Monday, July 28, 2008

Sidestream Socks

I knit one of the learning socks from New Pathways 6 months ago, but I just now got around to making a "real" pair. I am entranced with the Sidestream architecture, which increases cunningly up the foot and has a heel flap that does not require picking up stitches. I normally knit a flap heel with slipped stitches, but this one has a slipped-stitch heel turn, as well - genius. The resulting heel is very cushy. I ran extra yarn through the slipped-stitch columns on the inside of the sock for added strength (and more cushiness).

Normally I hate toe-up socks, but the figure 8 cast-on and whirlpool toe work beautifully.

The yarn is Wollmeise in colorway "pillars of fire."

I enjoyed knitting these so much that I immediately cast on for another pair!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Mountain Foxglove



Or maybe I should call it Foxglove Tango? It's a Foxglove construction knitted with Bearfoot by Mountain Colors, in the colorway "Mountain Tango." I used the Master Numbers and decided I'd make increases one stitch from each edge on the sole stitches, making it look much like a traditional sock construction. Markers were not necessary. I didn't fiddle with Cat's numbers at all, and this socks fits perfectly. The second sock is under way, no SSS on this pair.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

To The Brim!

Full, that is. Our kal has 100 knitters. And that's just here on Blogger--Ravelry is 1200+ !!! Holy yarn, Batman!

I will keep a mental note for any of you who still want to join. If the invites that are out there aren't answered in a week or so, I'll slot you in.

Thanks so much. Knit on!
--Amanda

Rushing Rivulet




So here they are, and I'm very pleased. Same yarn as Master Riverbed (Sheep Shop #3), same numbers, but I used a 2.75 mm needle rather than the 3.0mm I used on the first ones. These are snug enough for my liking. Now I think I'm headed for a Foxglove before I come back to do Clematis Vine.


Sunday, May 18, 2008

Toe Up Cast on and the Video

I finished the first of my New Pathway socks, Sunrise with the Sidestream architecture. It was so much fun to make. I am actually knitting it on 2 US size 4 circs with Cascade 20! Yes, the first sock went fast. I started it as a knitalong at my LYS so had lots of help with the cast on.
Now I sit here on my couch this sunny Sunday in Northern California watching the videos of Cat doing the Judy Becker Magic Cast on.

I am going to give it a go shortly and then get moving on the 2nd sock. I must say, this first sock caused me to learn so much. For those of you out there who do not think you can tackle these socks and different techniques, let me say that You Can. Step 1 is to read the first few pages of the book. Then it is good to see what new things you want to learn with the first sock. For me, it was knitting on 2 circs, toe up with magic cast on, short row heel and the Elizabeth Zimmerman sewn cast off. Quite a list of new things but taken one at a time (which you do with these patterns), I got them done. 

Next is to watch the videos, they were a real find for me was . Once I saw them, it was smooth sailing.  Then pick a sock. 

The thing that is so cool about the Sidestream is just that, it is on the one side. Now I have to pay attention to make sure I know which foot I did first and then follow the other foot directions. Whew, another new thing!

Also, I decided to jump around the book and try the designs as they catch my fancy. Are other deciding to start at the beginning and go through each design?

Have a good Sunday everyone, rain or shine, it's a day for socks (or at least sock knitting). 

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Riverbed - my first sock-itecture




I never liked making toe-up socks until I knitted this pair of socks. I'd rather decrease than increase, and don't like short-row toes and heels. I found that Cat's methods overcame both of these objections. I really enjoyed making this pair of socks, and I now have a second pair on the needles.
These are made with Sheep Shop Sheep #3, a wool and silk blend. I used 3.25 mm needles, at a gauge of 7 stitches per inch, and found that I'd prefer a more dense sock. I'm using the same numbers on a 2.75 mm needle the second time, getting 7.5 stitches per inch, and I'm much happier with the result.

Yes, there's really a pair, but one sock is at my LYS and unavailable for a portrait.


Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Anyone else want to join?

I know I have been quite a silent hostess while y'all have been knitting away out there, but I just wanted to say hello and what a fun group this is to watch. We're just about to max out out Blogger invites! Each blog is allowed 100 authors and we're at 85 right now with about 5 or 6 in the queue waiting for responses. So, that leaves about 10 spots, if anyone is still interested in joining . . . .
Drop me an email or leave a comment here.
Thanks!
--Amanda
amandaATthe-woodruffsDOTnet

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Noro Riverbed

Hi there! Celtic Queen here with my new Noro Riverbeds. I decided that this was the next architecture I wanted to try since I had done Coriolis already and I'm trying to expand into toe up. (I'm a flap heel kind of girl.) Anyhow, when my friend Julia gifted me with this Noro, I couldn't resist. I loved the simplicity of the Riverbed. So much so, I think it's my new toe up, carry around in your head pattern. I took the master numbers, put on a 2x1 ribbing, switched out basic heel stitch for some eye of partridge and voila!

These worked out great for my wide flat feet. I'm thinking of typing up my tweaks into a pdf if anyone is interested. Hope everyone is enjoying their own creations.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Hello and some Socks!

