OK. So I Lied.
Right here on this blog. And in my e-mail responses to a number of comments, too. Yup, I lied. Or at least I fooled myself.
But I bet I didn’t fool you.
These came out looking pretty nice, I think.
They’re comfy, too - once on. Warm and soft and cuddly.
But you know that part where I was patting myself on the back because for once I had suppressed my odious natural perfectionism in the matter of fitting the ankle over my heel?
They’re just for ME, I said, so I can live with them the way they are.
Yeah, right. Did anybody actually believe me?
I did. Which only goes to show that I am a SUCKER.
Finding the woven-in end was the hardest part.
No - who’m I kidding? Pulling it OUT was the hard part.
But I did it.
I think what put me over the edge was putting on the second sock unblocked. Blocking makes a huge difference to this yarn and this stitch, and the difference in texture/stiffness between the two socks is amazing. The second one was REALLY hard to put on. Especially on my left foot, over the slightly thicker ankle that I owe to an old injury. What I considered reasonable the other day no longer seems acceptable now. Not even “just for me.”
Besides, I’ve got an extra 100 yards of the yarn. Just barely not enough to do anything else with, so I might as well get my money’s worth and get these socks right.
Right. It’s always gotta be right. That’s always been my mantra whether I liked it or not, so what made me think this would be an exception?
Here we go - back on the needles, ready to start again. I’ve only frogged one of them so far - the more recent one - so I’ll have the other one to compare it with as I go.
I’m probably going to add in the equivalent of two full pattern repeats, i.e. about an inch. That will take care of the putting-on problem, and I’m trusting the dynamic of the stitch pattern to take up any slack in the fabric. (This is not going to be a low-yardage sock. Not that it would have been anyway.) I have to play a little with placement - right now I’m leaning toward clumping two into each side at the top of this gusset-y bit and sneaking in four more around the back, evenly spaced, in the first pattern row of the ankle. If I put them into the 3rd stitch of the repeat they should be totally hidden by the crossover stitches, and no one the wiser. I’d be tempted to hide them all that way, but I want to concentrate a little extra ease at the top-of-heel stress point. Anyway, that’s the strategy - insofar as there is one.
While I’m at it I’m also going to introduce the pattern stitch semi-retroactively into the last couple of rows of the gusset (I do NOT want to undo the heel if I can help it - don’t wanna undo the woven-in ends of Woolly Nylon - but if absolutely necessary I’ll face that too), because I am not very fond of the pointy bit at the top.
BTW, there is some confusion about the actual yarn. I thought it was a mill-end of CTH SockItToMe, but I now think I was misinformed, or I misremembered, or something. According to everything I’ve seen on the web, SockItToMe is a true fingering weight, 80/20 merino/nylon, and I could swear this is 100% superwash; also this yarn is a 3-ply and I don’t think that’s true of SITM. (No, I haven’t done a burn test yet, but I will.) I do think it’s CTH, and I have a feeling that it’s either Supersock DK or the now-discontinued Superwash DK. The colorway looks a lot like the older version of “Caribou Creek,” as pictured here, though to my eye the real thing has a little less blue and grey in it. It pills some, and that’s the worst I can say about it - otherwise I just love it. Mostly, though, I’m just curious to know what I’m dealing with here. Especially as I’m going to have to back into the yardage spec - see above re: not low-yardage.
How long is this going to take? It wouldn’t take very long if I had time to focus on it - as it is, who knows? but it doesn’t really matter much. Because today I went out barefoot into the back yard for a moment (I won’t say it wasn’t cold, but still…) to take these:
Yeah. At this rate… these are next winter’s socks anyway.
Incidentally, to show you what a difference a yarn makes… here is a swatch of the same stitch, AT THE SAME GAUGE, in Jennifer’s Flock Sock, a true 4-ply tight-twist sock yarn.
Totally different, don’t you think?
