Friday Knitting Blog (06/17/2011)

So, it's Friday, and I have a sock to show off. Just the one, I finished the bind off this morning and will start it's partner after work tonight. 

Here's the completed sock. It's a pretty basic toe-up sock with a short row heel. I've had only marginal success with this heel method before, but I generally like the way it looks when done well, so I set out to learn how to do it well. I think I did a decent job of that. 

See, it looks more like a commercially made sock than the flap and gusset heel. There are a bunch of methods to do short row heels. This one is the "conventional" method that most knitters call wrap and turn. It involves some contortion of picking up wraps, but I closed the door, announced to the world that no one was to bother me, and about 45 minutes of knitting time later, I had a heel that I liked the look of. 

For the project specs
Pattern: Short Row Toe and Heel Basic Socks.
Source: Socks From The Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson
Needle: US size 1 (2.25 mm)
Yarn: Felici Fingering Self-Striping Sock Yarn in the Moonlit Colorway.

For Ravelry members, my specific notes are on my project page (Moonlit Socks). I modified the pattern slightly in that I didn't do a short-row toe.

This is the 4th project I've made with Felici and the 3rd in the fingering weight (the first one I did was in the sport weight which made for thicker socks). I really like this yarn a lot. It's soft, well priced, and the stripes are regular, although not all stripes are the same size. I like making socks with self-striping and/or self-patterning yarn because I'm always eager to see the next stripe form, and the stripes in Felici are wide enough that each one represents a nice chunk of sock. 

As for the tiny sweater, it's had it's bath but the buttons are not on yet. Mostly because the mother of the baby it's for is really allergic to cats, so I put the sweater in a place where they can't get to it, and I just kind of put it out of my mind. I will, however, get the buttons on very soon so I can call it done. 

Goal for the coming week. Buttons on the tiny sweater and to cast on this sock's partner and get past the heel turn. 

All for now.