Jobo Designs

After the last pair of plain ribbed socks? I needed something with a little more Interest.  Flash. Pizazz.  Something less mind numbing.  I had purchased a copy of the Paul Atwell Socks from Emily over at the Family Trunk Project some time ago, and stashed it away for a rainy day.

Well I guess it must be rainy enough this week? I decided to cast on a pair.  I really like the ?gull? stitch pattern.  It looks complicated, but really isn?t.  It?s a 4 row repeat with a ?loose? float that you tie down by catching in a stitch in 2 rows time.  I also like that these are cuff down.  I don?t have a problem with toe-up designs, but I just find sometimes that the leg and cuff of a sock can be the most time consuming part? where you have pattern spanning the entire row for such a long way (as compared to the foot where usually half of the stitches are plain stockinette? that seems to make things run a lot faster for me!)  Surprisingly enough, I don?t even mind the seed stitch that lines up between the gulls.  This is weird for me, because as previously stated, I find knitting ribbing to be heinously boring, and seed stitch is just as bad.  I can do up the 4 row repeat (in a 72 stitch round) in a flash, and find the whole thing quite amusing and engaging.  I?m a messed up knitter.  Of this, I am aware.

2 more Gull repeats to the heel!  These are going to fly off the needles? which is surprising, since I?m making them ?Man Sized? in the 72 stitch per round, likely Men?s Size 10 Shoe.  I?ll never know why I can knit complex patterns so much more efficiently than ribbing.  huh.  Makes zero sense to me.

I have been in love with Estonian Lace from the second I laid eyes on it.  It doesn?t matter which pattern? a leaf, vine, geometric, lily of the valley, paw prints? I love them all.  It?s been in the back of my mind for years now that I neeeeeed to spin the finest yarn I can and go ahead and just knit one of these.  As close to the authentic ones as possible.  I know it will never be 100% right, as I can?t get the right materials here, and I?ll likely not be visiting Estonia anytime soon? but a girl can dream, Right?

At the last Maritime Handspinners? Retreat in October 2011, I bought an 8 ounce bag of Romney washed locks.  I wanted to try spinning for lace directly from the lock (as do some of the other lace spinning geniuses? ahem Margaret Stove cough) and see how well I could do with it.  This wool isn?t the softest one I?ve ever worked with, but the locks are overall quite clean, fairly free of VM, and have a nice bouncy texture.  I?ve been just flicking them open to untangle the tips, and going at it with a Bosworth Mini. 

So far, I think I?ve spun maybe 200 yards of it (very fine 2 ply) and just decided to cast on and give it a try in pattern to see if it ?works? or not.  I didn?t wash to set the yarn either.  I figure blocking will even that part out for me.  I?m not sure how much of the wool I?ve used so far, but there does seem to be a fair bit of loss.  I?m honestly just hoping that I?ll get enough for the shawl out of 4 ish ounces (since I?m estimating I?m losing 30 ? 40 % of the wool? that should be possible out of the 8 ounces).  My plan (if you can actually call it one) is to knit up this small sample ball and then measure and weigh it and extrapolate from there whether I?ll have enough to carry out the rest of the shawl.  I figure if I do run out? I can just make a borderless plain center panel.  That would still be quite striking, even without a border.

I?m using my Woody Knitters Straights size 3 mm, and I?m following the Haapsalu Shawl Book for the number of stitches, cast on recommendations, motifs, and general encouragement.  I chose to use the ?Double Lily of the Valley? chart as my main center design, with a 4 stitch garter border all around.  Then I?ll knit a border lace separately and sew it on to the central rectangle.  This aspect scares me a little, but I tried a sample tiny shawl last year, and my sewn on border looked ok in the end.

As you can see? The little ball is going quite far.  I think I have enough to do the chart completely and probably another half dozen rows.  The shawl is going to be 141 stitches across (you?re only seeing a small portion here, since my needles aren?t that long) and features 3.5 repeats of the Double Lily of the Valley chart across.  To give you an idea of scale? remember that the needles are 3 mm, and I?ve posed a piece of the lace with a Canadian Dime (which is 18 mm diameter) for scale.  I found knitting with the ?thread? was a little bit tedious in the beginning, but I?m getting used to it now.  I had planned to try and work 2 ? 3 rows every day on it, but sadly I?ve gotten behind with all of the other holiday hub-bub.  I hope to get back at it in the new year, and also back into spinning more of this up.  The spinning itself has been quite enjoyable as well!  I?ll post more when progress has actually been made :)

Every year I end up knitting at least a few pairs of ?Man Socks?? aka plain, bland colored, utilitarian, simple, large socks.  Each year it seems, they are for a different person, but nonetheless ? plain ribbed men?s socks. 

Ribbing is my arch enemy!  My nemesis, as it were.  I can knit complicated lace until the cows come home.  Fast.  But put me in front of a garment made up entirely of basic 1x1 or 2x2 ribbing, even seed stitch (that?s just alternating K and P? which is also Ribbing!) and I am paralyzed.  Knitting ribbing seems to take eons.  I know it?s likely all in my head, because I don?t have a problem switching between knit and purl for other things, but ribbing ? oh how I hate thee!  Even though you look beautiful and orderly and elegant in your straight lines.

Now don?t get me wrong? I know the recipient will love these socks, and they will get worn to pieces, and keep the lucky person?s feet nice and toasty ? but I find knitting plain men?s socks to be complete torture!  I love it when I find a man who will accept a sock with a little cable in it, or a bit of a ?design? to it because I know I?ll be able to finish the more ?complicated? sock in half the time of the plain ribbing ones.  I?ve knit lace socks with all-over lace in less time than knitting a small pair of plain ribbed ones.  Maybe I just get bored with ribbing?  where patterning keeps my brain active and I feel more engaged by the knitting?  who knows.

This pair is made from Belfast Mini Mills Merino/Nylon Blend Sock Yarn in a lovely bittersweet chocolate color.  I found the yarn to be a bit splitty in the beginning, but I got used to it eventually.  This is my improvised plain Man Sock? basically a toe up variety in 1x4 ribbing for everything except the sole, and of course a slipped stitch heel for some extra cushion.  I used up the majority of 2 skeins? one per sock.