Things the embossed leaves sock pattern taught me

Re the sock knitting frenzy that is the sockapalOOOza, my contribution is finished! I really hope my sock pal likes them, cause if she doesn't, I'd have them back in a wink! ;>) Specs: "Embossed Leaves Socks" published in Interweave Knits, Winter 2005, pattern by Mona Schmidt. I thought the pattern was well written: I liked the way the purl sts hug each side of the DPNs, and the look of both the heel and the toe as written. I added an extra repeat to the leg section because my pal requested a longer sock that way. Yarn: Forest Floor from Jocelyn's Fibre Farms. Really very luxe and soft. What I learned:

1. Charts are my friend. They give me a better intuitive idea of what the layout of the pattern will look like.

2. When knitting in the round, because I
(a) knit from right to left and
(b)work only on the right side of the work,
read all rows from right to left. Where there are 4 pattern repeats per round,repeat  4 times reading the chart from right to left. Don't laugh at me. Okay, stop laughing, now.

3. I'm not sure if I do my yarn overs the same as everyone else. I draw the yarn under the RH needle and over the top. Which is fine where the next st is a knit st. However, I must be careful that a full st is formed where the following st is a purl. Otherwise, all I have achieved is bringing the yarn to the front of the work and no st is formed at all.Think about it. I did. After I lost 4 sts in one round. Okay, I'm smiling now.

4. The most likely mistake I am going to make in lace knitting is missing a yarn over, and losing sts. I must watch for these.

5. I must keep a note of which row I am up to at all times, as I can be interrupted whilst knitting at any time.

6. A stitch marker at the beginning of the round is absolutely indespensible with this kind of pattern. When it sits between purl stitches, the hanging part of the st marker sits at the back of the work and will always want to sit at the front of the work, so I get lots of practice flipping it back over. Imagine my fringe falling into my eyes also, with me trying to blow my hair into place until I can get to the hairdressers, so as not to let go of my needles and drop stitches.

7. If one lace pattern gives you the absolute %&A#)'s, then try another one. Don't just give up on the style of knitting.

8. To say that I was disappointed with the colourway of this yarn when it arrived would be an enormous understatement, as I was expecting something much more saturated. Now I understand that a good pattern choice can redeem a colourway which would otherwise be relegated to the bottom of an unloved sock yarn drawer. (In all fairness, this yarn is as soft as butter and a pleasure to work with, and I will not shy away from muted colourways anymore!)

9.I have to knit myself some of these! (Have I mentioned this before?)

Comments

[Ina]

Congratulations on finishing - your socks turned out great! Lovely, lovely celadon color, great pattern. Must make myself a pair!

[Terri]

Hey well done! I really like the colour too - it doesn't 'fight' with the pattern for attention. I finally got a copy of this pattern thanks to Rachael in Brissy, so I'm going to give it a try soon too. I read your 'lessons learned' avidly. ;o)

[Donna]

I didn't even join sockapaloooza, but can I be your pal? ;)

[fitknit]

Stunning socks! Lucky pal!!!

[Jo in Boston]

I love the color and the pattern--I hope they're mine!

[Jan]

Looking great. I think the colour and pattern really complement each other. It's probably not a colour I would immediately pick, but the socks look wonderful.
Jan

[Mandy]

The yarn is gorgeous with the pattern. Very nicely done. When I do a yarn over, I hold the yarn at the back and loop it over the needle from back to front. Is that what you do? I don't seem to have problems with knitting or purling after. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I've ever purled after a yarn over, so never mind!

[Katt]

Socks look great! Yarn looks lovely too!

I do hope whoever gets them love them

Katt

[Karen]

I love your "what I learned" section!! I've never knit from a chart before and I'm planning to try Embossed Leaves, but wasn't sure if I read the chart right to left or left to right. I found your blog through Google and THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for answering my question!! Your socks came out great and I'm sure your pal will love them.

[Nora]

These socks are gorgeous - you absolutely MUST knit yourself a pair (I'm onto my 2nd). Re: YO: hold yarn at the front of the needle (the side closer to you) and loop it OVER the needle to the back (the side facing away from you). Or... continue doing it your way - it's obviously working!

[steph]

YO - as people have said, for YO with a KNIT stitch following start with the yarn in the back and bring it over the top of the needle and then under the needle to the back. Otherwise, if a pearl stitch is the next stitch you need to bring the yarn to the front first and loop it over the top to the back and back to where you started. That's what makes it a full stitch. I find this web video demonstration really really helpful. Obviously you must have figured out something because the socks look great.

I'm working on these too.

http://www.knittinghelp.com/