Dave's Socks Done, Gail's Cuffs Done

My Christmas sock knitting is ahead of schedule and under control.



I have no sock blockers for Brother Dave's shoe size 14.

It's important to really really like the yarn I use for his socks, because I'm going to be knitting on it a long long time. It takes almost twice the amount of yarn I use for pair of socks for myself. So, I'm celebrating having these socks done in November.

Pattern: Basic top down socks with a k5p1 ribbing on the cuff and instep.

Yarn: Opal Rainforest 6, Color 4005, Baronesse Bambalina.

Needles: Options 2.50mm circulars.

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch in stockinette.



Last pair of Christmas socks are for doggy school teacher Gail. They may get done by the end of November as well.

Pattern: Basic cuff down sock pattern on 64 stitches. k3p1 ribbing on cuff and instep.

Yarn: Regia.

Color: Kaffe Fassett 4255.

Needles: Options #1, 2.5mm

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch

BFF Socks Done, Dave's Socks Started

One pair of Christmas socks done. Two pairs to go.

The picture has been lightened up just a little so the cables show.


In a previous post there's a picture of the slick way Cookie increases between two knit stitches in the ribbing and four stitches in the cable.

Here is a picture of decreasing back to two stitches when the cable ends. Those two tricks are one reason why I admire this pattern.

Pattern:BFF by Cookie A. 64 stitch size.

Yarn: Stalwart Sock from Slackford Studio. 75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon 4 Ply Fingering Weight Sock Yarn.

Color: After Midnight.

Needles: Options 2.50mm circulars.

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch in stockinette.


Knitting socks for Brother Dave is a long term commitment. He is tall and he has long feet.

The cuffs are done and I'm ready to start the three inch heel flap.

Pattern: Basic top down socks with a k5p1 ribbing on the cuff and instep.

Yarn: Opal Rainforest 6, Color 4005, Baronesse Bambalina.

Needles: Options 2.50mm circulars.

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch in stockinette.

Trekking Socks Done, BFF Started

These are for me. I wore them to church on Sunday with gray slacks, a gray turtleneck, and my barn red Hanover Jacket.

Pattern: Basic sock on 60 stitches with a k3p1 ribbing on cuffs and instep.

Yarn: Trekking 176.

Needles: Options 2.50mm circulars.

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch in stockinette.



I'm still adjusting to being off Daylight Savings Time. The late afternoon when I'm in the habit of taking knitting pictures isn't going to work anymore, so I had to use the flash.

I tried to edit the picture, but nothing helped to make it clearer. The picture is almost useless except to prove that I've been knitting some sock cuffs. I promise a better shot when the socks are done.

The BFF pattern is perfect for gift socks because it's based on a ribbing pattern so size doesn't have to be perfect for the socks to fit.

The pattern has three sizes, 56 stitches, 64 stitches, and 72 stitches. I have a pair knit with 56 stitches that fit my narrow feet perfectly. Or maybe it's just the illusion of perfect because of the ribbing.

These socks are for Karen with normal width feet, so I'm using the 64 stitch pattern.

Pattern:BFF by Cookie A.

Yarn: Stalwart Sock from Slackford Studio. 75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon 4 Ply Fingering Weight Sock Yarn.

Color: After Midnight.

Needles: Options 2.50mm circulars.

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch in stockinette.

Chain in Pieces Socks Finished

This was a fun knit and I'm pleased with the results.

The fit is snug, the way I like it, because of the ribbing. By putting the pattern down the sides, it doesn't sag and bag over the bend in my instep.

One confession: I was a few inches down the first cuff when I remembered the knit stitches in the chain pattern are supposed to be knit in the back of the stitch. After looking at the result I was getting, I decided normal knit stitches would be just fine and kept going.

Knitting in the back of the stitch results in crisper stitch definition. I'll be sure and remember to do it next time I knit another stitch pattern from this book.

Pattern: Basic cuff down sock pattern on 60 stitches.

12 stitch side panels are Chain in Pieces, stitch pattern #23 in Twisted-Stitch Knitting Originally by Maria Erlbacher and updated by Meg Swansen and Amy Detjen.

The remaining stitches are a k2p2 ribbing.

Yarn: Simply Socks Yarn Company solid. Color gray.

Needles: Options #1, 2.5mm

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch

Slightly Twisted Socks and Stitch Pattern

The Trekking is a woolly feeling, slightly fuzzy yarn. I wouldn't use it for a complicated pattern requiring good stitch definition, but these will be nice warm utility socks for every day wear in the cold seasons.

Pattern: Basic cuff down sock pattern on 60 stitches. k3p2 ribbing with alternate k3 columns knit in a twisted braid pattern. Details at end of post.

Yarn: Trekking XXL, Color # 187.

