Amazing Lace: First Pit Stop

On Saturday, Minty and her teammate rounded the corner and approached the mat, where Phil was standing by along with a local (Ben Franklin? Some other colonial person?) waiting to welcome them in.

Amazing Lace Socks #1 are done

Welcome to the first Pit Stop.

sock yarn“Phil! I can’t believe how quickly this leg of the race went. It’s all thanks to Minty’s single-mindedness. She just would not put these socks down!”

haircut!“It was so fun to work on them; my teammate really came through. I love the color, and though the yarn didn’t feel all that luscious on my finger as I was knitting, the end result is really quite nice.”

phil“Minty, do you want to tell us a little about this leg of the Lace?”

haircut“Of course! Here are the details:

Elm Leaf Socks (Zokni Socks)
Pattern: My own down-and-dirty pattern, involving picking a stitch pattern, writing it out as a chart, and doing a short-row heel and simple decreased toe. I will try to write it up for anyone who’s interested in the next few days. Anyone know how to post a pdf to a blogger blog? Is it possible?
Yarn: Knit Picks’s Essential sock yarn in green
Needles: Addi Turbo US 1s
Method: Magic Loop
Size: Women’s 5 1/2
Gift for: My oldest friend, who recently expressed a desire for a pair of knitted socks. They aren’t technically a surprise, though she hasn’t seen the pattern. I did call her in the middle of the first sock to get her to measure her foot. When compared with the measurements given in Sensational Knitted Socks, she was a dead-on 5 1/2. The question is whether I executed that correctly.
Started: Saturday, June 3
Finished: Saturday, June 10
Notes: I had a lot of fun working up this pattern, from figuring out the chart to actually executing it. Funnily enough, despite my familiarity with the pattern, I never got to the point where I could read my knitting—I could never remember if the yo was before or after the k1 toward the “stem” on rows 1 and 7. Once I’d done one repeat, I could do the others, but for every row, I had to glance at the pattern. Here’s the pattern slightly opened up (on my hand; not the best representation):

Elm leaf lace socks

Randomly, I should add that kitchenering was a breeze. I have always been able to execute a kitchener stitch effectively, but I approached the process with trepidation. This time I just did it, and it went smoothly, so I think I’m no longer intimidated by kitchener. And there was no second sock syndrome!

Now I just have to fret until June 30, when my friend comes to visit, to find out if they fit okay!”

Stay tuned to find out how Minty will “eat, sleep, and mingle with the other teams” while on this Pit Stop–and to see how the next leg of the race goes!

12 Responses to Amazing Lace: First Pit Stop

  1. Ashley says:

    The eyebrow! The eyebrow! Oh Phil. How can I wait until January to see you again?

    Ahem. I mean, lovely socks, Minty! Your friend is going to love them. You’ve built up a solid lead here–let’s hope for no bunching after the Pit Stop.

  2. Laura says:

    Great socks! I’m impressed that you designed them yourself.

    To post a pdf on blogger you have to put the file on a different host (or whatever it’s called) and put a link to it on your blog. I did this once using ripway.com. It’s a good, free service, but you have to log in to your account every thirty days to keep it active. Oops. I guess I didn’t read that part until it was too late.

  3. Annie says:

    Very cool! They look fantastic. I was always curious about knitpicks essential sock yarn. did it soften after washing? (Not even sure if you washed them…)

  4. laurie in maine says:

    Excuse me…”solid lead”?
    [very big grin]

    My “it’s finished!” photo of “first time EVER knitting holes on purpose (lace) socks” was posted on the 7th…I’ve been waiting on that mat 3 days for more Amazing Lace sockmates to arrive!!

    (Second pair half finished – both socks underway at the same time again…NO SSS here either!. Just passed the gusset decreases so it’s mindless knitting from here until the toe decrease :)

    And there’s ALWAYS bunching at the airport/train/bus stations…hate that!

    Sock People need to stick together – all those fancy shawl knitters have their needle/noses up in the air at mere socks, I think?

  5. Rachel says:

    First of all, I love how you set up your little interview pictures. Something about it cracks me up.

    Second, those socks are gorgeous! I would never have guessed they weren’t from IK. Beautiful!

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