Thursday 31 May 2007

Finished just in time!!



I finally finished them last night!! I wore them to work today and they were a hit with those who knew I was working on them.

I made them out of Knit Picks Parade yarn in Daffodil. Unfortunately, this yarn is no longer available. I used size 2 needles as called for, but since the gauge was a little bigger, I got great success knitting the small size.

These socks are so comfy!! I just love them!

In Shock


Somehow I managed to finish my socks. I knitted them with Bright Dyes Club yarn in the May Day colorway. I am pleased with the results and look forward to next month. Thanks Anni!


Paula/bellystitch

Quick update

Hi everyone. Just a very, very quick update to let you all know what's going on.

I'm finished with the toe up sock for the June sock (the top down version was finished last week). but I've not had a chance to do pics yet. Hoping to get some done tomorrow and then just got a couple of alterations to make to the patterns. I'm not sure if I'll be able to start e-mailing out the patterns tomorrow but I'll try to get them done over the weekend. I know you'll all say not to worry about it but I like to keep to my plan.

It's been a tough day today and I'm exhausted now. It was my Grandfather's funeral this morning. It was so touching as a lot more people turned up than we had thought as a lot of his friends have passed away already and we're a small family. But there were lots of people there. My Grandfather was a very popular, friendly and kind man who was always helping people out and chatting to everyone. The funeral service was beautiful but very sad. We had a small lunch afterwards at my Gran's nursing home for some of their closest friends and family. I felt so sorry for my Gran. She is quite confused. But she seemed to enjoy seeing some of their friends again and she ate well. But afterwards my Dad was told by the doctor that she had been very confused yesterday about who had died, she is undernourished and dehydrated and has got a quite nasty diarrhoea but. Tonight they're going to start feeding her intravenously. The diarrhoea bug is the same one that my Grandfather caught before he died. I've got an awful feeling that we may be back in Norway fairly soon.

Thank you so much to everyone for all your lovely comments and support. I've loved seeing everyone's May Socks. If you've not finished, don't worry. Just keep us updated and show us pics when they're done. I'll update the finished list tomorrow or Saturday. I'm just too tired to concentrate too much now. So if you've just finished or are just about to finish, get your pic posted quickly.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Alas!

Ok, I knitted mine toe-up from Regia Bamboo and got past the heel... and realized that the heel was too tight (darn that Bamboo for not being as stretchy as wool!). So I have to rip back to before the gusset on the foot and make the heel deeper. I think these socks are going to be on hold until after the June socks!

I'll be posting pictures on my blog in the next few days, if you're curious how the pattern looked in Regia Bamboo.

Mayday! Mayday!

BWEEP! BWEEP! Sorry - I admit WAY too much time was spent Monday painting, or between coats watching old WWII war movies. I think I'll just blame the fumes....

First let me express my condolences Anni -

My May Day socks are a tale I tell you. I got the pattern. COULDN'T WAIT to get started. And I knew just the yarn in the stash (trying to respect the budget....) I was going to use. I dug it out. Patted it a little. Remembered exactly how much I loved it when I bought it - and cast on.
Spent some time knitting the cuff. Worked into the pattern. Realized I hated the colors of the yarn. HATED. This is the result -

I tried for two weeks to finish this sock. And it still pretty much looks like this (although at this point a little more wadded up....).

I then had a little "outing" to a not so LYS and picked up this -

It really does look a lot more like a sock now.....I think once I finish the pattern repeat I am on it will be ready to start the toe.....however DS has "mislaid" the camera. And the pic from the phone looks a lot like it was taken under water......muddy water. So photo to come along with the fiber info.


Throwing in the towel

I will have to also admit defeat on the May Day socks. I was on quite a roll with the second sock last week and thought I'd be able to do it, but these past 5 or 6 days have been so crazy that I have not had any time to knit at all save for one or two rounds on the train the other day. This pattern has been a lot of fun to knit and I will definitely finish the second sock eventually, just not in time for the end of this month. I will try and take a picture soon and either post it here or to my blog.

Anni, I am sorry to hear about your grandfather. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

May Day Socks complete

Finished socks over here!!
I'm hoping this picture works. I'm using dial up right now and I know this picture is going to take forever to load *fingers crossed that it does*
I finished these about a week ago but with our move I haven't had a computer to post.
The only modification I has was that I did the picot edge at the cuff, everything else was just as the pattern said.

BLAST! ok so I can't get it to upload on the post but after much patience it eventually uploaded to flickr they are here http://www.flickr.com/photos/7221831@N06/522383404/
I used Hand Dyed Yarn by Sugar Bunny Blvd in colourway Kelly check out her etsy shop.
Kelly
www.celticcaston.com

I'm beat

Anni, I'm so sorry to hear about your Grandfather. I hope you find comfort in being surrounded by your family in Norway.

