Tabi No Monogatari (My Sock Story) Part 1

Well, I'm on my way to making socks! :)  

I started off using Wendy's Generic Toe-Up Sock pattern to establish my gauge for my hubby's sock (8 stitches/inch using US 0 Knitter's Pride Karboniz fixed circular & DPN needles) and this YouTube link to get me started: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkyd3nq3Yn8 using Judy's Magic Cast-On (starting Toe-Up Socks).

At first, I tried to use the Magic Cast-on method with my DPNs but it was a struggle to say the least! :(  I even found a great YouTube video on how to do this but if you watch it, even the instructor says while it can be done on DPNs, it's difficult and she doesn't know why someone would want to do this.  And guess what?!  She's right! :P  I struggled and struggled before I broke down and went to my favorite yarn place: Yarn Story.  

Then my next delimma was: I couldn't decide which needle type to pick up: Bamboo, Karboniz, or Metal.  In the end, I bought two (2) 40" fixed circular US 0 needles (1 Knitter's Pride Karboniz and 1 Chiagoo Bamboo).  I figured I could use both to make two socks at a time (although I haven't figured out how to break my yarn ball apart yet :P). :)  So, right now, I'm just working on one side. :)

So here's the "pattern" that I'm using:
Hubby's foot measures 23 cm (in circumference) = 9"
=> 9" * 8 stitches/inch = 72 => 72 - (72 * 10%) = 64.8 => a total of 64 stitches

Once I got myself squared away and ready to actually start (again), thanks to my sock goddess, Ariana, I casted on 16 stitches on each needle using Judy's Magic Cast-On (a total of 32 stitches (half of the total number of stitches I need for the actual sock) then:

1. K1 (knit 1 stitch), M1 (make one), K (knit) to one before the last stitch, M1, K1 (this now gives you 18 stitches on your needle).  Continue to do this on your other needle to finish the "row" (now you have a total of 36 stitches).
2. Knit the next row.
3. K1, M1, K to one before the last stitch, M1, K1 (total of 40 stitches, 20 stitches per row)
4. Knit the next row.
5. K1, M1, K to one before the last stitch, M1, K1 (total of 44 stitches, 22 stitches per row)
6. Knit the next row.
7. K1, M1, K to one before the last stitch, M1, K1 (total of 48 stitches, 24 stitches per row)
8. Knit the next row.
9. K1, M1, K to one before the last stitch, M1, K1 (total of 52 stitches, 26 stitches per row)
10. Knit the next row.
11. K1, M1, K to one before the last stitch, M1, K1 (total of 56 stitches, 28 stitches per row)
12. Knit the next row.
13. K1, M1, K to one before the last stitch, M1, K1 (total of 60 stitches, 30 stitches per row)
14. Knit the next row.
15. K1, M1, K to one before the last stitch, M1, K1 (total of 64 stitches, 32 stitches per row)
16. Knit the next row.
17. Continue to knit until the sock is 5-6 cm (or 2-2.5") from the heel of the foot (I'm at this part now :))

Here's what my sock looks like so far:

His foot is actually 26 cm long, in which there's 20 (whole) cm that has to be knitted before I can start on the heel portion:

As you can see, I got quite a ways to go! :') lol :)

Spoils from Vancouver, Victoria, and (sort of) Whistler

Hi, all. :)  

We just came back from Canada in which we spent a week in Vancouver (downtown mainly), Victoria (downtown as well) and had driven up to Whistler too.  While we had a great relaxing holiday, I had tons to fun going to ever yarn shop I could find (within a reasonable distance - we tried to walk every where we could) as well as was open - apparently, we had gone while it was a holiday for them - Victoria Day, so a lot of places were closed. :(

Here's my top four (4) knitting places in which I bought some yarn (and started (finally) my own stash):

In Downtown Vancouver:
          Granville Island:  Silk Weaving Studio - Sanjo Silk
                www.silkweavingstudio.com
                www.sanjosilk.com
This little shop was split into two in which they sold handmade silk items that they wove in the store and the other half actually sold skeins of silk yarn.  While the staff was often busy with customers who were looking for finished items or were busy actually weaving, it had quite a lot of yarn to pick and choose from.  If you're ever interested in going here, it's literally on the corner of Granville Island, close to the Aquabus pick up and drop off.

Here I bought two (2) hat kits - the yarns was soooo beautiful I just "had" to get something; my pictures doesn't do the yarn justice:

Now, I need to get new needles because the beret needs a size 3 needle.  Thank goodness my Chiagoo Spin Interchangeable set also has a size 3 I can use with it. :D  Yarn Story, here I come (again). ;) lol :)

In Downtown Victoria:
         Beehive Wool Shop
               www.beehivewoolshop.com
This store was HUGE and the staff was ultra-nice.  When you first come up to the store, it doesn't look very large but upon entering it, it was ... overwhelming ... there was yarn on every wall, literally.  The store was very nicely arranged and had a lot of open space as they often hold classes there.  There was even a special section for Canadian made yarn but alas, we live in Hawaii so, getting something that wasn't sock weight or lighter wasn't much of an option (at least this time).

