Tag: socks

Clint is progress, Sock not so much

Right now we are on the cusp of winter/spring. One season is almost done but the next one is not quite here yet. My knitting has been the same. One project progressing, the other ripped off the needles and tossed in the corner, totally my own fault.

Look at this. I have finished all the modular squares for the Clint. Most of the squares are divided by colour into two triangles. The effect is stunning.

Lichen and Lace Rustic Heather Sport, singles wool

I love it. Now there is some plain garter stitch to finish the shawl. It was fun to knit and the way Natasja Hornby (Moonstruck Knits) did the overall design is very clever and interesting. She gives you a map of the squares with where to start and what colours to use. Excellent.

I ditched my Coriolis sock (Cat Bordhi). It was not working and it was totally my fault! I wanted the spiral to go all the way around the leg. It wasn’t until I got to the heel part that I realized my mistake. I picked up a toe-up sock I had already started and began the sprial for this sock. I didn’t know this was a bad idea. I had the wrong type of toe for this sock. I had read the pattern through but didn’t really take it what it was saying because it wasn’t in front of me.

That line on the right is where the side of the heel flap will be. The spiral here will definitely run into it and stop.

So here is the proper toe for this pattern, a type of star toe.

Windswept Fibres and Design, St. John’s Newfoundland

On the top of the foot you increase stitches as you spiral across, then when you go to start the heel you rearrange your stitches and move the beginning of round several stitches to the right (that moves the end of the spiral several stitches back towards the centre of the top of the foot, away from the heel). That’s how it’s done. This toe allows you to move the beginning of round anywhere you like and that’s what I missed. I’ve got it now.

Some forward progress and a start-over. A pretty typical week of knitting.

Cheers, Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

Cabin Fever patterns by Deb & Lyn and the cabinfever crew

Deb.gemmell on instagram

Debgemmell435 on youtube

It’s March already

It’s not spring here. We had 4-6″ of snow yesterday and some more to come but … you know it’s not here to stay. Everything looks nice and fresh again. So it’s time to start thinking about spring knitting but not this minute.

I started some new things. One of them is to delve back into Cat Bordhi’s book: New Pathways for Sock Knitters.

I’ve been through this book before but it was years ago and I decided it was time to give it another try. I knit two pairs of the Upstream Sock.

These are knit toe-up with what looks like a standard heel flap but if you’ve ever knit anything by Cat Bordhi, you know it’s not exactly standard. The gusset is knit with increases that make a V up the top of the foot, as you can see from the sock I knit for myself. Then you turn the heel and work the heel flap, attaching it to the stitches of the top of foot on either side of the V. It took me a bit to get that from the general formula, but I’ve got it now and will knit more socks this way. I knit the blue pair for my son-in-law and am very happy, after 2 rip backs, that I have a good looking sock. (The wool is Timberyarns, don’t you love the stripes? I do.)

I started another project with my Lichen and Lace Rustic Sport Club wool. It’s the Clint by Natasja Hornby. The centre motif is modular so I am totally captivated.

I find it really interesting to try different ideas for working modularly. This one is slightly different from anything I’ve done before, mainly the corners. But as usual the corners are not working out for me as exactly as I would wish. She suggests that you weave your tails in as you go but I am finding that I need to do some repair because of my lack of precision at the the corners. Totally me, not the pattern. This pattern is also written in an interesting way with a map to follow for the motif. It’s ingenious.

I am loving it. As you can see, those corners need some work but … oh well. I’m carrying on with it as is.

Today I had an exciting day. I bought a spinning wheel. I have been working on a borrowed wheel and am so excited to have one of my very own. This is a Rognvaldson spinning wheel. I think I am the 4th owner. A Canadian wheel made in Acton, double drive with scotch tension (whatever that means?). I have a lot to learn. I bought it from a friend who had it serviced a couple of years ago so it’s in great shape.

I love that it’s compact since I live in an apartment, and that the tension is easy to adjust.

I have been spinning for about 5 months on a Louet S15 (for those of you who are in the know). I was told I just had to do the hours and I would get some wool I could actually knit with. I have finally made the shift into making finer wool. Yay. This is my latest spin, 100g of Isle-de-France fibre from the Long Way Homestead Breed of the Month club. I am so happy with my progress.

It definitely has a halo and should be very soft. I’m going to make a 2 ply wool and should end up with sports weight, DK weight? Maybe? What should I make with it? I’m thinking a shawl might be good since it’s still a bit thick and thin. Any ideas?