Needles: Options #1, 2.5mm

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch



The base is a k3, p2 ribbing. This results in a nice snug sock cuff and a good fit.


Slightly Twisted Stitch Pattern
Multiple of 10 stitches, 4 rows

X = purl, Space with dot = knit

Row 1: k3, p2, k3, p2
Row 2: k3, p2, twist one stitch to the right, k1, p2
Row 3: k3, p2, k3, p2
Row 4: k3, p2, k1, twist one stitch to the left, p2

When I do twist stitches, I work them as a cable. There are other ways to work twist stitches and your preference will make an equally nice result.

Woodland Basketweave Socks Done

It wasn't until I was editing the picture of the completed socks that I noticed three knit stitches that should be purl stitches way up by the top of the cuff.

I will almost always frog and correct errors, even to the point of ripping out hours worth of knitting. But, no way am I going to frog one of these socks back to the top ribbing.

My plan: Go to bed, go to sleep, pretend I never saw that small boo-boo, and never wear my glasses when I'm putting these socks on my feet.


The actual color shows in the top picture of the completed socks. The blueish picture above is just to show the stitch pattern up close. My error is not included in the close up.

Pattern: Basic sock on 60 stitches using a basketweave pattern on the cuff and instep.

Yarn: Stalwart Sock from Slackford Studio. 75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon 4 Ply Fingering Weight Sock Yarn.

Color: Woodland.

Needles: Options 2.50mm circulars.

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch in stockinette.

Third Pair of Birthday Socks

Yesterday Bob received his third pair of Birthday socks. (See the other two here.)

This pair was three days late for several reasons.

These socks are knit with three strands of fingering on 48 stitches with #5 needles.

This makes for a super durable pair of socks but the tight knitting takes a toll on my hands, arms, and shoulders. I have to limit my knitting time to avoid knitting stress pain.


My first plan was to use a strand of Trekking XXL, Color 176, with a stand of gray a strand of Burgundy from the Simply Socks Yarn Company solid colors collection.

Once the knitting got started, the results were more blah and less burgundy than I wanted. I ended up using two strands of the Trekking with one strand of the burgundy, and none of the gray.

That resulted in a nice burgundy tweed look to go with Bob's several burgundy plaid flannel shirts. It also made the socks late for last Saturday's birthday because I had to order a second skein of the Trekking.

Now I have two nice balls of gray to knit, probably something for me. I've been collecting a few patterns I want to try. I also have a few other skeins of sock yarn that slipped in the Trekking I had to order.

Why We Can Never Return to Mason Michigan and Birthday Socks

Happy Birthday Bob!!

Many many years ago a cute brown eyed baby boy was born in Mason, Michigan. His family moved to Battle Creek and Mason was forgotten until 32 years later when he married a woman who was living at Michigan State University in Lansing. Me.

We went to the Ingham County County Courthouse for our marriage license. The Ingham County County Courthouse is in - - - Mason, Michigan, population ~ 5,000. We got lost going and returning, but it was a pretty drive.

Anyone familiar with the song The Three Bells? It starts out with the first ringing of the bells when little Jimmy Brown is born "in a village hidden deep in the valley", followed by the second ringing of the bells when Jimmy Brown is married, followed by the third ringing of the bells when Jimmy Brown dies.

That is the song that popped onto our lips during our Bob's second visit to Mason, Michigan. We agreed there would never be a third visit.

Of course, there are birthday socks.


Bob likes his socks thick and heavy. He wears them like slippers walking around the house, so I knit them with Opal, the most indestructible sock yarn I've ever encountered.

This pair (above) is Opal 6 ply in one of the Rainforest colorways knit along with a strand of Slackford Studio Stalwart Sock in Dorothy's destiny, a bright Kelly green.



This is also a 6 ply Opal Rainforest colorway knit along with a strand of Slackford Studio Stalwart Sock in Steelyarn Blue.

The combined yarn created a heavy worsted weight. Both pair were knit with #5 needles on 48 stitches in a basic k3p1 rib.

Scarf and Sky Socks

There has been some knitting. Simple, mindless knitting with soothing soft yarn reminding me how knitting can be a pleasure.

First I finished the scarf with the gift yarn from Brother Dave's Karen.


Pattern: One-Row Scarf by the Yarn Harlot.

Yarn: Cherry Hill Alpaca Handspun. DK weight.

Color: Mystic.

Needles: US #8.


The Yarn Harlot designed this scarf for handspun. It's easy. The texture accentuates the softness of the yarn and there's no curling at the edges.

I declare it to be perfect scarf pattern and I'll be using it again and again.

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Pattern: Basic cuff down sock on 60 stitches. k5p1 ribbing.

Yarn: Stalwart Sock from Slackford Studio. 75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon 4 Ply Fingering Weight Sock Yarn.

Color: Skydive.