Alas. I'm going to have to admit defeat. There were huge staffing shake-ups on a big project I'm working on and I have had to practically kill myself in order to meet a June 4 deadline. Add to this that I'm moving to a new apartment on Saturday, so I've been packing like mad for several days, and you can see that there really is no hope. I'm nearly finished the 1st sock, but I haven't knit a single stitch in over a week because I haven't even had one spare second since then. Normally, I could whip out a sock in a week, but this is all just too much. Ah well, here's hoping next month is better. Good luck to the rest of you!

Wednesday 30 May 2007

ADHD socks

I have ADHD. And when I say "I have ADHD", I really mean --oh, my tea is done!

Sorry, couldn't resist that old chestnut. Anyway, I'm a bit better at multi-tasking than most people, and a bit more distractible when the multi-tasking list gets full. (When I'm under a lot of stress, on bad days this list can only handle two items.)

Knitting has really helped with the ADHD. I wish I'd learned that knitting during classes allowed all of the mental energy that I'd been directing towards "I must sit still and not be obnoxious" to be freed up for learning ages ago.

But the type of knitting that's best for me and my ADHD is "plain vanilla knitting." Stockinette, lace with a four row repeat, that sort of thing. Stuff I can pick up, work on, put down when I need to do something else, and pick up once more when the time is right and not have to worry about counting repeats or anything like that.

This pattern is lovely. I began making it for a friend, and right now I really want a pair for myself. Alas, I only have one sock and an inch of ribbing on the second sock done so far, so it might be a bit. Que sera sera, and I really need to learn to knit faster!

(I don't know when I'll be able to post pics of my lack of progress. DH loaned the digital camera to friends of ours to document their remodel. Does talking about the sock on my blog count?)

Naomi

Finished pair!

Here is my completed pair for May. I used the new Silkie Socks That Rock yarn from Blue Moon. There are just a couple (and very small) modifications to suit my size and preferences. More pictures and details are available here. Thanks Anni. : )



Silkie May Day Socks

Tuesday 29 May 2007

With A Little Time To Spare

Anni, I am so sorry to hear about your Grandfather's passing. My thoughts and prayers are with your entire family.

I just finished the second sock and they are blocking. I just love the way they turned out. I used Regia Stretch and once I was able to remember the pattern in my head the socks went so quickly. Thank you for such a lovely design. I did these socks, as I mentioned before, from the toe up and I worked the chart as written. I have special plans for these socks. I just hope the recipient will love them as much as I loved making them.

DONE!

Anni,
First I want to offer my sincere condolences for your loss. You are right, I'm sure no one wants you to worry about this right now so take your time. We'll be here needles ready for when you are.

Here are my finished May Day socks. I knitted them in Socks That Rock in Moss Agate but it seems it was an old hank with the old smaller yardage and I ran out of yarn! So I improvised and did the toes in Mama E's C*EYE*BER Fiber. I think it came out rather well!



The pattern worked out well and I'm pleased with the socks! Thanks Anni for a great pattern and take care of yourself. {{HUGS}}

Monday 28 May 2007

Please Read

Hi everyone. How are you all doing with your May Socks? Ready to start the June sock yet?

At the moment I`m in Norway. As some of you already know my Grandfather passed away on Wednesday morning. It wasn`t totally unexpected as he has been quite ill for the last few months and has been gradually getting weaker and weaker. We had to quickly book tickets to get to Norway and arrived last night. We`re here for 10 days. Luckily it coincided with the girls` half term holiday this week so that made it a lot easier. The funeral is on Thursday but we`re staying until Wed 6th June as we decided to make a holiday of it.

The patterns for June are ready (there will be a toe up and top down version of the same pattern). The top down sock was finished an hour ago. And I started knitting the toe up sock last week but wasn`t happy with the yarn, it was too thick and heavy, so I`m starting again tonight with some of my own hand dyed merino 4ply, which is gorgeous to knit with.

So all I need to do is finish the toe up sock and get both socks photographed, which won`t be as easy in Norway as I`ve not got my fake legs to help me. But I`ll get it done anyway. Then I just need to make any alterations to the pattern if needed, add the photos. Then comes the time consuming bit - e-mailing it out. I`m hoping it`ll go better than last month.

And this is where the problem may arise and I will need to ask you all for your patience. As we`re on holiday I don`t want to spend half a day sending out e-mails so I`ll start e-mailing Friday evening probably and then try to get them all done but if I can`t and some of you get your pattern over the weekend I hope that`s okay. I`ll do my best though. I won`t be doing anything on Thursday as its the day of the funeral.

Also I may not be able to do pdf versions until I get home as I`ve not worked out if my Dad has a pdf writer programme or not yet. If he doesnt I`ll send out MS word versions and those who need pdf will get theirs on Thursday 7th. We`ll see how it all works out and if necessary I can always extend the deadline for the finished socks to be posted to be included in the June draw by a few days.

