Every time I knit two socks at once on a single long circular I get to this point and look down and see .... ears, pigs ears, just do - don't you? Well this time seeing the pigs ears came right after Poppy was invited to a P-party, as in come as something beginning with P (not as in something more adult and illegal). Poppy - bless her little 7 year old naieve heart wants to go as a pig, and has spent considerable time collecting paraphanalia to make a pig mask with. I felt the need to knit her some piglet ears.
So I picked up my sock needles, 2.25mm, and cast on 18 stitches using Judy's magic cast on, increase every second round until there were 20 stitches, worked straight for 4 rounds and then decreased at each edge of the inside of the ear every second round 4 times. I then russian grafted the ear closed after juggling the stitches so I had half on the inside and half on the outside. Decreasing on the inside made each ear curve forward a little but left me with an unequal number of stitches on the inside and out side of the ear. I knit two of these, two at once .. and kept thinking this time not only did they look like little ears .. they would be little ears. then I cast on 10 stitches and knit a band long enough to wear as a head band using double knitting (k1, s1wyf) repeat to end of row, turn repeat. I used the tail yarn of each year to stitch each ear to the head band and voila!
Piglet!
The socks - well they were abandoned while I knit Piglet so they have not grown much. I'm playing with a slipped stitch pattern but I'm not convinced it is the best choice for this yarn. I'm only half a dozen rounds in so might just frog and do something lacy, Poppy has asked for 'holes like her pink socks' (Froot Loops), so I'll just wait and see what comes to mind.
Bears Gentleman's sock grew, and now it is done. I was lazy and didn't go and look up how the top of the sock was worked, I just decided to integrate 1x1 rib into the diamond purl pattern. I like the way it worked .. but started the rib a little early. Bear tried them on when I thought they were long enough and thought he might like them an inch or two longer .. so I've knit another inch of 1x1 rib and told them they were vintage style with extra long rib. From somewhere I have a notion that vintage style socks tended to have longer rib sections than many contemporary socks.
Works for me - I've still not gone and looked up the pattern photo for the sock .. might do that now. We had our student graduate show last night so it was a late night, Toby and I got home at midnight - late for a 10 year old, late for his mum :-)
Toby earned the right to go by working his little butt off during the day cleaning 600 chairs and parking goodie bags on them and cutting up programes and folding them into booklets. I am beginning to see the attraction of child labour. The show went well, one graduate designer mia until 30 minutes before their slot, one Glam Rock star featured in full Glam Rock kit (over Toby's head methinks), one broken zip safety pinned together at the last minute, one lost shoe on catwalk, and 800 happy parents, sponsors and supporters who bought tickets. lots of tired staff and students. I'll post links to photos once they are up - promise.
take care
na Stella
3 comments:
Oh my goodness. you are so sweet. I am working on what you said, the waste yarn then the regular yarn. Just your explanation helped a bunch. I haven't gotten to the after thought heel yet, so take your time, sweetie.
Thanks again
~a
Very piggy indeed! I was puzzled by your double knitting method, but then realized that you might not be aware that the current technique in vogue works both sides at once in a 1x1 rib. No need to turn and work those slipped stitches on a second pass. Now I understand why you did not plunge right in behind me! You probably thought I was working every row twice and thought: "what a swot!" Not so. It is fun! Way too much fun; and totally reversible.
I love the pig ears! What a great leap from the socks to the ears -- and Poppy looks very happy with them. I'm also very impressed with Toby's industry, he definitely earned that late-night privilege (the big question is, what did he think of it once he got it? Tess is invariably less charmed by late nights than she thinks she'll be, heh). Congratulations on getting through the big show!!
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