Shameka Knits: Socktober Sunday

On Saturday, I spent hours knitting the sleeve of my Grandpa Cardigan. I needed a bit of a change for the day.

I decided to take a stab at completing socks for SOCKTOBER!!!! Today was the last official day that I wore a pair of sandals. They are these cute open-toe booties. As I dreaded the thought of putting them away, I began to realize that pretty soon I will need winter boots, and I have no socks. EEEEEK!

I have countless skeins of sock yarn. Enough where I have sock yarn split into 2 skeins, and just waiting to be cast on. Here are some of them.

And.......I may even have a few more skeins tucked away in the OTHER bin, that hasn't been split yet.

So, why do I have no socks???

I figured it out. I got all happy when I learned the magic loop 2 at a time technique. I get all excited, work the socks to the heel turn / gusset, and then Boom! I stop. Something weird happens with the counts. It's like front sock 1, front sock 2, back sock 2, back sock 1. But when you are doing k2tog between the backs and the fronts, things get all crazy. So, it took me about 3 pairs of socks getting stuck somewhere at the heel turn to recognize this flaw. Silly me should have heel turned 1 at a time, but .... I digress.

So, here is an example of one sock.

I casted on this sock on July 26, 2009. The yarn is Araucania Ranco Multy in Pink, and it was given to me by one of my really sweet knitting friends whose Ravelry ID is Carmelnap. It was a birthday gift, and I was so excited that she gave me this gorgeous pink yarn. The pattern is Kai-Mei from Cookie A.'s Sock Innovation book.

For some reason, I got stuck at the gusset. I have decided to separate the socks, and knit the pattern to complete it. Now, I just need to figure out where exactly I am in the pattern.

That is another one of my personal knitting "problems" that I am trying to fix. I get lost in a pattern, am apprehensive about ripping back, and then I just put it to the side and do the inevitable. Cast on another project, promising myself that this one will be better. I will take notes this time. I will follow it graciously and have a nice completed something in the end.

So, yeah. I'm guilty. I kinda just did that about an hour ago.

I purchased this yarn from The Loopy Ewe about a week ago. Biscotte & Cie Felix Self Striping Yarn in "Gazania B".

Gazania is actually a flowering plant native to Southern Africa. Here is a picture for color reference.

So, the yarn spoke to me and said "I want to be a pair of Toe-Up Afterthought Heel Socks".

So, in my knitting drunkeness (because I had to be drunk off of the yarn fumes to cast on another sock while there was a perfectly pink sock begging for attention) I wound it into a skein.

It's soooooo pretty!!!

Then, to take a step further, I split the skein so that they were even in weight (53g), and I cut it so that both skeins started with the same color. Yes, I am a little bit picky about having matchy-matchy socks.

I casted on 20 stitches, using the Long-Tail Cast On and alternating it between two needles. This is the cast on that I have done over 200 times for my hexipuffs. I can do it in my sleep.

I am using my new 5 inch Knitters Pride needles. They take a bit of getting used to. They are so little that I feel like they will snap at any minute. So, I am being extra careful with them. Maybe I should have gone with the 6 inch ones. I was worried that my stitches were going to fall off of the needle after I finished my increases. But, after putting the stitches on 4 needles, that worry went away.

So, here is the sock that I started.