Hedera finished!

Yay!



Hedera socks
Started: May 4, 2006
Finished: May 19, 2006
2 socks on 2 circs, Addi US 1.5 (2.5mm), 24"
Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, endlot millend from ebay
98 gm of yarn total

I actually blocked these socks (gasp!) to try and make the lace pop, but I think I stretched them out too much/my blockers were too big/wide (I made my own blockers from coated wire hangers-- they do look goofy on the blockers, eh?). No worries, they'll pop back when I wash them again; they fit perfectly before I got the notion to block them :) I won't be putting them into the washer/dryer for fear of having the cherry tree hill supersock fade on me (happened before)... maybe I'll make a bunch of blockers and start handwashing all of my socks (I need to figure out how wide to make them, any suggestions? I just need the blockers to help them dry... there's no good place to dry the socks around here.)

More pics...









If you look super closely, you can see the k tbl twist at the heel flap... Actually, when picking up gusset stitches, I always pick the back loop up with a seperate needle and knit that thru tbl-- so on the next round, I knit the subsequent stitch tbl as the pattern calls for. Other than that and knitting them on 2 circular needles, I followed the pattern exactly.

I knit the smaller size, and knitting them on 2 circulars gives you a chance to fit the sizing as you go(the sizing only differs in how many decreases are made). I have a 8.25" foot circumference at the widest part of my foot.

An aside, I measured the finished socks weight and used 98 grams of yarn total (with my size 9-9.5 women's feet)-- so you could knit this pattern with 2 skeins of Koigu (same base yarn as the cherry tree hill), if you're brave enough to cut it that close :) Shortening the length of the leg is also a possibility, but lately I've been drawn to longer leg socks myself.

I like the long heel... I don't know why, but I like the length of a "long" (3") heel over a short one. I usually wear my socks in high top Cons, so its not an aesthetic big deal to have a long heel poking out the back of low slung shoes, at least for me. It also *feels* good, the double thick fabric reaching from the actual top of the heel all the way to the floor.

I also really like the purl sts on the sides of the lace (and the twisted knit stitches delineating the panels, they almost don't intrude on the purl sts)-- purl stitches on socks really seem to make any pattern stand out (have you seen Monica's Hansel and Gretal socks for her Sockapaloooza pal? More what I mean...) It seems rare to see purl sts on socks, but I do dig it... Something to keep bobbing in the back of my head I think :)

Lovely, I think! I think green is great for this pattern... I rarely use green but I think I like it a lot here. Actually I still have about 4 oz of this same color left (!!!)... the only problem with buying huge lots of supersock on ebay is that you've got to knit lots of the same color socks :) I think I prolly won't use it for a while, perhaps even swap it (I read there's going to be a leftover sock yarn exchange going on over at Knitter's Review forums...)

I think I may have been a little bitten by the lace bug, since I started some new lace socks (pics in next post, maybe!)...

Leaving you with a botched *action* shot (as action as can be, at least!)



10 seconds not being enough to put on socks, pull up pants, and stand up straight... :)

...and I'm still taking guesses for my Henry's Attic Kona Superwash lightweight/easter egg dye mini-contest :) Its helping me justify stalking my mailman for my Knit Picks order, even though I just placed the order on Thursday :)

Hedera, handspun, happy yarn serendipity!

(Looking for the sock yarn contest?)

***

Shut. UP.

(My seriously embarrassing "catch phrase"...)

I am the lucky, lucky winner of a $100 gift certificate to Make 1 Yarn Studio, from the draw for Warming Grace! omigoshomigoshomigosh. I don't even know where to start, looking over their in stock list, I am just, yeah. I have no idea. For like 10 minutes I was convinced I needed a drop spindle, but I think that will be a bad choice around these parts, at least until baby boy decides to "learn some decency." :)

And almost as cool as an unexpected $100 yarn spree... (not as cool cos I was waiting for it so hard!)-- handspun sock yarn. Yup.


Borealis sock yarn
from SantaCruzHandspun.com
100% romney wool
150 yd/3 oz, US 2-4

And cos I've been hoarding it, waiting for the perfect pattern...


