Carole Knits

october zinnia
october zinnia
martinis with a view
martinis with a view
gettysburg fence for
gettysburg fence for
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germinate shawl on rocks
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field of flags 2
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color affection with edge
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cedar leaf shawlette 2
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I Made It!

By

Thank you all so much for the comments to our kids moving to Florida. Some of the made me cry and some of them made me laugh but all of them ultimately made me feel better. Truly, hearing from people who have been on both sides of this situation really really helped. I’m still sad but I’m realizing that lots of people deal with this every single day. And I’m thinking web cams for everyone!

Now are you ready for some good news?

I finished my socks for Sock Madness Round 1 yesterday afternoon!

mad_cow_socks1.jpg

Here’s how it happened:

We realized late last week that the radiator in the dining room was leaking so we called the heater guy to set up an appointment. That appointment was for yesterday morning and I figured he’d be here for an hour or so and then I’d go to work. I was excited to have that little extra knitting time and planned to make the most of it. Well, while the radiator problem was an easy fix, it involved a couple of trips to the store to get parts and heater guy wound up not being finished with the repair until almost 1 pm. Since I finish work at 4 pm it didn’t make much sense to go in so late in the day. And that’s how I wound up with finished socks and made it past Round One. Woot!

short_row_heels.jpg

The pattern was very simple and straightforward even if it did involve two different yarns. I knit my first-ever short row heels, too. The first one (on the left) is pretty crappy but the second one turned out better. I modeled them for the photo but they are tight on my size 9.5 feet so these will be gifted to Jessica of the size 7 feet. I must admit that it’s kind of cool to think that I can knit a pair of socks in a 3 day weekend.

mad_cow_socks2.jpg

Now I’m just hoping that there’s a nice break before the start of round 2. I am ready to finish Seraphim!

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Comments

  1. The socks are great! Did you like the short row heels? I’ve done them a couple of times and I’m not a big fan.

  3. That’s pretty good…knitting a pair of socks on three days. I’ve been trying out short row heels for a while now and I think I finally found a short row heel that works for me. I think yours look pretty good for a first try.

  4. The socks look fab. I’ve seen them on a number of blogs and they look great whatever the yarn. I have to admit though, I’ve never done a shortrow heel and everyone seems to have had issues with it so I’m not too keen on trying it. Would you do one of those again? Is it just a matter of practice?

  5. Wow. In three days? You are good. Good luck in round two. What else can you break so that you get extra time?

  6. Woot indeed! I pick up a couple of twisted stitches at the corners and immediately decrease to get rid of them (unless I’m increasing for the pattern).

  7. What is that yarn? I love the color.

    I resisted the whole short row thing until I found a method (from Priscilla Gibson-Robert’s “Simple Socks”) that worked for me. Now I use it all the time … I find it faster than a heel flap, and very comfortable.

  8. You did it, you did it, indeeed you did! Congrats on making it to round 2! Love ths sock yarn…did you say what it was?

  11. I love the colors! I found the only way I could do short-row heels was with stitch markers and NO distractions. Otherwise, I had to rip and rip and rip those suckers.

  12. You go girl, uh-huh!!!

    They look great. Purple IS my favorite color.

    I can’t wait to see how Seraphim turns out.

    Thanks for the inspiration!

  13. This was my first short row heel, too. My first one looks very much like yours; for the second one I read some tips on the Flickr site and it came out better. I don’t think I’m really a fan of the short row heel, though. I like my heel flap! I’m still waiting to confirm that I made it, but I’m pretty sure I did. Congratulations!

  20. Those are soo great, love the colors. Ok, question for you: how do you feel about socks done in plain stockinette? I’m in love with them for basic utilitarian everyday socks. I don’t have a problem with them falling down. Of course, ribbing and fancy stitches have their place in nicer socks. I was just curious about your thoughts on that…

  22. You can get a short-row heel to fit better by knitting a mini heel flap with the short row heel. After you finish the short-rows, pick up sts along the flap and do a little gusset.

  23. Congrats on the speedy socks! They look great! (I really wish my feet were that small… size 7… haven’t been there since I was like 10 years old!)

  24. Fun colorway – it sure does take practice to get some things just right, no matter how much knitting experience we have. My first short row heels were on baby socks so they didn’t get stretched too much but… the holes. heh

  26. Hmm — how ’bout next round, you stay home to wait for me to finish and I’ll stay home and wait for you…? I like the purples, and the holes are easy to take care of, indeed. I’ll have to look up that P.G-R heel, though — I generally do flaps, but I’d love a way to make short row heels work for me (thanks Ruth!) Congrats on finishing!

  27. I’m impressed, socks in 3 days is a pretty great track record. Good job on the short-row heels. The one time I did try them, they turned out terribly, yours look much better.

  29. Beautiful socks! Congrats on finishing the pair so fast. Kind of fun how that worked out for you. May life follow suit.

  31. I’m SO impressed! Not that you finished them in 3 days, but that you finished them in 3 days after going through your emotional rollercoaster. You ROCK!!

    Good luck in round 2 (not that I think you need it)

  35. wowee! look at you go!

    So sorry to hear about the big move- certainly will be an adjustment but strong families can make it through anything. All the more reason to go get some sunshine…

  36. Web cams are good for families far away, as are video sharing sites and lots of pictures. The move will be tough on all of you, but remember that we’re here for support when you need it!

    I love your new socks (the colors are so pretty and springy), and I’m impressed by the speed in which you knit them. You rock!

  37. The socks look great! As for the holes – I pick up a couple of extra stitches when I start knitting in the round again then decrease back down over the next few rows. I usually have little or no hole at the join when I do that :o)

  38. I’m a little worried for you, as you are not listed as having completed your socks on the Sock Madness web site. Did you post a pic of your socks to the Flickr site, and email the URL to the Sock Madness folks? Otherwise, done or not, you may not qualify.

    Hope it’s just a mistake on their part, but thought I would mention it. Good luck!