While I was working away on the new knee-high socks...I got distracted by the ecru and navy wool that was just sitting there...taunting me... Yooo-hoooo!
I went ahead and cast on 120 stitches for a top-down Egyptian sock...but doing a bit of cruising on my favorite blogs revealed that there are other crazed SCAers who are recreating these socks. One was on display in the Sock Museum at the recent Sock Summit in Portland, OR which Heide kindly photographed for me. I recently joined the Historic Knit list which started discussing the Sock Summit, and decided to post a question about the sock pattern, if anyone had a copy that I could compare my first attempt with theirs. Not surprisingly, I received a couple of responses, including from the maker of the sock on display, and the author of the pattern she used!
My pattern that I created based on looking at the extant piece was very close to the pattern from Ellen Perlman that I was referred to. However, while my first attempt was a top-down, this was a toe-up sock, which I had never tried before. She recommended using Judy's Magic Cast On method for toe-up socks, which was taught at Sock Summit, and the directions can be found on www.knitty.com, so I had to try that! I followed the directions and after a few attempts, got it to look like the photos. Success! So today I learned how to start a toe-up sock, as well as a new cast-on method, as well as trying a two-color sock, as well as trying to recreate the Egyptian socks. It's been a day of firsts!
So how are the socks coming, you ask? So far, so good! They're a little bit big, but because they're wool, I may be able to shrink them if necessary. Maybe size 3 needles would have worked better? Or four repeats instead of five? We'll see when they get closer to being done...now I just have a toe-cozy.
Elewys
Wish you lived closer so we could have a knit along session. Those are knitted up on a decent sized needle so they should zoom right along. Did the maker of the pair who recreated the pattern show the insides, etc.? I'm curious how the yarn is wrapped or carried throughout. I didn't want to actually touch any of the socks on display or else I would have looked.
ReplyDeleteToday is Amanda's funeral. Amber is going, but I think I'll stay home with Autumn and Ashley. They aren't ready for grief on this scale yet. I have doubts that Amber is, but we talked about it and she wants to be there for Elisha. Besides, Ashley is starting new medication today. She was officially diagnosed with Aspbergers. I'm hoping that with new meds, the social classes and getting her glasses that this year will be better (if not more chaotic at the beginning) for her. We don't meet with the school to set up an IEP until September 16th... I insist on an IEP, not a 504 plan. Sorry, rambling on at 2:44am.