I’m looking forward to spring. I have 3 more weeks of curling to go. It’s always sad when it’s over. I have some hemp I want to get out for a summer knit. Making a summer top will be something new for me.

I hope you are enjoying spring, or the last gasp of winter, where you live. I shoveled snow today but next week we’re headed for several days above zero.

Happy knitting, Deb

Cabin Fever patterns by Deb & Lyn and the cabinfever crew.

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free knitting patterns by Deb

Deb.gemmell on instagram

DebGemmell435 on youtube

Cast On, Cast On, Cast On

I am right in the middle of choosing patterns. Maybe this one, maybe that. Do you love doing this?

It’s amazing how much time I can spend deciding and undeciding (is that a word?). One little voice is saying ‘make up your mind’, another voice is saying ‘let’s look at one more ravelry page’. I also scan my library of patterns over and over. I downloaded those patterns for a good reason, at least I thought so at the time.

This one is from my library. I do love a long project. I am knitting the Polaris Wrap by Veera Valimaki as a blanket. I belong to the Rustic Heather Sport Club by Lichen and Lace, where I get 2 50g skeins of rustic sports wool every month. I am going to knit the blanket out of my club wool. It will be bigger than the wrap because I’m jumping from fingering (pattern) to sports weight (my wool) and a much bigger needle. I think it will make a great blanket.

Looking good so far don’t you think, ha, ha.

Next I cast on Romi Hill‘s Winter’s Finery shawl, again in the Rustic Sport wool. I am experimenting with what this wool can do.

A lace shawl always looks a mess before it comes off the needle. I am very close to being done.

I am also knitting from one of my own workshop instructions: 3 Tier Shawl Workshop. I have taught this do-it-yourself triangular shawl at several retreats. I give you a basic structure and you choose the stitch patterns from a list in the pattern. It starts with the normal tab cast on to knit a triangle shawl with centre increases. Then it breaks into sections where you can work different stitch patterns. It’s tons of fun and I will tell you more about it as I get going.

I have knit several shawls using this pattern. Here’s one of them.

The shawl here is a stockinette based version (wrong side rows are purled). This time I decided to jump on the wool/mohair band wagon and work a garter stitch based version (all wrong side rows are knit) of the same shawl. I’ll post the pattern on ravelry this week. (The title of the workshop pattern might change since ravlery quite often doesn’t like my titles.)

How many is that, 3 so far. One long project, one almost done and one shawl just started.

I have a sock on the go, of course. I am trying to see how I can make Timberyarns stripes dance a bit. Nothing too complicated. An increase at either side of the front of the sock and a double decrease in the middle, with a short row heel. Fun to watch the stripes move.

I guess that’s enough to get on with at the moment. I have one more I want to start but nothing on the needles yet.

How about you? Is this Cast On time for you? What is taking your fancy?

Cheers, Deb

Cabin Fever patterns by Deb & Lyn and the cabinfever crew

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

Debgemmell 435 on youtube

deb.gemmell on instagram

On The Road

We came home for 10 days and now we are off again. I’m testing out several projects to see what works in the car and on our tour of Newfoundland.

I cast on a sock for my grandson who loves rainbows and all things colurful. I think these hit the mark.

This is Timberyarns wool and the colours are so wonderful. I’m using double pointed needles and knitting these in the Irish knitting method that Yarnharlot uses. I figure it’s good to mix up different knitting methods but as a car knit? We’ll see.

The other project for the car will be my Reversible Ribbon Wrap/Scarf (which is a free pattern on my ravelry site). It’s a backup project since it will work anywhere I go. I’m not any further along than last time since I was setting up the other projects. It should get some love over the next couple of weeks. I snuck another colour into the project bag since I thought this needed a bit of a colour lift. I’ll keep you posted.

I have one more project, because can two projects be enough? It’s a matching Musselburgh Hat for my little guy. This I can pull out any time and do a little bit.

I, of course, spent way more time thinking about what knitting projects to take and very little on clothes, priorities, right? Off we go. It should be great.

Hope your autumn plans are fun too. Cheers, Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

Deb.gemmell on instagram

debgemmell435 on youtube

Gauge-Free Toe-Up Socks with Short Row Heel

I love knitting sock from the toe up. Do you?

There is one problem though. Where do you begin to work the heel for your desired length of foot?

I have come up with a solution, using a standard type of Short Row heel that gives you that 45 degree line on the heel.

