The world seems absolutely stuffed full of Doctor Who fans. And, Who related knitting patterns abound. You can knit a scarf from just about every season of Doctor Who. (Did you know there are 26 original seasons, six series, a seventh series in the works, and countless specials and movies? Wow!) You can knit a Tardis ornament for your tree, or a Tardis teapot cover. There are dalek toy patterns, and dalek washcloths. Heck, you can even knit Tardises (Tardii?) for your feet.

Tardis Socks

The pattern is Tardis Socks Tribute by Ellen Botilda, and it is available for free from Ravelry. I knit them from Berocco Comfort sock in colourways 1763 Navy Blue, 1734 Liquorice, and 1702 Pearl. To make sure that the colourwork would actually fit over someone’s heel, I knit the upper part of the leg with the sock inside-out. The little white sign was added at the end, using duplicate stitch.

Unfortunately, I am not a Doctor Who fan. As a child I was traumatized. Anyone about my age who lived in Ontario as a child can tell you all about how TVO put Doctor Who on right after Polka Dot Door, and how frightening the music was. Terrible!

Anyway, these socks will be on their way to their new home later today, and I already have another pair of socks on the needles:

Plain 'ole socks

A pair of plain, top-down socks knit from Crystal Palace Maizy in colourway Earth. And, believe it or not, these aren’t for me either. I swear, this is my last commissioned project for this year!

Tardis Socks is a post from Reflections in the Pond

A week gone?! Actually, this past week has gone by every slowly for me. Sadly, little Mr. C has been waking up in the middle of the night every night since Christmas. I don’t know if it is bad dreams, growing pains, or what, but it is really wearing me down. Unlike my husband, when I wake up it takes me a very long time to fall back asleep, so most days I’ve been like a sleep zombie, barely holding it together until bed time. And this, as we all know, isn’t very conducive to crafting.

I do have a few knitting projects on the needles though, since knitting is easier than needlework when one is sleeping walking through the days.

Narnia Shawl by Lily Go

My lovely Narnia Shawl by Lily Go is coming along nicely. Although, when I tried to knit it last night, I made mistake after mistake. I’m using Classic Elite’s Classic Silk in colour Old Lilac, and it looks just perfect. (It’s even better because my husband bought the yarn for me, of his own free will, as a surprise!)

I’ve also knit one sock of a pair:

Tardis Socks Tribute by Ellen Botilda

Dr. Who fans will recognize these. I’m knitting these as a commissioned project (sorry guys, I’m not a Dr. Who fan). The yarn is Berroco Comfort Sock, and the pattern is Tardis Socks Tribute. (I will be duplicate stitching on the little sign later.)

And my first finish of the year is an afghan square:

Never Ending Love Afghan Block

The pattern is Never Ending Love by Aurora S. I added an extra row of double crochet to make it 12″ (I crochet very tightly). It is made from Bernat Satin in colourway Flamingo. And, sadly, I made it as part of a comfort shawl for a lovely lady I know who’s mother passed away right at the start of the year.

I’m also working on a wrap kit from Mary Maxim that is just plain stocking stitch squares. Surprising, this is the project that I’m having the most trouble with. I think the suggested gauge in the pattern is wrong. (It says 17 stitches for 4 inches using US10 needles, when the suggested gauge on the band is 18 stitches for 4 inches using US8. So, if I wanted the flowing fabric in the finished model, like one would get using US10 needles, I think the gauge would be closer to 14 stitches for 4 inches. And that is what I am going with. The fabric is so much nicer and more suitable for a wrap!)

So, that’s the state of my projects right now. Soon I’ll be adding some more sewing projects. I’m just waiting for some fabric to arrive. The project I’m most excited about is the Craftsy Block of the Month class. It teaches twenty beginner quilt blocks, assembly and basic machine quilting all for free. Check it out here.

Knitting WIPs is a post from Reflections in the Pond

Sometimes things just aren’t meant to be. Unfortunately for me, it looks like some yarn I really love isn’t meant to be a pair of socks.

You may remember that back in September, I tried to work on a pair of socks while I was away for a short holiday in Las Vegas. They didn’t work out too well…

6x2 Rib Socks

Yuck! They didn’t stripe at all like they were supposed to!

So, I ripped them out, and started from the toe up, using no particular pattern. Things went pretty well…

Purple Striped Sock

…until I got to the heel. I’ve tried four different times to come up with a nice heel for these socks. But I gave up after my last attempt when I ended up with this:

Pointy Heel!!

Who’s heel is shaped like that?!

So, I ripped the sock out. The yarn has returned to my stash, to sit for goodness knows how long and think about what it did wrong.

Cursed Socks is a post from Reflections in the Pond

Knitting black socks isn’t really all that fun. The stitches are difficult to see in anything but bright light, and, well, black can be a little bit boring. And when you are knitting men’s socks, all that black can seem like it is going on forever.

