Braid Cast On

The first sock in the Six Sox Knitalong is the Cloverleaf Rib sock adapted to adult sizes. The pattern, as written, does not have a traditional ribbed cuff. I’ve tentatively decided to use a braid cast on to keep the top of the sock from flaring out. A braided cast on, though, uses two strands of yarn and, typically, two different colors. I wanted to use just one color and also wanted to minimize the number of loose ends to weave in at the end of the sock. So I came up with this method, which uses the tail from the long-tail cast on as the second strand.

Loosely cast on the appropriate number of stitches using a long-tail cast on method. I like to cast on over two needles held together using the twisted German technique. Leave at least a 4-5 foot tail. Knit one round. Move both the yarn coming from the ball and the yarn remaining from the long tail cast on to the front of your work. Alternate purling one stitch using the yarn from the ball and one stitch using the yarn from the tail. Each time you should bring the yarn over the top of the stitch you just made. Continue in this manner until the end of the round. On the next round, alternate purling one stitch using the yarn from the ball and one stitch using the yarn from the tail but, this time, carry the yarn under the stitch you just made. At the end of the round, bring both strands of yarn to the back of your work and knit one round plain. Cut
the yarn left from the long-tail cast on to a length that can be woven in at the end of the sock. Continue making the sock using the appropriate pattern. Here’s what it should look like.


Who's linking here?

Good Karma

Thanks to everyone who purchased the Landlocked Socks pattern from me. I sent a check for nearly $100.00 to the Komen Foundation today so I consider the effort a success. Vera is one of the knitters who bought the pattern. She has a nice, upbeat blog and I've communicated with her frequently. I know she likes to knit dishcloths so here's a pattern for you, Vera. I called it the Fishy Dishy Dishcloth 'cause it looks kinda like fishnet stockings. I've made several and like them because openness of the stitch pattern allows them to dry out quickly. If you make one, send me the photo and I'll add it to the web page.

Who's linking here?

Knitters Unite

There was an article in the local paper this morning about the resurgance of knitting. It's titled "The Ancient Craft of Knitting Becomes Cool Again" and was nicely done. The reporter got some good quotes from local celeb Nancy Bush, the owner of Black Sheep Wool Company, and the new owner of The Wool Cabin. You should read it. There's an interesting part about the woman who owned The Wool Cabin and her recent (void-creating) death.

More CIC Socks

I took a picture of the finished pair of socks for CIC:

There are now 222 knitters in the Six Sox Knitalong and the time is drawing to a close for those who want to be entered in the CIC contest. So join up!





Who's linking here?

This And That

If you're not a blogger, you may not be aware of this but it is sometimes possible for me to determine how a reader has arrived at my blog. Typically, it's from another blog that links to me or from a link that I insert into an email message. Atypically, it's from some sophomoric English chat board or a knitting-related Google search. This morning, though, I noticed that someone arrived at my blog by searching for "slide presentation of hospital disaster plan." How weird is that?? What's even more bizarre is that the searcher was using the Greek version of Google. Ah, the power of the Internet. Thanks, Al Gore.

Margene has a wonderful post today about blogging, knitting, and sharing. Snag the button from Margene or from Kim who created it. Thanks, Kim. Margene shared some yarn with our SnB group on Tuesday night. I took mine home and promptly cast on a pair of socks for CIC.



The yarn is so perfect for kid socks. I actually finished them last night but didn't have time to take a picture. Thanks again, Margene.

The Six Sox Knitalong has over 200 members now. Knitting on the first sock begins on June 1st so there's still lots of time to join. If socks don't interest you and you're looking for a knitalong to join, check out this page. An industrious person has created a page with links to all the current knitalongs. How tempting!

Who's linking here?

Jaw Breaker?

Hmmmm . . . should I be happy with the outcome of this Quizilla quiz?



You're a Jaw Breaker!!!! You tend to be quite
upfront about everything. Some admire you for
this quality, while others often resent you for
it. Although you may act tough, whether you
hate to admit it or not there is some sweetness
inside of you.

Which kind of candy are you?
brought to you by Quizilla


Who's linking here?

Flowers

The flowers in my garden are doing great this year. Except, of course, for my lilies of the valley. I had huge patches of these flowers in my garden when I lived in Massachusetts but I'm having no luck growing them in Utah. At least the leaves came back up this year even though they don't have any flowers. Maybe I'll try moving them to a different spot, or perhaps that would be even greater folly. My Peonies and Sweet William look wonderful, though. Must be all the rain we had this spring.

Stitch 'n Bitch

There is a wonderful Stitch 'n Bitch group here in Salt Lake City that meets every Tuesday evening in a coffee shop. Yes, there are coffee shops in Utah. In fact, Margene, if you're reading this I have found the best coffee at a little free-standing, drive-up place on 3300 South. I'm addicted. Anyway, our local group was started by Laurie and it even includes a token male member. I believe it was Laurie who met him at the SLC library where he works and taught him to knit. He was working on a Marsupial Bag last night. Very nice. Another member and new knitter, Julie, was showing off the felted clogs she made in Laurie's Clog-Along.


