Toe-Up to Cuff Down

My favourite sock knitting method is to knit from the toe-up for a very silly reason. I get impatient and want the sock to be done before it's ready. If knitting cuff down I quite often start to work the toe early and end up with socks that are too short. I have ripped out the toes of many socks to work an extra 1/2" and redo the toe so that they will fit. Argh.

So now I usually knit from the toe-up since at the beginning of sock knitting I can hold on long enough to get the heel in the proper place and then if the leg is short, so be it. I have lots of socks with very short legs.

This is my To-Up sock.

But they are not going to work from the toe up. The short row heel is worked over 60% of the sock stitches. To do this several stitches from each side of the top of the foot get transferred to the heel needles. My swirl pattern can not be included in those stitches. That means the swirl must be sitting in the centre section of the top of the foot. Depending on the size of the foot this may or may not be where the swirl ends up. On my sock I was rather closer to the side than I liked when I did my heel.

I am going to knit another pair and re-write this pattern from the cuff down. I can then say STOP when the swirl is in the centre of the front of the leg before beginning the heel. The leg may vary in length depending on row gauge or size but better there than on the foot. I'll just have to hang on when I'm knitting the foot to make sure I get the correct length. I can do it. I know I can do it.
-Deb

Decision week

Kathy, one of the students in my Mittlets by Formula class, reminded me that I haven't written my blog in several weeks and she was checking. So here I am, thanks for the kick in the ... I needed it.

I get mired in projects that are partly done and can't seem to find my way out. My Blue is stalled. I can't decide if it's long enough. I'm going to make a decision this week and stick to it.

It looks long enough to me but trying it on is the test and I've done that several times which usually means I'm close or waaaay off and don't want to believe it.  I really like the Back.

Done in Cotton Tweed, Just Navy. I love this dark, dark navy. Much darker than photo shows.

And then to get ahead of the season I started a summer knit. A circular yoke following the Need A Circular Yoke numbers, in Saucon Fingering (cotton/acrylic) with a 3.50mm needle to get 6 sts = 1".  (It's really Cherry red, I don't know how the camera makes it pink.) 
The yoke has a mosaic colour pattern. I really enjoyed the affect. It's great to only have to work with one colour at a time and get a great two-colour affect.

Down to the bottom of the bust now. I'm putting in a line of purple and going to work out some sort of columns of increases down the front and back. Another decisions to make.

And because these are bigger projects I had to start something smaller to carry around with me. I'm calling them Catch The Wave Socks. They are surprisingly easy to pick up and put down again. That's the beauty of stitch patterns that work the same every round. Very little angst about which round I'm on. Who needs more angst?

Decision week. Do you have to make some this week?

-Deb