Timber Yarns

I use a wrap short row heel but the shadow short row heel or the german short row heel all work.

Can you see that the heel and the toe look somewhat similar?

I have come up with an idea of how you can use the size of the toe to figure out the length of the short row heel.

Here’s my video.

I wrote up Sock Freedom, an idea for a Toe-Up Sock with a Short Row Heel. It’s a Project Page. There is no stitch by stitch pattern but the project page will give you instructions for taking the measurements and applying them to your sock.

It also includes a modification, of course, for giving you a bit more space for the instep if you need it. I do. You can make a slight gusset for more stitches on the top of the foot so it’s wider where the heel is.

This is totally working for me. Let me know if this is helpful.

Cheers, Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

Debgemmell435 on youtube

deb.gemmell on instagram

Stalled

I’m stalled right here.

Heritage Wave

I’ve worked out my Any Gauge Sock, which is worked Toe Up with a Short Row Heel. I’ve even made a project page for it. No exact pattern for this one. I’ve already knit two other pairs which turned out really well.

Left is Rebel by King Cole and right is Timber Yarns.

I want to do a video but I’m having some difficulty winding myself up to do it. The blue sock above and the toe for the second sock are set up for the video, and there they sit. I can’t work on the second sock because I need it for the video. Argh!

Do you get stalled on a project? What works to get you going?

In the meantime I finished the Shima Mini Shawl.

I think the technique for carrying the yarn up the centre spine of this shawl is going to help with my next project.

I can’t wait to see if it works.

Cheers,  Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-free patterns by Deb

Debgemmell435 on youtube

Sock Idea in progress

Here’s my Catch Up for the week.

The sock idea I talk about in the podcast has progressed a tiny bit since then. The video was yesterday after all. LOL.

Timber Yarns, twin sock sets (2 x 50g balls with the same stripes).

I tried these on and they are tight around the ankle, at the heel. I need a little more room there. Some people do and some people don’t. Which are you? You probably know your own feet as a sock knitter.

This is a short row heel on half the stitches of my 60 stitch sock. In my case, for this sock, that is 30 sts.

I usually do a short row heel on 60% of the total sock stitches, which would normally be 36 sts for the heel on a 60 stitch sock. That gives me enough room around my heel. I just took this sock, with a heel worked over 36 sts, off my foot! You can see a much deeper heel.

I think you can see that the deeper heel gives me more space around my ankle. So I ripped back the totally finished lovely heel, sigh, and an extra inch of the foot. (This is what makes designing sooo much fun!)

To rework for more ankle room, with 1 inch to go before I start the heel, I worked 4 sets of increases on either side of the top of the foot (8 additional stitches on the top of the foot).

Then I worked the heel again on 50% of the original total number of sock sts (30 sts).

Definitely more room. I tried them on and it’s much more comfortable (except for all those dpns, of course). I decreased the extra stitches away, back to the original 60 sts, as I worked the leg. This is sort of an increase gusset and then a decrease gusset. This seems to be working. Hoorah!

Cheers, Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

deb.gemmell on instagram which I should start posting on again.

debgemmell435 on youtube

Winter blahs

I’m feeling that middle-of-the-winter slump. I curl 3 times a week, which usually helps the winter go by, but I am not doing very well, in fact, I have lost every game for 2 weeks. I guess that’s not helping! My knitting is coming through for me though. What do people do who don’t knit?

I finished the body of my Family Crew Neck for my rainbow obsessed grandson. It took a good bit of TV knitting but there it is, done. If you want to see me blather on about this sweater, along with an explanation about working the sleeves for an adult version, check out my latest youtube video.

And here’s the little guy, trying to play the solitaire game I taught him the other day. Hmm, wait a minute, the rules seem to have changed drastically!

He is totally knitworthy. He regularly wears the sweaters I knit him last year. I’m hoping this one will last a couple years.

At the bottom of the pullover, I cast off the ribbing with the Icelandic Cast Off. I cast off quite tightly if I’m not paying attention. I thought this might work better but it’s a little wavy. I’m not happy. I may have to rip it back and do a normal cast off after all.

Now the sleeves. I’m going to work one stripe on one sleeve and the same stripe on the other sleeve. This will make them go quite quickly, right? Here’s hoping.

Meanwhile on the helical front, I’m down to the bottom of the yoke.

I used my oM1 increase in the yoke, mostly because I like to see where they are. It reassures me.

And I started a second one in Hempton by Lana Knits.

