I guess I spoke too soon Monday :) We’ve had nothing but snow, ice and rain since then and it’s so ugly out there today, I’m absolutely thrilled to have nowhere to go!

My needles finally arrived from Knitpicks yesterday (YAY!) and I was able to transfer the Manos shawl and finally get a good look at it…

This is a 60” circular and the shawl still can’t quite be stretched out to its full width.  This, in my opinion, is a good thing with respect to the potential width of the piece.  For my taste, bigger is always better :) I have joined the third ball of the Manos (sticking into the frame on the far left) which is a brown/brown-gold/brown-orange colorway.  The second ball was a blue/brown combination and the first was reds ranging from blood to fuchsia.  The fourth ball will be almost a rainbow combination and the last one is similar, though not exactly like the first.

If nothing else, it will be colorful!

I know I have projects on the needles that I should be working on (and am working on) but I find that my attention span has gone a begging.  I can work on anything for a little while but sticking with one thing over a long period of time seems to be beyond me at the moment.  So you will not be surprised when I tell you I succumbed to the lure of the stockinette sock :)

I spent yesterday morning reading about toe-up procedures because I like the idea.  I like knowing that when I start the thing, I can knit until I’m out of yarn and not waste an inch :) I have tried this before but not for a long time.  See, I figure the chance that I’ll finish these any time soon is small. So, if I’m going to do them, I might as well learn something while I’m at it.

I went to Tiptop Toes, Wendy Johnson’s article for Knitty which outline three different techniques for starting a toe-up sock. 

The first two, while undoubtedly good, held a great deal of frustration potential (at least as far as my temperament and talents are concerned!) so I opted for the third - the “easy” method.  And, to my surprise and pleasure, it was indeed, easy :) I did have to start it twice due to a case of fumble fingers, but that wasn’t the fault of the technique.

This is Knitpicks Landscape (discontinued line) merino sock yarn in New England Foliage.  It’s being worked, magic loop style, on a size 1 (2.5 mm), 47” Addi turbo.

Hey Rob!  I did it!  You have only yourself to blame :)

I followed the directions in the article explicitly which stipulate increasing 4 stitches every other round with a knit-plain round between.  This I did and this is what I got…

I don’t have, and don’t know anyone else who has a conical toe - but as funny as it looks, it seems to fit just fine and I imagine things will even out somewhat over the length of the foot.  I’m guessing that once the heel has been turned, the tension on the stitches produced by the foot inside them will maneuver things into a more recognizable shape. 





But I’m really curious.  On a top-down sock, when you get to the toe shaping, you start by decreasing 4 stitches every other round (usually) until you have halved your stitch count.  Then, every round is decreased until the number of stitches is halved again or until you have reached your desired toe depth and width.  At this point the toe is closed.

Okay, say you’re planning a 64 stitch toe-up sock.  Is there a reason I couldn’t start with 16 stitches, increase 4 stitches every round until I have 32 stitches and then increase 4 stitches every other round until I have my 64 stitches?  This would broaden the toe more quickly and give it a more usual shape.  For my 68 stitch sock, I would simply add an additional increase round before moving on to the body of the foot.

I may try this with the mate - or, I may try it separately before I go on too much further.  If it seems to work out reasonably well, perhaps I’ll start over - just so things match :)

And a very happy Valentine’s day to everyone!