I am now looking for in my stash for some yarn to make my first cable toe-ups. I am going to use the cable toe-up pattern in the sidebar. I will probably use Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino and use them as bed socks.
I am now looking for in my stash for some yarn to make my first cable toe-ups. I am going to use the cable toe-up pattern in the sidebar. I will probably use Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino and use them as bed socks.
Kudos to everyone on their perseverance! All the photos look great!
I've been enjoying seeing all of your pictures and how your first toe ups are going!
The Yarn
Love, love, love the yarn. Will have to see if I can find more Ruthie's Yarn. From the band it seems somewhat local (Mass) but cannot find on the internet. Thank you again, B.
The Toe
After multiple frogs, to the point of worrying about if the yarn was going to take it any longer I've finally settled on the crochet cast on for my Wyvern socks. I am very happy with how it looks on and off the foot. The socks are moving along pretty quickly now that I am past the infernal toe. Already into my 2nd repeat.
xoxo,
Ellie
deceptivelypackaged.typepad.com
I am so proud!They turned out way better than I though they would.I just couldn't fathom how you could knit a heel and not have to pick up stitches.But it works!I used Wiseneedles toe ups pattern with a spiral rib for the leg.They are knit in sweetgeorgiaSpeed Demon sock yarn.The colorway is called River.I love this yarn!If you have tried it yet-get some.It is a but pricey but well worth it!
I am glad I stuck with a fairly simple design for my first pair.I think it made the process easier for me anyway.This is the first of many toe ups to come!
I dedicded that maybe my first toe-up should be basic. So I grabbed some self-striping yarn from the stash, found a basic toe-up pattern from elann.com and cast on. Very soon I had acheieved this...
I am really liking the simplcity and love the colours of this yarn. I am hoping that this will be the ONE that becomes my first (completed) toe-up.
What have I learnt - well two different cast ons for starters, plus if at first you don't suceed, give up!
I will be making the Wyvern socks as soon as I can figure out why I knit soooo much more tightly in the round than flat. So up another size needle and casting on again tonight. I will post pictures soon. I wanted to show some progress but I just need to show off the yarn ball, so dragonesque. Just perfect.
More pictures on my blog:
slowly knitting
~Saffron :o)
I know, I know, not the most exciting of pictures but I just could not take a picture of me wearing my socks without making my feet look like Stumpy McStumpertons! This is Koigu KPPPM that just want to sing the praises of. Really, really lurvs it! This is also my first toe ups. Having only done 3 pairs of socks, I think I prefer the top down but will definitely go toe up again if only to do the cast on. Also you can stop knitting the socks whenever you feel like it! Tiennie
I'm actually fairly new to the sock world of knitting so the opportunity of joining this group and diving into toe up. I have been quite surprised that they fit like they were made for me. Oh yeah I forgot I am making them! dah. All kidding aside.
I think my toe looks good and like I said the fit is great. Everything is going well even though I did take the easy way out on the Widdershins and am knitting them in the Plain Sock (stockinette) pattern.
Next I will be heading into foreign territory called the "gusset" and "turn heel" land. I hope all goes well on this journey. I will keep you posted as to how this goes.
Oh, I forgot to tell you one of the most important things about my socks and that is the yarn. I just love it.....don't you? The color is Hannah by Yarn Pirate I have so many colors of hers. I always say enough, but then I see a new one or one color that I haven't seen before and I must have it. Bad, bad, bad girl....it make me feel so good, good, good!
I love all the beautiful socks that others have shared on this site. It's just so much fun to do this with others.
Keep knitting.
Patty
Stitches In Pink (Patty's blog)
I had issues with it, but they were soon resolved when Laura came to the rescue. There is a tiny hole when I re-joined the stitches to knit the leg, but Dani gave me some advice and hopefully the 2nd one will turn out much better.
BTW - Laura @ cosmicpluto posted some great instructions/photos of successfully knitting a short row heel without holes. Go check it out!
Cheers.
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
For those of you contemplating short-row heels you might like to check out this new short-row tutorial, complete with lots of photos: http://www.cosmicpluto.com/blog/?p=585
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
My toe-ups, indeed all my knitting, are currently in a holding pattern due to a nasty cold.
Happy knitting!
OH, and this is my very first time using a real knitting chart...Once I got it figured out...I am knitting away!
