Thursday, December 27, 2007

Not another Upside-down daisy hat

Pattern: Upside Down Daisy from KnitIt! Spring 2007
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Rialto in ivory and baby pink
Needles: Addi turbo and S.B. dpns size7
Cast on: Dec25 Cast off: Dec 26
Oh, man, I swear: "This is the last one I am making!" at least until next time...

Monday, December 24, 2007

Unoriginal Hat 2


Pattern: An Unoriginal Hat by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Yarn: Aslan Trends Del Sur in a golden color
Needles: Size 7mm US10.75 Colonial Rosewood
Cast on: Dec 15 Cast off: Dec 23

Christmas knitting done

too bad all my Christmas knitting was for myself!

Pattern: Grinchy Grouchy Sock kit from Blue Moon Fiber Arts

Yarn: Socks that Rock in "Grinchy" and "Pond Scum". Whisper in "Pond Scum"

Needles: Size 1 & 2 & 3 dpns

Cast on: December 1
Cast off: December 22

I modified the pattern (by situation, not by choice) so I did the normal toe that I always do, not the short row as in the pattern {that got left at home}. The sock on the left of the picture, is considerably larger than the sock on the right, by about 1/2 inch. My wonderful sock model, FB, has a man's size 6 (women's 4?) so it is viewed a bit loose for my size 8 1/2 foot. I inadvertantly added another row of whisper to the sock on the left, and purled those instead of knitting them. I will be wearing them with pants tomorrow (and every Christmas after) so I am not at all concerned with the differences.


As we were taking all of our pictures downstairs by the tree, my sock model mentioned that he would love to have a pair of my homemade socks, "cause they are really soft and comfortable". I think he just likes the one-on-one Mom time and posing (not that MrK isn't always trying to get in the way). So, it looks like I have a project to make for someone else. We'll have to go to Inua and have him pick out a yarn for himself. I assume it will be something green. FrogBoy likes everything froggy, and he loved the name Pond Scum from my Grinchy socks.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Shortest day of the year

Happy Solstice! Party last night was good.
Here is how much daylight we actually see. There is a hill to the south (to my back as I am taking this picture) and this hill obstructs the sunlight to the property. The picture is true to the amount of daylight that I actually receive in the winter. We plan to build on a south facing slope soon, so I might actually be able to grow houseplants with natural light. The building in the picture is my summer office and maintenance shed. The cut-out on the far hill is a buried segment of the Alaska Gas Pipeline which runs both above ground and under ground along our property line. Man, I miss the sunshine! That's why we vacation so much. I need UV rays! I need to produce natural vitamin D! I need the sun!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Check out the new weather pixie...

... she loves to inform me that right now it is -36F and there is only 3 hours and 44 minutes of daylight. Friday is Solstice and the rebirth of our sun. So in celebration we are having a get-together here. Initially I was thinking, cocktail party for the adults and a small bonfire and sledding on the little hill for the kids, but with the temperature being as it is, the bonfire will have to be cancelled. Unfortuneately. I know it saddens the kids; having five boys, each with a friend or two coming over, it could get a little hectic. Just a couple more cups of rum in the eggnog and no one will notice the sugar-hyped teenagers running around, right? And speaking of eggnog, this year will be a special treat. I hand picked vanilla beans when I was over in Tahiti in October, so the nog will have fresh Tahitian vanilla. Humm, so fattening, so delicious. So, if you are in the neighborhood, stop on in for some fresh Tahitian vanilla eggnog, homemade gingerbread cheesecake, grilled reindeer sausage (this is what Santa does with the slow ones, tee hee), and toast to the fertility of your family and friends with some spiced cider!

and on a knitting note: over the course of being shut out for two weeks, I finished an Unoriginal Hat and one of my Grinchy Grouchy socks.







Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Shut out of Blogspot!!!

Wow, I was shut off of Blogspot for almost 2 weeks now. I received in my gmail account a notice accusing me of spamming and was informed that my blog would be shut down until they verified that I was not a spammer. {Note: The Knitty entry had several targets to the same site which usually indicates SPAM.} I was told in an email that I would be contacted from the Gmail Anti-spam tactical team and released within several days if the accusation was incorrect. No notice, no forewarning, no nothin'. Just kicked out onto the non-blog street. Thankfully my Ravelry invitation was received or I would be in a knitting-community coma. Looks like I'm back. I missed this...

