The Madness, Part IV

Like every year around March since 2007 Sock Madness is once again driving knitters into a competitive frenzy, trying to finish the next pair of socks to get one round further ahead. The system is simple: The signed up knitters get divided into groups, receive a new pattern and start knitting. Those who finish first go on into the next round. Of course, each round the number that advances gets smaller until in the end the winners from each group compete against each other. The years before this had taken place on the Sock Madness Blog, this year it's done exclusively through Ravelry.

I entered the first time for Sock Madness II and got to round five before giving up on the pair I was knitting (and frogging and reknitting and frogging and reknitting), last year I didn't have enough time around March/April/May since I was starting my thesis, but this year I can finally participate again! We're now in round 3 and I thought I'd do a little blog update before the new pattern is released some time tonight.

Round 1 – Simple Side to Side Socks by Deborah Swift, aka Mt. Mom

After the pattern already came out on March 9th or 10th, I only cast on on March 13th for this pair (we will not talk about the attempt made on the 12th in some yarn that really is much better off being turned into something else) and finished two days later. These are knit sideways with the foot and leg being knit in the flat, leaving a hole for the heel. After grafting the 80 (!) stitches together, you have to pick up the heel, toe and cuff stitches and knit those separately in the round. The finish to the cuffs is a tubular bind off. So, lots of kitchenering on these socks, but the result is well worth it. 
  
I had knit sideways socks before, mostly reinterpreting a Opal pattern to actually fit human feet, but there the heel and cuff were included in the flat knitting and only the toes added afterwards. Even though that is much less work, it also makes for a less stretchy cuff and a somewhat shallow heel. Knitting all three parts separately creates a comfortable sock (or so my Mum says, since I gave these to her) with a very unique look. 

Sock Specs: Name: Simple Side to Side Socks Designer: Deborah Swift, aka Mt. Mom Yarn: Regia Wellen Color in 07555 Needles: 2.5mm Yardage: about 354 yards Size: European size 39 (80st cast on)

Round 2 – Cool Beans by Heatherly Walker

My first completed pair of stranded socks! The knitting was surprisingly simple on this, mostly because I finally found the right way to hold the yarn in stranded knitting. I knit Continental and will probably never get the hang of the English style, so holding the strands in two different hands is right out. It just creates fabric with one yarn at the right tension and one waaaay too loose. I also tried holding both yarns on the left hand, but on different fingers, which just led to cramps, and holding both yarns over the same finger at the same time, which led to tangles. But I finally found something that worked well for me: the Clover Yarn Guide. I had tried using a knitting thimble before, but since that is closed at the top, I always had problems with my longer fingernails and it never sat properly on my finger. But this yarn guide is open at the top and flexible in the width, so I can put it on my finger right where I need it. The material doesn't catch the yarn and it's simple to keep the two strands apart, especially since I ended up winding them over different fingers. A very enjoyable knit and I finished them in two days, making me second or third in my group (which was the fastest last round).

What I especially enjoyed in this pattern were the attention to all the little details.

Sock Specs:
Name: Cool Beans 
Designer: Heatherly Walker
Yarn: Das Strickjulchen handpainted sock yarn in Holunder (elderberry) and Plymouth Sockotta in 367 
Needles: 3mm
Yardage: 202 yards of the Strickjulchen and 195 of the Sockotta 
Size: European size 41 (6 reps for leg, 7 for foot) 

Round 3 – ???

As I mentioned above round three knitting starts tonight (CET between 8pm and 2am) and all we have so far is a teaser picture of a somewhat lacey ribbed part of the socks and list of materials. The socks need a solid or semi-solid light yarn to make the pattern show up, so I'm a bit hard up for choices. Most of my yarn is handpainted and darkish, but I think the ones below are a definite possibility. Knowing myself, however, I will most likely completely change my mind once the pattern is released.

Top cake is Noro Kureyon Sock in S150, which is the one I'd like to use since it's been in my stash the longest of the four. Below that is Malabrigo Sock in Indiecita and to the right my pretty new stash additions from Tausendschön (their standard sock yarn in Valentin 2010 and Rostrottöne).

