Saturday, October 21, 2006

Embossed Leaves Socks "How To"

For all of you out there who wanted to knit the Embossed Leaves Socks

featured in IK Winter 2005 but have been kept by the size the sock design delivers, here you go. Adapt the pattern to your size without losing any of the design elements.

What do I do to make the circumference smaller?
Just leave out one of the purl stitches between the leaves pattern. You'll have 60 sts around. The heel can be easily adapted, and when starting the toe just k1, p1, knit to last 2 sts, ptog, i.e. drop one of the knit sts at the beginning.

What do I do to make the foot longer/shorter but want to keep the star toe?
For all of you with shoe size 10 or larger (I myself wear a 10, sometimes 11 and the Koigu version fit my foot, but sometimes it just needs to be larger or smaller for that matter, right?) knit another 8 rounds of the pattern repeat, or leave it out - or more if needed. Now comes the part where it gets a bit tricky, but not much.

To get the same finishing of the leaves as in the original pattern, you'll have to mirror the toe decreases. I.e. start with p2tog and end with p1, k2 on all needles.

To make the foot larger, you would finish the whole repeat, instead of ending after the first 8 rnds as written in the pattern. Now the last leaf points into the "wrong direction" for the instructions of the star toe as written in the pattern. Just use the following chart for the mirrored toe:


Click on chart to make it larger

To sum it up: when ending with half a repeat use toe as described in pattern. When making smaller or larger and ending with the whole 16 rnd repeat, use mirrored toe of chart.

Now, go and knit some. You know you want to!

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Frame of mind

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it: Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Friday, October 06, 2006

It started November 10th, 2004

Remember this?

And this?

As well as this?

Next time you see it you might be surprised.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

In which all shall be revealed

It is red, it is big, it was a blob.


I knit the whole thing practically in one piece (hence 'blob')- there is not one seam to speak of, no sewing except for weaving in the ends. First the body up to the armholes, then the sleeves, joined it, decreased in the round. Like it? I do, though next time I'd take off an inch here and there.

Technical Data:
Yarn: nameless stash yarn in fingering weight
Needles: 3 mm
Pattern: mine, with personal measurements, involving a lot of stockinette in the round


A bit overexposed headless view.

Monday, October 02, 2006

The big red blob


Big red blob, meet the world. World, meet the big red blob.

Socktober here we go

No, no sock news. But I am planning to knit some.

I have wanted to post a picture of what I like to call "the big red blob" and keep procrastinating. I also have ransacked old knitting projects and gotten out one that needs finishing now or it'll be never done.

And, I have a catchy tune in my head called "Stephanie says" because I had to listen to it yesterday for like 10 times...

"...it's so cold in Alaska..." (D'oh.)