Oh, and if you’re suspecting this of being an early Firebird swatch in an early Firebird yarn prototype… you’re right. And if you’re suspecting me of drawing out the cliffhanger… right again. Guilty as charged. Hey, I’ve gotta do something to play out the suspense. We’re dyin’ here, because we’re not dyein’ here, because we’re still waiting for the Big Yarn Shipment to arrive. And that reminds me - in case for some reason anybody hasn’t gotten the memo - I’ve started the Suspense-Along KAL for the Flock Sock Club. It’s a Ravelry group called TSOCK FLOCK; if you’re a member of the club, or if you’re waiting for a standalone kit or yarn order, or even if you’ve just got a little extra good will to spare, heed our call for Yarn Shipping Mojo - come over and throw a little karma our way! Willya, huh?
Or you could just chant in the general direction of the mill:
March 7th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
This stitch in the Firebird yarn prototype seems “holey-er” than the purple sock yarn. Do you think this will bloom after washing and blocking or will this be a feature of the Firebird socks? (It’s not a bug, it’s a feature! Can you tell I work with developers all day?) I love the colours of both yarns you’re working with here.
Sending you and Jennifer good wishes for the yarn shipment.
March 7th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
That part about living with the sock that wasn’t perfectly constructed didn’t sound right : ) One of the things I like about your patterns is the novel way you approach the architecture of the sock. I’m just curious if you could ease the tightness in another way. Would putting a “basket handle” up the back of the sock (vertical pattern starting at the heel and going up with something like one or a few purl stitches on either side) give enough ease or would you still need more? Or would this disrupt the pattern so much it wouldn’t look right? Just curious if there were other solutions to the ease problem you think would work.
March 8th, 2008 at 12:01 am
I really like your blog, and I really like your socks. However, I truly loathe your picture of budding crocuses with the heat of a thousand suns. I am buried under nearly 5 feet of snow, with two more expected this weekend, and cannot bear to think of budding crocuses for a good month and a half. ‘Scuse me while I weep gently in the corner for a while, before I go back to admiring your gorgeous basket-weave perfections that you call socks.
March 8th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Barefoot in the yard??? I’ve have frostbitten toes! My poor snowdrops are under a couple of feet of snow. At least a couple and it’s still snowing like eighty! I’m thankful for warm handknit socks. :O) I think you’ll be happier with yours once they go on more easily. They’re beautiful!
March 8th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
*chanting* SHIP YARN NOW…er, SHIP RIGHT YARN RIGHT NOW!!!
Did you guys ever figure out what to do with the carcozy bonanza?
Flowerwise, CA is ahead of you. We’ve got daffodils and alyssum already…. *evil grin*
March 8th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Go see “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day,” immediately. There’s a bit at the end that you, as a sock designer, will quote for the rest of your life.
March 9th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Hmmmm. Chanting: Ship yarn now, ship yarn now. And while I cant, how about I dig up my old shaman drum and have a little travel? Might be fun to go to a yarn factory, I never did that.
PS: My roses have two inch long leaves. Hope, they survive the ’sheep coldness’ in May.
March 10th, 2008 at 5:15 am
I think your lovely CTH looks very similar to the Supersock DK I have in my stash (in terms of construction not colour). So my bet’s on that.
Anyway, the baskety stitch looks completely different in Jennifer’s yarn. It actually looks like a completely different stitch which is what I thought it was before I read your comments.
I’m completely on tenterhooks over here. Nervous and anxious and excited for the first shipment to reach YOU let alone me.
This is by far the most exciting of the 4 sock clubs I am a member of (well, 3 now…I quit one. We’re buying a house. And I sure as heck wasn’t going to give up this one!) and I’m definitely loving the anticipation!
March 10th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Chanting quietly in background (ship.yarn.now.) and waiting on Vintage (Pinot) and LOVING that basket weave stitch, most especially in Jennifer’s yarn. I recently got her copper penny (on sale - who could resist?) and I might give it a try in this stitch. I think it will be VERY nice. Currently I’m slowly working on the Blue Stocking (having gotten over learning the twisty half veil stitch — no more bad words!) and it is soooooo beautiful. I am loving that sock. Thanks so much for the pattern!! Try not to drift toward madness — just do what is in front of you
March 11th, 2008 at 1:18 am
I am chanting.