I know you`ll all be understanding and probably tell me not to worry about hte pattern till I get back home but I want to get them e-mailed out on time if I can.

The prize yarn for June will be some of my new hand dyed merino 4ply/fingering weight yarn.

I dyed some before we went away and there are pics on my blog. I`ve got more to dye when I get home. The plan is to have a go at selling my own handdyed yarn. It it takes off it will probably become a permanent venture and if it doesn`t take off then at least I`ve tried and had some fun. I love dyeing yarn and had great fun iwth it on Thursday and Friday when I should be getting ready and packing to go to Norway. I`m also knitting up both versions of the June sock iwth the new yarn too. And it`s fab to knit with. It`s the softest yarn I`ve ever knitted with. I`ll post pics of the prize skeins for June when I get home.

Off to update the finished list now. If you`ve finished your May socks get your pics up asap. I love seeing pics of all your fab socks. Its great to see how it knits up in different yarns etc.

I Give Up

I love the pattern and I love the yarn I'm using for the pattern. For some unknown reason, I'm having great difficulty with this pair of socks. I keep making stupid mistakes. This is what I've completed:
It doesn't look too bad in this picture, but it really is sloppy and isn't making me happy at all! Once I got this far, I decided to try it on - too small! My first mistake was that I cast on for the small size without even thinking about it; I have no idea why I did that - I have big feet.

I'm going to take a break and will probably do them after the June socks. This was not how I wanted to start this KAL. I will start June's socks at the beginning of the month so that I can finish them for sure!

Julie
http://noolieknits.typepad.com

Friday 25 May 2007

more MayDay

Mini MayDay socks....and some for me in maxisize!

Thursday 24 May 2007

First Sock Complete

I managed to finish the first sock when I was in NYC this past week. I used Regia Stretch. I am really enjoying knitting this pattern. I knit the pattern in the large size and Knitpicks 0 circular needles doing the magic loop method and I knit the sock from the toe up. I did the chart from row 1 to 24 instead of changing it to go from 24 down to 1. I will make these socks again and when I do I think I am going to change to the US 1 needle for the cuff the next time I do the pattern.


This is a closeup of the heel. I don't like the short row heel. This heel looks the same as when you knit socks from the top down because you still have the sl1, k1 heel flap.

Wednesday 23 May 2007

Ready for June

Mine are done! I used Fearless Fibers Peppermint Pink.

Sockaholic

Just Goofin' Around


The mail lady brought this lovely girl to my door yesterday. I got the yarn from Mama Llama Knits again. This time the skein was reduced because it had small imperfections in it and she couldn't sell it full price. To tell you the truth, it only has very few and very small red flecks in it. Besides I love imperfections as they make things a little more interesting and as nothing is really perfect, I don't really get the idea behind "imperfection". It's either good or not... and this one is ALL good :)

So Anni, what do you have in store for us in June? Do you think this yarn will be appropriate for the pattern? Will we need more than one colour, striped or variegated yarn, etc.? Also, I was wondering. This club being monthly, don't you feel it will put too much stress on you? I mean, if you wanted to make it a less frequent thing to help you breathe, I would totally understand. You seem to be able to knit so fast and do so many things at once... I don't know how you do it, but I'm very thankful for it. Thank you for making this club happen, it's so much fun :)

Monday 21 May 2007

Finally Cast On!

Am I the last one to cast on? I think so!

In the end, I decided to not make this pair for my boyfriend. For one thing, I am soooo late casting on and he has BIG feet! With a huge work project and a move to a new apartment at the end of the month, there's no way I would have finished in time. Secondly, he has been out of town for 3 weeks and when he got back on Saturday, I asked him if he would like a pair of socks out of the Trekking pro natura. He said socks seemed like a lot of work and he'd prefer a cuff/bracelet-type thing. Okay, he'll get socks later.

He had a presentation at a conference that night, so I went and knit on the socks - now for me. Several colleagues asked why I wasn't knitting socks for him, so I told the story of how he had turned down my offer and he exclaimed, "Well, I didn't know you were going to make the socks anyway - you can make the next pair for me! But, I'll take the bracelet first." Sheesh - boys!

Thanks for your advice anyway. And to Paula, whose son thought these socks are "too lacy for dudes"? What would he think of Anne's manlace series????

On to my May Day socks, which I will. finish. in. time. I recently received a skein of Trekking XXL in color 105 in the mail from sticksnstring for winning a contest on her blog. (Thanks Lori!) I thought this would be a nicer choice with the pattern than the Trekking pro natura. I have small ankles and feet so I'm doing the smaller size (also, because of the deadline) and have made it halfway through the heel flap. Here's my progress so far:


It is a little snug to get over my heel, but hopefully, blocking will help? I've never blocked socks before, so I really don't know. But, I'm liking them anyway and will just be happy to get a pair done. They can always go to my niece if they're too small for me!