Thursday, December 6, 2007

More mini-socks



Mini socks pattern here

Where my stitches at?


Yeah, I'm on! Come to find out, my Ravelry invite was sitting in my SPAM folder. Oops! Glad I checked before cleaning it out! As if you couldn't guess, I am AfternoonMoon! And there are some great Alaskan groups out there! They are having a Qivuit sale up at the university tomorrow. I will post what I snuck in and bought, if they have anything left.


Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Winter Knitty is out!

Too bad MrParker is too old for laughing carrots! It is so cute!!! I wish my friends were having boys instead of all girls. I will just have to make it in pink. Oh, so adorable. It is stardust, halycon and chevrolace for me. And maybe even Sally the Eco Fairy for Layla and Sarah. So many great patterns this season. Even more great patterns in Winter Knitty than Interweave Knits Winter 2007. Although, I do have to say that I am waiting for Sandi's knit-up of the Gathered Pullover. I am curious to see what the sweater looks like with women with curves.

Grinchy Grouchy Sock Kit arrived!

My December socks arrived after an extended wait. And here they are: The Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Grinchy Grouchy Socks Kit". One skein STR Grinchy, One skein STR Pond Scum, and a mini-skein of Whisper in Pond Scum. The pattern is {very} similar to the Chevron scarf in my winter queue. I was thinking about not doing the whisper, but instead have decided to not only knit up the whisper, but to add it to the toes. How can one be Grinchy this Christmas if one does not have hairy toes?
Good news for the day, my chickadees came back! My squirrel guard on my birdfeeder (dont ask why the squirrel guard is even on, it came with the feeder, our ground squirrel hibernate) engaged while I was on vacation and the chickadees went elsewhere for their food. Today, 3 weeks after I came back and fixed it, they came back! Whoo hoo!




Monday, December 3, 2007

Within the hour

Within an hour of the Uptown Boot Sock being completed, so was my mini-sock in the Cherry Tree Hill "Slate". I abhor scant piles of left over sock yarn, so I i-cord on size2 until I have enough to make a trivet. Superglue the i-cord to a ceramic tile (or in my case, a bar coaster from the latest bar with ugly coasters {side note: strange but true, my husband collects cool bar coasters; I take the ugly ones and superglue i-corded reminants of sock yarn to them}).

I received my Grinchy Grouchy Sock kit on Saturday, and today I received my Leticia. Both from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I will post on this tomorrow. I have to share, if you haven't seen already... "Here Hold My Sock". I found it while surfing for the Yarn Harlots Unoriginal Hat that I am knitting for my sister for Christmas. LOL!

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Uptown Boot Socks

Pattern: Uptown Boot Sock by Jennifer Appleby in Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave and the Winter 2003 issue of Interweave Knits

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill supersock, 100% merino in "Slate"

Needles: S.B. dpns size2
Cast on first sock: Nov9
Cast off second sock: Nov30

Wow, a cable all over sock. That was much more work than I thought it was going to be. The second sock took me three days to knit. I took a hiatis between socks to whip up half a dozen mini-socks. Surprisingly, I learned a lot from those mini-socks. I realized that I was doing the SSK wrong. Yes, fundamental error. I was being lazy and just "k2tog-through back loop". So the ssk is finally right, now comes the lesson of the "kitchener stitch". I was seriously overtightening the stitches AND on the purl-through stitch, I was purling through the back loop and not the front loop. After these two realizations, I now have a kitchener stitch that you can't see. Just look at the beautiful job in the photo below. So exciting! Whoo-hoo for me!

Friday, November 30, 2007

Today is such a beautiful day



Today is such a great day, I decided to double post. Now that it is daylight (kinda), I thought I would get another picture of the orchid. This brings me immense satisfation to have been able to keep this humidity-loving tropical plant alive in our dry, harsh, arctic environment. It is such a contrast to the world on the other side of the glass.

Boss is out of town today, all my work is done for the week, and I am getting my "knit-on" like a bad, bad girl.

I just HAVE to share the great day. I even got an email back from Sheri from the Loopy Ewe, she does such a great job with her customer service/blog/ business practices, that I had to let her know. Here is a glimpse at her email...