Hi, my name is Birdy (I am also on Ravelry as BirdysKnits)! And I am knitting me some socks courtesy of Cat's wondrous sock-itectures. I'm knitting the socks using the riverbed arch. My first pair of socks is almost nearly finished...however I am looking at the yarn I have left and I am NOT sure I'll have enough to finish! I have about two repeats left in the pattern. If I could knit AND cross my fingers at the same time I would.

Here's the first sock:
Heart SocksHeart Socks


Where I was as of two repeats ago:
Second Heart Sock WIP


Am I screwed?

Saturday, January 12, 2008

OCEAN TOES AND PAGEWOOD YARN



OCEAN TOES!









I love cedar architecture! Fits like second skin. And, Pagewood Farm yarn is awesome. The pattern takes focus; not a knit-on-autopilot project, but the result is stellar and fun :)

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Dancing Socks Finished

I finished my Cedar Dancing Socks yesterday evening and took some photos of them this morning.

I liked pattern a lot and definitely will do another pair with this architecture. Socks fit very well. I knit both socks in same 40" circular at same time. At heel turn I took socks in different circulars to make it easier.
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Wednesday, January 2, 2008

And after all it was a sock all the time

I finished the Tibetan yesterday and made my mom (the recipient) model them today.



I am pretty proud of them, my first finished pair of New Pathway socks!

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New Sock Year 2008!



Hi. My name is Diane, and I'm addicted to New Pathways' socks and also addicted to MAGIC LOOP! My day job (manager of managers) seriously cuts into my yarn time. I'm eager to try a sock club this year and try to stop the spread of my "startitis" germs... we'll see. I just finished my DOVE socks from Cat's book and today starts OCEAN TOES! I'm eager to benchmark this one to see how long it takes while I also work on other amusing UFO's (lace, shawl, babywear, afgans, etc). So much yarn, so little time! On ravelry I am LadyDiYarnMaven. Onward to 2008. Be positive and sock on!

Monday, December 31, 2007

Oh, and by the way ...

Happy 2008 from Germany!

Gisela

New member with her second attempt

Hi everyone, I'm brandnew on this blog, my name is Gisela, Uuknits on Ravelry, and I like to knit a lot of things, among them socks, preferably when they are interesting to me. So this book was just the right choice for me, though I am currently in a state of doubt ...

After my Bartholomew's Tantalizing didn't turn out too well and is presently waiting to be frogged and redone properly, I thought I'd try a different architecture in the meantime.

The yarn this time is 6-ply so it's knitting up very fast, which got me from here yesterday ...



to here today ...



The progress is amazing and it was fun to knit. For the moment though it looks terrible and doesn't seem to have any shaping that would remind me of a sock. But I trust the advice on Ravelry to just go with the instructions and not care about any worries in the meantime. All figures are still working out and the architecture is fascinating. All I have to do then is find a clubfoot that will fit in. :-)

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Cedar Dancing Socks

After Christmas I decided to start a new sock project. I started Cedar Dancing socks yesterday. Cobblestone cuff was quite tricky to do and I managed to knit it too short. I'm knitting this pair of sock with my rosewood needles. Yarn is Finnish Novita Nalle which is basic sportweight sock yarn (75% wool, 25% nylon) here in Finland. Pattern has been easy to follow so I hope to get my new socks finished quite soon.










I also knitted learning socks with Cedar architecture, they are going to be a present to friend of mine who is having their third child any day now.

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Friday, December 21, 2007

Country Christmas Cedar Socks

Yet another pair of Cedar architecture socks, these knit in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock colorway 206, Country Christmas. Full details on my blog.

Country Christmas socks

Happy Holidays to all!

Monday, November 26, 2007

More Coriolis

I finished a pair of Coriolis a while back. I made them in Dream in Color Smooshy. They were a nice easy project once they were set up. They fit well too.

I made them two at a time on magic loop which is not the best technique for these. The way the heel is constructed involves moving stitches from one needle to the other. Next time I will use dpns. Next up after Holliday knitting, Ocean Toes.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Jumped in With Both Feet!!

And promptly ended up with a BIG splash in the frog pond! I thought I understood the concept, so i jumped right in. I didn't knit the Coriolis sample sock. If I had I would not be ripping... I ended up with a 2 stitch bubble band and it looks really bad. I wanted a 4 stitch band width a bubble edge, OOPS!! I knew that I was ripping before I started the heel but I had read that some knitters were having trouble with the sizing so I wanted to check.. The sock fits great so I'll be frogging back to the toe and reknitting with the correct band. The pattern was a lot of fun so reknitting will not be a hardship.
I wanted to introduce myself, my name is Kaedean and I'm a rabid sock knitter. I have knit well over 300 pair of socks with I don't know how many UFO's or SSS but once I had 19 socks on needles. I don't think I have more than 6 on right now. I also love to knit lace. I'm mudgett on ravelry.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

New member with her sock

I got an invitation yesterday and I finished my first adult-sized sock on the same day. I'm thirty something knitter from Finland and knit mostly socks. My Secret Pal spoiled me with this wonderful book I have read it a lot and knitted two pairs of learning socks. It was difficult to choose which socks to knit first. Sock in the picture is Bartholomew's Tantalizing Sock.

You can learn more about me by reading my bilingual blog. In Ravelry my user name is Hanna.

Hanna
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