Longest Socks EVER

They are finally finished!  I actually finished these a bit ago but haven't blogged them yet.  I started the Sodera KAL back in March.  Rebel that I am decided to make them thigh highs.  And they're done!

They got super annoying to work on because they were so long.  I actually had to tie them in a roll so that they were more manageable.

Toe to cuff they measure exactly 36 inches.  That was a lot of knitting!

I used some Sanguine Gryphon for these- from the knee down it's Little Traveler and above it's Eidos.  Village Knitter was out of the colorway in Little Traveler by the time I decided I wanted to go extra high but the Eidos was the same color and weight so I dove right in.

PS Today is post #99!  100th post giveaway coming soon!  You know, after I get around to taking pictures of the prizes :o)

Open Hands Socks

Forever and ever ago, I heard an interview of Barbara Walker by the Knitmore Girls on their podcast and she mentioned that she always worked the bottom of her socks in purl stitches (purls on the right side, knit fabric on the inside of the sock).  I was intrigued and recently decided to try this out.

I used some leftover Stroll from my Geometry Shawl and a simple stitch pattern out of Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Volume Five: Lace Knitting.  And attempted to do what Barbara does...

I really hated knitting these socks.  At first I thought it was because of the needles.  I started on a pair of KnitPicks metal size 0s and the join was terrible.  Absolutely the worst.  But then I switched to my Chiaogoo's and I still hated working on them.

I definitely hated having to do all the purling.  It was no fun.  But I really didn't like the stitch pattern much either.  Now I knew it wasn't the best choice for this yarn, but I just wanted something simple so it wasn't a plain stockinette sock.  But the pattern really wasn't memorize-able and that I think was the real problem for me.

I would definitely try this again.  It really was pretty cushy under my feet.  But I wouldn't do the WHOLE half of the sock in purls.  I'd do at least a couple knits on either end of the needle.

I even did the heel in purl but the gusset in knits.

I'll keep you updated on how they hold up!

Sigh. Oh Dad

These would be my Addi lace size 0 needles.  As in the ones I generally use for all my socks.  After my Dad stepped on them.

Now, I have broken many a circular wood needle by leaving my bed and then stepping on them on my bed. My bed is large and usually in a small room so I tend to stand on it before settling on a spot to sit.  Walking across my bed and stepping on a needle is also not unheard of.

In my current room, there's about 3 square feet of floor space with no furniture on it.  At least if you don't count the pile of dirty laundry and flip flops that occasionally takes up residence there.  It's hard to fit an apartment's worth of furniture into a small bedroom.  I allowed Dad to put an air conditioner in my room but to get to it, yes, you have to walk across my bed.  Usually I'm the only one who turns that one on but Dad was very warm that day and decided he was going to do it since I wasn't home.

And my poor needles suffered because of it.  Of course I had a bunch of stuff on my bed, which has a day job serving as my work space.  Luckily he didn't step on anything breakable though he claimed he stepped on my "cell phone" (really it was my iPod).

I actually tried to knit with my needles like this.  It wasn't working out so well.  They're pretty malleable though so I was able to bend them pretty straight again.

My 100th post is coming up soon, also very close to the blogiversary.  Keep an eye out for a giveaway :o)