Life has been getting in the way of knitting and all things fun lately, and I haven’t had much time to knit. Another thing that’s kept me away from blogging is that my current project is a real Mt. Everest of knitting - all cables, plus the sizing issue has come up again. I’m over halfway through now but am still not sure whether all the pieces will fit together after my drastic downsizing efforts, and even then, whether it will fit me. We’ll see.

Yarn has also stopped talking to me (Gasp! Shock! Horror!) and I haven’t bought any for ages. To cure myself from what must be some sort of severe illness, I went ahead and ordered a skein of hand-dyed cashmere sock yarn from Ilu. Yes, 100% cashmere. Soft as ever, and look at the colours!

Elämä ja arki kaikkine kiireineen ja velvollisuuksineen on jättänyt neulomisen ja kaiken muun kivan pahasti jalkoihinsa. Asiaa ei yhtään auta se, että nykyinen projektini on massiivinen palmikkourakka, jossa pienin koko osoittautui taas teltaksi, joten purkuun meni ja uusi yritys muokatuilla silmukkamäärillä. Olen yli puolivälissä, mutta en edelleenkään tiedä, sopivatko osat enää toisiinsa tämän muokkausoperaation jäljiltä - ja ennen kaikkea, sopiiko koko höskä itselleni. Nähtäväksi jää.

Langat ovat myöskin lakanneet puhuttelemasta minua - ei ole ostatuttanut eikä liiemmin neulotuttanutkaan. Jokin sairaushan sen täytyy olla. Parannuskeinoa hain Ilun käsinvärjätystä kashmirsukkalangasta. Kyllä, 100-prosenttista kashmiria ja sukkiin. Unelmanpehmoista ja niin kaunista.

And so, to do something fun and easy and quick while waiting for the big cably thing to knit itself, I whipped up a pair of cashmere socks.

Odotellessani palmikkoprojektin neuloutuvan itsestään ja saadakseni välillä jotain aikaankin pyöräytin nopeat sukat.

Pattern: Hedgerow Socks (pdf)
Yarn: Handu Handdyed 100% cashmere, colourway Pieni nokipoika vaan, 1 skein / 52 g
Needles: 2.5 mm bamboo dpns & 2.5 mm Addi Lace circular
Size: 32 (modified from pattern)

As with the previous socks, I wanted a simple ribbed pattern to accentuate the yarn, although this was more variegated than the Koigu KPM I used last time. I only used the pattern for the rib pattern and modified the rest by resizing these to fit my feet, so I left out nearly half of the stitches and only had 36 stitches instead of 66. I also knitted these toe up and both socks at the same time to maximise the yardage. The yarn seemed to last forever and the socks turned out quite long, but I didn’t want any leftovers.

These are honestly the softest, loveliest socks I’ve ever worn, perfect for sleeping and lounging around, to warm my feet and soften my step. And I think they worked - yarn and I feel slightly closer now. I think we’ll be OK, just give us a little time to talk things through. In fact, I think I might even consider doing some yarn shopping on our holiday.

Halusin edelleen yksinkertaisen ribbimallin korostamaan langan kauniita värejä, vaikka tämä onkin kirjavampaa kuin viimeksi käyttämäni Koigu. Käytin loppujen lopuksi ohjetta vain ribbiin ja muokkasin muuten omasta päästä. Pienensin ohjetta omaan kokooni jättämällä lähes puolet silmukoista pois ja neuloin nämä 36 silmukalla ohjeen 66 sijaan. Toinen muutos oli se, että neuloin nämä kärjestä alkaen ja molemmat sukat yhtä aikaa, jotta sain varmasti kaiken langan käytettyä. Lanka osoittautui riittoisaksi ja jatkui ja jatkui vain, joten sukista tuli loppujen lopuksi melko pitkät.