RIP

There was only one and a half repeat left until I could start the ribbing. I tried it on. I had just started on that repeat to do the pattern on both back and front of the leg and it just wouldn't fit anymore. It was too tight to be able to put it on without lots of tugging and pulling. You know where this is going don't you?

Well, I pulled my trusty size 0 circular and started going through each stitch below that pattern repeat and I ripped. Why I didn't just unknit is beyond me. And it just wouldn't work out and all I did was make it worse. I ended up ripping the whole thing out. I really like the pattern but haven't had much luck with it so far. I'm sure I'll try it again but I've given up to finish a pair by the end of the month. I hope I have better luck with the June pattern! : )

Not so hot off the needles


I finished working on these yesterday afternoon, and I'm really pleased with the way they turned out. I'm also happy that I've finally managed to graft a sock without looking at any instructions. :)
They're knit in Trekking XXL, shade 106. The colour changes are quite subtle as there are at least 2 colours plied together. I knit the larger size, on 2.5mm bamboo dpns. I changed the toe shaping, and decreased at the end of each needle.
Thank you for the pattern Anni - it's great. I love the heel flap stitch, and will make a note of it for future socks.
Kathryn

Moving Slow

But at least I'm moving. I finished the second repeat of the leg on my first May Day sock yesterday. You may remember I was contemplating frogging it after the first repeat because I realized I was doing the Make One Purlwise wrong. After reading your helpful comments, I decided to just continue on. I actually decided to start doing them the right way and figured if there was a noticeable difference than I would frog. Whew! I can't see the difference; I think I was ending up with the same stitch but I was going about it the hard way. Here's the first cuff:

May Day Sock
What do you think? Any noticeable difference between the 2 repeats of the pattern?

I had better get busy working on these socks though, or I won't finish by the end of the month. I have just had so many things I've needed to get done this month that I've not had a lot of time to spend on them. That's going to change!

Julie

Getting Close

I had some knitting time this weekend while driving/riding 6 hours both Friday and Sunday. I'm getting close to finishing. I did as someone else suggested and did 2 pattern repeats on the foot and changed to stockinette to the toe decreses. Actually it was only a few rows. I know I will get finished by the end of the month. Hope my DD can help me with the photos. Thanks for the fun pattern Anni. I'm looking forward to June.

DD socks are complete!



I finished these today. I used Marks & Katten #1687 - a cotton/wool blend. I worked the larger pattern a total of 5 times before working the toe on size 1's for a tighter gauge. I am happy witht he matching that happened as well - they fit her perfectly.

I can't wait for the June pattern!

Sunday 20 May 2007

Add My Name To The List -- May Day Socks Completed



I completed my May Day socks Friday evening. Love the pattern, easy knitting. Can't wait for June. As I said in a previous post I used yarn that I had purchased from Anni from her DeStash Sale--Opal - Anni Design Hand-dyed - Red/pink variegated. I used the larger size and #2 dpns. I followed the pattern but when I was working on the foot, I worked two complete pattern sets and then switched to plain knit to complete the length before starting the toe decrease.
Barb W.

Saturday 19 May 2007

Off the Needles!

Here you go! I'm amazed at how quickly these knitted up once I got going. Then again, I've been having trouble sleeping this last week, so I've been spending a lot more time with the needles than usual.

After my disaster with the first sock I was going to restart with a different yarn, but after going through my stash, I wasn't able to come up with anything else that I was happy with. So, I stuck with my original choice, and I'm really pleased I did. :)

The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Tuscany. The photo seems to have come out really dull here, but there's a better one on my blog for anyone not familiar with the colourway.

The pattern was great to knit, and worked wonders at curing my previous aversion to purling through the back loop. :) All those instructions to Mp forced me to think about what I was doing, and before I knew it, I was pulling them off with aplomb, and feeling quite pleased with myself!

I used a tubular cast-on, working 13 rounds for the rib, and substituted a rounder toe for the one written.

Thanks for the fab pattern, Anni!

Put a Sock in it

Some yarn likes staying in a ball

I came to this realization last night around 11:00 p.m. Earlier this week I had 3/4 of my first ever sock done, when I realized I had done something wrong with the pattern. Anni and others immediately advised me how to right my wrong, so gingerly I began to undo my socks back to the point Anni had suggested, before I knew it, the yarn had taken over and my 3/4 sock was COMPLETELY unraveled. This didn't faze me too much, I am use to attempting a project several times before accomplishing. So I thought no problem, I will start again and it will be better than the first time, because now I am experienced,LOL. Well long story short, two days later I am not even done with the ribbing. I told my husband last night after undoing it for the fourth or fifth time, I finally quit counting, that this particular yarn was quite content to remain in it"s secure, warm little ball and in no way was going to allow me to alter its "comfy" state. I thought about trying again tonight, but I am still getting a bad vibe everytime I look in the direction of that ball of yarn. Maybe later I can sneak up on it and at least retrieve my new knitting needles. Thanks for letting me share

Friday 18 May 2007

May Day socks finally done!


