Lots of the white stuff!

Yesterday I drove home from work in sleet and freezing rain...well, that didn't last too long. About dinner time it all turned to snow and we got blasted! Some areas of the Twin Cities got almost 20 inches. I heard that the west metro where I live (area west of Minneapolis) got about a foot. The picture shows the drift in front of my front door. It's deeper than it looks considering there are 2 steps there, even though it looks like only one. When I left for work this morning at 4:30am (yes, 4:30am!) the roads hadn't been plowed so it was like driving through 12 inches of mud! The car kept pulling and sliding but I didn't dare slow down for fear I'd get stuck. The only thing that saved me was my Mariners All-Wheel Drive...gotta love it! I arrived safely at work and when I left 8 hours later the roads were clear! Yup, clear right down to the asphalt. Bless those snowplow drivers!

Now that I'm home and pooped from a hard, and early, days work I think it's time for a little t.v. and knitting. I'll reach into my bag where all the waiting socks are and grab one. Hope your weekend was fun, relaxing, and snowless!

AWOL sock!

Okay...after my big plan to knit all the socks their rightful mates, I realized that one of my favorite socks was missing! It was a sock pattern I designed for a book (never got published but that's a whole different story!) and I really wanted to knit it's mate. I do have a picture to remember it by and the hope that someday I will find it. I will share my pattern so hopefully you can knit 2 of these socks and enjoy them as much as I wanted too.

Resolution Socks
Wren's Nest Designs©2002 All rights reserved.

Materials
Yarn: 100 gms Opal or any fingering weight that will knit to gauge
Needles: size US 1 (2.5mm) set of 5 dpn (or size needed for gauge)
1 st Marker

Gauge: 9 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch
Size: Fits womens shoe size 8 (adjust foot length for different sizes)

Stitch patterns:

Scallop Top Pattern (multiples of 9 sts):
rnd 1: knit
rnd 2: *yo, k2, ssk, k2tog, k2, yo, k1* rep

Baby Braids Pattern (multiples of 6 sts):
rnd 1: *k5, p1*
rnd 2: *k1, yo, sl1-k2tog-psso, yo, k1, p1*
rnd 3: *k5, p1*
rnd 4: *k2, yo, ssk, k1, p1*
rnd 5: *k5, p1*
rnd 6: *k5, p1*

Cast On

Cast on 72 stitches.
Divide the stitches evenly onto 4 dpn’s (18 sts on each) needles.
Join, being careful not to twist stitches.

Place marker at beginning of round between needles one and four. This marker will always be considered the "beginning" of any round.

Purl 1 round.
Knit 1 round.
Purl 1 round.

Work 5 repeats of Scallop Top Pattern.
Knit 1 round even.

Work 10 repeats of Baby Braids pattern for leg. Stop at the beginning of
ndl 4 on a round 6.

Slip last st on ndl 1 onto beg of ndl 2. The 37 stitches on needles 2 and 3 for the instep are not worked at this time. The extra st on ndl 2 (the one you slipped on from ndl 1) will remain a purl st for the remainder of the sock until the toe decs.

Heel Flap
You will be knitting back and forth on the 35 sts on needles one and four only (you may combine these onto one needle if you desire) for the heel flap. This heel flap has a 5 st garter stitch edge on both sides of the flap. You will always be knitting the first 5 and the last 5 sts of each row. Start the heel stitch pattern now at the beg of ndl 4 with row 1.

Heel Stitch Pattern:
Row 1:(right side) knit 5, *sl 1, k 1* to last 5 sts, knit
Row 2: knit 5, p across to last 5 sts, knit

Work 40 rows of heel st or until heel flap is about 2 3/4 inches long. If you desire a longer heel (or shorter) just continue until the length you want. Remember, the longer the heel, the more gusset sts you will have to pick up. End after a row 2.

Turn Heel

Next row: (right side) slip 1, knit to center marker, k2, SSK, k1, turn.
Next row: slip 1, purl 5, p2tog, p1, turn.

