My Mitt and The Do

Is anyone else having delayed reaction to the new year? Come on, January is practically over with and I'm still writing 07 on my checks.

With the cold snap this week and no sign of increase in warmth any time soon, I was loving the idea of having my Endpaper Mitts done. Picturing myself at work wearing these on those days when "The Guys" want to open all the windows. I got into a rhythm with the pattern and by holding the extra color yarn in my left hand I was able to complete the first mitt fairly quickly.



Not quite done yet as I have another on the needles, but loving this quick little project.

Lately I've been pondering whether or not to get my hair cut. I love having the length, but have been very disappointed in what others have tried with my do. I gave in and figured...heck it grows right? Here was the before picture in the morning hours before going to the salon.



Not the best I can look, but why do yourself up for the hair stylist to just undo what took you time to make up. Here is me afterwards...



Okay, seriously better and loving the bounciness of my curls. On a side note, I haven't had bangs since High School... a little scared of the whole idea, but I was jumping in with both feet this time. It's growing on me and to really get the full effect of wispy bangs (if I want them) involves the iron. Otherwise they curl right along with everything else...awesome.

It will be another busy week for me but hopefully I'll be able to pop on by with an update. Don't you just hate responsibility;)

A Little of This... A Little of That

I got the startitis bug over the weekend. Since finishing the Coco socks, I had to get something else on the needles.



Endpaper Mitts knit up with Dale Baby Ull yarn. We wont go into too much detail... started this project way too late on Friday night. The pattern seems to be working out, but too early to really show off.

What else do you say... sure. Dropped by Nana's on Friday night for her Inventory Sale. I was planning on picking up some Cascade Pastaza but once I touched it... I don't think I would have liked the finished hairy sweater. What else could I substitute for this... and ended up choosing this:



Totally off and different then the Cascade yarn, right? Believe me, I've been eying that yarn for awhile and when Tricia suggested it, the yarn was in my arms before I could say Hell Yes!!! It will make for an interesting version of the Fitted Knits Ribbed V-Neck sweater. I haven't cast-on for this yet, but the other purchase that night was some Schaefer Anne Yarn. We are talking 560 yards of goody-mohair. Here is what I have so far.

FO: Hot Coco Toe-up Gusset Socks

Throw some marshmallows on top of this sucker and call it done!




Pattern: Toe-up Socks with Gusset Slip Stitch Heel

Yarn: Shelridge Farms handpainted (bought at Stitches Midwest '06)

Needles: US 1 (2 circ's)

Start Date: December 12, 2007

End Date: January 10, 2007

Comments: Started with Judy's Magic Cast-on and used Knot Another Hat sock formula for the heel flap (download pdf from her sidebar under gratis:: generic toe-up, slip st heel formula). All great reference tools and I think I've been so smitten that this will become my standard sock pattern.



Taking pictures of your feet is sometimes tricky. Yet, I love how funky these shots came out.



Happy Friday Everyone...I leave you with another photo...this was sliced together from this past Wednesday's SnB night. Pictures are layered together for that panoramic shot (click it to go larger)...how fun. Love you guys!! and Aleta too, as she took the shots;)

Is It Winter In Chicago?

This picture was taken the first Friday of the year from my window. It's the Millennium Park Ice Skating Rink...if your interested it's open till March 16th. This shot got me thinking...is there a limit as to how many people are allowed on the rink? I just get visions of a pile up of bodies when someone takes a dive.

Now, what is up with the weather? Come on...it got up to 63 on Monday and I'm pealing the coat off, hoping for cool breeze off the lake...getting back to normal as of today.

Well, of course you don't want to hear me complain about warm weather...I should be happy for the relief. Here is some knitting content for you...

The Hot Coco Socks are on their way to being a FO!! Few more rows of rib cuff and done.




Fulmar is coming along smoothly. Not as fast as when I could knit on it all day long, but progress non-the-less.

Gusset Flap on Toe-up Socks

Learning a new technique can sometimes be a bit stressful. You're not quite sure if you're doing it right. You have to let go just a little to allow the magic to happen.

I love the idea of doing socks toe-up, but have always loved the gusset flap on toe-down. I've never seen a good enough tutorial that explains it. There are not many patterns out in the knitting world that explain it. Until Ravelry. Can't praise it enough.

First off I found two references for doing toe-up socks with a gusset heel. Wendy Knits and Knot Another Hat. Both have the PDF downloads on their sidebars. The generic toe-up, slip stitch heel formula from Knot Another Hat is a perfect starting point as you plug in your stitch numbers to get your pattern.

I don't mind the math, but some of you do.

So here the formula for a 64 stitch sock, knit on two circ's, toe-up. This is also assuming that you have Cast-on and knit the toe and foot. The basic premise of knitting with two circ's is to split in half the total number of stitches...32 st on each needle. The pattern says to have the foot measure 3 inches short of full length...because I'm all about the visual...Here is where I stoped:



The toe to food measurement is 7 1/2 inch...I'm shooting for a 9 3/4 length.



Lets Increase for the Gusset::
Designate one needle as "heel" needle and one needle as "instep" needle. Instep needle will be left alone and never has any change in st count. Below also states a an INC (increase)...choose what ever suites your liking. I prefer the knit through front and back loop.

On heel needle, k1, inc, k to last st, inc, k1. K across instep.
K 1 round plain.

Repeat these last 2 rows until you have 52 st on your heel needle.

Lets Turn the Heel:: Back and forth on the heel needle only.

Row 1) k35, inc 1, k1, w&t (wrap and turn)
Row 2) p18, inc 1p, p1, w&t
Row 3) k16, inc 1, k1, w&t
Row 4) p14, inc 1p, p1, w&t
Row 5) k12, inc 1, k1, w&t
Row 6) p10, inc 1p, p1, w&t
Row 7) k8, inc 1, k1, w&t
Row 8) p6, inc 1p, p1, w&t

You have now turned the heel. Knit most of one round by knitting across the rest of the heel and across the instep; pick up the wraps and knit them together with their sts as you come to them.

Lets do the Heel Flap:: Back and forth on heel needle only again

Row 1) K45, ssk, turn (continue picking up remaining wraps and k them tog with their sts)

Row 2) sl 1, p30, p2tog, turn

Row 3) sl 1, *(k1, sl 1) rpt from * to 1 st before gap created by last turn, ssk, turn

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until all heel sts but 1 have been decreased away. On last row, don't turn, and instead continue in the round by knitting across the instep, and then k2tog at the beginning of the heel needle to eliminate this last st.

That's it for the tricky stuff...just keep knitting away for your cuff.



I can't say that this method is easier then a short-row heel, as it's all about end effect. But I do love the reinforcement of the slip stitch pattern on the heel. I will definitely be using this method again in future sock projects.