Fall Back!

This is what I did with my extra hour.
 

I finished my 7th pair of socks on my csm (circular sock machine) and decided to try a different yarn. I had been practicing with the same yarn and pattern with the last 6 pairs. Since I only had half a skein of Austermann Step (leftover from hand knitting mitts) I decided to try short socks. My daughters like these to wear with their converse. Here's the first pair I made, don't mind my dog Elsa, she's used to this:

This is also the first time I knit the socks one after another, this is how they look on the machine after the last toe.  I knit my socks cuff down and kitchener the toes closed.

 And here they are fresh off the machine:
 

Lindsey came home after I had finished these and immediately wanted a pair. She proceeded to the sock yarn basket and picked out a skein of turquoise Opal.  With the extra hour I had, I was able to start and finish the pair before the evening was over.

For those with a sock machine I've recorded the recipe here.

So, what did you do with your extra hour?

CSM Sock Tally: 9 pairs

EZ as pi

Ugh.

Ever have one of those days?

Why are these things so flimsy?  Am I suppose to buy new headphones when this happens?  Order replacement covers, only to have them rip again?  And from where?

Being ever the pragmatic one I thought I could do better if I just made them myself.  It sounded good in my head.  I searched Ravelry for patterns and found only crocheted ones.  I could crochet, but...hmm, think. All I had to do was knit a circle...and when it's big enough, stop.  But how many stitches do I start with?  And when do I increase?  Well, EZ, that's Elizabeth Zimmermann, had the answers, and I provided a few of my own.

EZ as pi Headphone Covers

Materials:
leftover sock yarn, you really don't need much. 
2 hair bands
1 set of dpn's size US 1 (or whatever method you use to knit in the round)

Cast on 9 stitches using Emily Ocker's Circular Beginning (if you don't have Knitter's Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmermann, shame on you, both the pi shawl, from which this pattern is heavily borrowed, and this cast on is described in that book)

Round 1 knit.
Round 2 (increase row) knit into the front and back of each stitch, 18 stitches
Knit 3 rounds
Round 6 (increase row) see Round 2, 36 sts
Knit 6 rounds
Round 13 (increase row, do you see a pattern here?)
Knit until it's big enough (I did 3 more rounds, if you need to knit more than 12 rounds, you'll have to do another increase row).

Cast off over a hair band, like this:

That is, holding the hair band behind your knitting, when casting off alternate pulling the yarn through the inside (make a stitch, cast it off) then over the outside of the hair band (make a stitch, cast it off) thus wrapping your cast off around it.  I know! I thought of that all by myself!

Here's a youtube video of the cast off -- sorry no audio, I'll work on that.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Before the first sock, there were

Eight heels, one after another.

and set of armwarmers.

Afterwards, it's mate.

A setup bonnet and another sock.

Then it's mate.

Another pair.

And another.

I did it! I cranked out a sock!

3 years and 10 sock machines later I finally cranked out one sock (not even a pair).  Here it is unfinished, fresh off the machine:

I don't really have an explanation for why it took so long.  I was pretty fascinated with the machines themselves and maybe that served as a distraction.  It's also not as easy as it looks.  There are lots of things to keep track of.  There are stitches that drop, ribber timing, tension, how to start, when to switch from 1-1 ribbing to 3-1, how long to do the leg, the heel, how long for the foot, the toe, and generally being able to fix whatever goes wrong -- and believe me there's plenty.  But here it is the first sock.  Modeled by my daughter below:

she's doing a little happy dance

So which machine did I use? I've got a cast of characters and named each from Phantom of the Opera. There's Christine the 2007 NZAK, Buquet a Verdun 47, there are the two Legare 400s Firmin and Andre, the large Legare Piangi, the Gearhart Madame Giry, the Canadian AK Meg, the Verdun Semi-Automatic Raoul, and of course the English AK the Phantom itself. That's nine. Recently I acquired this beauty:

A top of the line, NZAK Mark IV. It's the cadillac of all machines, with steel inserts, brass stoppers, she's a marvel, and my Carlotta.

Will work for yarn

The Golden Fleece shop in Santa Cruz had a grand re-opening celebrating it's new ownership and invited Handwerks, the yarn company I do design work for, to do a trunk show.  I came along to help.  The day was soggy for the first weekend in June and we were wondering if anyone would show up.  Boy were we surprised.  The place was rockin'.  A constant stream of people, some coming just for us!  Well Laura -- and her yarn. I ended up with 2 skeins of silky wool in a new color Hummingbird, payment for 3 hours of "work".  We were so busy I barely had time to shop but I met a fabulous designer, one of the Bellsisters, and bought her pattern which I started in the same weekend.  Meet Joyette in-progress:

again in Handwerks silky wool, I swear it's fast becoming my favorite, color Sonoran Sunset.

I sold 3 of my own patterns as well.  And you know what the shop has?  A computer dedicated to downloading and printing patterns!  We had a great time.