Day: July 2, 2008

Project 110/365 - Anastasia Socks

My first toe-up socks. Originally I started toe-up Jaywalkers but I ran into problems so I decided to just do those another day top-down. I like toe-up socks because you can try them on. This is a very easy pattern to knit as well. A good candidate for a first sock pattern. It’s also one of those patterns that goes well with all sock yarn. As for toe-up vs. top-down, I wouldn’t say I love one technique over the other yet, but I do love sock knitting in general. Same goes with the heels, I like the short row heel I used.

Anastasia Socks, started June 16th 2008, finished July 1st, 2008 Ravelry Project Page
Pattern: Anastasia Socks by MintyFresh Ravelry Pattern Page
Yarn: DGB Confetti 100 Cotton (100g/418 yards – 35% cotton 49% wool 16% nylon – #15.04) 1 skein
Needles: US#1/2.25mm 100cm metal Hiya-Hiya circs – Magic Looping

Anastasia Socks Two

Magic Cast Oned 28 sts so I could avoid using a short row toe. I hate provisional cast ons where I must pick up from scrap yarn. As a result, I love the Magic CO and will use it for all my toe-up socks unless another good non-provisional CO comes along. A tip for increasing from 28 to the 60 is using a YO and then knitting it through the back loop in the second knit row. I find this achieves a better increase than M1A or KFB.

Modifications: Magic Cast On and miscocrafty’s short-row heel (which involves picking up two wraps and passing them over k st)
Lessons Learned: Magic Cast On, short row heel, and EZ’ sewn BO (which I think I learned before, but don’t know for what)
Cost of Project: $12 approx.
Would I knit it again? Maybe, but not for awhile. The pattern says to knit foot until 1.5″, I think one can start it at 2″ before heel. There is some room in the foot. I could have probably knit another 0.5-1″ of leg too, but I’m always scared of running out of yarn.
Helpful Links:

sonnetsWhen I started this, I began to note the sonnets I really liked, but stopped in the 70s because I realized I liked almost all of them and the list was too long. While I can not relate to the emotions of some of them, there are many variations in this book. There are themes of not just love but of time, change, politics, desire, death, and much more. I found the theme of time and change to the be the most interesting. Maybe it’s because I am a romantic, but the poetry worked for me on a lot of levels. These are words to be read aloud, as is usually the case for poetry. I was enchanted and moved. I have always liked Shakespeare, but I think this may be one of the works I love most from him. I did wonder a lot about Shakespeare the man when reading this. I am not so overwrought with questions about the identity, but I wonder his exact mind when he wrote this. Were they for someone? When did he write this? In any case, I am glad we have these beautiful words left. I would very much love to own a copy of these sonnets to cherish and read over and over again. Classic.