I finally finished the socks. I knit them out of SWTC Tofutsies colorway #725. I knit them by the pattern except I did the s2kpo I slipped the two stitches purlwise and together. My needles were not very pointy and I could not do it the correct way. I also did my MP through the front loop, just could not get my mind around the other way (I just learned to knit continental and am not good at some of the fancier stitch ways). I knit the large size and found that I should not have so they go to my DDIL since she has big feet, lol. I loved the pattern and will be making 2 more pair, one for me and one for my daughter.

Here they are in all their glory. (One of these days I will get better at taking pictures of my knitting.)

Thursday 17 May 2007

Started Over!!

I ended up not liking how the Dancing Yarn socks were coming out - couldn't see any of the pattern detail. That yarn (or maybe just that colorway) is better suited to plain stockinette stitch.

I restarted using Parade yarn from Knit Picks; it's a thicker yarn so i switched to knitting the smaller size (again, toe up and will use short row heel) but am following the pattern as written otherwise. The pattern shows up in this yarn and is looking good although I am in the middle of ripping back about 6 rows because I misinterpreted or miscounted and rather than try to match the mistakes on sock #2 I decided to rip back and do it right. It's going rather quickly and I am absolutely loving this pattern.

Fantastic socks

Hi all, how are you all doing? I love seeing all the great socks appearing and if you look in the side bar I've started a list of finished socks for the May draw as we're just over half way through the month. I'm not doing so well - I've not started my 2nd sock yet. I've been too distracted by other socks, most recently a skein of STR Lemongrass which are being knitted up into a cable sock. But Iwill try to get my 2nd May Day sock done before the end of the month.

I've listed the blogger user name of those who've finished their socks in the side bar, I've not added links to everyone's blogs but I may try to do that later. All contributors and links to their blogs are listed further down the sidebar anyway.

IF I HAVE LEFT ANY FINISHED SOCKS OUT PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND LET ME KNOW AND I'LL ADD THEM. I'll keep updating as and when I see socks finished. Please make sure you all post your pics of finished socks on ehre and not just a link to your blog please as it's easier for me to spot them and add them to the list for the draw - you don't want to miss out on that.

Keep up the good work and happy knitting.

And to all the Norwegians on here - Gratulerer med 17 Mai (it's Norway's Day of Independence today).

Tuesday 15 May 2007

Done!!!


That's it.
Yarn used: Silja (80%wool superwash,20%nylon,50g skein/150m, 26stitches=10cm)from ASA Gjestal Spinneri, colour 312. Knitted on 2.5mm DPNs, top down.
2 pattern repeats for the leg, 2.5 for the foot/instep. Hopefully they will fit my niece.
One change done though: I ran out of yarn...when I had only 9 rows to go on the toe of the first sock....so I ripped it from the ribbing(That does not work well-LOL), and ended up with a ribbing that is 11 rows instead of 18. I also think that I might have done "wrong" on the Mp...I purled into the front of the strand, with a twist(impossible to explain-but it worked and was pretty easy to do)
I am very pleased with the pattern, and will make a pair for myself too as soon as I get some yarn!
Thanks, Anniken.
Marit
just wanted to say that I am really looking forward to June's pattern:-)

Request

I would like to make a request!

Everyone seems to be doing a great job and what beautiful yarns! I would really like to know what all the yarns are!

Can we specify the yarns we are using in our posts or would that be too much of a pain?

Just thought I'd ask!

May Day Sock Confusion

I am really enjoying looking at all the completed sock photos, each one is beautiful and so well done. Thank you for sharing, your photos have made me realize I am doing something wrong. I had a feeling something wasn't right last night, but I kept on going. This is my first attempt at socks, I thought I was doing pretty good, until I got to the instructions for the gusset. I think I got the first part about transfering and working needle 1,2,and3 and progressed thru round 1 instruction and then knit all the stitches on the three needles for round 2, but when I look at your socks I see you have the pattern on the top of your socks, mine have stockinette stitch all the way around for several rows. Was I suppose to do something different on needle 2 for the round repeats. I hope this make sense and someone can help me. I am stuck at this point. I had hoped to have the first sock done by today, but I keep forgetting, learning something new takes TIME!!!

Started Socks

I have finally started my socks. With working full time and taking two classes plus fire prevention this month, I don't have that much free time. Plus I have to finish socks for another swap. But I am liking the pattern so far and am doing it top down which is strange for me since I am a toe up girl. Hopefully there will be enough of the sock soon to post a photo of it.

