Sock Madness

This round there were some beautiful results. Some of you used the special dye technique and created gorgeous socks. Other knitters used colorful yarns to start and that was also cool. What was surprising to me was that even those socks that have not yet been dyed look fabulous. Ther is a grace to this pattern that came through in all of the socks we saw.

As I went through the pictures that were posted, the one thing I noticed is that there were very few creative shots this round.  Were you all just so taken with the socks that you let them speak for themselves? Did dyeing them take up all of your creative energy? Just joking.  The socks are all gorgeous and now it’s time to find out which was your favorite.  Let us know.
Shady, shadier, shadiest… which do you think is the best?
( surveys)
Voting will close May 14th at 6pm.

1.WollMeise Shady
2. Autumn Sock Tree
3.Simply Shady
4.Shades of Blue
5.Pretty Shady
6.Something Yellow
7.Something’s Shady and Colorful
8.Shady Madness
9.Lime Shady
10.Shady with Contrast

Here’s the sock for round 6. Let me start by saying that I’m not a cuffed sock person. At all. I love these socks though because of the details and the meticulous way that this pattern is written which made it such a joy to knit.

This toe up sock starts out simple with a rib but the thoughtful little details start just after the heel where the rib starts gradually. Nifty. Of course the true beauty is the cuff which is knit right on to the sock and works out so perfectly that after the last stitches are grafted you’ll be left with a perfect sock that needs nothing more than to have the ends woven in (or not).

I didn’t block these at all but I’m curious to see what they would look like if I did. If that lace cuff opened up a bit I’m sure it would be fantastic.  My only real advice to you all as you start this sock is to take the time to read the instructions and take advantage of all of the resources Deborah has collected for you. She even provided videos!
And now, a few words from Deborah, the designer of the sock for round 6.

Greetings, Sock Madness competitors and spectators!  Deborah “Mt. Mom” Swift here.
 
This pattern had its roots in last year’s competition.  I began with a basic toe-up sock,using wide-ish 3×1 ribs to stretch but look more elegantly smooth than 2×2.  The cuff idea came from Sock Madness 2007 round 3, “Painted Madness” by Tricia Weatherston (to get that pattern, e-mail Tricia at  twistedtreasures@verizon.net , or her LYS, Mountain Knits and Pearls, at  twistedtreasures@verizon.net — addresses current as of April 2007.).  That sock had a turn-down cuff which began with sideways garter stitch “points”.  (Any of y’all remember the beads I added to it last year?) I ended up being knocked out in that round, but those socks were my favorite of the competition.  I’m wearing them now, as I write!  In the post-round musings on Flickr, CelticMemory Jo waxed poetic about making boot socks with a lace flounce spilling out over the tops, and that image stuck with me.  That’s not exactly where I ended up, but it’s where I began.  Instead of starting with the cuff first, as Tricia did, I added it on last as if the sock were a lace shawl needing a non-binding edge.  After all, socks need to stretch at the top too!
 
I have loaded videos onto YouTube demonstrating several of the trickier steps in the pattern.  Links are below. 
 
You have the pattern, you have the technology — now get knitting!!!
 
Short Row Heel with YOs:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ttSoJoa4nU  (starting & turning)
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZCtOPmi204  (middle, more turning)
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjwvMu2TN3A  (completing)
 
Crochet Provisional Cast-On
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqWfea8oOH8
 
Godmother’s Socks:  Starting the Lace Cuff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKUQrnSOj9Q
 
Godmother’s Socks:  Finishing the Lace Cuff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxEec2W6UcI

It is so nice to hear such an enthusiastic response to the announcement about SM3.  I hope that means that all those people who had ideas floating around for SM3 socks are gonna put them in writing.  The date and time of round 6 isn’t all that I left out of the post yesterday.  We have a new team member for SM3 - Carrie (Pacalaga) will be helping with the test-knitting.  We know that, as a former player, she has the perspective and she’ll know what we’re looking for in a SM3 pattern. 

Our hope is to eliminate the last minute panic and get the patterns well in advance this year.  That way we can focus on test knitting and making sure that the patterns are all perfect.  We can also take the devilish teaser shots and make sure that the line up for next year is awesome.  Most importantly, we’ll know well in advance that we have enough patterns.  We’ll post more about what we’re looking for in potential patterns soon. 

As many of you have speculated, the next round, being the semi final, will have just one advancing player in each division.  I’m setting the release window between 7 and 10AM.  I will try to get it to you as early as possible.

Let the flogging commence (preferably with nothing more lethal than a wet noodle). I deserve it. I nearly forgot to post the Round 6 specs today. Perhaps it was the fiber fumes. The incredible amount of touring. The wine. I don’t know but here I am with a small peace offering. I have the specs for you AND a little something extra.

