It worked !

That sock modification I was thinking of, well it worked, so today I've got some initial progress images of what I did and how it fits, then you will just have to put up with me and my latest spinning. I'm off with some of my Dunedin Spin buddies to an Anne Field Refine Your Spinning Workshop in Christchurch, so I just had to empty my bobbins ready for the workshop. I'm not taking my wheel(s), one won't fit in a suitcase, the splay of the legs is to wide for any of our suitcases. The other wheel I'd have to dismantle - and far too many folk have queried my sanity, don't I know that air port baggage handlers play rough throw and catch sports with any luggage labeled fragile? So we are all borrowing wheels, we have been told there are many for us to borrow, all good, trouble is I'm not sure I'm borrowing a Wing or a Pipy - so I must take bobbins for both.


But today is mostly about socks, or rather sock modifications. Last post I mentioned that inspired by Cat Bordhi and a comment in her New sock architecture book, that the gusset increases could go anywhere, so I deliberately put mine some where other than the sides. This is my slightly modified Toasty, I've keep the original idea of the heel in the charcoal contrast yarn, but worked it as a reverse heel flap. The flap is done with eye of partridge - so slipped stitches offset by one on alternate right side rows. But thats not the cool bit, the cool but is under the sole -

here - see? The increases are either side of a 3 stitch panel up the center of the sole. And it works, the sock fits. I did wonder if the central panel should be the same width as the heel cup - then realised that would be almost the same as the standard heel gusset increases, so not really different. I'm going to have to knit the other the same - to check my note taking for one thing and to have a matched pair for another. These things seem important to other people - they need their socks to match, when I just want to 'improve' and 'experiment' on the next sock, not the next pair. I do have plans for the next experiment - I want to see if I can plan the increases so they form a neat triangle that leads into the heel cup, one that splays open just enough to form the heel cup. Lets see if I can remember that when I knit my next sock shall we, and you can all remind me of what my fleeting plans were.

I do have to say it has become obvious that this is a sock for Bear or Dad, not me. That makes this the third sock in a row that is not for moi, but thats how it works some times. This sock is generously sized on my feet, so rather than frog and narrow it I decided to make it long enough for the adult male feel in my family. It does fit me, so it may be that once finished and washed it is my sock after all, that post knit block wash might just tighten it up just a tad, just enough to feel like my sock. Just between you and me, I may have started the gusset a tad to late, making it a half cm to long for me - but as I said the males in this family have larger paws and are pretty deserving of nice hand knit socks.


And spinning, this is what I plied up last night, some hand kettle dyed Perendale, dyed by a fellow Knitter M. This is a 3 ply, Navajo plied successfully, to retain the colour shifts. I've got 362m in 2 skeins, and its 17-19 wraps per inch (its my hanspun so you know the stuff still varies). I'm rather pleased, and thinking that I might use it for some colour-work on a top down raglan for Poppy latter in the year, or I might just leave it hanging over the back of a chair and admire it for a while longer. Its not the best photo in the world - the short winter days are here and affect the photo opportunities for those knit bloggers who work.

So - not post this weekend, but I'll report next week on the weekends events, the spinning and the knitting, and hopefully meeting some Christchurch based Ravelryrs. M put a thread on the kiwi crafting group on Ravelry if you'd like to meet up with us. My take along knitting will be my scarf and my sock, I'm thinking of starting sock two up to the same point as this sock, and then knitting both legs at the same time. So if you are in and around the Center of Christchurch, look for 4 or more knitters, discussing their spinning at length, while KIP'ing, it could be M, K, J and I.

Take care
Stella