Aww - you're so sweet! Thank you so much for your email and I'm sorry for troubles with other sites. Maybe they're having a bad day. :-( At any rate, we love having you here and promise to always take good care of you! Hugs, Sheri

On Nov 30, 2007, at 4:23 PM, Krista Wilkinson wrote:
thanks...
i think i love u!

I have been having such problems with "the other" online retail shop: horrible service, shipping delays, rude/accusing emails. I just wanted you to know how much your hand-written comments on the invoices are appreciated. Your attention to detail is flawless and you come so highly recommended. thank you!

It is so nice to have online websites/stores that actually bring a personal touch to their practices. Thank you Sheri and your Loopy Ewe co-workers (if there are any).

NKR: Sunrise was gorgeous this morning



It was such a beautiful sunrise that I just could not resist. Not many mornings are this gorgeous. We keep loosing sunlight until Dec22, with today down to 4 hours and 48 minutes of daylight. Sunrise at 10:15am and sunset at 3:03pm. It is right now 0F/-18C. We don't have windchill, so this is the actual temperature.

On the knitting note, not doing much today, just trying to finish the foot on my second Uptown Boot sock. I will have a couple pictures to post soon.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Mini-sock weekend

Well, the mini-sock trial took off. First there was three. Then I received my order of Duet Socks (love them) and Sheri included her version of the mini-sock with some awesome sock yarn and I made another one

Then the three turned to five socks....
from left to right: Koigu from Layla's blanket, Yarn Pirate from my Tahitian Monkey socks, CTH in Cabin Fever from Roza's Socks, Lorna's Laces in Lakeview from my Waving Lace socks and then The Loopy Ewe Red Socks kit (dont know the yarn, but it was fabulous)
Last night, while sitting at the bar downstairs (yes, I have a full bar in my house, I ROCK!) I knit up some of my J.Knits in San Jose from my Campanulas for a Cure. I dont think I will be making up any from my very first sock, cause it is a sport-weight ski-sock, and I only have yet to make my CTH in Slate from my Uptown Boot Sock, that I only have one knit up. I was waiting for the second sock until after my Grinchy Grouchy Socks arrived & knit. Shipping confirmation says they arrived on 21Nov, but my mailman sucks! I am giving up and casting on the second sock after this post. That will guarantee the kit comes tomorrow, right when I need the needles. I did get my addi Turbo 40" in for Magic Loop, maybe I will try the Grinchy Grouchy on that. Socks for December!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Mini Sock trials

Okay, so I am not great at photo staging. But trying to learn, I got out the furniture polish, cleared off all the clutter from the winter office's desk, busted out the rags and got to work. I haven't seen some of the footage of this desk in months. It wasn't until after I transfered the pictures over to my laptop did I realize that there isn't enough detail in the socks. Now that there is detail in the socks, the clean desk is not showing. At least I have a clean desk.
I guess I should get back to work. Oh, and the stage props? Too sweet. I was over at CaptThor's house and being from NewZealand, she had a bunch of local Merino just sitting in her house not being knit up. And best of all, she donated it to me! Whoo hoo!!! Now I just need to figure out what to do with it.

I am waiting for my Socks that Rock "Grinchy Grouchy Kit" so I will not be starting any new projects (I am not a multi-tasker). I fight my family heritage: I throw things away that I no longer use, I drop off my clothes to Goodwill or the un-reuseable ones to the AK Rag Co., I do not save knick-knacks, and I DO NOT {intentionally} START MULTIPLE projects. All this runs in my family, nature vs. nurture, and I will NOT start now. I will purchase yarn for future projects, I have a long queue. So, in waiting for my kit, I am creating one mini-sock in each of the sock yarns I knit. That way I will have permenant reminders at Christmas of the socks that I knit thoughout the year. Here is just a beginning:

The littlest sock is Jennifer's Mini-Sock Recipe with a cast on of 16 sts. The larger sock is from Lime & Violet: The Daily Chum's August 30th entry titled Tiny Toes. You can see the full entry on Smoking Hot Needles: Avoiding SSS or 14 socks in 2 days!. Both socks are Cherry Tree Hill in "Cabin Fever". I combined the two pattern, since SHN's recipe stated heel of choice & toe of choice, which was frustrating to me. I am a knitting follower, I like to follow patterns.

