Finally – an FO in 2014.  I’ve knitted a ton this year but haven’t been able to concentrate on anything.   So when the desire to finish these socks popped up last weekend I ran with it.

I started these socks back in February so you might need a refresher.

It started out as this yarn.

15 Colour Rainbow by Fab Funky Fibres in her 75% superwash merino, 25% nylon base

I knit the first sock (also in February)

Knit part of the second sock…and there it sat.  For months.  Until last weekend.

The knitting was simple – my standard toe-up on 2.25mm over 66 sts.  At the suggestion of a blog reader I used the Crystal Socklet afterthought heel (LOVE IT!).

The “hardest” part was keeping track of the stripes on sock 1 so I could match them for sock 2.

After finishing the first sock I was disappointed at how short they were.  I’d never knitted an afterthought heel so I wasn’t sure how long to make them.  Had I had more experience I would have made them longer.

And that would have been a mistake.

One of the lessons this sock taught be was just how much yarn I used up matching the stripes.  Fifteen colors sure makes for a lot of waste.  After I finished sock #2 I knew I wouldn’t have had enough to do much more.  Maybe 2 more stripes on the leg but that’s it.  So we’ll chalk that up to dumb luck.

I also worked the heel over more than half the sts – I did 3 more on each side.  While they do fit I don’t think it’s necessary given the extra shaping this heel has – you decrease at different rates as you get closer to the end of the heel and the decreases are done in a 4-point spiral.  No biggie though – it’ll just be that much quicker next time.

But let’s not focus on the things I’d do differently next time.  Because people – I FINISHED A PAIR OF SOCKS.

Just in time for summer.

I’ll catch you on the purl side…

Here’s what I’ve learned:

• Fine-tuning the fit is easier when knitting the sock top-down.  You can easily add a few more rounds on the leg but you can’t do that on the foot.
• The Crystal Socklet heel is awesome!  Its shape is much more anatomically-correct with its 4 point spiral decreases and changing rate of the decreases.  Thank you Rycrafty for the fabulous recommendation.
• If possible, don’t put the waste yarn in a dark stripe.  It was a miracle that I didn’t drop any stitches when picking out the waste yarn.
• Approximating leg length is hard because you can’t try the sock on until you work the heel.  I estimated the leg with another handknit sock but it’s a bit shorter than I’d like – not unwearably short but it could definitely be longer.  Next pair.
• Working with very long color repeats – in my case 15 colors of stripes – creates more waste if you want to match up the heels.  Just something to keep in mind if you’re neurotic like I am.

With all that I learned, I still think my first afterthought heel came out great.  The yarn is doing all the work.  How can you not love 15 Colour Rainbow?
I’m glad to be finding inspiration with self-striping yarns because you may remember all the self-striping yarn I have in my stash.  And no, your eyes don’t deceive you – I forgot to include 15 Colour Rainbow in the pic.

Now to CO for sock #2.  I’m halfway through my first pair for the Rock the Socks KAL.  Yeah!

I’ll catch you on the purl side.

I bought this yarn back in October and thought I’d wind it up and knit on it while at Rhinebeck.  But then I didn’t and so it sat waiting for some inspiration.  I became obsessed with it Friday night and CO a pair – my first pair! – of afterthought heel socks yesterday.

I blame Janet because she posted her plans to start a new sock every month. You guys know any plans that involve casting on more projects is right up my alley.  My sock of the month will be a bit different than Janet’s though.  I’m planning to:

• cast on a new sock project each month
• finish knitting one sock from any of my sock WIPs each month – that’s one sock, not one pair
• treat myself to some new sock yarn after I finish a few pairs.  The “few” is decidedly non-specific.

Since people are all about the socks this year always, I started the Rock the Socks KAL in the My Sister’s Knitter KAL group on Ravelry.  I love seeing other people’s progress and the encouragement they all give.  Plus a bit of peer pressure is always a good thing.  Come on over and join us!

I’m having a blast knitting this sock.  The short color repeats make me want to knit just one more stripe and the yarn is incredibly soft for a 75% merino 25% nylon blend.

As I mentioned I’m doing an afterthought heel on these – I don’t want to interrupt the awesome stripes.  This will be my first afterthought heel though so I did a bunch of reading about how to get a better fit.  A couple things I plan to do:

• Work the heel over 60% of the sts.  My sock is 66 sts I’ll be doing the heel over 39
• Once I pickup the heel sts, work 4 rnds plain before starting the decs

My hope is that these two things will create a deeper heel that’s closer to the way a heel flap fits.  If you have other suggestions please leave a comment – I’d love to hear them.

Oh and I really want the stripes to match so I measured the length of the lavender yarn before casting on.  Sometimes I don’t care if they match but this time I want matchy matchy.

I’ll catch you on the purl side.