Last FO of 2010

So I joined my first mystery KAL. I started late but for the fourth and last clue I had caught up. It was Stephanie van der Linden’s advent calendar. She posted a clue on the Friday before each advent weekend and shared bits of the holiday spirit with us on each day up to Christmas.

Pattern: Gaudete by Stephanie van der Linden (Ravelry)

Yarn: 22 grams left from 2 balls of Drops Fabel in coulorway 105, dyelot 8180,  turquoise

Needles: 2.25 mm circular for  two at a time magic loop

Size: 38 wide

Started: December 3 2010

Finished: December 19 2010

Notes: Well written pattern. Laying it out flat it really has the same shape as a foot, which is probably why it fits superbly. Just as a reminder, I should not knit socks in December and use 2.0 mm needles. Why? Well, I used the 2.0 mm needle for picking up stitches for the hem and just as in December 2009 I put my hand on it and it snapped. Maybe I can put the two broken ones together and make one whole???

Symmetrical Spiralling Socks

First finished piece of 2010. First knitted project for M. First time knitting with Zauberball. First time knitting a sock with the heel added on at the end.

I like symmetrical objects, and immediately when I saw this pattern I wanted it to be symmetrical. I quickly realised it would be possible and went out to get my hands on a ball of Zauberball in the tropical fish colourway. That was no easy task. Every one seems to like it. But finally just before winter I got my long sought after colourway. Yes I already bought a pair in another colourway, but M only wanted the tropical fish.

Pattern: Spiralling Socks by Jen Arnall-Culliford from The Knitter, Issue 7 June 2009. (Ravelry)

Yarn: Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball, Tropical Fish

Needle: 2.5 mm Addi lace circular

Started: 25 December 2009
Finished: 23 January 2010
Knitting time: Exclusively knitted on this project except the last week. Went away on a business trip and had too little left on this one. So would have finished one week earlier.

Modifications: Knitted both at the same time using magic loop. Hence I knitted one complete row for every strand of yarn before switching to the other.

Making the spiral go in the other direction is quite easy – just add two stitches extra to one of the socks. These two extra stitches aren’t very noticeable in regards to size, at least not to me.

M’s feet made the heel placement extra easy. With the 74 stitch size sock, plus my modified 76 stitch, meant both socks had the same stitch count on the first needle (corresponding to DPN 1 & 2).

Notes:I like the pattern and the FO. Hopefully M will wear them. The spirals aren’t completely symmetrical. The way the slipped stitch opens up is different for the two socks, the v-shape of the stitch is less pronounced in the original spiral direction. In the two last photos the original spiral direction is on the sock on the left.