My version as follows:

Using sock yarn, cast on 24 sts on needle size 0-2. Divide evenly over 3 dpns join for knitting on the round. Knit 6 rounds (K1, P1). Knit 18 rounds st st.

Heel: Place half your sts on needle#1, with 1st stitch in the center. Place 6 stitches on needle#2 and #3. Row1: knit to end, Row2: purl to end, repeat 3 times for 6 rows total.

Heel turn:

Row1: K6, ssk, K1 turn ; Row2: s1 purl-wise, p2, p2tog, p1, turn ; Row3: s1 p-wise, k3, ssk, K1, turn ; Row4: s1 p-wise, p4, p2tog, p1, turn ; Row5: s1 p-wise, k5, ssk, turn ; Row6: s1 p-wise, p4, p2tog. 6 sts remain

Gusset: Knit across the 6 heel stitches, then pick up 6 sts along left side of heel flap, knit all 12 sts of instep onto needle#2, with needle#3 pick up 6 sts on right side of heel flap. Rearrange sts so you have 9 sts on sides and 12 sts for instep. Knit one round.

Decrease: Round1: needle#1: k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1 ; n#2: knit ; n#3: k1, ssk, knit to end. Round2: knit. Repeat until you have original stitch count (24).

Foot: Knit 12 rounds

Toe: Round1: needle#1: K3, k2tog, k1 ; n#2: k1, ssk, knit to 3sts of end, k2tog, k1 ; n#3: k1, ssk, k3. Round 2: knit. Round 3: K2, k2tog, k1 ; n#2: k1, ssk, knit to 3sts of end, k2tog, k1 ; n#3: k1, ssk, k2. Round 4: knit. Round 5: n#1: k1, k2tog, k1 ; n#2: k1, ssk, k2, k2tog, k1 ; n#3: k1, ssk, k1. Round 6: knit. Kitchener stitch close.

Weave in yarn at toe, i-cord yarn at cuff to create hanger.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

To all knit-bloggers: STOP referencing to Ravelry!

right this instant! S.T.O.P. halt, desist, cease, finish, let up, standstill, terminate... I haven't received my invite yet: patiently awaiting your invite? {no, do I look patient?} Found you! You signed up on November 13, 2007 You are #57073 on the list. 9033 people are ahead of you in line. 2011 people are behind you in line. 80% of the list has been invited. {except I am not in the 80% yet} :(

Friday, November 16, 2007

Monkey Socks finished

Pattern: Monkey socks by CookieA
Yarn: Yarn Pirate in Brown Sugar
needles: size2 dpns
cast on: Oct 19 cast off: Nov 8
So much fun to knit. These are my first monkey socks, but definately not my last. Great socks to knit on the airplane because of the easy, easy pattern to memorize.

Hat for Bb



Bb had requested a black hat with a green alien and I have never done stranded color, so sounds like a challenge. It went really well, I should have measured his head and creating a pattern instead of just increasing the dimensions of a baby cap. The top of the alien does not stretch enough, I should have {what? don't know enough about hats and stretch and two colors} The hat fits over his head, it is just a little tight 4/5th the way up. Couldn't find a chart on the alien face, so I just drew one up with graph paper.

On a side note: {NKR-not knitting related} I was on the Interweave Knits KAL site and saw some more of the awesome Snowflake Socks form Fall'07 and got inspired to immediately go Xcountry skiing. Heading out on my summer running path, I got the groove of packing the snow-trail and BAM there is a new warehouse right in the path that connects the empty field and the pipeline. Huge signs demanding "NO TRESPASSING" all over the place. Lovely, just lovely. Partially ignoring the signs, I decided to ski to the edge of property (which is actually owned by a friend, leased to these yahoos) and this nasty, burly Alaska-man in filthy carhartts steps out of the shop and stands in his driveway. I wave, MrK (brown lab) is along for the ski because within the next couple trips will be beginning skijor training, MrK starts to bark, the AKman stands portly in his driveway and we have to climb a gravel burm just to get to the remainder of the path. Lets see: "a word of advice, jacka$s, if you want privacy for your meth lab, try not placing it in the middle of an existing recreation path. There are 49 other acres on the parcel, just 'cause you need a backdoor excape path when the troopers come a knockin', doesn't mean you should block off everyone else's enjoyment." Oh, makes me sooooo friggin' mad! I had to take off my skiis to traverse this 12 foot incline burm just to stay away from this joker's rented property. I wouldn't be so mad, but this is a really great ski path cause snowmachiners can't drive over most of it, ruining the glide. Ahhhh.