The next sock will be the sock formerly known as “E” and it requires:
Yarn: 340 yards fingering weight - Some Assembly Required “Wool Socks for Summer” in Tonal Apricot / Socks That Rock in Cobalt Bloom

Needles: US Size 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Gauge: 8.5 st /in

You’ll also need about 12″ of smooth scrap yarn in fingering weight and a crochet hook of an appropriate size (2-2.5mm) for a provisional cast on.  Those of you who, like me, use the magic loop, may also want to have a few dpns on hand. (same size as your circ)

Oh, and y’all are in luck.  Carole and I have been having so much fun we decided that there will indeed be a SM3.  I hope that this little tibit redeems me for my tardinees a bit.

Here is your pattern for the optional round.  The name of this pattern is Woven Cable Eyelt Socks but I think of them as Under the Porch because they remind me of the lattice found sheathing a porch on a country house.

It’s different from earlier rounds for a few reasons but mostly because it’s been highly modified since it was first submitted. Originally, it was written for dk weight yarn and larger needles.  I knit the test sock (seen here in red) and it just didn’t work for me.  The holes opened up too much and looked like they were straining, the heel was too snug and tricky to get on and… a DK yarn over US 5 needles would make these wayyyy too fast a knit for Sock Madness.

I loved the idea of a cabled sock and I really wanted it to work after all of the effort it took for the designer to get it submitted to us.  You just have no idea how many emails we got.  They came from home and from Kinkos etc. It came in pieces and different file sizes. 

After getting the designer’s ok, I started to modify this pattern for fingering weight yarn and changed ALL the numbers.  Since the pattern is mirrored on these socks that was a super tedious task but the resulting socks work much better. The cables are finer and more plentiful in this new version of the sock.   The eyelets look more delicate and the sock appears a bit more refined and less as if my foot may burst out of it.  Most importantly, the heel is easier to get on although I’d still watch the gauge around the heel.

The cables concerned me a little though.  For me, these socks are perfect with Crocs or for walking around the house.  In a shoe, I’m not sure how the cables would feel so we weren’t comfortable making these a required pattern.  With this in mind - the optional round was born.

Feel free to play with this pattern as you please.  In this round only, speed is not an issue so you may add, delete, amend and adjust as you wish.  The only requirement is that the cable pattern appear on the sock around the leg.  It doesn’t have to remain an anklet and the pattern need not run up the whole leg.

The designer chose to use a “princess foot” because the knit side of the fabric is more comfortable for some sensitive feet but you don’t have to.

This round is for any player who wants to give it a go.  It is NOT limited to the remaining twelve players whio are still in the competition.  We’d love to see what you come up with.

Because of the way this pattern developed (I didn’t complete the number revisions until last night) we have no designer bio for this round.  Hello Technoknitter!

Despite all of the pattern 5 controversy, 12 brave knitters perservered and the round is complete. 

The voting for your favorite Slippin’ Stripin’ Socks also ended yeaterday and it’s a TIE!  Check that out.  you all have spoken and Slip of the Cat and Slippery Stripe-y Sock Slide each got 34% of the vote although they were one vote apart.  Thankfully we have enough prizes for both and for MKSmiles who was the first finisher in round 3 as well as round 2.  Whew!

To those of you who are still working on your Something’s Shady or Hippy Ripply Retro Socks, you still have a bit of time to let your creative juices flow.  We’ll try to post the Something’s Shady poll on Monday but we’d love it if you could post them by Thursday night.  It would be such fun if Carole and I could look at them together for a change since she’s going to be visiting this weekend. We’ll be going to Maryland Sheep & Wool this Saturday with Felicia.  If you see us I’ll probably be the one who looks like she’d like to run and hide.

Since we have big plans this weekend and we hope that you do too, we’ll be releasing the optional pattern on Thursday so that we won’t have to be constantly posting updates and those who want to can take a break.  For those of you who are up for it, the optional pattern specs are:

400 yards fingering weight – Cherry Tree Hill Supersock US size 2 (3.0 mm) No gauge info at this moment but I’ll post it as soon as I can.

The deal is this - take your time, knit, don’t knit - whatever you’d like.  Next Thursday we’ll choose 2 or 3 finished pairs of these socks at random and award prizes.  Simple!

Then, next Friday we’ll release pattern 6 and I’m sure that you’ll love it.  Really!  It’s fab!  I’d plan on seeing  the specs for that one on Monday. 

This pair of socks was a Sock Madness first for me - the first test sock to become a pair.  Can you believe that?  I guess it was because my daughter laid claim to them as soon as she saw them on the needles.   I actually finished then a while ago and, as you can see - they’ve been around.  Here they are enjoying the sand and surf in Virginia Beach.  They’ve also been to a Girl Scout cookie sale where my daughter showed them off to everyone she saw.

The yarn I used was Dancing Leaf Farm Sock Hop in a color called Carnival.  Normally I wouldn’t go for a yarn like this but the colors were gorgeous and sucked me in.  It’s a wildly colored yarn and this pattern broke it up in such a way that it became even more interesting.  If there’s a lesson to be learned it’s that we should all take chances every now and again.