*Slip 1, knit to within 1 st away from gap, SSK, k1, turn.
Slip 1, purl to within 1 st away from gap, p2tog, p1, turn.*

Repeat from * to * until all stitches have been worked, always working
together the 2 sts on each side of the gap. End after a purl row. Turn.

Knit to the end of ndl 4 to the center back of your sock (be sure your marker is between needles 1 and 4).
Gussets
Pick up for the gussets:
Knit across ndl 1, pick up one stitch between each purl bump on edge of heel flap. You will have the heel sts PLUS the picked up sts on needle one. The amount of sts picked up will depend on how long you knit your heel flap. I picked up 20 sts for my sock.

Knit across the instep stitches on needles 2 and 3 changing the pattern to a 5x1 ribbing. Always purling the first stitch on ndl 2, so instep pattern for ndls 2 and 3 is now:
p1 *k5, p1* across

With loose needle, pick up one stitch between each purl bump on edge of heel flap. Knit across ndl 4. You will have the picked up sts PLUS the heel sts on needle four. You are once again at center back of your sock and ready to start the gusset decreases.

Knit 1 round.

Decrease for the gussets:
Needle 1: knit to 3 sts from end of needle, k2tog, k1.
Needles 2 & 3: Knit across in pattern: p1 *k5, p1*
Needle 4: k1, SSK, knit to end.

Knit one round, always keeping ndls 2 and 3 in pattern.

Alternate decrease and even rounds until needles 1 and 4 are back to 18 sts each.

Instep
Knit all rnds keeping ndls 1 and 4 in stockinette st, and ndls 2 and 3 in rib pattern st. End when the foot length is about where you big toe is attached to your foot or approx 1 1/2 inches shorter than your foot.
Knit one round even decreasing 1 st on needle 2 so each needle is now back to 18 sts.

Toe
Decrease round:
Needle 1: K to 3 sts from end, k2tog, k1.
Needle 2: K1, SSK, knit to end.
Needle 3: K to 3 sts from end, k2tog, k1.
Needle 4: K1, SSK, knit to end.

Knit one round even.

Alternate decrease and even rounds until 9 stitches remain on each needle.
Now knit decrease round every round until 4 sts remain on each needle.

Place stitches on 2 needles. The 4 sts each from ndls 2 and 3 onto one needle and the 4 sts each from ndls 1 and 4 onto one needle. Graft together. Weave in any loose ends.

Knit another sock to match!

Wren's Nest Designs© 2002 All rights reserved.

I May Never Knit A NEW Pair of Socks Again!

So, a few days ago I decided that I wanted to start knitting a new pair of socks. I've had this wonderful purple and turquoise Fixation that is just screaming to be socks. I hauled the giant Rubbermaid chest from my closet and dug through the dozens of skeins of sock yarn. There they were...those two beautiful little balls of Fixation. I grabbed my Crystal Palace bamboo dpn's and was about to cast on...when it happened! The guilt!!! It washed over me like a tidal wave and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I tossed the lovely Fixation on my bed and slowly walked to my closet door. I flipped the light on and stepped in...and there they were, the cause of my extreme and painful guilt. The single socks of years past, just waiting for their mates. So solemn in their singleness, never crying out for their mate that they so long for. I couldn't stand it! I had to make things right. So it was then and there that I vowed to never knit a NEW sock until I had married off all my single socks. This may take awhile......
That is my beautiful greyhound Summer watching over the single socks so they don't run off and marry up with the wrong mate! Good Girl Summer!

New Blog!! Old Knitter!!

Here I sit...in front of my little iMac, entering the big world of blogging. I read so many blogs, mostly knitting related, that I figured...hey, maybe someone would want to read a blog that I wrote. And maybe not. So, either way, I am now a real blogger that will write all about my interesting and exciting life! So stay tuned, check back often, and enjoy the adventures of a string-slinging, Minnesota gal that loves her knitting.