Summer of Socks

Summer of Socks is off and running.  You can see lots of progress pictures and a few finished objects on the Flickr group.

ETA: I am on Flickr now.  Check out my pictures here.  Feel free to add me as a contact.  And, if you know of any cool groups on Flickr, let me know.  I think this is going to be addicting.

My first pair of the summer are off the needles.   You may notice that the right sock is inside out.  I like the way they look and can't decide which way to wear them.

They are another pair of Sidewinders, but with a twist.  I knit these on two circular needles which eliminates the seam under the toes.

Pattern: Sidewinders by Nona

Yarn: Socks That Rock medium weight, Carbon colorway

Needles: 2 - 3mm Addi Turbo Lace circular needles

ETA: A write-up of how I do Sidewinders on 2 circular needles is now available here.

I start by casting on at the ankle instead of the mid-line of the sole using the Turkish Cast-on.

After a couple of rows, you can see the heel (top middle), toe (left), and cuff (right) starting to take shape.
No,  I am not making heavy metal gestures.  The sock was trying to curl up.  I was moving my hand away and snapping a picture at the same time.

At the halfway point, it looks like a sock.

(I am LOVING this old picnic table for taking pictures!  Hubby made it about 12 years ago when we lived in Seattle.  The weathered look is so great)

Here it is with the knitting done, but the grafting is not yet done. 

Same state just moved around to show the open ankle.  As you can see, this method starts at one ankle and works from the cuff around the toe, over the heel to the cuff.  Then the sock is turned and worked back the way you just came.  (Make sense?  I think I am confusing myself.)  If you have knit Nona's pattern, it is quite logical.  In addition to eliminating the toe seam, this version decreases the amount of grafting required by about a third.

I made a few modifications to accommodate the yarn.  This is a sport weight yarn knit at 6.5 sts/in instead of the original 7.5 sts/in.  I just used ratios to find the number of stitches and rows at the new gauge. 

I also shortened the cuff and made the short row calf shaping like my first pair of Sidewinders.

Verdict?  Love 'em!

Next on the sock needles is the MerLin yarn I naturally dyed.  These will be for my sweet hubbinator.  He likes simple, so they will be plain ol' Vanilla socks.  Toe-up so I can see how far the yarn (100g) goes.

I am almost at the heel flap now, but this picture looked so good (loving that backdrop!) that I couldn't deny it its time.

 

Comments

[Lisa]

Hubbinator! What a hoot! That just cracked me up!

[Chante]

I love your sidewinders. They're next on my list. I was a little leary of using my socks that rock in medium weight but now I may just have to give it go.

[Ronni]

I love your second Sidewinders. Very pretty yarn too. And the hubbinator's socks look great. I still really like that yarn.

[AuntieAnn]

You are a genius! I love the idea of no seam under the toes. I have yet to knit my first pair, though. I may brashly try to jump right to your modification. I may have lots of questions.

[nonaKnits]

Maia! This is so ingenious -- I really love how your mind works. I'm also happy to hear that tweaking the numbers with your stitch and row ratios created a well fitting sock. This will help other knitters who want to sub different gauge yarns. I've so enjoyed watching you conquer and improve the Sidewinders for your yarn, feet, and knitting style!

[Charlene]

All the socks are looking great! As with me, next up on my sock needles are socks for my Dale. I love the Merlin you're using and the colour is awesome.

[Faith]

These are fantastic! Mind if I link?

[Debi]

"Heavy metal gestures" LOL!

Cool socks! :)

[AuntieAnn]

Nona linked to you! How cool is that?

[leslie]

And you got rid of the tedious provisional cast on! Brilliant!

[Anna]

Very nice!

[Jillie]

How awesome! I just finished my first Sidewinder, I'm definitely trying this cast-on for the next pair! Now I need to get another set of size 2s...