Nämä ovat ihanimman tuntuiset, pehmeimmät sukat, joita olen koskaan jalassani pitänyt. Täydelliset uni- ja oleskelusukat lämmittämään jalkoja ja pehmentämään askelta. Kaiken lisäksi luulen, että ne auttoivat; lanka ja minä tunnumme lähentyneen toisiamme hieman. Eiköhän tämä tästä. Itse asiassa luulen, että saatan jopa harkita ostavani hieman lankaa kesäreissullamme. Ehkä.

Pattern: Firefighters Socks
Yarn: Koigu Premium Merino (KPM), 46 g
Needles: 3 mm rosewood glove dpns
Size: 32

I chose this pattern for the beautiful, nearly solid Koigu I had in my stash because I wanted something simple to bring out the beautiful colour. The name is fitting as the socks really are fire red! I also wanted something not too yarn-consuming since I only had one 50 gram skein, which, by the way, only weighed 46 grams. Which is not much for a pair of socks. These were knitted toe up, and as I knitted both socks at the same time, I managed to use up all the yarn.

I resized the pattern to fit my feet, so I only had 36 stitches on the foot & cuff. I also knitted the rib pattern on the foot as well, not just the ankle. The socks turned out beautiful, very soft and very warm. The yarn was lovely to work with - very JitterBug-like, but thinner. Soft as they were, the socks relaxed even more when I washed them and I don’t know if it’s the yarn or the stretchy pattern, but they could be a little smaller. I like my socks snug, and these are a bit loose. Nevertheless, I’ve been wearing them a lot. The colour is too yummy to resist!

Valitsin tämän ohjeen ihanalle lähes yksiväriselle Koigulleni, sillä halusin yksinkertaisen kuvion, joka toisi värin kauniisti esille. Sattumoisin ohjeen nimi oli osuva, sillä sukkien väri on kuin leimahtava liekki! Halusin myös ohjeen, joka ei syö tolkuttomasti lankaa, sillä minulla oli vain yksi 50 g:n vyyhti, joka sekin osoittautui vain 46 gramman painoiseksi. Se ei ole kovin paljon parille sukkia. Neuloin nämä kärjestä ylöspäin ja molemmat yhtä aikaa, joten sain maksimoitua langankulutuksen.

Pienensin ohjetta jaloilleni sopivaksi niin, että sukissa oli 36 silmukkaa. Toinen muutos oli se, että neuloin ribbiä myös jalkaterän päälle enkä ainoastaan nilkkaan. Sukista tuli ihanat, pehmoiset ja lämpimät. Lanka oli täyttä herkkua - kuin JitterBug, mutta ohuempaa. Vaikka sukat olivat jo pehmeät, ne rentoutuivat pesussa vielä lisää ja ovat sen takia nyt hieman liian löysät. Pidän napakoista sukista, jotka eivät lörpötä mistään kohdasta, ja nämä saisivat olla hieman pienemmät. Olen silti käyttänyt näitä tosi paljon. Ja väri on upea!

In the pattern, Cookie A. says she knitted, ripped, reknitted, ripped, reknitted etc. these socks for about four times while designing them before she got them right.

I did the same. While everyone is saying the design is easy to knit - and I agree - it was the hardest one to resize so far. It consists of four 16-stitch pattern repeats. I usually cut about 1/3 off any socks when making them for myself, so I thought it safest to start with three pattern repeats. Knitted a bit and realised it was way too big. Rip 1. So I tried two pattern repeats, although feared it wouldn’t be enough. Knitted a bit and found that while the girth was OK, the sock was just a tad too tight to go over the heel. Rip 2. Next I tried widening the pattern by four stitches, two on both sides, and knitting two repeats. Too big again - when the sock is too loose the pattern doesn’t come out. So, alas, rip 3. Next up: widen pattern by two stitches and knit two pattern repeats. Bingo! With 2 x 18 stitches, 36 in all, the sock finally fit.

