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!


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.

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 :)

Sock Stuff (Adriana)

I'm really liking this whole team-blog thing. It's great to have someone to pick up the slack when you're not able to knit, or when your knitting is boring to photograph. Although I've been knitting every day I don't feel like I have much to show for it. I've been working on socks which are slow going. I finished the first Monkey sock last night so I finally have something to show off!


Unfortunately this is a difficult sock to photograph.
Here are some other attempts:


I will try to get some better pictures when the pair is done. Maybe then I'll get someone else to photograph them rather than throwing my leg up on the dining room table in an attempt to catch the last of the natural light.

I also decided to model the first foot of the Granny socks.

The Regia silk is so dreamy to wear. According to Heather the solid colour is actually softer which just feeds my desire for more of this yummy yarn. I do have a birthday coming up...

Curious about the state of the mates?

Yeah, I have some knitting to do.
I don't really have a deadline besides the May long weekend (Granny's birthday) but I might have put in three (3) orders for yarn last week which should be showing up soon and I'd like to have as lot done on these socks before I get seduced by my new precious.

On a less happy sock note, when I went to put on my Dragon socks this weekend I made a worrying discovery:


Eeek! Holes! I have barely worn these socks so they can't be from wear. It looks like the yarn was cut in two places. I inspected my other handknit socks but none of them show any damage. Just to be on the safe side I tossed all the socks into the freezer. Moths seem to most logical explanation for holes in knitting but I just can't figure out how they got into my sock drawer. I live in an high-rise and we haven't opened our windows since last fall.