Friday, July 04, 2008

FO Friday -- Knitting Content! (picture heavy)

Yes, knitting content! Remember knitting? Believe it or not, I still do it.
And today, I present to you the finished husband socks! For some reason, my crummy camera software doesn't give me an option to rotate images, so here is a sideways picture of the socks. I didn't use flash to bring out the pattern more... click to make bigger.


A closeup of the pattern. I find it very elegant and masculine, just enough to add interest, not enough to overwhelm.


The socks on Mr. Batty's feet. He put them on so I could take a picture of the finished object being worn... and he's still wearing them. I guess he likes them!


A cat head-free closeup of socks being worn. Do you know how hard it was to not have that cat head in this picture? First a black one, then a gray-and-white one? With eyes wide open, though every time I want to take a cat picture on purpose, they squint and scowl?
But I digress. Socks.


Details:
Pattern: Classic Socks from The Knitting Manu(ual) -- If you have a guy in your life and would like to knit him something, I highly recommend this book! The models look like real-life guys, and the designs look like clothes real-life guys would wear. And they don't all have intricate cabling all over everything!
Size: US shoe size 10.5/European 45/46; 72 stitches cast on
Yarn: Louet Gems Pearl in a dark navy (no idea where that ball band went...), a bit less than 2 skeins
Needles Us 0 (Not as bad as it sounds. The yarn is pretty thick, and my gauge was bigger than usual.
Modifications: I knit the heel flap for the smaller size (length-wise, not width-wise). Other than that, Everything is done according to pattern. This has got to be a first... no serious mods!

And now, because you know I was having trouble with my first ever toe-up sock, I would like to proudly show that it finally "clicked." The yarn is Panda Cotton in Roses (to me, it looks more like watermelon or strawberry swirl), and the pattern is from the spring issue of Simply Knitting.


See? About 1.5" from my ankle. And then, I get to figure out the heel.


I hope I don't have to start the heel as many times as I had to start this sock. Fourth time's the charm.

Speaking of fourth... Happy 4th of July to all my US readers!

There, that segue wasn't at all heavy handed. Not at all. : )

23 comments:

Bezzie said...

I like those Mr. Batty socks. It's such a pain photographing black though isn't it?

Kate said...

Well you're just surrounded by socklike goodness! I have yet to make socks for my husband... he says he wants some, but in eight years of marriage the only time I've seen him in something other than white cotton Walmart socks is when he's wearing something for a funeral or wedding. Gotta love marrying a teacher. And since I have a big, off-white, cabled sweater sitting on the shelf, unused, I will NOT make the mistake of forging into an area of clothing he doesn't typically wear again.

Unknown said...

Congrats on finishing the Mr. Batty socks! I was reading your blog just as you commented on mine.

And with the other socks you're giving me a run for my money in the sock department! ;)

Zonda said...

Awesome Mr. Batty Socks! Whew those were a lot of work too! Good pictures as we know how much black likes it's picture taken.

Hey, I have the same roses colorway waiting to be some simple ribbed socks. Neat to see how it's knitting up! :)

KnitChick said...

Oooohhh...I LOVE the roses colorway...and it totally screams roses to me! I might have to look for some of that...cause I NEED more yarn... Can't recall where you are, any chance you'll make it to Finger Lakes in addition to Rheinbeck? I plan to be up there, and have even offered to teach - waiting on the schedule to see what their answer is.

fleegle said...

Definitely MAN socks--and handsome!

The Panda cotton is very pretty--is the yarn soft?

Larjmarj said...

The man socks look really great! At least Mr. Batty has a reasonable foot size unlike Mr. Larj.

I have yet to try toe up, congrats on making it work!

Becky said...

The man socks are great! I applaud you for working with a dark color and still making such a nice pattern.

Congrats on getting the toe-up going. I've had trouble with that, too, but it's getting easier.

Unknown said...

Awesome job! I love the man pattern, my husband might just wear something like that, and then I can make him some...I'll be able to knit something for him other than golf club covers.

Bonnie said...

Excellent socks! Your toe-ups are looking lovely, and Mr. Batty's are a perfect combination of color and pattern. No wonder he's put them on and kept them on!

cpurl17 said...

The Mr. Batty socks are fabulous!! I always have a hard time finding a great man sock pattern and I LOVE those!!

IrishGirlieKnits said...

Great job on Mr. Batty's socks! So glad he likes them too!! I'm sure you're glad to have those off the needles!!

Good luck turning the heel! I have still yet to do toe-up socks, but I think they are in the very near future!!

Lisa said...

Oooh, nice Husband socks. The socks are nice, I mean. Not that the Husband isn't nice, because I'm sure he is, but that Second Husband thing still worries me, and...oh, well, never mind.

I loooove that Panda Cotton colorway! I haven't been impressed with PC, but I feel a buying urge coming on!

Once you get the hang of toe-ups, you probably won't go back. I do it so I don't have to worry about gauge. Just CO and increase until they're big enough around, then away I go!

turtlegirl76 said...

Great job on the man socks! And in black even! Nicely done. And yay toe-up! You will do just fine with the heel and I promise you'll never go back once you finish. =)

Soo said...

The man socks are perfect. What a great pattern.

And wahey on the toe up! I still haven't done a toe up and am feeling the pressure to take the plunge. Resistance seems futile.

The Kelly Green Rogue said...

yeah knitting!
you know if you used flickr for your pictures they have editing tools built in now!

adrienne said...

Mr. Batty's socks look great!
And the Panda socks are looking good :) Good luck with the heel! It's not too hard or anything, but I never like toe-ups as much as cuff-down....

Beverly said...

Toe ups! Yay!

The husband socks are great. After 4 years of watching me knit socks for other people, and swearing he didn't want a pair, Shane finally asked for a pair last week. Ugh. His feet are so big, they're going to take me forever!

schrodinger said...

Congrats on the successful man socks - watch out, he's probably going to want some more now that he knows he likes them :) Glad that the toe-up sock clicked for you, good luck with the heel.

weezalana said...

Excellent man socks!

Anonymous said...

K so who has been busy? hahaha Nice work lady!

Anonymous said...

Oh, die Socken sind aber schön geworden! Ist es nicht herrlich, wenn man endlich zwei so Riesensocken fertig hat und die auch noch gemocht werden?

Deine Toe-Ups sind aber auch hübsch. Wenn Du eine Bumerang-Ferse machst, hast Du auch an der Stelle keine Probleme. :)

Anonymous said...

OOOH! I LOVE those manly socks. My man would love them!! I must now go hunt down this book!!

Hey, what date for our bday swap boxes to go out? :o)