SailingKnitter

Generic Baby Socks
Here's my simple (really!) little pattern for knitting up baby socks. Of course, I add patternwork occasionally, but the self-patterning yarn does so much - who needs more???

Materials: sock or fingering yarn
US size 0 or 1 double point needles
US size 2 needle (straight, doublepoint, or circ) just used for cast on.

On the Size 2 needle, Cast on 36 stitches. (This larger needle keeps the cast on loose so that it won't squeeze chubby baby legs).
Slip, as if to purl, 12 stitches onto a size 0 or 1 doublepoint, then slip 12 more onto another size 0 or 1 double point. You will have 12 stitches on each needle.
Join, being careful not to twist the cast on.

Begin working a 2 x 2 ribbing (Knit 2, Purl 2) every round. Replace the larger size 2 needle with a size 0 or 1 doublepoint at the first opportunity.

Now, you have a choice; you can keep ribbing the leg/cuff, or you can rib for only 1/2 inch and then just plain knit. Either way, work until leg/cuff is about 2 inches long from the cast on edge.

Divide for heel flap: Knit 12 stitches on the next needle, Knit 6 stitches of the next needle. Stop.
Slip, as if to purl, the last 6 stitches back to the first needle that has the 12 knit stitches. You will have 18 stitches and this is your heel flap. (Ignore the other two needles. I like to slip stitches around on these 2 ignored needles have 9 stitches each on them.)

Now you will work back and forth on these 18 stitches. Turn work. The inside (wrong) side of the work should be facing you.
Slip, as if to purl, the first stitch, then purl the remaining 17 stitches. Turn work.
Next row; Slip as if to purl the first stitch, then knit 17.

Continue these 2 rows until you have knit 18 rows.

Shape heel cup:
Next row (right side); Knit 9, SSK, Knit 1. Stop. Turn your work.
Slip 1 as if to purl, Purl 1, Purl 2 together, Purl 1. Stop. Turn.
Next row: Slip 1, Knit 2, SSK, Knit 1. Stop. Turn.
Next row: Slip 1, Purl 3, Purl 2 together, Purl 1. Stop Turn.
Next row: Slip 1, Knit 4, SSK, Knit 1. Stop Turn.
Next row: Slip 1, Purl 5, Purl 2 together, Purl 1. Stop Turn.
Next row: Slip 1, Knit 6, SSK, Knit 1. Stop Turn.
Next row: Slip 1, Purl 7, Purl 2 together, Purl 1. Stop Turn.

You should now have 10 stitches on your needle.

Gusset: Return to knitting in the round.
Knit across the 10 stitches of the heel flap.
Pick up and knit 9 stitches along the flap edge. You will now have 19 stitches on this needle.
Knit across the 9 stitches of the next needle, without using the free needle, continue to work across the next 9 stitches of the next needle. You will now have 18 stitches on this one needle.
Using 2 free needles, and starting at the top where your yarn is, pick up and knit 9 stitches along the other flap edge. Continue to use this same needle and knit the first 5 stitches of the heel flap. Now you will have 14 stitches on this needle, and 14 stitches on the first heel flap/edge pickup needle. You are set at the point (bottom of the foot) that will always be your beginning/ending point for each round.

Okay - now just knit 1 round.
Next...
Round 1:DECREASES: Knit 11, K2tog, Knit 1. Next needle just knit. Next needle; Knit 1, SSK, Knit 11.
Round 2: just knit plain all around.
Repeat these two rounds 4 more times (knitting until you have 3 left on the first needle then decreasing, and then doing the SSK decrease on the 3rd needle after knitting the first stitch)- you should have 9 stitches on the first needle, 18 stitches (unchanged) on the 2nd needle, and 9 stitches on the 3rd needle.

Foot - just continue knitting around until the foot measures about 3 inches from the back of the heel.

SHAPE TOE:
Next round: Decrease Round: On the first needle, knit until you have 3 stitches remaining, then K2tog, K1.
Next needle: K1, SSK, Knit until you have 3 stitches remaining, then K2tog, K1.
Next needle: K1, SSK, Knit to end.
Next round: Plain knit all around
Next round: Plain knit all around
Next round: Decrease round (see above)
Next round: Plain knit all around
Next round: Decrease round
Next round: Plain knit all around
Next round: Decrease round
Continue all next rounds as decrease rounds until you have only 2 stitches on the first needle, 4 stitches on the next needle, and 2 stitches on the last needle.

Knit the 2 stitches of the first needle. Slip these 2 stitches back to the other 2 stitches.
You will now have only 2 needles with 4 stitches each. Line these two needles up parallel to each other and graft (kitchner) the remaining stitches. Got Sock!

Another pair of baby socks for the "Longest Line" (see link at left). I tried something different with these on the cuff. I purled the solid blue stitches after knitting a complete round. In other words, when I get to the solid blue yarn, I knit around until I come back to the solid blue again, then I start purling. This makes raised ridges, or rings, of the solid color.

