Forward, Sock!

As I said previously, I did get some actual knitting done over my Christmas vacation.

Top of the list was the first Tartan Argyle sock.

As you might recall, I was struggling mightily with this sock back in September in my attempt to use Elizabeth Zimmerman's Moccasin Sock technique.

I frogged that heel/sole combination then left the sock to languish as I worked on other projects.

Anyway, over vacation I was able to whip them out. Having learned from sewing up the feet on my Pirate Arrgyle socks, I was on the alert for things shifting out of place. This time around I counted the rows on the instep, then knit the sole to the same row count, then worked them one after the other (row on instep, row on sole) as though they were one long piece, in order to make sure the lengths matched. Then I sewed the foot seams and worked the toe in the round.

I was also able to knit the ribbing for the second sock over break. I've been working on it recently and am surprised at how quickly it is moving along despite being color work.

Angora Bed Socks of Power and Fortune!

I finished the first foot on my angora bed socks, picked up the stitches from the provisional cast on, and worked one row of the leg. Then abandoned them again.

This angora yarn isn't the easiest to work cables on. Or maybe it's that I'm still not accustomed to the 9" circulars yet.

Also, it's kind of a complicated cable, so I can't work on them when I'm watching a TV show that I actually want to watch.

In case you've been wondering, I'm calling them the bed socks of "Power and Fortune!" because I'm planning do work cable motifs based on runes of good fortune onto the back of the leg. snicker.

So this linked cable pattern will continue up the front of the leg and the stand alone cable will be on the back. Which just adds to the knitting chaos and increases the amount of concentration needed.

Perhaps you won't be surprised to hear that I've gone to the other end of the ball and knit 15 rows of ribbing to ensure I don't run out of yarn.

Well, that was just stupid.

Last week I decided new Lie to Me hat could benefit from a tassel. The top was a bit pointed and needed something to jazz it up. I whipped up a tassel and everyone says it's just the thing.

Although it now feels like there is a mouse sitting on my head when I drive (I flip the tassel forward because it is uncomfortable when it falls between my head and the headrest).

I was washing a load of handknits over the weekend (yeah, I toss stuff in the machine on the "handknit" setting. So sue me. Nothing bad has happened yet) when I decided my new hat could benefit from a blocking.

A little voice said, "Take off the tassel. Take off the tassel."

But, of course, I ignored it. So it was no surprise when I emptied the machine and found this tangled mess in the bottom. At which point the little voice said, "I told you so" and flounced away.

It was not salvageable. Well, the piece that had tied off the tassel head was, probably because the ends were knotted so it couldn't fray.

Fortunately I had enough yarn leftover to make a new tassel. I will be much more careful with my tassels in the future.