New Sock Design: Cross My Path

It's no secret I love Noro. And I love socks. And I adore cabled socks. And I feel a particular passion for interesting socks... you know, the sorts of patterns that have different right and left legs.

I'm also rather fond of the colors orange, grey and black.

So, really, this was meant to be:

Cross My Path. Worked in Silk Garden Sock, colour 349.

Top down. As usual, the pattern is written for multiple sizes, and can be worked on your choice of DPNs, magic loop or 2 circulars. Suitable for knitters with a cable knitting experience, the patterns are charted.

Has all my favourite details - different left and right, a patterned heel and toe. Some nice cabling down one side, not too difficult, but just enough to keep the knitting engaging.

Two notes on the yarn: To keep the color run neat down the front of the foot, I pulled from the center of the ball for the heel. The color runs in the Silk Garden sock are long enough that you can make a (just about) perfectly matched pair. If you're so inclined.

And also note that this yarn is a little heavier than a standard fingering weight, so if you're making a substitution, keep that in mind. Really, why wouldn't you use the Silk Garden Sock, if you're not allergic to it? Not judging your choices or anything, but it's rather lovely stuff. Great colors, and warm!

Pattern available for purchase from Ravelry and (soon!) Patternfish, $5.

Once again, thanks to Claude La Rue for the photography, and to Ruth for the tech editing.

On Fit and Alterations: Webinars

A couple of weeks ago I did a live Webinar for Interweave on garment sizing and fit. The session, Knitting Designs with Custom Fit: The Basics of Sizing Knitting Patterns for Garments, was a one-hour live conference call and presentation. I tackled the fundamental questions: how to read and understand the sizing and fit information given in a pattern, and choose the right garment and the right size.

I covered

• How to choose what size garment to knit using sizing information and other pattern clues to make sure the complete garment fits as intended.
• Key concepts of ease, fit, and styling to explore what type of garment and size would fit best for your personal style.
• How to measure yourself properly.
• Tips for easy garment alterations to make a garment flattering.
• And more!

I had a great time, and I got some terrific questions from the audience.

It's available through the Interweave store for on-demand viewing, so if you weren't able to attend live, you can watch it on your own time.

---

Next week, I'm doing a follow up:

Knitting Alterations: Easy Techniques for Knitters of All Skill Levels
This webinar gets into the knitty-gritty (pun intended!) of diagnosing what alterations a pattern need, and how to make them. We do do a little math, but I also talk about strategies for avoiding or minimizing the amount of math you need to do.

It runs July 31st, 1pm EST.

If you attend live, you'll have an opportunity to ask questions. But if you can't make it, you'll be able to purchase it for on-demand viewing at any time. Viewers who attend live will also have access to the on-demand version.

A few of my favourite things...

I'm thrilled to announce that the Purple Purl is hosting an evening event with me, July 24th. It will be a combination trunk show/meet and greet/talk/coffee evening. I'll be giving a presentation, sharing my favourite tips and techniques, and then I'll open the floor for questions.

All attendees will receive a gift bag! It's a bag of goodies that include some of my favourite things, knitting tools and accessories, and it will include a brand-new pattern for most favouritest thing of all:  a pair of Cabled Noro socks!

(They're so brand new that the samples are still blocking, drying out in the sunshine on my patio. They're so new, in fact, that I don't have a name for them... any suggestions?)  (The pattern will be available for sale after the event, for those of you who can't attend.)

More info in their newsletter.

Note that if you come wearing one of my designs, not only will I demand to photograph it, but you'll also be entered in a draw for a special prize.

---

Brenna of Lettuce Knit told me an excellent story... she was visiting a yarn shop in her home state of Minnesota, and she ran into a knitter who told her about the best sock pattern she'd ever encountered...

Turns out? It was mine! My classic Basic Ribbed Sock, which I published WAAAAY back when.

If you don't already have it, you can download for free, here. No Ravelry log in required.

---

And speaking of socks... recent sock knitting student J. has taken to it with aplomb, and socks have become her favourite thing to knit. (It happens. It's got to the point where I warn people: spend enough time knitting with me and you'll start knitting socks, whether you want to or not.)

I saw her this weekend, and she showed me the most fantastic thing: she's created a cheat sheet for my top down sock pattern, small enough to carry in her knitting bag. This way, she doesn't have to carry the full pattern sheet. She's put clear tape over the instructions, but left checkboxes "untaped" so she can fill them with pencil as she works, and then she can erase them when she starts the next sock.

This makes me so happy!