Everyone's are looking so good!! Keep it up! Yikes, in a day or so, my first short row heel!! Wonder if I'll want to avoid them too! :)
Here is my second toe-up start--Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Mountain Tango. It is yummy soft in a mohair/wool/nylon blend. The legs of both socks will be a simple ribbed pattern.
My apologies for not posting. RL has a way of getting in the way. But I have been knitting will post progress photos.
I do have a question... does anyone have any advice for tightening up the cast on for the figure-eight toe?
In the meantime, take a look at the yarn I'm working with. I love it!
slowly knitting
Have a good rest of the week! :)
~Saffron
Isn't it pretty?? I am so excited!I too found it hard to believe that I did not have to pick up stitches on the heel.I too had a big huge hole on either side but didn't know how to fix it so I went back and darned it when I was finished binding off.I think I am gonna like this toe up thing.Off to cast on the second sock!
xoxo
Ellie
What's this?? These don't look like Toe-Ups!
Remember these: Rip-it, rip-it, rip-it, rip-it, rip-it ...................they went to the frog pond!
Everything went along smoothly for me until I got to the heel on the Widdershins pattern and I really, really, really didn't like knitting it. I didn't like how it fit on my heel either!
Since I am a self-taught knitter, I am NOT QUITTING! I'm going to try another pattern, probably the one in Charlene Schurch's Sensational Socks.
BTW, I am very proud of those who have persevered. We can do this!
I am now knitting another pair of socks - this time using Wendy's toe-up pattern (which I am familiar with) & everything went like a breeze - just plain on the feet & basket weave rib pattern on the leg - here's the 1st sock .....
Can't wait to finish these socks since the weather has definitely turned to wet, rainy fall in Seattle. Hope all your toes are getting toasty too! Tiennie
I sent my first one to the frog pond.I had a real issue with not having tightened up the toe enough.I thought I can go back later and darn it up.But I thought forget it!So a frogging I went.Yesterday I got some incredibly gorgeous yarn from sweetgeorgia. I couldn't wait to cast on so I tried again and this time got it right!I figured out its like tightening up a shoe lace to get to all come together.So here it is!The colorway is called River and the pics do absolutely no justice to the color.It is gorgeous!Well off to knit some more!
xoxo
Ellie
http://deceptivelypackaged.typepad.com/
Why? Well, I like to knit a pair of socks "together". So, in this case I've cast on and knitted the foot of the first sock and now it's ready for the gusset, so it's waiting on the other sock to catch up. Then (when I had a block of free time) I cast on the second sock... actually I should say I "attempted" to cast on the second sock. I frogged it a couple of times, and thought I finally had it right... until I noticed a couple of "holes" *sigh*
As a result, they're currently in "time out" and I've cast on another pair of "top down" socks and I'm knitting on those until I have another block of free time and can try the cast on again. Instead of casting on with a black section of the yarn, as I've been doing, I'm going to move along a bit to a grey section. That's got to be easier to see what I'm doing ;-)
OzKnitter
http://ozknitter.blogspot.com (win TimTams)
I have finally settled on Wyvern because my feet are pretty much small chunky retangles and most socks especially store bought don't fit. I am looking forward to see how the ribbed bottoms work for me.
Good news is that I started Ryne's socks and they are going to be cool! (Cuff down in Regia Mini Ringel Blue 5219)
It has been a busy weekend and I don't have much knitting to show for myself! It is fun reading what others are doing, though ;)
Cary ~ writing from Serenity Farms
Thanks to the sidebar, I have finally managed to get a toe-up on the needles!
The pattern I'm using is from Yarn magazine Winter 2006, and unfortunately the instructions leave a lot to the imagination! (as well as having a few errors, so if you're thinking of using it, be a little cautious)
It took 4 attempts, then my first successful go, I frogged it after realising I'd cast on for one size too big.
Still, as I knit along, it's fascinating to see the mosaic pattern developing!
I bought Queen Kahuna's book almost a year ago but could not do the cast on after several tries. This time it clicked. The book is extremely detailed and redundant, but if you can sift out the actual directions, they are quite good. I've noticed that I am not the only one who has had trouble conquering the toe-up cast on, but eventually it works. I'm looking forward to finishing these socks during this KAL and maybe starting another toe-up pair with some hand-dyed yarn that has limited yardage.