I still need to buy yarn and cast on these awesome Snowflake sock. Who can ski without? And I did just order a 40" size2 addi turbo for magic loop. Just have to watch the video and scope out the links that the ever lovely Pat emailed. Thanks, Pat!!!

Monday, November 12, 2007

Sign up for new members!

Hey, look what's up! My check has been sent! Whoo hoo!

and look into my queue for December socks for Sock A Month KAL, courtesy of Blue Moon Fiber Arts: The Grinchy Grouchy Kit

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Monkeys in Bora Bora


First sock completed. Kitchener stitched with knitting needles in Huahine and started the cuff on the plane to Bora Bora. In the late afternoons, I would sit on the deck overlooking the water, relax and catch a couple stitches between dips in the lagoon. Being so fair skinned, I tried to stay out of the sun in the afternoons. The leg was got halfway here on the upper deck, the heel was turned and the foot was started on the long, long flights back to Alaska.

Spoiled Monkey in Huahine

Hinano and knitting: a great combination for a relaxing vacation.
I had finished the foot and toe and now need to figure out how to kitchner without a tapestry needle. First sock completed!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

I'm back! with spoiled Monkey Socks

This little monkey went to Tahiti

Cuff was started on the tarmac at Fairbanks International Airport here in Fairbanks. The leg was completed on the way to Seattle. Heel flap was started in Maui and finished on the plane to Tahiti. Heel was turned as I was waiting to leave Tahiti and as you can see, I was starting on the gusset and instep. Spoiled little Monkey socks.

Pattern: Monkey socks from Cookie A on knitty.com

Yarn: Yarn Pirate in their version of Brown Sugar

Needles: my trusty size 2 S.B. dpns

Cast on: October 18

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Campanula for a Cure! Love them socks!

Pattern: Campanula for a Cure
Yarn: J.Knits in San Jose
Needle: s.b. dpns size2
Cast on: forgot Cast off: uhm, sometime in the first week of October
First off, this was my first toe-up sock. I used Wendy's generic sock pattern, and lets just say, even the most detailed explanation didn't cut it! I bought three books to try to learn this. Uh, I frogged three times, finally got it. I only had to do two heels.
The pattern was not memorizable, so I was continually having to look at the chart. It made the knitting go very, very slow. Casting off worked well on one sock, and the second sock is horrid. Does not stretch AT ALL. Big enough to go over my heel, so I am not going to fix it.
J.Knits yarn is soft to begin with, but after working with it for a while, it starts to feel really scratchy.
I am so glad they are done. And so is Mr.K (chocolate lab puppy). He digs through the dirty clothes hamper to find them to carry them around with him. He doesnt destroy them, he just carries it over to his bed and sleeps with them. I have washed them twice, and was hoping that it would end. It hasnt.

Friday, September 28, 2007

Waving Lace Socks


Pattern: Waving Lace from Favorite Socks
Yarn: Lorna's Laces in Lakeview
Needle: s.b. dpns size2
Cast on: August Cast off: Sept 28

I love these socks! They are super awesome. The color is gorgeous. These are my first lace socks, so I look forward to wearing them with my slippers inside or saving until next spring. Winter has come, termination dust has hit the hills. There was snow in the valley three days ago, but thankfully it didnt stick!

WIP- Campanulas for a Cure are both cast on and past both heels, working towards the cuff. I wound the J.Knits in two unequal balls, so the first sock to be finished will be the smallest ball and I will make the second sock that lenght. That is a serious advantage with the toe-up socks. Knit until the yarn is gone!

WIP- The shawl/wrap from the Fall kitty.com. Dont remember the pattern name. Yarn is Alpaca Cloud from Knitpicks and addi turbos from the LYS. Havent cast on, but hope to finish it on the plane either to French Polynesia, or from. I selected Lagoon for the color to commemorate the trip. Three weeks away, with a stupid work cruise to San Diego this next weekend.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Not the color I ordered!