So on we go. I knitted these top down because with all the resizing hassle I wasn’t in the mood to start figuring out how to do these toe up. All the while I was hoping to use as much of the leftover JitterBug Mist as possible. Knitted three pattern repeats for the length of the leg and was seriously afraid of running out of yarn. Got to the toe and realised I had plenty of yarn left. Enough to lengthen the leg by at least one more pattern repeat. Only I didn’t feel like ripping back all the way to where the heel flap starts and redoing the heel (for me, figuring out how to do a reduced heel without messing up the pattern usually goes by trial and error, so there was a rip 4 there) and foot, so I finished the sock and decided to ignore the small ball of yarn that was left.

Except that it bothered me too much. And so, against all advise from more experienced knitters, I decided to rip the rib part, pick up the stitches and knit another pattern repeat on top of the existing sock leg. This would involve some magical flipping over of the pattern to knit it in the opposite direction, which I, ever so confident, figured I could do. Little did I know that a) you can’t rip from the beginning - you have to take each stitch apart one by one. Extremely time-consuming! b) picking up stitches in the middle of the knitting and then going on in the opposite direction just doesn’t look good. While I don’t think a non-knitter would have noticed and this part of socks is usually hidden anyway, it just looked too unnatural to me. Nevertheless, determined as I am, I had to try it a couple of times before admitting that it didn’t work out. These steps included rip 5, rip 6 and I believe a rip 7 as well, because after each trip to the frog pond I added one feature that I did backwards to save the pattern. In the end I gave my efforts a good rip 8 and did the obvious - knitted the beginning of the sock (rib + one pattern repeat) separately and grafted it onto the rest of the sock. Worked beautifully. I still didn’t use up all the yarn - there probably would have been enough for two extra pattern repeats, but knee socks look funny on short legs (at least mine).

Whoaa. On to the second sock, which went in a breeze. And now, may I present to you:


Pattern: Monkey socks
Designer: Cookie A.
Yarn: Colinette JitterBug, colourway Mist, 52 g
Needles: 3 mm rosewood glove dpns

While waiting for the Mystery Stole clues, I knitted a pair of socks for my love. Man socks! I had them with me at the monthly knitting meet-up last week, and while I would describe them as “massive”, “huge” and “monstrously big”, the others reckoned they were just normal. Which they probably are, but I’m not used to knitting socks that big. While it takes about two afternoons to make a pair of socks for me, these seemed to drag on forever. I was also seriously worried about running out of yarn, but in the end there was probably enough left to make a pair for me as well.

Pattern: Thuja socks
Designer: Bobby Ziegler, Knitty winter 2005
Yarn: Trekking Pro Natura (75% pure new wool, 25% bamboo), colourway 1603, about 70 g
Needles: 2.5 mm bamboo dpns

The pattern is about as basic as can be, which is OK as I guess few men would like to wear elaborate lace on their feet. What’s weird is that while I was looking forward to knitting socks precisely according to the pattern, for once not having to do the maths and make them smaller, I had no such luck. The yarn I used was so much thinner than that of the pattern that I actually had to make these bigger! I also modified them a bit around the heel and gusset decreases to make the stripes go the way I wanted them to go.

As for the yarn - not impressed. It was coarse, thin and splitty compared to JitterBug, and what’s more, it completely lacked that spring and bounce that makes JitterBug such a lovely sock yarn. I know I’ve been JB spoiled, but I can’t help it. I found myself knitting these with a permanent frown on my face, constantly apologising for my poor choice of yarn and promising to knit the next pair with some decent yarn. Even the pattern seems to get lost in the flatness of the yarn. The colourway is faded and a little dull - much less bright than in the colour chart picture - yet somehow quaint. It reminds me of an old barn, faded and worn from decades of sunshine, rain and harsh weather. Quite beautiful, actually.

And He Who Shall Wear The Socks likes them, and that’s the main thing.

Clue 2 of the Mystery Stole is also done. The clues seem to be quite short - I had expected them to be twice as long. Sure it leaves time for other projects, but impatient as I am, I would rather finish this one quickly and move on…

Could knitting get any better than this?

