Crazy Veil of Leaves socks

It all started innocently enough. I was at a somewhat Local Yarn Store (LYS) and I noticed a new sock book. It wasn't just any new sock book though, it was the magical New Pathways for Sock Knitters Book 1 by Cat Bordhi. Wow. Let me tell you, the book will catch the eye of any sock knitter. I flipped through it a few times but kept putting it back down because I thought I didn't need another sock knitting book. But, there were interesting patterns and new ways of sock knitting included that I ended up getting it. The first pattern to catch my eye was Veil of Leaves. I don't know why, but that's the one that did it for me. I wanted to make them so much that I ended up just casting on for them in December of 2007.

I finished the first sock in record time. It was interesting. The heel damn near killed me, but I just kept going and got it done. I put on my new sock and felt... well... okay with it. It just didn't look as good on my foot as it did in the book. Not only didn't it look as good, I don't think it fit very well overall either. I was disappointed in it, and not sure what to do. I thought I should try wearing it a few times before making a final decision. So, I did and it never really ended up being a favorite. The short row heel wasn't as comfortable as a heel flap for me and they end up slouching a bit around the ankle after I wear it for a while. I put the project aside for a bit to clear my head. Then, I took out the magical book and did all the math properly. I decided to change a few things here and there to customize the fit. Hell yeah, I was ready to get down to that second sock now!

But, alas, the second sock isn't perfect either. :( I did fewer wraps, increased my wing stitches, decreased the total number of stitches after the heel, and started the toe a little later than in the first. That should basically make the world's most perfect sock for me. But, it's still just not quite right. I really dislike the short row heel, even after trying to modify it. It doesn't fit my foot very well. I'm a heel flap girl I guess. So I finished this challenging and new pattern only to find that I'm not as over the moon as I thought I would be. Oh well. I will continue to wear them and I will likely tackle other patterns in the book. But, I've got to figure out a way to make the heel more comfortable on my foot. I'm going to have to read through all of the information again and see what I can come up with. In the meantime, here's a pic of the socks for your viewing pleasure! :)

Dishcloth Central

Well, I'm not sure why, but Januaray became my month for knitting dishcloths. It all started when I accidentally stumbled across this Illinois Dishcloth pattern. I thought it would be a fun gift to make for some friends of mine. So, I charted the pattern out and got to work. It went so fast, it was practically instant gratification! I made 2 of them back to back so that I could send one to Tawah and one to Alicia. But, Alicia was born and currently resides in Pennsylvania. So when I saw there was a pattern for a Pennsylvania dishcloth on the same site, I made one of those to send to Alicia as well. I must admit, the Pennsylvania dishcloth was a bit boring to knit, especially compared to the Illinois one, but it went so fast that it didn't really matter. Overall, I love them and I hope my friends will love them too. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I only needed 1 ball of yarn to make all 3 items. The yarn I used was on sale at Jo-Anne's one day for under $2, if I remember correctly. What a great way to stretch a dollar! I was able to get hours of entertainment, plus a useful household item, for very little investment. Awesome! :)

Patterns: KnittingKnonsense.com
Yarn: Lily's Sugar'n Cream cotton yarn
Needles: Size 7