Waratah yarn
also from SantaCruzHandspun.com
85% merino wool, 15% tussah silk
115 yd/2 oz, US 7-9

Gratutious pic, hoping they're breed into more handspun...



The sock yarn will be toe up, devising a simple stockinette pattern using Simple Socks: Plain and Fancy by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts... I want to go toe up to get as much of a sock out of this yarn as I can :) ... and stockinette to really let the yarn show off. I think I'll echo the socks Alison did for her sockapaloooza pal and work a cable up the back of the leg... have to break out the stitch pattern books to find *the one* :)

The Waratah yarn was going to be a hat, but... I really suck at hats. Really really. And it is soooo soft, it needs to be a scarf or something I can cuddle-- I was thinking a DNA scarf, (no neck ribbing, just working the cable)... though I don't have a lot and I'm not sure it will be enough. Really though, I may be content to just let it sit here in my knitting in-box and drag it out every once in a while to let sit on my shoulder and rub my cheek :) (It smells good, too!)

I'm pretty hard up to be talking this way about yarn. Almost as bad as food network... (allez cuisine!)

Man, after all that, my Hedera's aren't nearly as thrilling, eh?

Well, yeah they are!


Hedera from Spring Knitty 2006
Started: May 4, 2006
Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, millend from eBay
2 socks on 2 circs-- US 1.5 (2.5mm), 24"Addis

I can't get a non-shaky shot to save my life today, it seems!

I'm at the gusset decreases, and have worked the pattern as written except for picking up the stitches at the sides of the heels-- now, I always pick up the back loop of the slipped stitch with a seperate needle and then knit that loop tbl. So I've done that, *and* I've knit the following stitch round tbl as Cookie directs in her pattern, makes a cool twist at the side (I'll post a pic of that next time, easier when I've gotten further on the foot).

This is a really neat pattern. The twisted rib stitch really makes the delineation between the lace panels stand out, without becoming part of the pattern itself...



I love how its used in both this pattern and Pomatomus; it always is so tight looking, and really stands out (literally).

Also, I think its cool how the heel is worked:

Next Row [WS]: Sl 1, [p1, sl 1] to end.
Next Row [RS]: K all sts.

It creates a slipped stitch on the beginning and the end of the WS, instead of staggering the slipped stitches like most heel flaps are worked. I was reminded of Jason's post about the different placements of heel flap selvages when working the heel... I have always worked the staggering slips on heels, and don't really notice a difference, but its something *novel* which I love. (Can anyone can tell me a practical, non-aesthetic reason a non-staggered heel is best? I could imagine there is a tiny twist and non-evenness, but I've never noticed anything...)

I've used the CTH Supersock before, this yarn too (I bought an endlot from ebay ages ago)... but I don't remember having the pooling. I don't mind, but there you go-- Cherry Tree Hill supersock pooling (I like to say, "spiraling") at a 60 stitch cast on when using US 1.5's :)

A few corrections from my last post are in order, too...

I spoke too soon about the twist of the Henry's Attic Kona lightweight... I received an email from the retailer today & they're out of stock of their house brand Supersock. Sheila said that the Henry's Attic Kona Superwash lightweight actually has a *tighter* twist than the Wool2dye4 supersock, so I'm hoping it will be okay for socks (since I switched my order from 2 - 8 oz skeins of Wool2Dye4 supersock for 3 - 8 oz skeins of Henry's Attic Kona Superwash Lightweight...) If not, I've been looking for a good fingering weight yarn for the heirloom baby aran set pattern from Interweave Knits Summer Spring 2004 (also available from Lisa Lloyd Designs)... but I really want it to work out for Dye O Rama!! Fingers crossed...

Also, I *still* haven't looked over the PGR bazaar sock pattern (PDF!!) from Summer 2006's Interweave Knits-- but I saw that its sized for a women's 7-8, but with a 7.5" foot circumference. Eh? Pic shows kids wearing the socks... dunno, weird. My foot is too wide for the pattern, and baby bear's is too slight (I think the circ is more appropriate for kids feet, right?) When I get it printed out I've got to figure out if there's a way to up or downsize it for one of us :)

Anywho. Back to Hedera and trying to decide what serendipity awaits at Make 1 Yarns for me... :)