OK, those could be palm trees and that could be the Pacific Ocean, but you get the idea…

While spending the Midsummer weekend at our country house, in between all the sunbathing, reading, eating and sleeping, I got some knitting done as well.

Pattern: Roza’s Socks, Interweave Knits spring 2007
Designer: Grumperina
Yarn: Colinette JitterBug Mist, about 40 g
Needles: 3 mm bamboo circular & 3 mm rosewood glove dpns

This was a very enjoyable pattern to knit - the brioche stitch, however simple, was really relaxing and I like the way it adds just a little something to the regular rib. I knitted my socks about 2/3 of the original pattern to get the right size. With 42 stitches the fit is nice and relaxed. This time the resizing was not a problem, but I had to modify the pattern quite a bit to get the stripes to go the way I wanted. I also modified quite radically around the heel, foot and gusset decreases because I thought the original design looked a bit odd there. I actually had to knit the first sock about five times between the leg and the toe before I got it to look the way I liked. (Yes, each time I was almost at the toe before I forced myself to pause, try the sock on and see what it looked like, so I only have myself to blame. That pattern was just too much fun to knit!)

Someone went a little ga-ga on eBay.

Now all I need is some more circulars and I should be done… for a while.

And while I was at it, I got myself a couple of crochet hooks as well…

…because a girl can never know when she feels the urge to learn to crochet.

BTW, something quite weird has happened. I’ve found out that the people at the post office know me. I don’t have to show my ID when picking up a parcel, and last time they even rang me at work to say my goodies had arrived so I could go and pick them up on my way home, without having to go home to fetch the package slip first. They had even set my package aside for me under the counter. Now that’s what I call good service!

What’s weird about this is that we’re not talking about any old village post office where everyone knows everyone but one in central Helsinki. And it’s not like I go there every day, either. I’ve only been there to pick up the latest additions to my stash, and I haven’t ordered that much yarn, have I?

Be that as it may, I have been doing some knitting as well. The JitterBug Mist that I was a bit disappointed in and was actually thinking of selling started to whisper in my ear from the bottom of the stash bag. She was saying that instead of a scarf & gloves she could be a nice pair of socks. I toyed with the idea for a while and decided to give it a go. And she is lovely! Like her brother Jay, she’s a true pleasure to knit, and it turns out she has some surprises up her sleeve as well. You never know which colour she’ll whip up next: pearl grey, steel, dark purple, mauve, pale pink, magenta, boysenberry…

Here are some sneak peeks:

These just may become my favourite socks.

My second pair of socks is finished. I got them done last night, but it was too dark to get any decent pics, so had to wait until this morning to do the photo shoot. They feel nice and snug (I reduced the number of stitches by 50% to 36, and the fit is just right), but otherwise I’m not too crazy about them. The first one was a real pain as the pattern called for a crochet beginning, and I a) don’t have a crochet hook and b) don’t know how to crochet and was so eager to get knitting that I didn’t feel like learning now, and as I didn’t even have a hook it didn’t make much sense anyway. So I tried another approach, the figure-8 cast-on, which I quite liked. And since I’d already strayed from the pattern, I did the toe using one of the general toe-up methods I found on the net. I modified both a bit to get the right fit, plus had to rip the whole thing once as I had way too many stitches and the sock was turning out gigantic. I’ll spare you from a detailed description, but all in all I combined at least four different patterns, none of which worked for the heel so I figured it out myself, and used the original pattern only for the lift-bar-pass-bar-over shimmer effect and abandoned it after I’d memorised it (which took about 1/4 row). The first sock was more or less made by a trial-and-error method. But the second one was super quick to make - it only took about 3 hours.

