Troisieme

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Related posts:
28Mar2009 post (8 Photos)
22Mar2009 post (9 Photos)

Impilium Tertium

Practice Pair 3

Here's the happy pair. Sock 1 is on the bottom, Sock 2 is on top. You can distinguish them by the ribbing in the gusset (scroll down for close up of heel/gusset). I used Red Heart's Heart & Sole yarn on 2.75 mm pointy sticks. I only picked up 2 balls in passing while M & I were looking for rubber stamps for her Valentine's Day Cards project. Now that I have tried it out, I think I should have picked up more back then. While I was Michael's, the lady who worked there mentioned that they would not be restocking it. So if I want more of this yarn, I will have to find it elsewhere. I wonder if the other local crafts store, Jo-Ann's , carries it. Oh, I just looked on their online website and they sell it online only.

Foot stripes

I liked how this pair came out, especially with the stripe matching. It's not an exact match, but it is close enough.

Leg Stripes

I ended the 2nd sock 3 rounds early so that I could bind off using the same blue color section as in the 1st sock. Thankfully this 3 round difference isn't noticeable. Even if it were a wee bit more noticeable, I think I'd still bind off in the same color. When people take a quick glance at the socks, they'll assume they're identical because they have the same color on top.

Toes (left=JMCO, right=ET)

I was surprised that the toes on both look about the same. I started both with the same color in the same part of the striping sequence, however I CO differently for each. Sock 1 was an easy toe. Sock 2 was Judy's Magic Cast On. I definitely prefer the latter for its ease. It's definitely easier for me to fish out 2 circs than a crochet hook and waste yarn (besides being PCO challenged).

There is just one thing I don't like about Judy's Magic Cast On. I get this little "knot" on one side of the toe. I CO for Pair 4 and experienced the same "knot". I haven't figured out why this happens. I'll knit the stitches from Needle 1, turn to start Needle 2 and this is where the "knot" appears. It's not an actual knot, but it sure does feel like a small lumpy knot. I don't really notice (feel) it while I'm wearing the sock.



Sock 2 heel/gusset

Here is a close-up of the heel/gusset of Sock 2 where I started ribbing on the back side at the beginning of the gusset decrease. (details on how I worked this is here) I suppose I could have used a standard "heel stitch" back there too, perhaps I'll try that next time. Sigh, 3 pairs of socks and still not one pair containing identical socks. They are all knit up with different tweaks.

These two photos will show you how they look:

Pair sides

Sock 1 on right side

Sock 2 on left side

I like the heel/gusset section of Sock 2 more than Sock 1. Which do you prefer? (There is a close up of the heel/gusset of Sock 1 here)

Here's a top view of the pair. Sock 2 on the left ... see the bit of red color on the right side of the toe? The "knot" from the JMCO is located there. Can you tell that Sock 2 (left) is 3 rounds shorter in the leg?

Here are a couple of shoe shots. Bored yet with all these photos? I'll probably go lighter on the photos after the sock newness has worn off. I'm having so much fun with socks, I have absolutely no idea when I'll get to all my other knitting!!!

Project Summary:
-- Red Heart's Heart & Sole yarn, Ravelry yarn link here.
-- CO 12/24 (ET on sock 1; JMCO on sock 2), 2.75 mm
-- 60 sts
-- 46 rnds foot -> ~6"
-- 28 row heel flap
-- heel/gusset mods here
-- 55 rnds leg on sock 1; 52 on sock 2 (to BO in same blue color for "visual match")
-- leg ~9" from bottom to cuff; leg ~7.5" from floor to cuff, when worn

Saccus

If you remember back in Feb, I mentioned V & I getting together to talk about the bags we've been working on for aeons. She showed me the fabric she chose for lining them and we decided to go with knit handles for them. Since then I've made some progress on the handles. These are the straps for the red bag and the black bag. I'm chipping away at the handle for the burgundy bag. (You saw part of the red one earlier in my 28Feb09 post) I don't really enjoy knitting with the ginormous 8 mm (US11) needles after knitting with 2.25 mm to 2.75 mm needles. These little strips are about 40 inches long, I think. I've measured the red one 3 times and the black one once. Unfortunately my short term memory cannot recall what the exact measurement is.

Here are the three fabrics V chose for lining the bags. One style fabric per bag, or they can be mixed & matched. Haven't decided which way to go yet since each fabric could work for all three bags. How would you match up the fabrics to the bags?

I think my favorite one is the black one with the golden flowery stems, on the far right in the last photo.

Impilium Quartum

I've started Pair 4 with Opal sock yarn (Ravelry Link) in this retina piercing rubescent color. This is my first time working with this yarn. A little while back, Suzann had recommended sock yarn, so I picked up some of this and also a couple of balls of the other major brand you saw here. I am enjoying this red yarn despite its blinding color. It had a tendency to twist on itself at first. You would have thought it odd to see me holding the yarn up with the sock dangling so that it could naturally unwind itself. I did that a few times at the beginning when the toe/foot section was short.

While knitting the beginning of the foot section, a bit of undyed yarn revealed itself in the ball. I was hoping this would somehow end up underfoot. No luck. It ended up on one side of the instep (front side). Oh well. Nothing I can do about that.

I'm working the heel/gusset section now. Will show sock pics next time...

At this rate, I am in no danger of SSS. :-D

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