Sunday, April 22, 2007

Grafting Socks for fun and profit (Adriana)

There are two things wrong with that title. First of all, none of the socks I am working on are for sale and second of all, I don't actually like to graft. For several years I refused to do anything but toe-up socks because I hated the Kitchener stitch. Luckily, Heather taught me how to do it properly (don't ever put the grafting needle up the middle of the toe) which has opened up my horizons and allowed me to be able to do top-down socks. Unfortunately I still don't like doing it but it's good at least to know how. I grafted four socks today which is definitely a new record for me.

First up, the completed Monkey socks!
monkey7
monkey6
Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A. This was my first time doing one of her patterns and I am definitely a fan. I'm looking forward to our Pomatomus KAL happening sometime this summer.
Yarn: Koigu in purple from Ramwools.
Needles: 2.5mm
Date Started: April 10, 2007
Date Finished: April 22, 2007

I also made some progress with Granny's Birthday socks.
grannyssock6 grannyssock7
I finally completed both feet which means it is time to undo my provisional cast on and start knitting the leg. It's going to be an interesting experience for me since I'll be knitting both at the same time to make sure that they're identical. I need to figure out how to increase from 8inches to 13 at the top. Luckily the Keyboard Biologist put together an excellent tutorial on how to do just that.
I have less than a month to complete these socks and I need to get knitting because I will soon have some very distracting packages arriving :)

8 comments:

Heather G. said...

You will learn to love the graft! Love the monkey!!

How big are Granny's calves, anyway?

Anonymous said...

The monkey socks are a great color (I may have said this before) They sure look good for not liking the finish!

Anonymous said...

the socks look great!
And I agree with Heather. You will learn to love the graft. It really is knitting magic (in my opinion)

Azura said...

distracting packages?

i think i've given up on socks, although i really ought to finish the pair i started.

Anonymous said...

Once you are into grafting mode, it works like a charm. I haven't yet been brave enough to do the toe up socks.

Unknown said...

those monkey socks look really good (and remind me of my stupid purple koigu--lousy dye lots!) i'm definitely going to have to try my hand at a pair of my own.

Anonymous said...

I love the way the Monkey socks look in that purpley yarn! I didn't really think much of the pattern when I saw it in the original yarn, but yours definitely make me look at it again. So pretty!

Congratulations on mastering grafting. I'm guessing you'll eventually hate it less. I'm only just getting to the point where it comes pretty naturally, after several years of doing it.

Emma said...

Beautiful Monkey socks! Also love the colors of Granny's birthday socks.