month behind on my plan to knit twelve pairs of socks this year, so this month I will be finishing the Pablos and starting a pair of Socks for Little Witches for Noo.

I will be using the yarn I dyed the other day with food colouring. I am calling it Pink Lemonade. It was the first skein I dyed. As I was a little skeptical that it would actually work, I tried it out on a 50g skein, so that I didn't feel like I had wasted a lot of yarn. The 50g skein is perfect for my little one.


I will spend today working on the Pablos and reworking the pattern for the Witches Socks. I am going to rewrite it so that I can work it toe up and so that it will fit Noo. The pattern is written for five to seven year olds, Noo is a small three year old. I haven't done a lot of reworking of patterns before so this will be a challenge.

My Own Personal Sock Club 2009

I am going to put together my own personal sock club. I am not sure who started it but I know a few favourite bloggers are playing along.

The idea is that you select twelve different sock yarns and you bag or wrap them up and each month you choose one at random and knit it up.


Today, being the last day of January, I am starting a bit late. I will start tomorrow in February and try and catch up by finishing an adult pair and starting a kid sized pair.

I have included some socks that I have already started, but because this is my own personal sock club, there are no rules, and I can do what I want. Also, because I am a geek I have set up a spreadsheet so I know what pattern goes with what yarn.

Dyeing My Own

I have just tried dyeing yarn using this tutorial. I was a little worried that it wouldn't work well and I would be left with some yarn that I cannot use. Then I gave myself a talking to, telling myself that it is only yarn and Noo won't care what colour her socks are.

I started with a ball of Paton Patonyle in a creamy white colour. I wrapped the yarn around the back of my dining room chair to make a skein, tied it in six places and soaked it. I made a fairly concentrated mix of pink food colouring and white vinegar.

I applied the dye to a small part of the skein, then diluted the dye a little with filtered water and applied it some more, and continued in this fashion. I had some help from two little three year old hands, and ended up with pink food colouring all over the floor. She did enjoy herself a lot, and it wasn't anything that a little gumption couldn't remove.

I popped it in the microwave and nuked it for a while and when it cooled, soaked it in some cool water with a little wool wash. I was really surprised that the water in the bowl stayed clear. I thought some of the dye would come out of the yarn.

Pink Lemonade

I am so happy with how it worked out. I love how the colours blend well together and I am hopeful that it will knit into a pair of beautiful socks for Noo.

I had some time on my hands while the two littlies slept and tried my hand at some other colours.

Cool as a Cucumber

Sunkist

Marina

Flame

I think I can see an addiction coming. It was so much fun and I have a head full of ideas that I am keen to try out. I may even graduate to other dyes. I need to find a good supplier of undyed yarns.

Socks!!

I have three pairs of socks on the needles at the moment. I am working on a pair for Noo in Merino Bambino. They are a 2 x 1 rib and I am working them toe up, two at a time on my new 2.5mm circulars. She loves them and is constantly asking to try them on. I am really happy with how they are working out.

On the needles for me are some Sydney Socks. The Sydneys are kicking my butt at the moment. I am doing them on dpns because the pattern asks you to borrow a stitch from the next needle on half of the rows in the repeat and that just wouldn't be possible with circulars. I was having a lot of problems restarting the pattern after turning the heel and working the heel flap. I think I have it back on track now. They are working up really well, and I am loving the yarn. It is a beautiful colour with some subtle variations in the colour.


I am also working on the Pablo Blue Socks toe up. This has to be my favourite way to construct socks. I haven't finished a pair yet so I don't know about the bind off at the top, but I am loving the fact that I can try them on along the way. The Pablo Sock pattern is great. It is a really easy pattern to memorise and I haven't had to tink back too much, so I am pretty happy.


There has also been some sock yarn dyeing. More on that later when the yarn is dry and I can decided if it was a success or not.