I'm really looking forward to this round since there is a slight rule change in that we don't have to adhere to the sizing in the pattern quite so strictly and can knit a bigger size if we want to. Definitely a plus for somebody like me, who always needs to add a few stitches in order to get fitting socks.

Socks, Socks, Everywhere

It feels like I just finished the last pair for Sock Madness and now the new pattern specs are already up and the next round is due to start on Monday. I'm so getting kicked out this round. :) We'll get the pattern between noon and 6pm my time on Monday, so even if I switch all the studying I had planned for that day to Sunday (which is usually my study free day), I still won't get that far. Maybe the first sock if I'm quick and the pattern arrives towards the beginning of that time frame. But then on Tuesday I have 8 hours of classes. I *might* possibly be able to knit during 4 of those, but that still won't be as streamlined as knitting at home. Not to mention that only 6 people from each division get into the next round.

Still, I'm looking forward to the pattern, because consensus appears to be that the next pattern is this one. Lace! I love knitting lace socks, so this'll be great even if I don't make it. The choice is to overdye the finished sock, so the yarn suggestion is for some light yarn. Since I know that I won't be dyeing the sock I can't decide what yarn to use.


I had planned to use my Claudia's Handpainted (the red/black one), since that is the one the pattern suggests, but now that I've seen the teaser of the pattern, I'm thinking it might be too dark to show the pattern.

So, I pulled out two lighter yarns (I really don't have a lot of light colours), Tausendschön Sockenwolle (yellow/white/black) and Thank Ewe's Sock Yarn (pink/blue). They are a bit thinner than the Claudia's, so I'm not sure if they'd work. I'm gonna have to actually swatch for socks.

Speaking of Sock Madness, I still haven't show off my socks from the last round.


They are knit in Malabrigo Lace, Purple Mystery and Verde Esperanza, with two strands held together and one of the colours of the strands switched every couple of rows. They are incredibly soft and warm. I'm actually thinking of knitting the pattern again, only as wrist warmers. But first I have to be allowed to buy yarn again.

I also finished half of another pair of socks in Noro Kureyon Sock yarn and with the cuff pattern from Nancy Bush's Gentlemen Socks with Lozenge Pattern.


Even though I didn’t like the green that much at first, now that it’s blocked and blended into the other colours, I quite like it. The yarn really did soften up with washing and I’d now put at at about the same softness as Regia, Opal, etc. The differences in thickness give the sock a nice rustic look, which works really well with the pattern imo. I used just about half a yard more than the colour repeat is, so the second sock will be slightly off, but I don’t have enough yarn to start at the start of the next repeat. And around the foot it’ll become slightly uneven anyway since there was a knot with the wrong colour attached. I think the purple just after the heel is slightly longer than it is supposed to be.

Small Things

I haven't been feeling like knitting lately. The Reversai took quite a bit out of me and all my other projects were either long term (Log Cabin Blanket), not that interesting (Stockinette Socks) or needed some kind of special attention, mostly in the form of ripping back (My So-Called Scarf and Estonian Socks). So I started off with a couple of small things to get the knitting juices flowing again. :)


In this case really, really small. Those are four socks made out of 10gr of fingering weight yarn (Tinsel Toes from The Unique Sheep, yummy!). It's a 50/50 Merino/tencel blend and I'm very happy with it. It has slight sheen, espcially after washing and knits up beautifully. If I wasn't on a yarn diet (and didn't have to buy text books this month), I'd be out buying more right now.

The yarn came along with a pattern (which I modified a bit, since my gauge is smaller) and a keychain sock blocker.

I plan on making quite a few of them for Christmas decoration with left-over sock yarn. But, since one of the rounds of Sock Madness uses left-over sock yarn I'm going to have to wait knitting those until I know which colourways I'll need for that.

Speaking of Sock Madness, the new pattern is going to be released very early tomorrow morning (my time) and I'm all ready to go. Still need to do some studying and cleaning today, but then I only have a class and meeting on Friday and otherwise can spend Friday and Saturday knitting.

This round's socks are knit in lace weight and I got one skein each of Malabrigo Lace Purple Mystery and Verde Esperanza. I'm looking forward to (and a bit afraid of) seeing how this'll work out.