Needles: Options 2.50mm circulars.

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch in stockinette.

Felici Socks Finished

In addition to Mom's birthday socks in pink Simply Sock wool, she's getting a couple more pair in Knitpicks Felici.

Since she requested "pink", how could I resist a color called Positively Pink (above), and she's likely to blind her exercise class when she shows up in Rainbow (below). If she dares to wear them out of the house.



The Felici yarn is very soft and feels like acrylic. When I started the first pair of socks, I went back to check the label to make sure it wasn't acrylic.

Felici is so soft and slippery that I got visible ladders in the cuffs. I'm sure after a few washings they'll be gone, so I didn't stew about it.

As you can see from the pictures, the colors are very very bright and pretty.

I have no idea how Felici is going to wear. I'm guessing it will get holes quicker than other sock yarn because of the acrylic like softness. But that's just a guess. It may bloom in the laundry and wear better than I expect. I'll be checking back with Mom to see how it holds up.

Note to Mom: If these socks wear out quickly, don't feel bad and please report. Many of us want to know.

Felici comes in 50 gram balls. The Positively Pink balls had the stripes in opposite order and I had to rewind one of them to get the socks to match. Then I found a knot and had to discard a small ball of yarn to get to the right place to join the ends.

I find knots in self-patterning sock yarn unforgivable. Even inexpensive sock yarn like Felici costs enough so there should be room for some quality control.

Pattern: Basic cuff down sock pattern on 64 stitches. k3p1 ribbing on cuff and instep. 5 inch cuffs.

Yarn: Knitpicks Felici sock yarn. 75% wool, 25% nylon.

Color: Positively Pink and Rainbow.

Needles: Options #1, 2.5mm

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch

Mom's Birthday Socks Finished

The lure of the Simply Socks Yarn Company Solid Sock Line was Mom choosing this color from the spectrum of 67 solid colors available.

This is the first time I've tried this sock yarn. It's perfectly nice, but not my favorite. (Stalwart from Slackford Studio is my favorite.)

The Simply Sock Solid is slightly woolly in feel. It would be great for color work where the different colors need to grab each other.

In my two skeins there were no quality problems. No knots. No thin areas. No unwanted variations in color.



Simply Sock Stitch definition is excellent.

For some reason I had a little problem keeping my stitches even in the stockinette areas. Maybe because I've been knitting with the smoother Stalwart. Maybe because we have a complicated medical event coming up for Bob and I'm a bit stressed. Probably a bit of both.

Mom will have to report back later on how Simply Sock Solid wears and launders. No reason not to think it will do fine.

Pattern: Basic cuff down sock pattern on 64 stitches. Side twisted stitch pattern is Forgotten Love #3, stitch pattern 94 from Twisted-Stitch Knitting by Maria Erlbacher. I knit the traveling stitches as two stitch cables.

Yarn: Simply Socks Yarn Company Solid Sock Line. 80% superwash wool, 20% nylon.

Color: Blush.

Needles: Options #1, 2.5mm

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch

Heather's Birthday Socks Finished

Daughter Heather's birthday socks were done in plenty of time for our 4 generation Louise Lunch on Saturday. She loved the color and did all the proper admiring, making me happy to have made her happy.



Pattern: Little Shell Rib stitch pattern
Multiple of 8 stitches, 4 rows

• Row 1: k7, p1
  
• Row 2: k7, p1
  
• Row 3: k1, YO, p1, p3tog, p1, YO, k1, p1
  
• Row 4: k7, p1

Yarn: Stalwart Sock from Slackford Studio. 75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon 4 Ply Fingering Weight Sock Yarn.

Color: Woodgrain.

Needles: Options 2.50mm circulars.

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch in stockinette.

Panda Soy Socks Finished

This is a yarn experiment pair of socks I knit for sister Carrie's birthday.

She is also getting a nice pair of socks in a Panda Cotton, a yarn she likes, detailed here.

Carrie: We want to know how socks in this yarn wash and wear, even if the news is bad and you never wear or wash them more than once.

Happy Birthday Little Sister!!

Pattern: Basic cuff down sock pattern on 56 stitches. k3p1 ribbing on cuff and instep. I tried several simple stitch patterns, but the yarn is too nubby to show good stitch definition.

Yarn: Crystal Palace Panda Soy, 49% bamboo, 33% Cotton, 18% elastic nylon.

Color: Hazelnuts.

Needles: Options #1, 2.5mm

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The phoebes are back.

This picture was taken several weeks ago when the first males arrived.

Simple Socks and Snowdrops

Dog trainer Gail's second pair of birthday socks were done for delivery last Thursday.

Pattern: Basic cuff down sock pattern on 64 stitches. k7p1 ribbing on cuff and instep.

Yarn: Opal.

Color: Rainforest Emil, a furry monkey.