I made a couple of changes to simplify things which I put in the second one. I have to see if they work before I get too much further. I’m also trying to figure out how to get a bit more room in the Front and make the Back a little narrower. That is what I like for my own figure.

It is a little hard to see the grey and green but they are there.

As I was already doing the helical thing, I started a pair of socks using 3 colours in the same helical method. Once I choose the 3 balls of yarn out of my odd-ball bag, I try to predict which colour will shine through. I am always wrong!

I didn’t realize that the variegated yarn had such a long colour change to it. That’s what makes helical socks so cool, you can never predict, or at least I can never predict, how the colours will end up.

A question that comes up when helical knitting is how to keep the colours straight and not too tangled up. Here is my solution. I move the colour to the end of the line of colours every time I finish with it. This totally works for me.

That’s a wrap for this week. Hopefully, two sleeves done by next week and maybe a sock. Days are getting a tiny bit longer. Yay!

Cheers, Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

deb.gemmell on instagram

Debgemmell435 on Youtube

Socks, let me count the ways

Do you knit socks? I do and now it’s my in-between project while I contemplate my new sweater.

I’m teaching a traditional cuff-down flap heel sock class. They are knitting a worsted weight pair and I am trying to get ahead of them with two sock yarn socks.

The Naked Sheep Fibre Co. sock yarn.

I have 3 students working with double pointed needles (that surprised me – I didn’t think that many people still used them), one student with Magic Loop and another student with a 9″ circular. It makes things interesting when we get to the flap heel!

Cascade Heritage sock yarn. Men’s size (Christmas knitting).

I haven’t mastered the 9″ circular yet. Maybe I’ll pass on those.

What’s your favourite heel?

I’ve done two pairs with after thought heels which I thought went best with this striped wool.

Timber Yarns wool.

I must admit that’s it for me. Two pairs were enough.

My favourite is the short row heel, toe up or cuff down. This is a double wrap short row heel. I also love the shadow short row heel.

This is on the wild side. The Over Easy Sock by Holli Yeoh. This sock is knit flat and the bottom of the foot is attached to the top of foot as you go. I love that I can use my left over odd balls for the top of the foot. I messed up the heel but I’m ready to give it another shot.

There are many more ways of knitting socks. Do you have a favourite? Do you know of a wild and wonderful sock I should try?

Cheers, Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

Deb.gemmell on instagram

My Socks by Cat Bordhi

I could say that I’m knitting socks because it is socktober but that would be a lie. I’m knitting socks because they are my go-to when I’m thinking about a new design or procrastinating on another project or just restless and need to cast on something, anything, new. Someone needs socks, right? My daughter just dug out her winter clothes and counted 12 pairs so she’s good. My son-in-law is working in his basement where it’s cooler so he could use another pair. My husband is talking about buying socks so he’s definitely in the queue.

Cat Bordhi has left us. To honour her, I have made a pile of all her books. I am trying to learn one of her sock systems because my dream of taking a class from her is gone. First up is the New Pathways for Sock Knitters book.

I have knit several pairs so far: the Spiraling Coriolis which are toe up, Bartholomew’s Tantalizing Socks which begin at the cuff, and lastly the Ocean Toes which are also worked cuff down.

I’m still working on these socks because I have learned:

  1. You can place the gusset stitches anywhere on the sock: on the top of the foot, under the foot (I love this idea) or even only on one side of the sock. Wow, that opens things up, doesn’t it?!
  2. You can work the gusset stitches with two knit rounds between the decreases (or increases if toe up). That means the gusset section is longer so these socks give you more room along the instep (the arch on the top of your foot between mid-foot and ankle) which I really need for a good fit, bonus!

I’ve knit six socks so I have this system down, right? I mean six is enough. Now to do it with the book closed (feels like high school exams). The first sock went pretty well until I turned the heel and realized that I had worked the Short Rows for the heel starting with long rows which got shorter. No, no, no, rip, rip, rip. Started the heel again with Short Rows which started short and got longer. OK, look at me, I got this. Everything looks great.

I cast on the second sock a couple of weeks later. Finished the heel and guess what, it doesn’t look like the first sock. It’s close but now quite right. What happened?! Picture me looking clueless.

It’s back to the drawing board to figure out where I went wrong. Rip, rip, rip. I feel like the little engine that could. I can do this. I can do this.

I’m changing my name to Deb Persistence Gemmell. Has a nice ring to it.

Cheers. Keep on, keepin’ on.

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

Cabin Fever patterns by Deb and Lyn

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