With a finished object to start out with, even.
Voila! The Western Gentleman Gotta Do Some Shootin’ Stockings:
Beautiful, aren’t they?
Click on the pictures for a larger version.
They’re as yet unblocked, and I left the ends on the second sock unwoven so everyone could see what an excellent job my cat does of cutting the yarn for me. Right in the middle of the leg! She’s so helpful – and such sharp teeth!
What? You can’t see them? Hmm. Well, I’m going to knit circle tonight, and hopefully will have the use of a digital camera. Until then, you’ll have to believe me – fraternal twins as they may be, they’re quite lovely. Pictures galore! Thank you, Jazlan!
Pattern: Gentleman’s Shooting Stockings from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: Sundara Yarn’s Somewhat Solid superwash sport merino in Grey over Petal.
Yardage: Roughly 400 yards, although application of a scale might tell me otherwise.
Needles: US 2, 2.75 mm Clover Bamboo DPNs, set of 5
Gauge: 26 stitches per 4” over stocking stitch in the round.
Finished dimensions (some of them, anyway): 10.25” from heel to toe, and 11” from top of cuff to bottom of heel flap.
Modifications: Plenty. Aside from adjusting the pattern to fit the yarn I used, I had to take into account my dad’s thin legs and huge feet. So, the ankles are tiny and the feet look like flippers when not worn. There’s a few purl lines in the basic 3x3 ribbing to set the eye up for the patterning (and because I liked it). I changed the decreases down the back of the leg for a more pleasing line. And, of course, there’s a good chance I’ll have to add some thin elastic to the top of the cuffs.
And next time? Hmm. Well, despite the changes I made to the leg decreases, I’m still not entirely satisfied with how the pattern melds. I’d like the disappearing pattern repeats to become a single line of knit stitches that then make their way into the finalized ankle pattern. This shouldn’t be too hard to do, and I look forward to knitting this pattern for myself.
I finished the first sock while in Tucson, and had my dad try it on. Such a perfect fit! Oh the joy! Oh the excitement! And will the next sock be finished before you go home? Well…hmm. The first sock flew merrily along, with a minimum of frogging. The second sock? Apparently it’s knit to a tighter row gauge, since there are more pattern repeats down the instep despite the fact the socks are identical in length. I also completely messed with the gusset and didn’t realize until partway through the toe decreases. I’d already frogged the toe three times (due to complete spaciness on my part), so eh. I grafted the toe and called it a day. As my father is extremely excited for his shootin’ stockings, I’ll send them off just as they are and fix anything that needs fixing when I go back to Arizona in March. Usually I’m more discerning about these things, but – hey! It’s my first pair of socks! And they’re awesome! And Dad is quite anxious to wear them, and he promised to take pictures for my knitter’s brag book blog.
I've got a few (heh) projects on the needles, and more yarn coming from Sundara. Seriously, it's like crack only lovelier. The Shifting Sands scarf (from Grumperina) is just over halfway finished, and I dyed some sock yarn last night with three different sorts of Kool-Aid. And yes - I promise pictures. Later.