Gusset on top toe-up socks

Today I finished my very first own design. I've been searching for a pattern that featured a gusset on top of the foot, but the only ones I could find were written top-down. Gagh! So I wrote my own.

The yarn I used was Dibadu Funnies Smooth Merino in the colourway "Letzte Rose". Gauge is something you should figure out for yourself. I used 2,5mm (US 1,5) dpns, but you can use whatever you're comfortable with.

Basically, I used common toe-up elements: Judy's Magic Cast-On, Wedge Toe, stockinette on the foot, slip stitch heel, 2/2 ribbing on the leg and Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Cast-Off. Instructions for all of these techniques can be found elsewhere, so I won't bother describing them here.

The interesting part is the gusset on top of the foot. Basically it is like the 'normal' gusset: you start at the same length and you work the same amount of increases every other round. If you have knit socks before, you know the numbers, if not look them up! There are enough tables and charts around.

So here's the gusset:
Let's assume, that the beginning of the round is on the left side of the sock; the first stitch of the round would be the first stitch of the instep stitches. Place a marker in the very center of the instep. You can remove that marker after the gusset is finished.

Now we need a couple of parameters:
x = number of stitches used in the 'normal' rounds on the foot and leg
g = number of increases for the gusset
v = number of stitches between each increase and the marker; this number gets bigger with every increase; the starting value is x/4 -g; the bigger the starting value, the blunter the tip of the gusset

The numbers I used were x = 68, g = 14 and the starting value of v = 3 because I know that these numbers fit my feet. Adjust these numbers to your gauge or look them up in a table somewhere.

Round 1: Knit g stitches, make 1, knit v to marker, slip marker, knit v, make 1, knit g. Knit the sole stitches.
Round 2: Knit all of the stitches.

Repeat these two rounds until v = x/4 -1 (in my case 16) and you're done with the gusset.

A note about the pattern between the increases: 
I wrote instructions for plain stockinette. In the picture you can see, that I knit a 2/2 ribbing.  You can of course do whatever you want. To make the increases as invisible as possible, do a lifted increase and adjust it to your pattern.

Hot Sweaty Monkey Sox

Well, I've finished my Monkey Socks. Design by Cookie A. One of her most popular designs and that for a reason. The yarn is the wonderful Malabrigo Sock yarn in Ravelry Red. Lovely colour. I love red. I'll probably knit a couple more skeins in this colour.

The pattern is quite easy, a couple of increases and decreases, suitable for the long train ride to and from work. And after having finished them, I'm still not bored. And maybe I'll even knit another pair.

But I still don't get why these are called Monkey Socks. They look more like fishscales to me.

Getting back on the needles

Boy, RL's a bitch! I spent last Christmas getting weaker and weaker and had to have an emergency OP just before Sylvester. Sylvester at the hospital. Great! I'm still on sick leave, but I'm getting slowly better. I've recently picked up my knitting stuff again. 

So far, I've completed the first of the Hawaii socks, but I just can't bring myself to finish the second one. Even though it is about three quaters done already.

The Clapotis is well on its way, but currently hibernating, too.

Right now, I'm working on my Elm socks, a pattern by Cookie A. Published in The Knitter's Book of Socks by Clara Parkes. Great Book. 
The yarn I'm using is Zitron Trekking Sport in a lovely shade of muted middle blue.

Socks for a giant

Well, it's been awhile and I've not had much time to post here, because I was just too busy knitting and shopping for Christmas and I'm also looking for a new apartement and other stuff...

On Dec 6th was my brothers birthday, altough the feast wasn't until the weekend. And what could be a better gift in the cold season than a lovely pair of handknitted socks?
What can I say? I'm glad he only has a birthday once a year!

This pair was pure torture. It all started with the choice of the yarn. Since my brother would never wear anything in bright rainbow colours, I had to look for something more discreet - like a dark blue or grey or brown. It had to fit jeans and his shoes and his hair colour, which is a difficult rich brown with a hazelnut red tinge, and I had to get something where I could get two skeins from, since I wasn't sure, if one was enough.

