This is the oct-nov sock for the GPY sock club. This design requires a high contrast color combination. I took my color inspiration from Neon Lites. MC & CC will stay the same between both socks, but the leg and foot patterns are inverses of each other. Cuffs, toes, and heels are the same between socks.

Summary

• I chose to use the crocheted provisional cast on as specified instead of my normal JMCO because I didn’t want to deal with any potential pattern issues with grafting.

• The cuff is knit with a US 2.0 (2.75mm) needle.

• For the picot, the last stitch of the row is knit and then 2 stitches are cast-on using the knitted cast on; Turn and then bind off 2 stitches and continue with the pattern.

• Stop the last repeat on the 12 repeat cuff on the 10th row and then graft.

• I grafted inside out to get a purl ridge rather than graft in garter. The ends of my graft are not as clean as I’d like and I have to do some touch up around the picots.

• after picking up 60 stitches, you see bits of the contrast color which is kind of ugly. I probably should have knit the cuff on a US 1.5 instead.

• Leg starts with a US 2.0 (2.75mm). I changed to a US 1.5 (2.5mm) after the 6th leg round.

• Leg consists of 1 repeat of large chart (48 rounds) + the first 16 rounds of the chart and 4 repeats of the 16 round chart. Leg+cuff is 5 1/2” long.

• I’m placing the heel on the second needle instead of the first as specified by the pattern. I continued knitting from this point per the pattern. since I’ll rip out the placeholder stitches for the heel and then start the heel, it shouldn’t matter.

• I knit through one 20 row repeat after the heel placeholder + MC garter ridge before going back to the heel. I need the heel in my socks before I can fit the foot and toe.

• The pattern calls for ending with 32 stitches on each needle before starting the heel. Count your stitches on the needle and when knitting the first round (MC) adjust the count as appropriate and take whatever measures are necessary to close the corner gap (between the needles). If you can’t figure out the tricorner trick, use whatever technique you know. It won’t matter to the pattern as long as your stitch count is correct.

• For heel and toe, I chose to have a longer float at those places marked in yellow. I wanted to maintain the MC line going down the side of the heel & toe.

• The heel is one garter ridge shorter and 2 stitches wider than the toe. If you complete the heel first, you can use this fact to measure the heel + 1 garter ridge and know the length of your toe.

• Both heel and toe called for purling across needle 1 in MC just before grafting. I didn’t do this. I ended on the previous row and turned the sock inside out and then grafted. This gave me a purl ridge on the toe.

Journal

2014-10-01: Attempted a couple of tries to start the cuff. This is an unusually written pattern to say the least.

2014-10-03: Started cuff again. Completed 4 repeats of chart.

2014-10-07: Complete 9 repeats + 10 rows of next repeat, stopping at 118 rows. Graft cuff closed. Pickup 60 stitches; purl first row; knit first row of chart.

2014-11-09: I’m back to knitting this sock. Complete leg. Move on to other sock. Complete 4 repeats of 12 row chart. I’m knitting the same cuff as I knit for the other sock.

2014-11-10: Complete second cuff & graft closed.

2014-11-11: Complete second leg. Since I want the zig-zag pattern on the front of the sock, I’m knitting the forethought heel row on the second needle, not the first as directed in the pattern. Complete MC garter ridge on both socks. Continue with foot and complete 1 repeat of 20 row repeat chart. Move back to other sock. Complete 1 repeat of 20 row repeat on second sock. I have enough of the foot now to go back and insert the heel.
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Ooops! as I was getting ready to start the heel, I discovered that I forgot one of the MC garter ridges. Ripping back on both socks. Fixed problem and knit back to where I was earlier. I have a new set of pictures showing the socks correctly knit at this stage.

2014-11-12: Pull out heel placeholder and place stitches on needles. I have 31 stitches on each side, not 31 + 32 as indicated in the pattern. My first round increases the stitch count to 32 on each needle and closes the corner gaps. On the first one i did the technique from the pattern as best as i could figure out. The directions for the second gap closure was unreadable, so I just did a twisted M1 to close the gap.
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Complete first heel.

2014-11-13: Completed second heel.

2014-11-14: Complete first foot and thread a lifeline for the toe -- just in case. Complete toe.

2014-11-16: Complete second sock’s foot.

2014-11-17: Complete second sock’s toe. turn inside out and graft. Weave in ends of both socks.

Watch Out For

• The cuff effectively starts in the middle of the row as it starts with the picot.

• When doing the cuff, make sure that the carry is always on the WS or the pattern won’t show.

• When starting the heel, count the number of stitches you have on each needle. The goal is 32 stitches on each needle. Increase/decrease as necessary and use your favorite technique to close the corner gap in the first knit round.

• Ways to simplify pattern: knit a standard cuff, toe and short row heel; knit mosaic in stockinette; just stripe sole.

Next Time

• cast on 66 using a picot type cast on, then knit the cuff in a standard top-down manner.

• If I want to follow the pattern design, knit a 131 row cuff and pick up 66 stitches using a a US 1.5 needle.