I knit the first round because otherwise you will get the gray/white yarn on the purl bumps. Then when I get back to the gray/white dotted yarn, I simply return to the knit stitch. I finished these cuties on my lunch walk today (Okay, I finished all but the toe tip and I snuck in that knitting & grafting at my desk).

FLAK Update: Yes, I'm making slow progress down the first sleeve of the Aran knit from the top down sweater. I actually am enjoying working on it. But it is not portable like the baby socks so it only gets worked on in the evenings at home.

HOUSE Update: Still haven't sold the house. Still in limbo. Still working at a "real" job. We've had plenty of folks looking at it - but it has been lousy weather - raining/storming/hailing whatever you can imagine. So not normal for March here in the Sacramento area. Please buy the house soon - I really really really don't want to do yard work!!!!

Here are the baby socks I knit with the "Flamingo" Pink yarn that I overdyed with Kool-Aid (see below). Not too bad when they're knit up, eh??

Imagine a whole day spent at an artsy fabric store, sewing silk pieces together, wrapping wire coils, and adding whimsy beads...now you know how I spent last Sunday.

Seeing as I had to "get lost" while my agent held an Open House at my house, I signed up for a class at JR Flamingo's in Sacramento. http://www.jrflamingo.com/

We cut out domino-sized pieces of silk and other beautiful fabics, some in triangles too, and sewed them together in layers in a randomish fashion.

Next we made cool art wire coils, added beads, and strung the whole thing together. Just a very cool piece of artsy-fartsy jewelry to wear at my next artsy-fartsy event.
FLAK Update: Crawling down the first sleeve - actually pretty mindless knitting. I'm decreasing on the top of the sleeve for a more anatomically correct fit (or so I hear).
Longest Line Baby Socks Found some BRIGHT pink 100% wool fingering yarn in my stash. Too bright (a la 1960's) so I Kool-Aid dyed it last night - check this out....



The camera colors are a bit wierd - but then the actual colors are wierd too!!! I've got a deep purple, a rusty orange and then the (original)bright dayglow pink. This will really wake up anyone looking at the finished socks.

I can't wait to get started - these are going to be __________ (fill in your own words here) socks.

This is the "Springtime Favorite" afghan, and...












This is the "Riot of Color" afghan - in my shady backyard before I sent it off for the book.

Here's a great pic of my 2 sons and 2 of my nephews. On the far right is my older son - (past sock model on this blog), then second from the right is my younger son - another past sock model and the next recipient of "warmy socks".

On the far left, is a nephew from my younger sister, and then second from the left is a nephew from my older sister. Such a great group of guys!

This was taken down in Joshua Tree National Monument near Palm Springs when we drove down there for my mother's memorial service. You can see a "Joshua Tree" in the background between my nephews. Anyway, the guys (with my husband) had a great time exploring the rock formations of the desert, hiking around, and just generally burning off some energy.


Well, finally the book is out! I test knit 2 of the afghans in this book over a year ago. The book is "Heirloom Afghans to Knit & Crochet" by Jean Leinhauser & Rita Weiss.
Hooray! This is the first time one of my test knitting projects has been published!!!! My name is in the front of the book in tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny print, but it is there.

I knit the green cable "Spring...." afghan and the garter stitch patchwork quilted-look afghan. I don't have the book here with me (at work) right now so I can't state the official afghan names. Anyway, I saw this book on Amazon yesterday and rushed down to a LYS to see if my projects were in it. Yes! So I bought it right away. There's a nice knit lace afghan in the book that I think I'll try sometime when I have the time. Right now I've got enough projects.

FLAK Update: I picked up the stitches for the first sleeve, knit a couple of inches and realized that I had too many stitches. The sleeve was flaring - and I REALLY don't think puffed sleeves would be attractive on an aran sweater....SO to the frog pond I went. It's amazing how fast you can rip out knitting!!

Longest Line of Baby Socks Update: Finished one more pair of socks and a single. These are just so portable and provide instant gratification. Well, not so instant as I'm not one of those "flying fingers" knitters.

More Knitting Committments: The Gansey Yahoo! group is starting "Grace's Cardigan" by Beth Rinsel-Brown and I've been waiting to knit this. A gansey and an aran at the same time? Of course!!! What fun. Also, I got requests for socks from one of my sisters and a niece so those are under development. And the list keeps growing.... Isn't life wonderful???

So...here are my 5 pairs of baby socks to donate to the "Longest Line of Baby Socks" event coming up in Germany. Click on the button on my sidebar for more information. I knit these little guys during the long drives that I endured this past weekend. Check out the close-ups:





THE GROUP











Gray with burgandy checks










Unidentified self-patterning sock yarn with 2x2 ribbed cuffs












Another bunch of left-over self-patterning yarn. Picot top edge and 2x2 rib at ankle













The way cool original OPAL tiger stripe yarn #105. This is leftover from the pair of tiger socks that I knit for my teenaged niece Kelley who, yes, wears them.














And finally, a simple lemon yellow pair with a touch of open work at the top.











Of course if I was busy knitting these that means that I didn't work on anything else. Not a stitch on my FLAK or shawl project. But that's OK. The good thing about yarn is that it "keeps". It doesn't go bad or stale and stink.