Here's what I bought:  enough yarn for a pair of knee high socks for myself (heck, I figure if I'm gonna make socks for my hubby, why not make some for myself and they would go great with my boots!):

        Button & Needlework Boutique
             www.buttonedup.com
This store was quite small but packed (literally) from top to bottom with all kinds of crafting stuff from buttons, needlework items (like for actual needlework and cross-stitching) and yarn.  I had already planned on coming to this store but, while I was at the Silk Weaving Studio, I bumped into another lady who mentioned this place as well so, I was really excited to see this store. :)

Here's what I bought: another ball for the hubby for more socks! :P

And lastly, on the way to Whistler:
        The Knit & Stitch Shoppe
             www.ingys-itsjustknitting.com
This store doesn't seem like much up from the main street above it but when you go down the stairs, it expands to this gigantic cavern of yarn!  There was yarn literally in every nook and cranny and just enough floor space to walk around but you had to walk around shelves and baskets of yarn!  It was amazing and again, completely overwhelming! :P  The shoppe owner was super nice and very knowledgeable as well. :)  She even helped me unearth just the perfect sock yarn for another pair of knee highs for me! :)

Here's what I bought:  two (2) more pairs for my hubby and one (1) for me too! :)  

Well, looks like I need to hurry up and get my socks going for sure now! :D

Bind Off Regrets

So ... Remember my "shawl" and how I "finished" it ... well, now that it's actually a short person's twin sized blanket (and MUCH softer now that it's been washed and tossed into the dryer), it's not quite long enough for my hubby to use (yup - he stole it from me! :'( :P lol). :(  I was kinda thinking that I should've made it longer as I was binding it off (plus I had all that extra yarn) ...  but, Mr. I Want My Socks and Shouldn't You Move onto the Next Project Already? said that I should just be done with it (since I've discovered that I'm a one project at a time kinda girl. :P).

So, what now you ask?  Well, I first asked my knitting buddy, Ariana, how I could add on to a project that's already finished and she said the same thing my hubby said: Aren't you done with it already? :P  I told her of my binding off (or bound off) regrets ... :P ... So, she said that I should just unpick my end, and tink (tink = knit backwards, literally) back until I can begin again.  Or, at worse, I can add onto it but, there'd be a bump in my blanket (yes, I've given up calling it a shawl; it's officially a blanket now).  So, I happily went home and tried to find the end that I so meticulously wove in.  Unfortunately, I did such a damn good job of weaving it in that I couldn't find the end! :(  It was simply lost ... somewhere! 8S  So, I looked it up on the internet to figure out how to add onto a bind off.  Thank goodness I have some crochet skills because I needed to use my crochet hook to set up all the loops I needed to start again. :P

I finished it off the rest of my white colors, multi gray and white stripped ball, a dark grey ball and finally some of a light grey ball.  Now, it's finally long enough to use (as you can see). :P  And, yes, it's done - for real this time, I promise! ;)

Here's what the blanket (finally) looks like:

Now, you must be wondering ... Wait a minute!  What about your sock swatch that you were suppose to finish and start another one using those size 0 needles?  Not to worry.  I did finish my size 2 swatch using my Chiagoo circulars and, it looks like my gauge turned out to be: 12 stitches per 5 cm (2.5 stitches per cm) or 6 stitches per 1 inch:

And, here's my size 0 Knit Picks Karboniz DPNs sample.  It looks like my gauge turned out to be 16 stitches per 5cm (8 stitches per cm) or 8 stitches per 1 inch.

As you can see, by the time I got around to my other swatch, I was lazy and instead of making a nice border, I just used a stockinette stitch through the whole thing. :P

Now, I'm ready to start my initial test sock (just to get me going so I have a good idea of what the heck I'm doing).  It will be done in the same poly as the above swatch (since I have TONS (literally a gigantic bag) of it) so, they'll either be "in the house" socks or something as it's a bit thick for socks.  But, in the end, my lucky hubby is going to have socks made out of this: 

 

I'm even envious of his really cool looking yarn! :P We'll see how it knits!

Lastly, I found a new toy: a Lucet!  While it's not quite a knitting tool, it can be used to accessorize my knitting (and really any other craft) project.  Basically, what a Lucet is is a fork like tool that is for cord making or braiding.  Cords created with a Lucet is similar to what an i-cord looks like or something you can make with a knitting mushroom/spool (and you can make super long cords).  What's really interesting about this technique is that you can really cut the cord anywhere along the length and it won't unravel because of the way you loop the knots to make the cord.  It's pretty cool. :P  

Here's a picture of the Lucet that my hubby made for me (out of a wooden shamoji (aka rice paddle)) along with the two (2) yards of cord I made for my brother-in-law using a hand-me-down white Red Heart sport weight yarn:

 

I know the rope doesn't look like much but, man!  Two yards of rope felt like it took forever! Well, ok ... maybe it took me two weeks of randomly working at it as it can go fast if you're not planning on doing anything else but ... I don't think I'll be very inclined to offer to make my brother-in-law any length of rope he wants in the future! :P  I can see this method being very cool if you want a bracelet or maybe a necklace but not for just plain rope! :P  Here's close up view of it but, I don't think the yarn itself is very photogenic. :P