The pattern itself isn’t terribly difficult and we thought that it would be a nice change of pace.  It’s not always about difficult - sometimes it’s about the flow.  This is a toe up sock and it does use the Japanese short row heel.  Try it - you might like it.  In my socks I found that this method produced some of the nicest heels I’ve ever made.  Pefection!  Is it worth the fiddliness of using all those safety pins?  You be the judge.

Here are a few words from this round’s designer, Helen Darmara:

Hello Fellow Sock Knitters!
Like many of you, I love knitting socks. Partly it’s because my socks change size and shape less than the rest of me, partly it’s because I used to live in Houston, Texas where the only knitting I wanted to do or wear were socks. It’s so hot there that when people want a fire in the fireplace, they turn the air conditioning up!
Anyway, now I live on the coast of Maine and need the socks to keep my feet warm, so that’s what I do, I knit socks. I knit the occasional sweater, but that’s partly to use up the stash so I can buy new sock yarn.
I finally built up a stock of plain, quick to knit, no nonsense socks for the winter and decided to try something new. I had some Knit Picks Felici yarn, in a colorway that reminded me of my high school bed cover. The bed cover had big gold, orange and brown flowers, rather muted, but amazingly, exactly matched by the Felicia, with its very hippy retro shades of brown, orange, red and gold.
I wanted to design a pattern to break up the stripes. I’ve used slip stitch texture patterns before with painted yarns and liked the effect. This time, I used a slip stitch and lace combination that in the striped version reminds me of children’s jackets from the 50s with patterned fronts and plain knit collars. So, I named the pattern Hippy Ripply Retro Socks. I prefer a slip stitch or peasant heel when I knit with a striped yarn; it gives that nifty chevron at the heel. I confuse myself with the yarn over short rows, my picked up wraps are really out of scale, so I tried the Japanese short row technique. I hope you like the result.

Have fun!

I just love the way that sounds - Slippin’ Stripin’ Fantastic.  It fits too because many of the socks from this round were just wonderful.  I found myself waiting excitedly for the next pair of these sock to pop up on flickr. It was such fun to see how the colors combined.

Here is the link to the voting which will close at 6pm on Monday (my time). One vote per customer please! Which of these Slippin’ Stripin’ socks do you feel are fantastic?
( surveys)

1. Slip of the Cat
2. Sox in the City I may never win prizes for speed, though I knit as fast as I can… …I’ll never be seen on a thrill ride, or get snapped with a famous man…  …I just need to use what I have to create my official entry… …So please look kindly and vote For my “sox and the city!”
3.Slip into a Beer
4. Banana Who?
5. Slippin’ Stripin’ Socks in mountains of Crete
6. Knit Until Done
7. Slippin’ Right Off the Cone!
8. Slippery Stripe-y Sock Slide
9. Socks and Gloves
10. WANTED: The Slippin’ Stripin’ Gang

In the interest of being able to start a round on a weekend for a change, we’re giving you all the specs for round 5 on the same day that round 4 was complete.  We’ve got a few other updates for you too.

It was always our intent to allow a bit more time for those not on the fast track to complete their socks and stage them creatively.  That got lost a bit in all of the SM2 frenzy.   In an effort to get that back on track and foment creativity we are stretching out the time for submitting creative entries.  For round 4 you have until 8pm on May 1 to post your pictures and let us all know about them.  We hope that gives all of you interested in using the dyeing technique the time to try it out.

The voting for round 3 will be posted on Friday so if you still have pictures to post – have at it.  Yes, the deadline passed but a few of you mentioned ideas that you didn’t have time to execute and we want to see them.

The Round 5 Specs

The next sock was listed as sock F on the supply list.  The designer used KP Felici yarn and I used Dancing Leaf Sock Hop.  The Sock Hop yarn comes in skeins with about 373yds and I had plenty of it left over.

The gauge is 8 st/12 rows per inch using US 1 (2.25mm) needles.  You’ll also need 20 safety pins per sock – yup, this is your Japanese short row heel.

Expect to see this pattern between about 7 and 10am on Sunday.

ETA - The magic number this round is 3.  Three knitters from each division will get thru.

Like all the patterns so far, this one has been discussed a great deal. You all have speculated about the afterthought heel and the dyeing technique and which teaser shot it’s going to be and so on and so on. All will be answered in this post and you should have the pattern in your email inbox by now, too.

How about some photos?

This is the photo from our designer, Corey LaFlamme and it shows both the undyed and dyed sock.

And these two photos are from the test knit. The yarn for this is Claudia’s Handpaint and it was not dyed.

Corey is a graphic artist, quilter and knitter living in Lewiston, Maine, with her novelist/reporter husband, two cats, one mouse and several dust bunnies. When she finally finds the time, there will be something to see on her website at coreydina.com

Corey says:

Now get out and there get knitting!