Which brings me to the truly torturous part: he's got feet larger than a child's coffin! Size 49 (UK 13,5). Does anyone know how long that is? I didn't. And I had a heck of a time finding out. There are no charts for this size, so I had to 'organize' a pair of my brothers old socks (I couldn't just measure his feet, it was supposed to be a surprise). Measured those. Calculated. 68 sts and 31 cm long.

Right. And what did I do? My brain cell must have been on vacation at that time, because I found myself trying out how to do cables with this project. For the very first time. In my defense, plain stockinette would have been a bit boring, right?

It was endless. It took me six weeks and because of those stupid cables I couldn't do it on the underground either. That would have been a lot of time saved. But no, since I can't stand the hassle with all those extra cable needles and stuff on the commute, I had to squeeze my evening tight, tighter, and even tighter still.

But I made it. And I used all of the first skein, but nothing of the second, so I could return it.

I started with Judy's Magic Cast-On, used the cables from 'Cable My Big Toes' by  Helene Rush, did a basic heel with heel flap (Herzchenferse) and finished with Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off.

He was suitably grateful.

The inevitable Möbius

It was truly inevitable. The Möbius. Ever since I've first come across one of the many instructions I knew, that sooner or later I'd be doing one of my one. Although it seemed daunting at first, it is really quite simple.

I used 4 skeins of Lang Yarns Nobile, cast on 140 stitches per Cat Bordhi's amazing cast on and knit on and on and on until I (almost) ran out of yarn. (I weighed how much I used per row, so that I knew when to stop.) And here we are. The finished product measures approximately 100 x 25 cm.

When I started it seemed to be very small. After all, I used a 120cm circular needle (8mm). Simple maths tells you, that the circumference of the scarf was no more than 60cm. Quite a difference. But it turned out alright. Quite magic.

One side. One edge. That's the Möbius.

By the way, the bluish thing on my head? That's another Amanda Hat. This time it is large enough to wear with a pony tail underneath ;)

Felting is awsome

I've recently made an Amanda Hat, which is lovely, but in the first week I mutilated it already by inadvertently yanking it through the zipper of my bag. Bad. Very bad. So, I figured, I would need another bag, without a dangerous zipper. And being slightly obsessed, I immediately envisioned a project made for knitting.

So I went to the local yarn store and bought several skeins of felting yarn and some brochures and immediately started knitting.

Turns out, felting is extreme fun. It is a quick and easy knit. And I think it would be ideal for beginners, too. You make a mistake? Who cares? No one's gonna notice after the felting.

The only cause for concern was, that I didn't know how much the bag would shrink when felted. Of course, I didn't make a gauge. And so I couldn't test-felt it either. I'm much too lazy for that.

But it turned out just fine. This will definitely not be my last felting project!

Norwegian Purls

Honestly, is there anything as awesome as Norwegian Purls?

For every continental knitter like myself there could be no greater invention. Purls are notorious for being difficult, and chaotic, and bothersome. Changing the position of the working yarn ever so often is nigh on impossible. My left index finger is not nearly as flexible as it ought to be. I used to hate ribbing. 1/1 ribs especially. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth... gaaaagh!

And then I read 'Knitting without Tears' by the incomparable Elizabeth Zimmermann and I finally found out, why the purls were so difficult to work with in the next row: I've been twisting them all along! That was a huge discovery.

But nothing is so sweet as Norwegian Purls. The whole idea seems like an exercise in logic. Remember maths? Remember something like this? 3 + 4 = 4 + 3. It doesn't matter whether the 3 comes first or the 4, the result is the same. Just as 'yarn in front of the needle' is the same as 'needle behind the yarn'. Right? And the rest of the magic is just rotating the needle in a clockwise motion, thereby entering the stitch to purl, continue rotating on and on and on, until the yarn is caught, then change gears, down and out of the stitch (like a clever dog escaping his collar) and yanking the old stitch of the left needle. And that's about it.

Wanna see it in action? Norwegian Purls