Youth Socks

First pair of socks for the youth campaign

This mishmash will result in a second pair. 

Fans of Afghans for Afghans on Ravelry

Renee introduced herself earlier, and referred to the A4A group on Ravelry. A bunch of you probably aren't familiar with Ravelry, so I thought I'd tell you a few things. It is HUGE -- literally hundreds of thousands of members. When I joined, the waiting list was months long; now you apply and become a member the same day. You can, for instance, look to see what others have done with their skein of Famous Designer Limited Edition sock yarn (don't search that -- I made it up :) ) or what yarns people have used for a pattern you have in mind. Or you can join any of hundreds of groups for techniques, causes, or areas you're interested in. The A4A group is called Fans of Afghans for Afghans. Compared to this blog, it's kind of the same but different (my sister's favorite phrase when we were kids) -- in other words, it's complementary. You can belong to both and not feel like you're reading the same stuff twice. Of course, you don't have to go to Ravelry at all! I just thought I'd let you know what it's about, in case it's new to you and might be of interest.

Need some yarn to finish this afA sweater

I'm working on a sweater for a4A. I thought I had 6 skeins of red (scarlet) yarn Lion Brand 100% wool to make this sweater. (I bought it when Hobby Lobby cleared out all their Lion's Brand wool.)

But two skeins I though were red were really dark pink.
Does anyone out there have any Lion Brand scarlet?
I will trade 2 skeins of any other 100% wool I have in my stash either Lion Brand or Pattons (you pick color) for 1 skein of the scarlet red I need.

Thanks!!!
Shirley

sock class, part 4: one done, one almost there

I'll finish sock #2 tonight. Anybody else? I'm loving seeing sock pictures. . .

Here's what it looked like on Saturday on my front porch -- that picnic table is where I usually take my pictures:



The table is clear now, but the white glare from all that snow kind of interfered with my photos -- don't know why the tops of the socks are so dark in this one, but the stripes on the foot show the colors exactly right if you click on the photo to make it bigger:



I add the stripes just to make them a little more interesting; they serve no functional purpose. Then, when I turn the sock inside out to weave out the edges -- the horror! Looks like I've been knitting a Portuguese man-of-war:



Note that I've left a fairly long end each time I switch colors, to make it easy to weave them in. You need enough to weave in so that it's never, ever going to work its way out. With this nice sticky yarn, that's not a problem. But whatever wool you're using, at the very minimum, leave yourself 4 inches to work with.

Don't worry if your ribbed section looks really skinny next to your foot -- you want the rib to hug the kid's leg, for better fit and a more comfortable sock. When the ribbing is stretched out, it looks more like a "normal" sock.

I will finish sock #2 tonight. Then I'll wash them -- I always wash them before I give them away, for a number of reasons. (1) This yarn has been around for a while, and who knows what dust it may have picked up? (2) My sock knitting tends to travel with me -- in the summer to folk festivals and other dusty, muddy locations; in the winter to piano lessons and falling out of the car in parking lots. . . it's just best if I wash things! and (3) to make sure all ends stay woven in and nothing falls apart. In other words -- to make sure it's something I'm happy to give as a gift. Washing them also tends to smooth out any inconsistencies in your stitches and make them look more polished.

My washing machine has a cycle labeled "handwash" -- it's just an ordinary top-loader. Wash on that cycle, or on gentle, cold wash, cold rinse. Of course, you can wash by hand, too, if you're more comfortable doing it that way. (Roll them up in a towel and blot them dry if you wash by hand -- never, ever wring the water out.) Many people like shampoo, or dish detergent (Dawn is recommended more often than anything else); I prefer Dr. Bronner's lavender soap. Do NOT put them in the dryer! Just pat them flat and let them dry, either on top of a towel or hung over a rack.

Next time: pretty clean socks, all ready to go. On the other side of yet another massive (for here -- nobody even buys snow tires around here, because we just don't get this kind of weather) snowstorm.

socks done!