Anyway, everyone wants to see pics, so here they are:


And a close-up of the shimmer pattern:

Pattern: Shimmer socks
Designer: Meg Croft, MagKnits March 2007
Yarn: Colinette JitterBug Jay, about 40 g
Needles: 3 mm rosewood glove needles

The yarn probably doesn’t do justice to the pattern, but I wanted to get rid of the Pomatomus leftovers and this was the best toe-up pattern I found that didn’t seem too yarn-consuming as I only had a little left. On the downside, it was quite boring. Or it could just be that after the Poms I just can’t get myself to get a kick out of these.

The thing is, I like knitting socks, but all the maths and mods involved in reducing the size give me a headache. I also like challenges, but I’d prefer the challenges to be in the pattern itself, not in figuring out how to make the socks smaller without messing up the pattern and always wondering how to adapt the heel turn to a reduced number of stitches. It would be really, really nice to be able to just follow the pattern and not make any mods. So if you know any beautiful and preferably demanding children’s sock patterns (about size 32 or for 6-8 year-old kids), please let me know. Thanks!

I’m also interested in learning to knit socks with two circulars as I’ve heard that it’s fast and gives a very smooth result. Any experience on that?

The Pomatomus socks are finished and ready to be served with a bit of wasabi and a dash of soy sauce.

Project: Pomatomus
Pattern: Cookie A., Knitty winter 2005
Yarn: Colinette JitterBug Jay, about 50-60 g
Needles: Addi bamboo 3 mm dpns and Susanne’s rosewood 3 mm glove knitting needles

I did indeed manage to make the second one a bit smaller around the heel and foot and now the fit is perfect. I also knitted it with glove needles and found it much easier. I’m still waiting for a go-ahead from the designer to publish the modified pattern - will keep you posted.

As for the yarn, I’m a total JitterBug fan now. It’s lovely and soft, and the colours behaved themselves all the way. No striping, pooling or other undesirable side effects. And although the Pomatomus pattern does come out better in a solid colour, I think the Jay colourway looks best in something like this. I haven’t weighed the socks, but think I used about half a hank or a bit more, so I should be able to get another pair of socks from the leftovers, especially if I make them a bit shorter.

Like the deep blue sea.

I’ve never understood why some people think small feet or petite women are cute. There’s nothing cute about falling outside the size charts. It’s a pain. When your shoes are size 32-32.5 (European) and socks size 27-29 (European) and you’re an adult, it’s a bit of a challenge to find decent footwear. There are special boutiques for extra small and extra big shoes, but socks are particularly difficult to find when your feet are the size of an 8-year-old’s but you’d rather not walk around with ladybugs or Batmans on your ankles.

When I realised that my new hobby could at least partially solve my clothing problem, I was ecstatic. No more rolling of the sleeves! Goodbye, hats that cover half of my face! So long, gloves that fall off! And above all - finally socks that fit!

So my next project was to be socks. I’ve never knitted socks before, but hey, there’s a first time for everything. And my first socks were to be no less than the Pomatomus. I fell in love with the design as soon as I saw it, and again - I just had to have them. They remind me of the traditional Japanese wave pattern that I’ve always found very comforting.

I did realise that the pattern was written for regular-sized feet and tried for a while to find a pattern for child-size Poms, but when I didn’t find any, I had to take the fish by the scales and improvise. I figured that if I make my socks about 2/3 of the original size, they should be about right. So I started by casting on 48 stitches instead of 72. Here’s the progress:

Don’t you just love those colours?

Everything has gone well so far. I’ve left out one pattern repeat lengthwise (otherwise the sock would have come up to my knee) and done the heel flap.

The heel turn was a bit problematic as basic maths just didn’t do it anymore. Finally I got through it by adapting the French heel I found in Ullaneule. Thank you, people at Ulla!

And here - drumroll - is the first finished sock!


The heel and the foot are still a bit too big, but all in all the resizing operation went rather well. And luckily the Pomatomus pattern itself wasn’t difficult - I could still watch telly while knitting. Once both socks are finished, I’ll post the modified pattern here (with the designer’s permission) for fellow knitters with small feet or small kids.