Feather and Fan Tofustie Socks, FO

Feather and Fan Tofustie Socks
Originally uploaded by sunasak

I got these fine summery socks finished on Friday afternoon. They worked up really quickly and were easy to do. Even though I don't like the way short-row heels fit, they certainly are easy! The only part of the socks that didn't work out terribly well was the garter stitch top edging, which wants to curl down. I have seen others put different tops on these, but I like the way these look when behaving nicely. I enjoyed how the green sections swirled and the rest of the colors mixed nicely.

Tofutsie definitely looks better knitted up than it does in the ball. Run out and buy some just for the antimicrobial properties of the chitin!

And I enjoy Wendy Johnson's patterns--visit her at Wendy Knits to see what you'd like to try!

Next...

I'm already well into the foot of a sock out of Panda Cotton. WOOO does that yarn feel nice!! I picked a wimpy baby kind of overly pastel colorway, but it will be nice and summery. The socks are called Forget Me Not, and are an anklet style with a nice picot top edge, which I found linked from the Crystal Palace site's collection of socks from their yarns. However, it actually comes from the Fiber Dreams blog, which is most enjoyable in itself There's a typo in the pattern where you are starting the gusset. It says:

Needle 1: S1, K5, place marker, K5.

It should be S1, K4, place marker... because there are only ten stitches there. Otherwise, a dandy pattern with sweet little florets on it (yes, I am telling the author, LOL).

Pie

In other news, a couple of days ago Sheri at the Loopy Ewe posted a blueberry pie recipe. That very day, my pie-crazed 14-yr-old son made us one, and I would like to report it is a delicious pie that is probably good made with other fruits, too. Her learned that it takes a while for a sauce made with cornstarch to start to thicken, but once it starts, it goes quickly ("Moooom, it's not thickening...MomDude, it's getting too thick!" "Well, take it off the heat, son!") Here is a link to a photo of our pie.

Um, do any others of you have children who call you "MomDude"?

Feather and Fan Sock and Surplice Progress

Feather and Fan Sock
Originally uploaded by sunasak

Last night I finished this here sock, which sure knitted up quickly, thanks to the plain foot (haven't knit anything plain in a while). It is in Tofutsie, that trendy soy, wool, cotton and chitin blend. I just HAD to knit up socks with pieces of crab in them! The ball band is all torn up from the puppy getting to it when I first bought the yarn--I guess she smelled seafood (it does NOT stink, honest, but dogs have more sensitive noses).

The pattern is another Wendy Johnson model, a toe-up feather and fan design. Why'd I choose this? I simply LIKE feather and fan. It reminds me of the shawls I am not knitting while I am in a sock phase.

Issues? I think I'd prefer a more narrow end to the toe, so if I do this type of sock again, I might go down to ten or twelve center stitches in the toe. And the heel seems a bit short to me, so next time I do a short-row heel, I might make it a bit deeper, too.

What I like is how the foot (64 sts) does not pool at all, but the leg, which has 72 stitches, has some interesting pooling where the green parts clump up. It's centered on the back of the foot for a long time.

I have to say that the yarn feels GREAT on my feet, light and cool. And I didn't have as much trouble with it splitting as some folks seem to have. Heh, we'll see how I do with Panda Cotton, which is next.

Yep, got ANOTHER order of yarn yesterday from the Loopy Ewe. I will review those tomorrow or later today. Panda Cotton was in there, since so many folks have used it and are commenting. I was impressed with how it feels. Very "powdery" soft.


Surplice Top

I see a lot of hits to this blog from people looking for the surplice top I am working on (supposedly). This is from the Nashua Handknits American Designer Collection, and it is knit in Natural Focus Ecologie Cotton So, I thought I'd share a photo of my progress on it, which is one of the lace bands. I wish I had someone to talk to about this pattern, because I do not like how you are supposed to knit many separate pieces for the front and back, then sew them on. I'd much rather pick up and knit the pieces, to make one piece. Anyone else out there modifying this pattern?

I'm making this in the exact yarn called for in the pattern. I really liked that color best, and everyone at the LYS said it went best with my complexion! Whatever...