Sunday, March 3, 2019

Knitting: Heel Flap, Heel Turn

I have been making slow progress on my pair of practice socks.

Heel flap and heel turn

Top sock …I learned how to do the heel flap.  The bottom sock has a heel flap and a heel turn!

The purple yarn is a lifeline I put in just in case I made a mistake…and I did use it on the first sock.  When you use a lifeline and make a mistake you can just rip back to the lifeline and put that row of stitches back on your needles and start again.

Both heals turned Here both heels have been turned.

Work has begun on one socks gusset

working on the gusset

I use the plugs on the needle ends when I am not working on them…that way I can put them in my workbasket and all my stitches will stay put.

Learning to knit socks sure has been an adventure.  I have notecards with directions for each step…I watch Marly Bird Red Heart Videos. I usually watch the video and make my notes and then follow the video step by step.

Last week I thought…maybe I can find someone to finish these socks if I can’t do it…but step by step I am getting  it done myself!

Onward to finishing my gusset decreases and get back to my original amount of stitches on my four needles then the foot and toe and I will have a sock! 

I have begun a sock with real sock yarn…I frogged it several times.  Apparently I cannot count correctly.

IMG_4507

It is working up nicely. I really like the bamboo needles.

The weather is very cold, I fed the birds and power shoveled the walk as we got some more snow just before it turned cold. 

Far Side

22 comments:

Victoria Zigler said...

Well done on your sock knitting progress.

goodnightgram said...

You're doing a great job on your socks! Yea! No yeas for the snow and cold, however.

Tired Teacher said...

Excellent! Great idea to use the lifeline for the heel turn. You'll be able to wear the socks with pride very soon.

Maebeme said...

Great work! I love the idea of the lifeline and the plugs on the end of the needles. The former because I make multitudes of mistakes, and the plugs because I have a cat that likes to walk off with my knitting on occasion.

I've only made one pair of socks and those ended being big enough for a Yeti to wear. I know my gauge is often incorrect, I don't knit as tightly as most, and well...I'm not that great at counting either. :)

Carol W. said...

Good job! Thanks for sharing!

Karen said...

Slowly and surely you are getting there. Lifeline....made me chuckle. I have 'Who wants to be a Millionaire' on in the background when I am sewing in the morning. They have three 'lifelines' they can use if they don't know the answer. So what is real sock yarn?

Anonymous said...

The socks look great! Soon you’ll be making heel turns without referring to any directions. It becomes second nature. Love the lifeline idea.
Blessings,
Betsy

Far Side of Fifty said...

Sock yarn is a blend of wool and something else like nylon to keep it washable. The one I am working with is virgin wool and Polyamid. It is machine washable and dryer proof and has a ten year guarantee. It is called Regia by Schachenmayr "The sock wool"

DJan said...

Cool socks! I am so impressed, Connie, I think you can do ANYTHING. :-)

Rita said...

Wow! I find this so fascinating! Looks difficult. Having YT videos you can follow must be a lifesaver. I know that just reading written instructions and trying to figure out the drawings on how to hand bind a journal I was so lost. But when I found some videos on YT I could do like you did--watch a section, take notes, and then go try it. I think they are looking marvelous! :)

Cynthia said...

You’re doing very well on your socks. You’re on the home stretch now! Isn’t a frog line a wonderful idea? All that frustration wasted in those years of knitting before it was “invented”!

Bonnie said...

Congratulations! You are doing great! It all looks so confusing to me but then all I can knit is flat pieces. I agree with DJan, you can do anything!

Linda Reeder said...

It all looks very complicated and baffling to me. Good for you for persisting!

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

Looking good, what a great job much better than I could do as I can't knit

Granny Marigold said...

I echo what Linda R said about sounding baffling and complicated.
I like the idea that although the sock yarn has wool in it, it also has another yarn so it can be washed and dried normally.

Rose said...

Oh, my, I sometimes think I cannot learn and retain one more thing....others I am tempted to try it. Like learning to knit. But it is back to I don't need any more hobbies. But sure enjoy seeing others' projects.

Anonymous said...

You sure have a lot going on with projects and all are so nice when finished! I just love wool socks with just a hint of an extra fabric! They are so warm in the Winter but they are not in most of the stores around here now. Sharon

Leah said...

the socks are looking great!

Val Ewing said...

I cannot knit but those socks look great! My big problem was the counting and holding onto the stitches. I may take up crocheting again one day. ")

Karen said...

Thanks! Wool socks would be a good choice with your bitter temperatures!

Sam I Am...... said...

OMG! You are doing fantastic! I was not that good even after several pair! LOL! I still struggle at times. I love your yarns too. You do beautiful work. I imagine that you do everything well that you set out to do. Me, I trip over myself...I get there but not without a lot of pain! LOL!

Shirley said...

Having owned a pair of hand knit socks, I can say that the tighter the stitches the better the sock stays up. A loos knit sock loses it's shape really fast.