Wednesday, September 12, 2007

A monkey on my back

This is Peggys first and only Monkey

Austermann Step Sock Yarn
06-23 to 06-28


These are my Monkeys
(I can't stop)
#1.
Socks That Rock
06-11 to 06-23

#2.
Fleece Artist
06-23 to 07-10

#3.
Socks That Rock

06-26 to 07-02
#4.
Artful Ewe Sock Yarn

07-29 to 08-04
#5.
Dicentra Sock Yarn

08-04 to 08-07
#6.
Socks That Rock

08-07 to 08-13
#7.
Koigu

08-14 to 08-18
#8.
On Line Supersocke 100
08-18 to 08-26

#9.
Regia
Designer Line by Kaffe Fassett
08-19 to 09-05
and finally, because at some point
we have to post the Monkeys to date,
and ten was as good a number as any:
#10.
Mt. Colors Bearfoot
08-26 to 09-08
Knitters: Peggy and Rebecca
Time frame: Summer, 2007
Fiber: Various. We worked from stash yarn, although we purchased some during our vacation in June. I have to say that knitting with Socks That Rock yarn was great ~ it's the perfect bouncy type of sock yarn that makes it fun to knit on small needles ~ but my favorite is the Bearfoot from Mt. Colors. That Juniper color has been in my stash for years, waiting for the perfect pattern. Found it!
Pattern: Monkey Socks, by Cookie A. It's a great pattern, easily memorized. It's almost as simple as plain stockinette socks, which is probably why I made so many. All my other patterns are packed away until I land in a permanent place so I'm sticking with Monkey Socks until then.
Needles: We use 2.5mm, mostly, and usually have two pair going at any given time, hence the overlap in dates. We always knit both socks at the same time on two circulars; this results in the two socks being exactly the same and also satisfies our compulsive/obsessive natures. We have recently switched from 24" Addi Turbos to the 32" Addi Lace, with the gold needles/red cable. While the points are excellent for socks, as well as lace, the needles bend after awhile and the cable tends to get a permanent kink if bent too severely ~ the Turbo cable didn't seem to do this so much. Also, the printing on the cable wears off pretty fast, resulting in the need for a needle gauge ~ no biggy since we're all used to that anyway. We're still searching for the perfect sock needles although Peggy discovered that 32" is WAY better than 24" for knitting two socks on the same two circulars.
Embellishments and changes: We don't do regular ribbing for tops of socks. Right now we're into the picot edge ~ provisional cast on, knit ten rows, yo k2tog around, knit ten rows and then knit the provisional cast on together with the next row. Simple. On most socks I did 4 repeats on the leg, some had 5 repeats but the Koigu had just 3 ~ it had the least amount of yardage. With every yarn I could have knit another repeat on the leg, had I known how much left over I would have had. Forewarned etc.
Beads: Pre-stranded, we started with one row just after the picot turn and then went to 3 rows of two different beads. After that came smaller beads ~ two rows, off-set ~ or a single row of larger beads in the center of the outside ten knit rows. Most of the beads came from stash. The beads do not interfere with comfort because there is the backside of the picot hem to cushion them from the leg.
Notes: We needed new socks. We checked over the ones we've been wearing for the last years and wow, some are getting pretty thin. It was time to upgrade and it's nice, since most of them are for us, to not have to wonder what size to make, although some will end up as gifts.

11 comments:

Kim said...

Good lawrd, Women!!! Rebecca looks like she's going to have some very happy feet. Are you going to share with Peggy? Or does she have more sock projects lurking in the background?

Anonymous said...

Good grief that's a lot of socks! There will be no cold feet at Peggy and Rebecca's place this winter! ;-)

Pam the Yarn Goddess said...

Your socks are incredible, your knitting skills impeccable, and the yarns yummy enough to eat! I'm really impressed with what you've accomplished.

I just had to say that I always knit two socks on two circs and use 24" Lace Addis. The 32" is too long for me - the cables just get in the way. Different strokes for different folks! I'm doing Monkey Socks right now using DPN's, and I HATE them. The things are always getting lost in the chair, and it's just a pain to be manipulating five needles at once

Congrats!

PICAdrienne said...

Wow, those are amazing and so beautiful. The beads are such a wonderful addition.

One could say you have really been monkeying around, or at least one of you.

Lori said...

Wow, that's a whole bunch of good looking socks!
So when y'all get to the hundredth Monkey, will they have learned to knit themselves?
(er, if that makes no sense whatsoever, read here. )

Rabbitch said...

Dude. You're really pissed off, aren't you?

Nice socks!

Anonymous said...

There's the basic obsession (knitting), then there's the obsession within an obsession (Monkey Socks). You've got it BAD, girl!

devorah said...

You Yarn girls really do rock! I'm sorry to hear that life's been rough for you, however I am glad you have have a soul sister!
Look forward to seeing you back at Ferals.
Devorah

Denise said...

Wow...that's a lot of socks!

So, do you still have that monkey on your back? Should we expect a whole barrel of monkey fun?
;-)

Naomi said...

Oh my god. I knew you, Rebecca, were doing a lot of monkey's but I had no idea. I'm glad you had a monkey buddy to keep you busy during this $hitty time!!!

Thanks for the info on the picot edge. I'm going to do that on my next pair! I love the monkey too! Great pattern - so easy to memorize and the fit it great!

I have only done one pair, like Peggy, but I plan on doing more because it is like doing stockinette! You can see mine on a recent blog entry.

Hope you both are well!!!

Done any spinning lately?

Anonymous said...

Just heard this morning that you're back bloging! I've missed you here and we missed you this morning too. The socks look almost as gorgeous on screen as in person.