Hi all,
My name is Renee, and I'm the co-moderator of the Fans for Afghans for Afghans group on Ravelry. You can find me there as revknits.

I was between projects (waiting for the Olympics to start for my Ravelympics projects for a4a), so I jumped in and knit these socks with Elizabeth's pattern - so nice to include in my first package out to the basement this week!

My second sweater!

It’s a ‘wiggle’ sweater from Coats and Clark. I added ribbing to the sleeves and extra ribbing around the neck to better keep out the cold. The yarn is Emu Superwash.

2 Sweaters

Worsted weight yarn with the pullover pattern from Knitting Pure & Simple.

Raglan Sweater

I feel like I've been out of the loop since the holidays, missing a lot of activity on this KAL! I have finished this sweater, which will go in the mail next week. It is a crocheted top-down raglan of my own design. I'll be writing up the pattern on my blog if anyone is interested in it.

Update: pattern is posted here.

I have yarn leftover, and I might make a quick vest version.

My first sock, thanks for the tutorial!

Hi, I'm Sandy, and I've been knitting/crocheting for afghans for Afghans since 2006. Here's the first sock I've done, based on the this week's tutorial.

I've knit a few socks, but not in worsted wool, so thanks for the tutorial! I'm also appreciative that you "tricked" us into making larger socks-- I like making bigger kids' clothes to send to Afghanistan. It's more disappointing to have a gift that's too small than one that's too big!

This was really fast, folks: I started the day after the tutorial did, so you can definitely get a pair done in time for the Yarnmarket deadline, and certainly before the March 1 deadline!

Design notes: Used the cast-on 40 size, foot size is roughly 7 inches.
Koolaid dyed Patons for the orange, some odd wool for the gold. I fancied it up a bit with a k3 p1 rib down the instep (not too uncomfy) and heelstitch on the heel and toe for extra durability.

My Mittens

Just finished these two pairs of mittens and thought you all might want to see them.  Hopefully, I'll get them in the mail next week for the drawing on the 12th (my dad's birthday).  Depends on how long it takes to dig out our driveway!

 

Elizabeth and I are blogging about our year of knitting a pair of socks-a-month, you might enjoy reading our musings...check us out at Two Left Feet.

sock class, part 3: foot and toe

No pictures today -- I take all my pictures outside, and right now we're just finishing up getting 24 inches of snow. For this area -- near Philadelphia -- that is a BIG snow. I will go back in and insert pictures as soon as I get a chance, but I thought some of you might be stuck in limbo waiting for this last step.

Note: a friend is proof-knitting this lesson for me. I think it's OK, so I'm posting it now because it's Saturday and you may need it. (It's 1:45 p.m. Eastern time.) Any needed corrections will go up as soon as I receive them.

You will have noticed by now - especially if you're using the thicker yarn -- that I've tricked you into making larger-sized socks. I always feel bad for the older kids, because more of the "cuter" sizes come in. So I've deliberately aimed for medium adult sizes here.


The foot
The finished foot length of your sock should be 8 to 9.5 inches (20 to 24 cm). Once you've finished your gusset decreases and are back to a total of 36(40) stitches, continue knitting round and round until you're 1 to 1.5 inches short of your desired finished length. To measure, fold your sock flat and measure from the back of the heel. Now it's time to start the toe decreases.

The toe
Divide your stitches, if they aren't already arranged this way, as follows, starting at the center back of the heel: 9(10) on first needle; 18(20) on instep needle; 9(10) on last needle. You will be decreasing in 4 places on each decrease round. I am writing these instructions in excruciating detail; it's not that hard. Like the heel turn, it just requires a whole lot of words.

