Leyburn Socks

My first inclination upon finishing these socks was to burn them. They were trouble, every step of the way. And when I put them on to take pictures, the second one was much too tight, probably because I was in such a hurry to finish that I didn't stretch my floats properly. Hopefully it will stretch with wear, or I can just block it.

Pattern: Leyburn Socks by MintyFresh (free Ravelry download)
Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Sock
Needle: Addi Turbo size 0

So I will never make these again as this pattern is from Satan, but they are cute, no? I love the yarn, too. I think Madelinetosh is my new favorite sock yarn. It's expensive so it's not an everyday sock yarn, but if you want to give yourself a lovely gift, it's perfect. This project took me three months, which is a pretty long time, but now it is over and I can move on with my life.

Cursed

Leyburns are the socks of Satan.

Previously I mentioned trouble getting the stitch pattern to come out correctly after the heel. That was fixed easily enough - I just knit 3 extra stitches before starting the round. The first stitch in the pattern needs to line up with the top of the ^ in the previous row, which turned out to be a relatively simple adjustment.

I then slogged my way through the leg of the sock. The stitch pattern is fiddly and cumbersome and not especially pleasant to knit. In part of the stitch pattern, you must slip 5 stitches in a row, and someone on Ravelry mentioned that it went much faster when she began slipping them all at once, rather than one at a time. I, however, couldn't get my needle into all 5 stitches at once. So, it's been slow going for me the whole way.

Then I got to the cuff. The instructions have you end with a sewn bind-off. Easy enough - I've done it many times. The suggestion is to cut the yarn 3 times the length of your bind-off edge, and I cut it to 4 times the length, just to be sure.


Do you see that? It's about 16 more stitches and not nearly enough yarn to bind them off. Hence the reason I believe these socks are cursed. Don't be fooled by their cuteness!

Last Saturday I spent part of my lovely sunny day un-binding-off the socks, and then binding them off tighter in hopes that the yarn would last. Miraculously, I had enough yarn the second time and the cuff is still plenty stretchy.

I almost don't dare to start the second sock. What new problems will befall me?

Leyburn heel and beyond

Last week I mentioned some trouble with the heel of my Leyburn sock. The pattern says to make a short-row heel, but mine always come out with holes in them so I decided to try a toe-up heel flap construction, based on the instructions in Sensational Knitted Socks (which is totally my sock bible!) The odd thing is that the Leyburns are constructed in such a way that you have many more instep stitches than heel stitches, rather than dividing them in half as usual. I wasn't sure how it would come out, but I followed the SKS instructions anyhow - not exactly because my stitch count was different and I needed a larger number of heel flap rows, but it seemed to work out pretty well. I've never made a toe-up heel flap before, and in the middle of this one I learned on Ravelry that there's another more sensible-sounding way to do it, but I stuck with these instructions anyhow. When all was said and done and the heel was formed and the gusset properly decreased, the sock fit AND had the correct number of stitches, which was nothing short of miraculous!


Now, all I have to do is continue on my merry way, knitting the quilted lattice pattern in the round for the rest of the sock.

But.

Let me just say a few things about the Leyburn Sock pattern. It's not exactly a pattern as such; it's more of a stitch pattern with general guidelines about how to make a sock with that stitch pattern. There aren't detailed instructions for the toe or heel (instead it says "make a short row heel" and leaves it at that). More importantly, it doesn't give different instructions for knitting the stitch pattern in the round, which is where my current difficulties lie. (It does have a note about adjustments for row 5 when knitting in the round, but I haven't made it to row 5 yet.)

I suspected that perhaps I shouldn't begin the first round exactly the way the instructions say to, but then I did a little math and it seemed to come out right. But no.


Do you see that little row of upraised arms at the very top? (I know it is hard to see, but trust me.) They should all be shifted to the left or right a few stitches so they form X's with the row below. I have to undo those 4 rows and figure out how to fix them. It's possible I was simply supposed to start the round elsewhere, but I don't actually know. It's a little complicated because the stitch pattern involves slipping 5 stitches at once with the yarn in front to make a float, and you can't just start a round in the middle of that.

I'm a little frustrated with the pattern, but it WAS free so I can't complain. Despite the difficulties I'm having, I love how the sock is coming out and that is the only reason I'm still sticking with it. It's worth it!

Also? I think spring is here.


These will (hopefully) become string beans and pumpkins.

The fig tree is coming out of dormancy too.


Is that enough green for St. Patrick's Day?

One Guac Sock

I'm halfway there! It actually looks much better on, but you don't get to see that until I finish the pair.

I've promised myself that when I finish both the Guacomole Socks AND the Leyburn Socks I can take my gift certificate to Windsor Button and buy another skein of sock yarn. But no more until then.

That seemed easy enough, until I got to the heel on my Leyburn. But more about that in another post. In the meantime I'm forging ahead on my second Guacamole. I can't wait to wear them!

Vacation

I don't have a lot of on-topic news to post, though I promise a book review is forthcoming. I've been on vacation this week (and before you ask, no it is not a "staycation" as I refuse to acknowledge that as a word.) My knitting has mostly involved a lot of ripping out and reknitting, as well as a couple of days of standing in Windsor Button staring despondently at my calculator, as I try to understand why dk weight yarns - especially those containing alpaca - are so damn expensive.

But, I have finished and blocked the back of my Marseilles pullover, and started on the front.


After the aforementioned futile quests for dk weight alpaca yarn, I placated myself with some Madelinetosh and started what is sure to be the cutest sock in the world.


I love both the purpley berry yarn and the Leyburn Sock pattern. They were made for each other.

This week I've been eating very healthy meals, such as the Layered Salad from Mark Bittman's Food Matters. (Have I mentioned that I am a little bit in love with Mark Bittman?)


I've also spent way too much time managing interspecies relations.


Poor Clarence. He has never quite understood why we brought home this strange long-eared eggplant-shaped animal. Nor have I, come to think of it.

I have even managed to do a bit of socializing with actual human beings, though I haven't found the time to watch Pride & Prejudice, which was originally the most important part of my vacation plan. It has turned out pretty nice and relaxing for the most part though. I could very happily never go back to work.