As the Heel turns...

"The key to turning a heel is to believe the pattern and follow it for a few rows before forging off on your own." (McCarthy, 19)

Well, Knit Socks! by Betsy Lee McCarthy did not disappoint. She guided me through even though I had to go back to the heel turning section to read it over again, cause how the hell am I going to only work part of a row? Obviously someone was drinking when they wrote it, and was doing a bit of her own editing as well. But, since there are firsts for everything, I will admit that I was wrong and she was right. I looked for a picture of her to create a target for dart throwing, but sadly there was none. What kind of self-promoting author is she? Obviously not a good one. I do have to give her credit. She knows her socks. The only thing I found lacking was a comment to move to one needle while creating the heel flap, but it was simple to figure out. Everything else has been step-by-step explained.

Welcome to Socks!

pattern: Starter Stockinette from Knit Socks!

yarn: Cascade 220 in #4147B

heel in Cascade Quatro #5017

needle: Susan Bates US3 dpn

I saw a couple awesome sock patterns in the Spring 2007 Interweave Knits. The Entrelac Socks and Roza's Socks. Before I even begin to tackle one of those, I thought I better learn simple sock construction. I am a bit afraid of the dreaded "3S" pandemic. I have heard of thousands of experienced knitters that whole-heartly finish sock#1, only to never start on sock#2. I couldn't imagine the horror of only creating one sock. I have a massive amount of single socks that come out of laundry baskets at night to feed on the soles of mated pairs, safely tucked in dresser drawers. Adding to that Midnight Massacre is not my intention. I have heard the only cure for "3S" is to start both socks at the same time, knitting from one set of 5dpn to the other set of 5dpn. Being the frugal-girl I am, I have decided to beat "Single Sock Syndrome" by dedicating myself only to the creation of the second sock. The first is merely practice, the second sock is game time. As for the demonic horde of store-bought single socks, they will soon meet their destiny of being torn from limb-to-limb (or should I say cuff-to-toe) to stuff the new dog bed.

two-color shoes

pattern: two-color shoes

debbie bliss: the baby knits book

yarn: Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino; dye code: P608D

Nature's Pallette; color: Lupine

needles: Brittany; size 3/3.25mm

Buttons aren't sewn on yet. It was a fun project, my first with small needles. I started using a size 2/2.75mm, but the gauge wasn't working out. I moved up to a 3 and with the change from debbie bliss recommended yarn to the yarn that I had left over from the blanket, I needed to make the 6-9month pattern size for the 3-6month size that I needed. The first strap came out too short, so I had to add four rows to the strap. The second strap I added five sts to the edge and it looked better.