round 1: on first needle, knit 6(7) sts, k2 tog, k 1. On instep needle, k 1, ssk (as defined in the heel turn - remember? slip one stitch to righthand needle as if to knit, slip another stitch to righthand needle as if to knit, insert tip of left needle through the front of those 2 stitches and knit them together), knit 12(14) stitches, k2 tog, k1. On last needle, k1, ssk, knit to end. You should have a total of 32(26) stitches.
round 2: knit around
round 3: on first needle, k 5(6) sts, k2 tog, k1. On instep needle, k1, ssk, k 10(12), k2 tog, k1. On last needle, k1, ssk, knit to end. 28(32) stitches total.
round 4: knit around
round 5: on first needle, k 4(5) sts, k2 tog, k1. On instep needle, k1, ssk, k 8(10), k2 tog, k1. On last needle, k1, ssk, knit to end of needle. 24(28) sts.
round 5: knit around
Now you will decrease on every round. Have you figured out the pattern yet?
round 6: on first needle, knit to last 3 sts, k2 tog, k1. On instep needle, k1, ssk, knit to last 3 instep stitches, k2 tog, k1. On last needle, k1, ssk, knit to end. 20(24) sts.
round 7: work as round 6. 16(20 sts).
If you're knitting a 36-stitch sock, wait a minute for the 40-stitchers to catch up. 40-stitchers, knit one more round. 16 stitches.

Grafting the toe
Now everyone has a total of 16 stitches left, and you've ended at the middle of the heel. Take that first heel needle, and knit the 4 stitches from the other heel needle onto it. You now have all your stitches on two needles, each of which holds 8 stitches, and your working yarn is coming from the last of the heel stitches, at your right.
Now you will graft the toe. This is not hard!! Again, it just requires way too many words. If you need pictures, not my words, to figure this out, just do a google search for grafting sock toe or Kitchener stitch. There are, as always, YouTube videos.

Cut or break your working yarn, leaving about 12 inches (more than you need, but why run the risk of running out at this point?). Thread it onto a sewing-up needle. You are essentially going to lace together the front and back rows of stitches, forming a row of knitted-appearing stitches. (This is so cool.)

I will use the word "front" for the instep needle and "back" for the heel needle. Those needles stay in those positions until we're done.

First, to start off, take that sewing-up needle, and thread it through the first stitch on the front needle as if to purl -- that means from left to right. Do NOT remove that stitch from the needle. Pull the yarn all the way through. Next, move the yarn to the back and put your sewing up needle through the first stitch on the back needle as if to knit, and pull the yarn through. Do NOT remove that stitch from the needle. This gives you a nice beginning to this edge of the toe.

Now we're going to start grafting. I will use the term "sewing-up needle," even though it's cumbersome, to indicate the one with the eye and the yarn threaded through it. If I just say "needle," it means the double-pointed needle that is holding the stitches.

step 1: Thread the sewing-up needle through the first stitch on the front needle as if to knit and take it off the needle. Thread the sewing-up needle through the next stitch on the front needle as if to purl; pull yarn through and leave that stitch on the needle.
step 2: Move yarn from front to back. Now, put the sewing-up needle through the first stitch on the back needle as if to purl, pull yarn through, and remove that stitch from the needle. Put sewing-up needle through next stitch on back needle as if to knit; pull yarn through and leave that stitch on the needle. Move yarn back to front, and repeat steps 1 and 2 until you've used up all the stitches.

It's an easy rhythm: one off, one on, switch needles. One off, one on, switch needles. Just pay attention to which way you're putting the sewing-up needle through the stitches. "As if to knit" means left to right; "as if to purl" means right to left. You should get a magical row of little V's, like stockinette stitch. If you get little U's, like garter stitch, you're putting your sewing-up needle in backward.

Last stitch -- thread yarn through and snug it up. This always gives me a nasty little point, sometimes called an "ear." I don't know if this is technically proper, but here's how I make it go away. With sewing-up needle, move one stitch away from the toe, into the sock, pull the yarn all the way through, and give it a little tug. It should disappear. You might have a tiny little bump left, but it smooths right out.

Now -- make another sock to match!

For part 1 of this sock class, go here.
For part 2, go here.

Steppe vest

Just finished this Steppe vest in double-stranded Danskyarn. I've had the dark gray for a long time (I used them for a4a mittens last month) and found this bright red in a ravelry stash.