My first socks were knitted top down. I wanted to learn toe up. Carmen recommended her favorite book. Johanna recommended her favorite website. AJ gave me more advice. I visited them all, read them all and it was Greek. I couldn't figure out how to get started.
This is a blow to my ego because I've been knitting close to 40 years now. I should be able to do this. SO -- I took a little from one; a little from the other and just started. I liked the way the toe cast on and decided this would be a pair of socks for Pat. Rip out the white yarn. Start over with black. I'm going to make Pat's socks white with black toe and heel.
First problem: how long do I make the foot of the sock? We were in the process of traveling to Texas for Easter when I was at this point so I kept making Joe and Pat bare their feet and let me measure to see if it was long enough. (Joe's feet are same size as Pat's. He was wearing sandals, so he became the official measuring source. Besides that, Pat was driving.)
When I got back to Kansas and my computer, Johanna told me the trick of measuring the wearer's hand to get the foot size. She said the length of the hand from longest finger to bottom of the heel is same as distance from where the heel ends and rest of sock goes to the toes. GREAT! I started measuring to Pat's hand.
Second problem: The patterns I was reading were doing a heel turn much like I had done on the top down sock. I dropped the white thread and started black for the heel flap, picking up white on the other side. After about six rows I discovered my black wasn't attathed to the white at all. This heel would not work. FROG! I resigned myself to a white heel and maybe some black trim at the top of the sock to balance the black toe.
Keeping track of the peacock stitch and the gussetting of the heel was driving me to distraction. While in Manhattan, Ks. (The Little Apple, as they call themselves) for a library meeting, I visited Wildflower, AJ and Johanna's favorite yarn store. The lady there had a small pamphlet on toe up sock knitting! AND it made sense! Even better, it had a different sort of heel turn that would let me use the black yarn. ( I can't remember what the turn is called, but it doesn't require a gusset.) FROG again. (about the 6th time by now. Had a lot of problems at the beginning.)
OOPS! The heel was turned and I had about an inch of white knitted above it when I tried the sock on Pat. It was too short. It fit me. I still don't know how this happened with all the measuring I was doing, but I can only figure this new heel turn made a shorter turn than the gusseted one. I'm not frogging again! The socks will be for Reyes, now, instead of Pat. Nice to have grandsons...
But now it's Spring and there's yard work and lots of library visits and I'm not getting home until late (or inside the house until late.) I also need to finish the baby gifts for Sandy and Jaime. They are both due in July. Looks like the sock is on the back burner.
One the bright side, we have found a broadband provider and left the dial-up service we had. (YEA!!) I can play my stupid computer game again!! (Runescape.) Steve is working for lvl 99 cooking which requires lots of fish. I'm helping him fish and fishing is one of the most boring activities on Runescape. Irial does it all with very little interaction from me. I just move the mouse once in a while to keep the screen from logging off. SO -- I knit while I fish.
See, there's always a way to work in the vices (knitting and Runescape being high on my list.)
Oh yes -- after I make this pair of toe up socks, I'm going to learn knitting two socks at the same time. With 8 more pairs (at least) to make before Christmas, I need to get faster at this.
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