Aren't they wonderful! I think it's great that so many younger people are knitting!

Who's linking here?

A couple of months ago, I posted a pattern for a felted bag on this blog and asked everyone who printed it out or made the bag to send $5.00 to me via PayPal. It was my intention to aggregate all the payments and forward them to Heifer Project International for a knitting basket. Last time I checked, the pattern had almost 1,500 hits; I've received a grand total of $5.00 in donations. So, I'm trying something different this time. I've written out a sock pattern that I'm calling "Landlocked Socks." See it there on the sidebar on the right? It's an easy, all-over lace pattern that knits up quickly at 6 stitches to the inch. The pattern (including shipping) is $5.00 and all the money I collect after I pay expenses will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

I'm currently working on another sock pattern that I'm calling Harlequin Rib Socks.



The sock reminds me a little clowns so the money from that pattern will go to the Ronald McDonald House in Salt Lake City. If this sock looks interesting to you, check back in a couple of days after I get the kinks written out of the pattern.


Who's linking here?

New Socks

I finished a UFO on Wednesday night at the guild meeting.

The pattern is called Aran Braid Socks. I used Silja sock yarn and size 2.5 mm needles. I had 3 balls of yarn, just to be safe, but I managed to squeeze the pair out of just 2 balls. This project was my only real UFO; I don't consider something a UFO unless it's been sitting around for more than 6 months. I started these last fall and put them aside when I realized I'd made a mistake on the cable of the first sock. It was a minor mistake but it couldn't be fixed unless I ripped out almost the entire sock. Taking my cue from Michelangelo, who allegedly purposefully included a small mistake in each of his pieces, I decided to leave the sock as it was. Can you see it??



Yes, minor I know, but it prevented me from working up the courage to finish the second sock. I pulled the bag out when I was moving things around for my kitchen remodel (see picture below). Then, discovered that the SocknittersSAM group was knitting this sock this month. The rest is history.

Remodel

Yes, my posts have been lame lately, but my kitchen is the recipient of all my extra time. What do you think??




Best I could do in my tiny house, tiny kitchen.



Who's linking here?

Lesson in Frogging

Laurie brought her Everyday Cardigan to Stitch 'n Bitch last night. It is absolutely gorgeous. The lesson to be learned from Laurie's project is that frogging is not a bad thing. She was quite a way into the body (done on circulars so imagine lots of stitches) when she realized that her gauge was off and the finished sweater was going to be enormous. Yes, it was a hard pill to swallow, but she took the high road and frogged all the way back to the ribbing. Now look at it; it's beautiful and best of all it fits!

Kitchen Saga

My never-ending kitchen remodel is actually moving along. I have to confess I had an extremely difficult time choose a paint color.
BR>
I finally found a compassionate clerk at the local Sherwin-Williams who took pity on me and spent quite a bit of time mixing up the exact color I wanted. See, even the painter was glad I finally made up my mind:


Who's linking here?

Small Projects

I finished the CIC cloverleaf rib socks this weekend.

I got a new cell phone for Mother's Day. About time; my old one was pretty clunky and the reception was bad. I made a little case for it that I'm calling a "Cell Phone Sock."
I used a leftover skein of Plymouth Encore that was in my knitting basket and knit it so that it fit nice and tight around the phone.

Who's linking here?

CIC Socks

Here's the first of the CIC socks I'm making through the Six Sox Knitalong.



I used a Sherman heel and a round toe. Well, maybe it's called a star toe.
Does anyone know??

The cast on is from a Nancy Bush book; she calls it the "double start" cast on.


It worked nice with this sock since it doesn't have a traditional k2p2 or k1p1 cuff. This cast on is moderately stretchy and it prevents the top of the sock from flaring out.

Who's linking here?

Knitalong

We have nearly 100 members signed up for the knitalong. If you're a member and you knit a pair of socks for Children in Common (CIC) between now and June 1st, your name will be entered in a raffle for a prize to be announced the first week of June. To participate, just join the knitalong and follow the instructions in message #38.



I had to delete yesterday's post because some of the back-and-forth commenting was getting out of hand. Then it descended into attacks on America and Americans and I thought it was best to just end it. I only posted the link to the thread because I thought it was extremely odd and curious that there was a discussion of this blog on some english chat page. Honestly, if you're not a knitter why would you ever spend the time to read these posts?? If it's to make fun, there would seem to be so many more interesting and controversial things to ridicule.


Who's linking here?

New Knitalong

The socks for my MIL are finished.
And look how much yarn was left after the second sock was completed:

A little too close for comfort but I made it!

You may have guessed that this is the first sock in the new knitalong I'm hosting with (blogless) Pam. The knitalong is called the Six Sox Knitalong and the goal is to knit six different socks over the next twelve month period. Knitting on the first sock begins on June 1st. So sign up now if you're interested. If you complete all six socks, you'll be entered in a drawing for a prize at the end of the knitalong. I should have a button on Monday or Tuesday.

Hope everyone had a great May Day. I got a beautiful potted plant and some treats in my May Basket. What did you'll get??

Who's linking here?