Needles: Options #1, 2.5mm

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch

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I've never used this yarn before. These socks are an experiment to see if Sister Carrie likes the Panda Soy as well or better than the Panda Cotton.

She'll be getting one pair of each yarn to be sure she receives something she likes in case she doesn't like the Panda Soy.

Panda Soy is nubby. I tried a few simple stitch patterns and they didn't show up except to make the socks look like they were full of knitting errors. Frog, frog. Now the socks are a simple k3,p1 ribbing.



Pattern: Basic cuff down sock pattern on 56 stitches. k3p1 ribbing on cuff and instep.

Yarn: Crystal Palace Panda Soy, 49% bamboo, 33% Cotton, 18% elastic nylon.

Color: Hazelnuts.

Needles: Options #1, 2.5mm

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Snowdrops, one of the first little bulbs to bloom in early spring.

Carrie's Basketweave Birthday Socks Finished, First Robin

I've mentioned this before, but since I only knit with Panda Cotton once a year I'll repeat. Panda Cotton is nice to knit. Good stitch definition, smooth feeling on the needles. Sister Carrie says it washes and wears nice.

It does have a slight tendency to split. Keeping my eyes on my knitting helps to keep the stitches whole. Stitches that do split are easily tinked and reknit catching all the strands.

The birthday sock marathon is almost over. Today I ordered yarn for a sweater. Details when it arrives.

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Pattern: Basketweave Ribbing Socks modified to use 56 stitches instead of 64 by omitting one 8 stitch pattern repeat.

Yarn: Crystal Palace Panda Cotton. 59% bamboo, 25% cotton, 16% nylon.

Color: Trail Mix.

Needles: Options 2.5mm circulars.

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch.

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I've been taking my camera out on every dog walk just in case a Robin showed up.

Success at 5:30 pm today. It's officially spring now.

Gail's Socks Finished, Dental Whining, and Glory Walks On Snow

Done and ready to wrap for dog-trainer Gail's March 18th birthday.



Pattern: Basketweave Ribbing Socks, a free pattern that easily converts to 56 stitches, 72 stitches, or any multiple of 8.

Yarn: Opal.

Color: Rainforest Oskar (a black and white butterfly).

Needles: Options #1, 2.5mm

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch

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Pappy and I are going to miss doggy school again this week because I'm having what's left of a tooth pulled at 4 pm that day (this Thursday).

Did you know that dental x-rays don't see through porcelain crowns? I didn't until a crown fell off leaving a decayed stump with no hope of attaching another crown.

I always wrongly assumed with regular dental care and repair I could keep my teeth into my old age. If I needed something else to worry about, I'd wonder how the rest of my crowned teeth are doing.

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We're seeing the first signs of spring with days temps around 40 F and night temps around 20.

Yesterday there was some thawing and melting. Then the cold night temp froze a crust on the remaining slushy snow. The snow/ice was so solid 65 pound Glory could walk on it without breaking through.

I did break through. We won't talk about how much I weigh.

John's Birthday Socks Finished

Yesterday between bouts of dealing with the nasty weather, I finished John's birthday socks.

The cuffs are seven inches long from top to heel. Three skeins of Happy Feet were needed. One skein per sock took me to the start of each toe for John's size 11 foot knitting 70 stitches around.



Pattern: 70 stitch basic socks. The stitch pattern is from one of my stitch pattern books, Beautiful Knitting Patterns by Gisela Klopper. It's a simple 7 stitch knit purl pattern with a knit 5 purl 2 ribbing base.

Yarn: Happy Feet. 90% Superwash Merino, 10% Nylon.

Color: Dark blue.

Needles: Options 2.50mm circulars.

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch in stockinette.

Hedonist Cardinal Socks Finished

These socks are soft and cuddly. I'm looking forward to wearing them.


Pattern: 56 stitch basic socks. The stitch pattern is from one of my stitch pattern books, Beautiful Knitting Patterns by Gisela Klopper. It's a simple 8 stitch knit purl pattern with a knit 7 purl 1 ribbing base.


Yarn: Slackford Studio Hedonist Sock yarn, 80% Superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon.

Color: Cardinal.

Needles: Options 2.50mm circulars.

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch in stockinette.

BFF Socks Finished

Don't have much to say about these socks except I'm happy with them and looking forward to wearing them often.

The pattern instructions are a good example of how to increase for a sock cable after the ribbing is finished and decrease for the heel or toe once the cabling is finished.


Pattern: BFF Socks, a free pattern by Cookie A. Size 56 stitches.

Yarn: Stalwart Sock from Slackford Studio. 75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon 4 Ply Fingering Weight Sock Yarn.

Color: Billie Jean.

Needles: Options 2.50mm circulars.

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch in stockinette.


Evening stroll through the melting snow.