hello . . . is there anybody in there?

Hello to anyone left out there reading. I decided to take the month of February off from blogging because I had a lot I wanted to accomplish in a very short month, made even shorter by the fact that I took the last few days off for vacation.

But now I'm back and hoping to get back into the blogging swing of things. And I'm starting off with a bang. Check these out:



These, ladies and gentlemen, are my very first toe-up socks. And I knit them in just ONE MONTH. That's right--whole pair of socks, new technique, one month.

Do you think there's some kind of illness you can get that makes you knit faster and more productively? I hope I'm never cured.

Now, on with the FO post:

Pattern: Lace and Cable Socks by Wendy Johnson, from her fabulous book Socks from the Toe Up
Needles: Size 1.5, Addis
Yarn: Sanguine Gryphon Bugga! in Smaller Yellow Ant



As I said, these were my first ever toe-up socks. I opted for Judy's Magic Cast On, and boy do I love it. So simple! Almost foolproof. Quick to start and creates a gorgeous, comfy toe. Highly recommend.

Other than the cast on, the socks were rather uneventful--the pattern is clear, the yarn was a DREAM to work with (just look at that color!), and I can't report any problems that were not my own stupidity. Such as, I made the feet too long, so the socks are actually a bit big for me.

I finished the first sock and immediately cast on for the second before Second Sock System could take hold. But when I got to what should've been the end of the second sock, I realized I had a lot of yarn left. So I added another pattern repeat. Which means I had to go back to the first sock, rip back and add another pattern repeat there too. It was daunting--I tried that technique where you pick the stiches up first, then rip out (as seen in the third photo here). It wasn't without its errors, but I managed to get all the stitches back on needles and continue on my merry way. I'm quite glad I did, as these socks are the perfect length.

For that tricky cuff bind off--want to make sure it's stretchy!--I tried Jenny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind off. What do you think?

Looks pretty good, huh? A sewn bind off is also quite stretchy, but it doesn't look nearly as good in my opinion. This actually has a bit of an arty flair to it. And it lives up to its name, plenty of stretch.

And now I'm itching to cast on for another pair of toe-up socks! I've wound some Madeline Tosh sock yarn so I can get started, but unfortunately the pattern calling out to me is cuff down. What to do, what to do?

I have a few other projects to show you guys, most importantly my completed Wicked Eyelet Rib Vest that I started forever ago and completed for WIPs-dancing ing Ravelympics. But I'm waiting on buttons, so we'll save that for another post.