Turning the Heel, my way

When I first started knitting socks, I became anxious about the heel.  Most patterns are similar, but not exactly the same.  This required reading and re-reading the pattern, trying to make sense of something I thought quite complicated.  I'm self taught, after all.  That's to say, I had no one by my side, leading me in the right direction.  Thanks to YouTube videos and the various blogs I frequented, socks became one of my favorite things to knit.  My first few pairs were less than wearable, to say the least.

I created a formula for turning the heel, and it has worked out well for nearly every pattern....of course, after the heel, I return to the pattern I'm using to complete the sock.

This formula assumes you have 32 stitches on one of your double point needles.  The other 2 double points should have 16 stitches each.  This can be altered by moving stitches from one needle to another, for the purpose of the heel, and adjusted back again to complete the pattern.

Begin by creating a heel flap:  WS: slip 1, purl across remaining 31 stitches, turn, slip 1, k 1, slip 1, k 1...continue across RS, turn.
Repeat back and forth, purling WS, and slip/knit RS until the desired length. 

The length of the heel flap should be 1 1/2 inches if your heel is small or narrow, 1 3/4 inches, if your heel is average and your instep isn't too high, 2 inches if you have a large or wide heel and/or your instep is higher than average.  The longer the heel flap is, the more room you'll have between the bottom of your foot and the top of your instep....it may take a few socks to find your perfect "heel flap length", but remember, most sock patterns tell you to make the heel flap a certain number of rows, or a certain length, and this will make all the difference in your sock size.....so, my advice is to know what works for you.

The next adjustment can be made for the width of the heel (chubby heels?) or (narrow heels?).  After the heel flap is complete, you should be on the RS of your work, slip 1, knit across to the mid-point of the heel flap (16 stitches, right?) knit 2 more stitches * (for narrow), then proceed as follows:
   RS  ssk, k1, turn
   WS slip 1, purl to mid-point, then purl 2 more stitches,** p2 together, p 1, turn
   RS  slip 1, knit to 1 stitch before the gap (you'll see a space between stitches), ssk, k 1, turn
   WS slip 1, purl to 1 stitch before the gap, purl 2 together, p 1, turn

Continue in this manner, until all the stitches have been worked on the heel flap, and you're ready to pick up stitches along the side of the flap.

*  If you are knitting socks with a larger heel, this can be changed to 3 stitches.  Just remember, you must change the WS to correspond, by purling 3 stitches, prior to **

Lemonade Cake

It was lemony, it was tart, and it was yummy.

"The Moving Finger"

The second in my Agatha Christie sock collection...The Moving Finger.  Appropriate, don't you think?  Needles and fingers clicking away on a new pair of delectable socks is the perfect way to spend the afternoon. 

The Moving Finger is a Miss Marple mystery, and a very good one, worth the read.

I've only just begun, but the fiber is fabulous and the design will be in a spiral design....stay tuned!

Pullover progress

Progress is slow on the bottom-up pullover.....but, the good news is, the yarn is a joy to work.  Not only, is it soft and squishy, but the color is deep and luminous.  It reminds me of those little jewels inside the pomegranate....so juicy and delicious.

Pink Strawberry Jam

This past weekend, I made three pints of strawberry jam....yum

So tempting and delicious.  There is no comparison to store-bought jam. 

I had planned to take you through the whole process, but as the story goes, I kept forgetting to take pictures.  Next time, I promise, and there will definitely be a next time!

Stash Enhancement

Yummy.  Some Dream In Color, Classy, lace weight Malabrigo, and for good luck, a yarn I've never used before, Sweet Georgia!

This Sweet Georgia is so soft and luxurious to the touch.  The color is much better in person, very deep, evenly dispersed, and vibrant.  I can't wait to see what I make with this.  Probably, socks, since I only have one hank, but I'm eager to see how it knits up.

As far as the rest of the stash goes, I haven't really decided, but I'm thinking a vest out of the Dream In Color, Classy. 

Notice?  Not a hint of pink!

Re-thinking Nice Edges

The above photo is of two different sections of a long strip of knitting.  The directions were to knit every row of 12 stitches across, until you had a 49 inch long piece.

Notice the one on the left?  I followed the directions to the letter, knitting every row.  Notice the one on the right?  I slipped the 1st stitch, then knit across on every row.  I like the look and smooth edge of the right photo the best, but you be the judge.

This is a closeup of the knit 12 stitches across edge.

This is a closeup of the slipped 1st stitch, and knit the remainder of the row.  As far as I'm concerned, if you're looking for a smooth edge, and I am, since this will be the bottom of the sweater band, slipping the 1st stitch is the way to go.

There are probably a lot of knitters out there, more experienced than I am, who know this already, and I'm really showing my ignorance,  Oh well, I'm self taught, and I learn everything the hard way. 

When the sweater is complete, the bottom band will be bumpy and smooth.  I didn't pick up on this little clue, until about halfway through.