Right now I’m working on Hot Stuff! Socks from Wendy D. Johnson’s book Toe-Up Socks for Every Body using Berroco Comfort Sock in colour Black. I picked the largest size, even though my husband has very narrow feet (sock sizes are generally done by foot and leg circumference, since the length is easily adjustable). I knit tightly, so I figured there wouldn’t be a problem. I could use a small needle size and it would work out great.

Hot Stuff Socks (WIP)

I’m sure you can guess what has happened. After turning the heel, and before beginning the colourwork, I asked my husband to try the sock on to see how it feels and to make sure it was long enough. The length was great, but the sock is just a bit too loose.

Now I need to decide if I press forward and hope that the sock will still be comfortable for him to wear, or do I rip out all that work on a black sock and start again using directions for the next size down. If I was using cotton yarn, I would just leave it, since I know that it will shrink a bit, but Berroco Comfort is acrylic and micro-fibre, so it isn’t going to change size at all.

Right now the socks are in a time out. If I am going to rip them out, I need to distance myself from all the work I’ve put into them for just a little while.

Also, if you haven’t had a chance, please vote in my 2012 Monthly Project poll, which you can find in the right hand sidebar (if you are reading through a reader, you will need to actually head over to my blog). So far, Halloween ornaments have a very narrow lead over small Teresa Wentzler projects.

Black Socks is a post from Reflections in the Pond

I’m sure you are all pretty aware that I love to knit socks. I find them to be relatively quick projects that are portable and easy to work on when I have the little man sitting on my lap. I also love how they give me the chance to try lace, or colour-work, or something new and interesting on a small scale.

There are lots of great sock designers out there today. Off the top of my head I can think of Wendy Johnson, Cookie A., Lucy Neatby and Cat Bordhi, along with a multitude of others. The last, Cat Bordhi, is one of those crazy minds that comes up with simple ideas that make a big difference. Her new book, Cat Bordhi’s Sweet Tomato Heel, is all about one of those new ideas: an easy to execute sock heel using short rows and no wraps. (I see the eyes of the cross stitchers out there just glazing over. Bear with me, okay?)

The book features nine sock patterns as well as directions for the new heel she has dubbed the Sweet Tomato Heel (STH). (This is a digital book, that is updated about once a month. So far four of the sock patterns and the two heel variations have been released.) And, since I love to try new techniques in my socks, I made a variation of the Minnesota Moonlight sock (Rav link to the pattern).

Close-up of the Sweet Tomato Heels

I used On Your Toes Bamboo in colourway Tropical Dusk. And, instead of doing the lace pattern all the way around the leg, I chose to do just one repeat of the pattern centred on the top of the foot just where the foot and leg meet.

Variation on Minnesota Moonlight by Cat Bordhi

The heel was very easy to do. It is worked in wedges, with the depth of the heel being checked against the foot. This allows for a very customized fit. And, I was able to achieve a well fitting sock on my narrow feet that have high arches. (Although, I have rarely made a sock that doesn’t fit. But perhaps this is because I am very careful to check the fit in all my socks as I am knitting them.)

The only thing I don’t like about this heel is the fact that it requires 2/3 of the sock stitches. Most socks heels only need 1/2, which leaves the other 1/2 on the top of the foot for a fancy pattern. A STH sock can only use 1/3 of the stitches for a pattern until after the heel is turned. So, while it will be easy to use the STH for socks designed for it (e.g. socks that  only use 1/3 of the stitches for a pattern along the top of the foot) or for plain socks, it will be all but impossible to, say, add a STH to a Cookie A. sock or any other design that uses 1/2 of the foot stitches for a pattern.

If you want to learn more about this interesting new heel technique, check out this video by Cat:

Overall, I would recommend this book. It is priced at US$20 for nine sock patterns, and given that most sock patterns sell at US$6, you are getting a bargain. It is well written, with great diagrams and pictures, and several free YouTube tutorial videos. Cat has also started a group on Ravelry to provide support, and she is very quick to answer questions. And, best of all, even if you’ve tried socks before and found turning the heel difficult, you will have no problem at all with this method. And who doesn’t want to make themselves some lovely handknit socks?

Cat Bordhi’s STH and My Sock (A Mini Review) is a post from Reflections in the Pond

So, I mentioned yesterday that I managed to finish two pairs of socks in June. But, I only got around to sharing pictures of one pair. Here, my friends, is the second pair:

Portland Gussets Socks

They are The Portland Gussets Socks by Yarnissima, and the pattern is available from Three Irish Girls. The yarn is Panda Cotton (big surprise), in colourway Vanilla Cream.

The Portland Gussets Socks

These are toe up socks with a bit of a different construction: the gussets are one the top of the foot. The socks mirror each other, so not only were they interesting to knit, but they were also a but more exciting than your usual pair where both socks are the same.

Now, I generally prefer to knit my socks from the top down because I have run into problems in the past with getting toe up socks on and off. It can be difficult to bind off the top so that it is stretchy enough to make it over the heel. I’ve been using Elizabeth Zimmermann’s sewn bind off, and have found it to be a wee bit to tight. This time I tried Judy’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off, and it is perfect. The cuff goes from this:

Unstretched Bind Off

To this:

Streeeetttccchhheeeddd

Yeah, I think I will be able to get that over my heel no problem.