Yarn: Yarn Pirate in Brown Sugar 480yrds Superwash Merino Fingerling Weight Thinking that I would be receiving a chocolate brown to golden to ivory. What I received was a deep maroon to a horrible shade of mustard seed/ squash/ cat yack. I opened the bag and WTH? I am so disappointed. So not what I had hoped for with my first hand-dyed, esty seller. I was expecting greatness and only received a mediocre sock yarn. I checked the tag. Yep, Brown Sugar. Guess I got the nasty dye job. Wow, I am so depressed.
I went and played around with my camera to see if under different light situations I could reproduce the colors. I hopes of reducing my disappointment, this is as close to the picture in different light. But the middle picture represents the colors in natural sunlight. Still disappointed. Guess I will stick to the Cherry Tree Hill. I am going to gather my courage and try Socks that Rock, to see how their colors turn out. I just hate spending $30+ and not receiving the colors I had hoped for.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Shedir is done!!!

Whoo hoo!!!

Pattern: Shedir from the knitty.com 2004 Breast Cancer Awareness Month surprise
Yarn: Rowan Calmer in Coffee Bean
Needle: addi TURBO, size5 and SB dpns, size5
cast on: August 31 cast off: September 11

We started off beautifully. The pattern was coming along great!!
All the side cabling is done, time to start in on the decreases...
Then all heck broke out! The brown turned to mud! There was no recognizable pattern to be found, so I ripped back four rows and put it back on the needle. The stitches got twisted and misaligned and went right back to mud again. In a fit of red-headed madness, I frogged the whole frickin' thing.
The patterns repeat eight times, but it wasnt the repeating part that got me confused, it was the decreases. I figured I would throw a stitch marker in for the initial row start and then some reminder clips after each repeat. Those little green markers are what saved me on the decreases. They were helpful reminders telling me that I was in the middle of a repeat and not at the beginning, so when someone ran by to ask me a question, I could go back and count eight stitchs instead of 128!
The finale! I am so in love with this design and the yarn, and the needles, and the stitch marker I made up from old earring beads. I am also so in love with DH for my Coach birthday bag! He is so awesome. I am constantly bombarding him with emails of all of my online shopping carts. He even had the kids pick me up a gift certificate for my LYS Inua Wool. Yeah for sock yarn!!


That star at the top is so darn cute! The author of the pattern has some other really great patterns. All-in-all, it was my first cabling experience and the results are beautiful. It was relatively easy to follow, there is one error on the chart that doesn't mention moving 1stitch back, but if you follow the picture, then you will easily realize the error. It tells you on front page which rows to move over 1, but the info got dropped on the second page with the chart. The yarn was a breeze. I haven't worked with acrylic before, I usually just stick with wool (if Qivuit is unavailable, geez...), but I would have to say, the cotton/acrylic "microfibre" is dream to work with. No grit, no shine, no shrinkage! Next time I will move up a needle size. It is snug over my ponytail and I would make the ribbing 1/2" longer so it covers more of my ears. This is Alaska, hats are necessities, not just fashion!

Monday, September 10, 2007

My Birthday

The Earth opened up on my birthday, September 10 and made Hawaii just that much bigger. My ego says that Mother Earth wanted to give me just a wee little bit more of Hawaii to enjoy. I was so excited to see the sign with my birthday that I made sweet DH (fiance at the time) pull off the side of the road to take th picture. Happy Birthday to me! And I am almost finished with the Shedir. I will post the finale of that sweet, sweet hat tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Well, the Shedir didnt turn out like I had hoped. I got passed the chart repeats, then everything went all screwy. I started the decreases and my brown hat turned to mud. I frogged back to the picture on the left, but got all the knits/purls twisted, so in a fit of redhead anger, just frogged the whole dam*ed hat.
I have the provisional cast on for my Campanulas, but gave up after three tries. I drove over to Barnes and Noble and picked up two new books with more explanation of toe up: Vogue Knitting and Socks, Socks, Socks. A $50 gift card only to realize that I have the Summer 2007 Interweave Knits tutorial already on my bookshelf, oops.