Monday 14 May 2007

Starting and Stopping

Well, I finally started my socks yesterday and completed one repeat. I'll be frogging tonight and probably won't get a chance to start again until the weekend. Why am I going to frog? I was doing the Make one purlwise wrong! I was having a devil of a time working them and thought there just has to be an easier way. I was at work at the gym (with no internet access) when I started them, so I just plugged away figuring I'd look online for a tip as to how to do the MP easier when I got home. I went online and looked for tips as soon as I got home and realized I was doing it WRONG! Pooh.

Julie
http://noolieknits.typepad.com

DD Socks

I have posted my socks in progress on my blog:

www.scrapovers.com/blog

Finished Socks!




Well here they are. Thought it poetic that I completed them this morning & gave them to mom today. I used Sockotta (and will NEVER use it again) size 0. Great pattern Anni.

Sunday 13 May 2007

on the needles!

Thanks to the eurovision song contest (which Serbia won- not a bad choice) and Jim Carrey in "liar,liar", I got way past the gusset tonight(on the first sock, cuff down)- bad tv makes for good knitting-LOL!
I'm using Silja from Gjestal in a green colour. Photos later. Fun pattern to knit, easy enough to get a good flow, challenging enough as to not being boring. Have a nice Sunday:-)
Marit

Saturday 12 May 2007

Finally got them on the needles!

No pics yet, but I'm doing the socks from the toe up, two at a time, using magic loop. I'm using the ballet colorway of the dancing yarn from knit picks (a discontinued sock yarn that I had on hand). I modified the small size slightly to make it work as the large size (72 stitches) since I was unsure how I'd like the three purl stitches: I simply extended the knit/purl patterning so it's two stitches wider which also meant that it became two rows longer (and shortened the first part of the pattern) so I also repeated rows 1 and 2 once to help balance it. I'm only on row 7, so I don't know yet how it will work out - hopefully quite well.

For the toe, I used a figure-8 cast-on of 36 stitches and did the necessary increases to 72, then FINALLY started the pattern. In case anyone is wondering: I cast on so many stitches as I don't like pointy toes on my socks. I much prefer a wider yet somewhat shorter toe on my socks - I find them to be much more comfortable to wear.

turned the heel!


My first sock is on the go, its been slow going around here though as we just got the keys to our new house so the next few weeks will be painting, moving and cleaning this house for the new owners.

I've basically been working on the sock in bed before I go to sleep. Here's my progress so far.
Kelly
www.celticcaston.com

Half Way There


I completed my first May Day sock earlier this week, but didn't have a chance to get a photo until today.

I went with the larger size, was almost through with the ankle when the new instructions were posted. Couldn't decide if I want to continue or frog it -- Rippit, I pulled it back and started over. The yarn I am using was actually purchased from Anni's De-Stash Sale. It is a "Opal - Anni Design Hand-dyed - Red/pink variegated" as per the description on her web site. So, Anni, at least you know your yarn was put to good use and not put into another stash.
The second sock is on the needles and if all goes well this weekend I might have it completed by tomorrow evening. Love the pattern, works up quickly and easy to memorize.
Barb W.

Friday 11 May 2007

1st Sock Finished

You can see my first sock on my blog: knittingniche.blogspot.com

Progress!

Hi Everyone!

I too made the larger size and am more of a laid back knitter where I am not worried about the chart error. I think it looks just fine. I do now realize that the smaller size would have been more appropriate for my legs but this one still works!


One sock down...I actually finished Tuesday so exactly one week to finish and already on the chart for the second! I predict that there will be plenty of knitting tonight too so this one should also go fast!


Here's sock #1!


Thursday 10 May 2007

I have done the first repeat. I'm really impressed with all of you who have already completed your socks! My biggest challenge will be getting pictures posted. I don't have a digital camera, so I'll have to ask my DD for help.

Anni,

Hope you are doing better.

Sockaholic

Try number 2 is a success!

My second try ended up being the right one. I decided to do like Linda and do a toe-up sock and reading the pattern from row 1 to 24 unlike what I did the first time around which was reading from row 24 down to 1.
The yarn works much better and the pattern is actually doing what it's supposed to. The purl bumps are going under rather than sticking up and the diamond shapes are starting to show.

May Day pattern try 2

I am extremely pleased with it and look forward to having the pair finished. Congratulations to everyone that has a pair or one sock done already!

Back to Square One

First, I want to congratulate everyone on their May Day socks! They're all beauties. :) I love seeing all the different yarns, and how they knit up.

Second, I don't know that I'll get mine finished before the end of the month. They currently rank as a WIR (work in regress) rather than a WIP.

I had cast on for the smaller pair using a 2.5mm circular (magic loop), and merrily knit away. All the while, I had a sneaking suspicion it was working up too large, but because I'm a twit, I carried on with the hope it would be okay. Duh! Now that I'm almost to the toe of my first one, I've come out of denial, and decided to rip it out and start over on smaller needles.