Stretchy Portland is a post from Reflections in the Pond

I really do do more than stitch smalls and knit socks. Right now I’m on a bit of a shawl kick.

Moor Shawl (WIP)

First, I’m knitting the Moor Shawl by Jen Hansen (Raverly link) using some lovely silver silk yarn from Shall We Knit. It is actually made from silk that is sourced from the leftovers of a luxury goods manufacturing process. Ravelry lists it as light fingering, but I’m thinking it is a bit heavier weight then that. And I have to say that I love it, and I love the colour. It is so me!

Crocheted Lace Triangular Shawl - wip (two flowers complete)

The second shawl, which isn’t very me, is the Crocheted Lace Triangular Shawl by Sirdar Spinning (another Raverly link). I actually ordered the pattern from the UK because I felt this huge urge to make this shawl. I have no idea why, since I tend to look terrible in green, but I’m on my way and I hope it will look great on me (or someone I know) when it is finally done. The yarn I’m using is Sirdar Duet, in the same colour as the model. How unusual for me!

Felicity Shawl - wip (nearly three blocks complete)

And the last shawl is Felicity by Christie Pruitt (a Knit Picks link this time, although it is also available on Ravelry). This is a really neat shawl, using a knitting technique called entrelac (which I’ve done before), but in crochet. I’m using Mary Maxim Bamboo Soft Stripes yarn in colourway Deep Blue Sea, and it is turning out so drappy and soft. I love it!

And I’m sure you all are wondering what happened to my obsession with knitting socks. (Yeah, right!) Well, never fear, there are more socks on the horizon.

Portland Gussets Socks - wip

A Flurry of Shawls is a post from Reflections in the Pond

Socks, socks, socks. Sometimes it seems all I ever knit is socks.

Blueberry Bubbles by Thayer Preece

These are from the pattern Blueberry Bubbles by Thayer Preece. The yarn is a hand-dyed from a company called Yarn Hollow (link to etsy shop). She calls this yarn Summer Love, but the base is Panda Cotton, one of my favourite non-wooly sock yarns. The colour is, not surprisingly, called butterscotch.

Blueberry Bubbles (both cables)

These socks were a fairly quick knit. The pattern was a bit vague is some places, but overall I was able to follow it without any problems. I just wish that it had had separate charts for the left and right leg. The chart worked perfectly for the left leg, but I had to mentally add a stitch at the end of the right leg (less confusing than it sounds, especially once the pattern was established). It also would have been nice if the four row bubble cable and the travelling stitches were more mathematically compatible (by that I mean, I would have liked to know I was on row 4 of the cable every time I hit, say, row 16 of the travelling stitches chart).

Blueberry Bubbles - cables close-up

Would I knit this pattern again? Absolutely, especially since these socks aren’t for me. Next time they will be for me, and I’ll probably be using this lovely yarn:

Dye-Version Bamboo Stretch Sock (sky colourway)

Effervescent Butterscotch is a post from Reflections in the Pond

I really enjoy knitting socks, as I’m sure you’ve figured out. And I do enjoy knitting socks for other people. However, it never really occurred to me that I might not enjoy knitting socks for other people in a yarn colour that I don’t like.

Summer Sox Socks, Cookie A

The pattern is Cookie A.’s Summer Sox Socks, a freebie from Classic Elite. The yarn is hand-dyed by Yarn Hollow, and the base is Panda Cotton. The picture doesn’t even come close to capturing just how bright these socks are. If you think a bright, sunny, almost-neon yellow, you will just about have it.

I am happy with how the socks came out in the end, even if the yarn nearly gave me a headache. But, I’ve decided to take a little bit of a break from knitting so I can do some stitching. Hopefully I’ll have a finish to share in a day or two.

Yellow!! Socks is a post from Reflections in the Pond

I’ve been knitting socks again. Surprise!

Herimone's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder

The pattern is Herimone’s Everyday Socks from Erica Lueder of Dreams in Fiber. The pattern is avaliable for free through Ravelry or through Erica’s website here. The yarn is Bernat Sox in colour Wooded Denim, a nylon/acrylic blend, which knit up quite nicely. These socks are now on their way to a lovely lady in Austin, Texas.

And, since I think the world might end if I don’t have a pair of socks on the needles, I’ve cast on my next pair:

Cookie A's Summer Sox Socks by Cookie A

The pattern for these socks is Cookie A’s Summer Sox Socks by Cookie A, a free pattern avaliable for Classic Elite. (This appears to be the same as her Kelp pattern, which is for sale for $6 from Webs.) The yarn is a hand-dyed from Yarn Hollow, and appears to be very, very simlilar to my all-time favourite sock yarn, Panda Cotton. These are yet another pair for the lady in Sarnia.

So, there are socks on the needles and all is right in the world.

Earth Socks and Sun Socks is a post from Reflections in the Pond