Please Vote

In the U.S., tomorrow is Election Day, and it is not looking very good for progressive-thinking members of our country.  Please see if you can make an impact.

Reasons To Vote

Just remember, the result of this election will dictate many things into the future.

With both houses of Congress controlled by Republicans, appointing positions like the Surgeon General will become virtually impossible.

More women's rights will be whittle away.

Chance for immigration reform becomes unlikely.

If a new Supreme Court Justice needs to be appointed, we're most likely not going to get the one we want.

Then there are all the local and state elections that are having more and more of an impact on our lives.

Current Crocheting/Knitting

Work has been progressing on the Spiked Crochet Afghan and it's looking better and better.

Since most of this afghan is made with Rowan yarns, I had the opportunity to show it to two Rowan superstars this past weekend.  One of them opted to model it for me.

Said model shall remain nameless.  I also got home from this lovely luncheon with a couple of extra photos of this model on my camera.  My life is complete.

Can't wait for my next sock project (I MUST wait until I finish my current sock project) using MJ Yarns Rustic Fingering Weight.

First off, "rustic" is definitely not the word I would have used to describe this yarn.  It's a Corriedale and Nylon blend sock yarn and it is gorgeous and has a very nice hand.  I hand-wound both balls (which I like to do to get a feel for the yarn) and the amount will make two pairs of socks.  The two colors are Cerulean Twilight and Peasant.  I love them BOTH.

QueerJoe's Standard Sock

I've gotten to the point where knitting a sock requires no pattern or even much thought.  The heel I use is a modified Andersson heel, which is a short-row heel, so it requires no picking up of stitches along a gusset, but it also fits more closely to a human foot.

Pattern

Assuming I can get a decent sock-like fabric using US3 needles and the chosen sock yarn, here is my "pattern" for making a sock:

Using US3, double-pointed needles and the figure-8 cast-on, I cast on a total of 24 loops.
1st round - knit 24 sts
2nd round - K into front and back of 1st st, K10, K into front and back of 12th st, K into front and back of 13th st, K10 and K into front and back of last stitch
3rd round - K28
4th round - K into front and back of 1st st, K12, K into front and back of 14th st, K into front and back of 15th st, K12 and K into front and back of last stitch

Continue increasing 4 sts every other round until I have 68 sts total.
Knit plain until the foot of my sock is approximately 2 inches shorter than I want it to be.

Gusset Increases:
1st round - Incr1 (using invisible increase by knitting into the loop below the first stitch and then knitting into the loop on the needle), K33, Incr1 (using invisible increase), K33 (70 sts total)
2nd round - Knit plain
3rd round - Incr1 (using invisible increase by knitting into the loop below the first stitch and then knitting into the loop on the needle), K35, Incr1 (using invisible increase), K33 (72 sts total)
4th round - Knit plain

Continue increasing 2 sts every other round until there are 92 sts total, ending with a Knit plain round.

Heel:
Knit 81 sts, wrap next st and turn
Purl 10 sts, wrap next st and turn
Knit 10, SSK, wrap next st and turn
Purl 11 sts, P2Tog, wrap next st and turn
Knit 11 sts, SSK
Purl 11 sts, P2Tog

Repeat last two rows until you are back down to 68 sts total and beg knitting in the round again.
Knit plain for 3-4 inches and then switch to 1x1 rib (K1, P1).

I used EZ's sewn bind-off to finish.

Current Knitting/Spinning

To get a sense about how much yarn I had, and how long I could make my current sock project, I decided to start the second sock without finishing off the first sock.

This is the standard sock with a couple of modifications.  First, it's only 64 sts around, second I've made a slightly narrower back of heel, and I'm also switching to US1 needles for the ribbing.  The socks are for Thaddeus who has a narrower foot than I do.

I also did a bit more spinning since I last blogged with Mindy's wonderful mohair/Shetland blend.

I'm loving the result of this spinning project, but I'm not yet sure what I will use all the resulting yarn for.  I'd love to create a masculine looking vest or pullover, but I fear the yarn might have a bit too much halo to look masculine.  More will be revealed as I progress.