Here's where it was at when I started having serious doubts. Even at that point, I still managed to knit quite a few more rounds than this before finally accepting the inevitable.

I haven't yet made up my mind whether to use the same yarn, or choose something else instead. I do like knitting with Shepherd Sock though, and this is the only colourway I have left. I'll have a look through my meagre stash to see if there's anything else appropriate, stop procrastinating, and start again. :)

Put a Sock in it

Pair done but I cheated


Yes, I was a bad girl and fudged the foot part of my sock because the M1 through the back loop knitwise and purlwise stitches proved too much for my old fingers. My arthritis has gotten a little harsher with the change of season and although the design is absolutely beautiful, I just couldn't bring myself to continue the design on the foot, so I did 3 x 1 ribbing, which doesn't really go with it, but I still like my mismatched socks all the same; the yarn is so soft!

I knit the larger size and had already started when Anni spotted the reversed stitches on the chart. I didn't frog and kept on going with the corrected pattern and I can't really tell the difference at all so all is well Anni, don't worry about your pattern, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Many thanks and you don't have to include me in the draw as I cheated my way through this pair.

We have a sock!

Hi everyone! It has been a great inspiration seeing everyone's finished socks or socks in progress -- definitely encouraged me to finish my first one despite being in the midst of final exams for the past 10 days. Well, yesterday I turned in my last paper and on the train ride back to my parents' house I finished my first May Day Sock. How exciting! I used US 2 needles and Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Blues/Greens. Here's a picture:

May Day Sock

Happy knitting everyone

~Jen
http://ndjen04.blogspot.com

Wednesday 9 May 2007

Trip to the frog pond and new beginnings

Cross posted from my blog.

After knitting 2 repeats of the Sockamania May pattern I had to stop and think. Did I like it or did I not?

Sockamania May Day sock pattern


This is what the sock looked like. I wasn't sure if the yarn/pattern really worked together and I almost liked better how the stockinette portion of the sole looked. Also, the knitted up sock didn't quite look like the others I'd seen knitted up here. Something about the stockinette portions looking more like chevrons than the diamonds I've been seeing on everyone else's socks. Would it have something to do with the way I do my Mp? So I just decided to rip back to the toe and start over, in plain stockinette.

May Day frogged


I think I like it better. The pink and the neon green spiral around the sock and that looks kinda cool!. The yarn I am using is Perchance to Knit in color Flash. It will be available as yarn4socks' June Artist of the Month starting June 1.

So after frogging the Sockamania May Day pattern I needed to find another yarn that I would think worked better. And this is what I came up with:

May Day try 2


The yarn is Scout's Swag in color Run Like Hell. I think that the semi-solid color will work better with the pattern. Even if I can't figure out why my sock didn't look like the others.

Finished!

I knitted the small size on 2.5mm dpns with Fortissima Colori Disco, which has little silver metallic flecks in it,(unfortunately these don't seem to show up in my picture). Pattern was so easy to remember, and flowed along nicely. I thought the socks would be a bit big around the foot, but they seem to fit quite well. I just hope the metallic flecks aren't so scratchy after they're washed.

Tuesday 8 May 2007

Well done!!!

It's so exciting to see finished socks already. I can't believe how quick some of you are. If you're not finished or started yet don't worry. You've got till the end of the month.

I'm really sorry to anyone who started the larger size and didn't realise there was an error in the chart. I hsould have e-mailed everyone as soon as I realised but after the horror of trying to get the pattern out on the first day I just couldn't face doing another group e-mail so soon. I've got to get it all worked out before June though.

I will start working on how to register in the side bar all the finished socks. Not decided how to do it yet but I'll get on to it later this week or next week.

As for my sock progress. I only knitted one sock for the photo and to test the pattern so have got the 2nd to do to get a pair. Ness wants them. I've been sidetracked with other socks htough, although I aim to finish my 2nd MayDay sock this month. Got to start knitting the June sock too. Pattern is almost ready just the knitting to do.

Keep up the good work everyone.

Does this look right to you?

I started working on my sock on Sunday. I've decided to knit them toe-up and am reading the pattern from row 24 to 1 so that the sock will look the same as if it had been knitted top-down. After two repeats this is what the sock looks like:

Sockamania May Day sock pattern
Please click on the picture to make it bigger

I've compared my sock to other people's sock and am not sure if I'm doing it right. On my sock, the part where it is stockinette looks like a chevron. On others, it looks like a diamond shape. I can't see very well on the original pattern what Anni's looks like so I can't compare to hers.

I'm not entirely sure that I'm knitting it right or that the yarn looks good in that pattern. But I'll probably keep on knitting anyways... What should I do?

Valerie from Knitting in Pink

Monday 7 May 2007

First sock done!



