I can't leave it alone
The Nutkin sock pattern was mentioned as being a quick one on the Yarn Harlot's blog, so I decided to have a look. It's a lovely pattern, and the color pictured reminded me of a skein of Tiny Toes I had hanging around, so voila! a gift was born.
Pattern: Nutkin
Yarn: Interlacements Tiny Toes
Needles: 2.5mm
Started: 1/20/09
Finished: 1/27/09
The yarn is very nice stuff - knotted in the center of the 100g skein so it winds into two balls, which I'm beginning to enjoy. It's a soft any springy 2-ply with a fairly tight twist - kind of similar to Socks That Rock but less... shiny if that makes any sense. I think it's the looser twist and fluffiness that does that. I really have no complaints about this yarn other than the fact that there were occasional fuzzballs (little bits of fluff that make a spot in the yarn thicker and more fuzzy) attached to the yarn, but they were pretty easy to remove so it wasn't really an issue.
As for the pattern... well I just can't leave these things alone. It is a very nice pattern, and the fact that I have certain personal obsessive tendencies is not a criticism of the original pattern at all - just to be clear. I knit these socks more or less as written - I started with ribbing to avoid the picot edge since they're a gift and I don't have accurate leg measurements, and I knit my usual heel and toe so I'm not sure that they're the same as the pattern. However, while I was knitting I kept thinking of things I could change...
The socks bias slightly due to the decreases that form the pattern all going in the same direction - it's not a problem and was mostly gone after blocking. Perhaps they'll swirl a bit when worn, but that's ok. But combine this fact with my love of mirrored symmetry? I'm going to have to make another pair of Nutkin-inspired socks for myself with a mirrored mod on the swirls and a couple other changes... I had a thought about the toe shaping as well but I haven't crunched the numbers in my head yet.
What's next? Well, lots of things. But MJ and I have started a new pair of twin socks - Diamondy in Socks That Rock colorway Space Dust. The first year at BMFA sock camp my nickname was Space Dust, so of course I had to buy a skien although it's not my usual colors. Even though I designed Diamondy over a year ago, the original socks were a gift so I still don't have my very own pair. But if MJ's progress is any indication, I will soon!
And one last thought:
Last week I read on the knittyBlog about "slow stashing". It's certainly not a new idea, in fact I've been following a slightly more structured version since sometime in 2007. In summary, what is described there is not a dead stop to yarn buying, but an approach to carefully consider each skein purchased. In my case it's a plan to decrease the stash by using more yarn than I acquire. Similar to an actual food diet - I use or destash more grams of yarn than I bring in and my stash, slowly but surely, loses weight. I think it's more reasonable than declaring that I'll stop buying yarn entirely - that's unlikely. ;)
Listening to: Almond Beauty ~ Sculptured, Fireye ~ Viada
Pattern: Nutkin
Yarn: Interlacements Tiny Toes
Needles: 2.5mm
Started: 1/20/09
Finished: 1/27/09
The yarn is very nice stuff - knotted in the center of the 100g skein so it winds into two balls, which I'm beginning to enjoy. It's a soft any springy 2-ply with a fairly tight twist - kind of similar to Socks That Rock but less... shiny if that makes any sense. I think it's the looser twist and fluffiness that does that. I really have no complaints about this yarn other than the fact that there were occasional fuzzballs (little bits of fluff that make a spot in the yarn thicker and more fuzzy) attached to the yarn, but they were pretty easy to remove so it wasn't really an issue.
As for the pattern... well I just can't leave these things alone. It is a very nice pattern, and the fact that I have certain personal obsessive tendencies is not a criticism of the original pattern at all - just to be clear. I knit these socks more or less as written - I started with ribbing to avoid the picot edge since they're a gift and I don't have accurate leg measurements, and I knit my usual heel and toe so I'm not sure that they're the same as the pattern. However, while I was knitting I kept thinking of things I could change...
The socks bias slightly due to the decreases that form the pattern all going in the same direction - it's not a problem and was mostly gone after blocking. Perhaps they'll swirl a bit when worn, but that's ok. But combine this fact with my love of mirrored symmetry? I'm going to have to make another pair of Nutkin-inspired socks for myself with a mirrored mod on the swirls and a couple other changes... I had a thought about the toe shaping as well but I haven't crunched the numbers in my head yet.
What's next? Well, lots of things. But MJ and I have started a new pair of twin socks - Diamondy in Socks That Rock colorway Space Dust. The first year at BMFA sock camp my nickname was Space Dust, so of course I had to buy a skien although it's not my usual colors. Even though I designed Diamondy over a year ago, the original socks were a gift so I still don't have my very own pair. But if MJ's progress is any indication, I will soon!
And one last thought:
Last week I read on the knittyBlog about "slow stashing". It's certainly not a new idea, in fact I've been following a slightly more structured version since sometime in 2007. In summary, what is described there is not a dead stop to yarn buying, but an approach to carefully consider each skein purchased. In my case it's a plan to decrease the stash by using more yarn than I acquire. Similar to an actual food diet - I use or destash more grams of yarn than I bring in and my stash, slowly but surely, loses weight. I think it's more reasonable than declaring that I'll stop buying yarn entirely - that's unlikely. ;)
Listening to: Almond Beauty ~ Sculptured, Fireye ~ Viada
Labels: Sock Camp, socks, twin socks
posted by Unknown at
4:11 PM
3 Comments:
THANK YOU!!! I stated on my nutkins (on rav) that they bias, and the designer stated that it was something I didn't do right. Since I *did* mirror my socks, and they biased in different directions, the biasing is in the pattern. I did mine toe-up, too, which means I didn't use her sewn hem, which she claimed stopped any biasing.
Sorry, this is a sore point with me, when someone claims that something works one way, when I know it works another way.
Yep, there's a definite bias to the socks - I don't see how you could avoid it with all the decreases going in one direction. It's certainly nothing you did wrong! I saw something the designer wrote up about attaching the wrong stitches when doing the picot hem - that would definitely make the bias much more pronounced. Obviously since I have no picot edge that is not a problem in my socks.
But when I said I would make a mirrored pair, I meant within one sock - if one side of the swirls was as written (ssk) and the other was mirrored (k2tog) facing each other on the front and back of the sock then it shouldn't bias. It would also make me happy since I have a thing for cables that twist towards each other and such. :)
Beautiful socks - I made these last year and mine biased slightly too. Love the yarn - great colors. I'm also trying to use more stash than I buy...
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