I'm really glad to be a part of this. It's really encouraging seeing everyone's progress.
And, for those of you who have not joined, I encourage you to jump in the ring!
As part of Socktoberfest I'm learning how to do toe up socks and Magic Loop. The pattern I'm using is here. So far I've figured out the Magic Cast-On from Knitty and I'm happily magiclooping along the foot. And it only took 2 tries. I'm looking at the heel as being the high point on the rollercoaster. I don't like rollercoasters. I'm going to go work on the not so scary part right now. Happy knitting!
Anastasia Socks with All Things Heather Sportweight Superwash Merino in Golden Pear. So soft! Hopefully posting more progress in a few days! Good luck everyone! :)
Here's my first toe-up sock. I'm using the Widdershins pattern from Knitty and the cast-on the pattern links to.
I think I'm doing pretty well. I've only frogged once, and that was just the cast-on and a couple of rows. I have a little under an inch of the foot left to knit, so once I've done that bit I'll cast on the second sock and knit the foot.
Yarn: Patons Patonyle #4310 (4ply/fingering weight sock yarn)
~ chosen because I know it machine washes beautifully and because I knew it would withstand the frogging I thought I'd be doing
Needles: 2.25mm bamboo DPNs x 4
OzKnitter
http://ozknitter.blogspot.com
Ann :) www.1morerow.blogspot.com
xoxo
Ellie
http://deceptivelypackaged.typepad.com
My blog is http://jenknitter.blogspot.com
BTW, I am really loving this new method........anyone with me on that? I used to dread that last final stretch of doing the toe on toe-downs. Now, I have it all over with!
On an administrative note - if any of you have links to patterns or other helps that I can put in the sidebar, please let me know. Also, if your name is not listed under participants and you know you accepted the invitation to join the site, please let me know. I have more names than blogsites so if your name is missing it is probably because I don't know your blogsite.
Several people have asked if we will continue the blog after Socktoberfest and the answer is an emphatic YES. As long as we have an indication that you guys want to continue we will keep the blog up. I know Lolly is hoping we do.
Have a happy toe-up-ing kind of day!
SOCKS FOR MUM
I'm looking forward to tracking everyone's progress and getting support for mine along the way!
http://www.purlwise.com/2004
- - - - - - - - - -
I've posted this with her permission.
It's worsted weight yarn using size 6 dpns. This really was intended to be a practice sock but since it fits, I find myself wanting to make another.
See more pictures on my blog...
ttfn!
~Saffron
http://saffron47.bravepages.com/blogger/knit/
xoxo
Ellie
http://deceptivelypackaged.typepad.com/
Hello everyone,
I just joined this KAL today, which was coincidentally 24 hours after starting my first toe-up socks (on 2 circs for the first time). I am certainly enjoying being able to slide the sock on without battling with double points.
No pattern planned yet. I'll probably just choose something simple from Sensational Knitted Socks this time around.
Have fun everyone! Here's a picture of my Halloween-themed socks.
I am going to use Windershins as the basis and include something from my Sensational Socks book for inspiration - since I almost never fool a pattern exactly.
I haven't decided which yarn to use yet, either the Magic Stripes that has been used before or Regia (rainbowy) or Texas (denimy) - all of them tucked away somewhere in my stash.
I won't be casting on until later this week, gotta finish 2 pieces of a belated baby shower gift first.
Good morning fellow Toe-Uppers!
I will be attempting to knit Widdershins with the Socks That Rock yarn that my One Skein Pal gave me. I say "attempting" because last night I tried the magic cast on and got totally confused. Of course, my first attempt was when I was very exhausted after a long day and several subsequent nights of little sleep. I'll try again when I'm rested and fresh. Meanwhile, here is a picture of my lovely skein of yarn being divided into two balls.
Socks for Mum
http://socks-for-mum.blogspot.com
Hurray, something new learned!!!
I'm going to look at it again in the light of day and slip it over my toes to see if I like it as well as my usual toe-up cast on. I'm also not entirely happy with the yarn I am using. Its one of those things where you know you are taking a chance with colors on the monitor, but this is looking a bit like pea soup with some brown thrown in ;( Not exactly a winner...sigh. And in one my favorites...Socks That Rock yarn. But I have been surprised before, so will keep working to see what develops. If I get a chance I will get a picture today.
Cary at Serenity Farms
Wish me luck!