Got the first sock done. It is a little large, may have to give it to my DDIL, which is ok since she and my DD both wanted the socks and I am going to have to make 2 more pair. With the Tofutsies yarn I can get 3 socks out of the 100 g skein, so 2 skeins will do both my girls and my socks.

First Pair Finished



I finished these earlier today and must say that I've really enjoyed knitting this pattern. These are for a gift, although it's going to be really hard to part with them ;0), but the next pair are definitely going to be MINE!

I'm finished!



I have just finished the May Day socks. I have knit them in Regia 4-ply, on needles 2,5. I knit the smallest size and as you all can see, it still is a bit to big for me. I have really thin ankles.




Thank you Anni for the lovely pattern, I can't wait to see the pattern for June.




Pondering

No, not frog pondering yet! I still haven't even cast on as I've been working on some socks I'd already started for my mother for Mother's Day.

BUT, I anticipate casting on sometime this week. I'd like some feedback from all of you, if possible. Here's the story: when I told my boyfriend that I had committed to knitting a pair of socks a month for the next few months, he scoffed! He insinuated that I wouldn't finish any of them on time. (He's not really being that much of a jerk; there had been an "incident" involving a pair of socks I started as a Christmas gift which weren't delivered until February. *sigh*) Still. I intend to prove. him. wrong. He's hinted before that he'd like a pair of socks, so I plan to make one of these Sockamania pairs of socks for him.

So, my question is, should I do this pair for him? Anni, will there be any masculine patterns later on? I thought this one might be nice because it doesn't look too overtly feminine to me, especially if I knit it in some gender-neutral colors. I have a skein of Trekking pro natura in browns and olive greens. I think it's the color shown here. Does anyone have any thoughts? Do you think this pattern would make a nice pair of boy socks? Or should I wait for a different pattern later on? Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks!

Your choice-no knitting police

I was just about at the toes when I saw the update on the large size pattern so I just carried on. I also plan to make the second sock the same way. Especially seeing how I already have the sequencing memorized...LOL, Good luck either way.

Sunday 6 May 2007

Mayday, Mayday, chart virgin on the loose!

I've finally started my sock in the beautiful May Yarn Yard yarn (that would make a good tongue twister after a glass or two of something tasty). SO I thought I'd log on and see how everyone else is doing. Wow, so many socks finished already! I scrolled down a little further to look at some more, and then a bit further......and, Oh Horror! I've been knitting my sock (yes, it's still just the one) wrong. Having rather large feet, I am knitting the large size, and I did think it a bit strange the pattern was not symmetrical. But what do I know?? It's my first chart. Just knit it, I thought. Ooooops. Should've checked here with you girls. So I will have a slight variation of the mayday, as I just cannot bring myself to frog. A question for you all though, shall I do it's partner to match? It would be kind of interesting to see the difference, wouldn't it? And anyone looking that closely at my feet, well, they just wouldn't, would they? What do you think?

Which yarn should I pick?

I just finished the pair of socks I was working on. Now I'm all set and ready to start my May Day pattern. Well, first I have to pick which yarn to use.

Sockamania MayDay pattern

I've never knit with a dark yarn like the one on the left and don't know if it is going to work out well with the pattern. I'm sure the one on the right would work though. Any suggestions?

You'll be able to read more about it and other socks on my blog.

I've started

For details on my work, so far, with this great pattern, see my blog: http://knittingniche.blogspot.com/search/label/May%20Day%20Socks

Saturday 5 May 2007

Sock 1 Completed!



Well here is Sock #1. I am getting ready to cast on Number 2. I hope to get some serious knitting time in today & tomorrow since it is just a rainy, dreary day here. By the way, this is Mom modeling for me (only fair since she put the bad hand on these socks when it was only half done....LOL) her red carpet and a poor digital photographer (that is me). The sock is actually much better looking. Great patttern Anni!

May Day, in cheery colors

(if this is a duplicate post, my appologies. I am working off a computer not at home and it is a challenge.)
maydaydone.jpgmaydaytoes.jpg
They are knit in STR. This particular colorway is Lemon Grass. As is common for many of my sock pairs, these are fraternal rather than identical. The leg and instep were knit on 2,75mm needles, the heel, sole and foot after the first repeat on 2,5mm needles.
I was thinking about keeping them, but my 14 year old has been watching them closely.
It was a great pattern and a fun knit. Just waiting for June!
-Holly

Springing into May

It was not nice outside at all today. Just a faint drizzle of rain. Or at least that way my excuse for staying in rather than going out and helping my DH clean up the jungle.
May Day Socks completed
maydaytoes.jpg
Knit out of STR in Lemon Grass, you can see that I messed around with the toes a bit. I like variety and the way I avoid Second Sock Syndrome is to change something so that I am not knitting the same sock twice. This was the small, knit on 2,75mm needles for the legs and 2,5 mm for the rest of the sock. I prefer the stripeing on the second sock to the pooling on the first.
-Holly