Well, as it happens, Socktoberfest got some press! Gaby, assistant editor of Quick and Crafty, a UK-based craft magazine, contacted me a few months ago for some information on the social aspects of knitting / blogging, and on Socktoberfest for their April 2007 issue. Her magazine is not available in the US, so she was kind enough to send me a copy! I received it this week.

The article focuses on London-based groups, but Socktoberfest got a special mention in the end, and there are also some fun pictures from Socktoberfest participants (like Leah’s Pomatomus socks - which were, designed by another Socktoberfest participant and interviewee, Cookie A!)

Check it! Click on the pictures below to view a larger (readable) copy of the article.

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This reminds me of all of the socks that I want to knit for Project Spectrum!

If you need some sock-y inspiration, the Socktoberfest Flickr Pool is still going strong!  Beautiful new additions every day!

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Thanks to everyone who participates in these projects with me! It is so exciting to see how far-reaching a little project can be

I would love to see photos of how people WEAR their socks. That is, I have been making socks in all kinds of beautiful yarns and sometimes bright colors… Once I'm done, I wonder, "What in the world am I going to wear these with?" … I absolutely love these socks but I wonder what in the world I'm going to wear them with. My loafers are black and brown. Could I wear them with white tennis shoes in the cold weather? Anyway, I'd love to see not just photos of people's socks but also photos of people's socks on their feet with the SHOES they wear them with. I love knitting with colors like that but I'd love photos of how people really wear them.

Leslie's question was also echoed in the Socktoberfest Flickr group discussions, so the question, how do you wear your socks?

I wear my handknit socks often, but unfortunately, I do not always photograph how I wear them… of the ones I have captured, here are a few of the ways I actually wear my socks!

1. Opal Magic with Birks, 2. Trekking XXL with sneakers, 3. Koigu socks in the wild, 4. Lace (Not So) Knee Highs, 5. Blue socks!, 6. Trekking XXL #101 with Birks

Sneakers, clogs, and Mary Janes! I also wear my Dublin Bay socks with a small kitten-heel dress shoe for work – they look pretty good that way (I think!)

Now it's your turn! How do you wear your handcrafted socks??

With so much sock yarn and so many lovely patterns, we want to make socks all of the time. Unfortunately we don't have 8 arms, but there is a way we can trick the fates a little – by knitting 2 socks at the same time! How now? Thankfully, one Socktoberist has prepared a great tutorial for doing just that!

Sara at Quacking Fiber Addict uses an unconventional method and has great results! See her wonderful tutorial using a mini-circular needle, which she reports as "so much easier than DPNs"!

She has outlined each step of the process with great photos, and has documented it so well. Thank you, Sara, for putting this together! Click on the picture of Sara knitting away to go straight to the tutorial!

Sara notes that a knitter who wants to try 2 socks on 2 circular needles may need a little practice with circular sock knitting in the first place. A great place to help you learn how to knit socks on circular needles (one at a time) is this tutorial.

And another thanks for Mama E for pointing out this great tutorial that she uses for 2 socks on 2 circular needles!

I have not tried 2 socks on 2 circulars before, but I would love to hear from people who have! Does it "trick" your mind into thinking that you are actually knitting faster? I can see the obvious benefit of not having the dreaded "Second Sock Syndrome", and that in itself makes me want to try this method!

Life is definitely good.

Exhibit A: Without a weekly study group to attend, I had the whole Sunday free to do whatever I pleased. So, Kris and I made a nice breakfast, I read a book in its entirety, and I knit for most of the afternoon and evening. It was absolutely cathartic. It was still hard to break the thought that I should have been doing something else (namely, studying!)… because that was not the case!

… and this is what I accomplished yesterday afternoon…

This is the Basic Mitten pattern from last fall's Family Circle Easy Knitting magazine. It is such a fast and easy pattern, and I couldn't be happier with the way this one turned out. The yarn has been in my stash for so long – it is the beautiful Ironstone New Wool in colorway 5011. I bought it over two years ago – that is ancient history in my stash – and I was so excited to cast on for a project with it. After using it, I wondered why I waited so long. The colors are magnificent. Now for mitten #2 and then I will have Warm Hands!

My, how Fetching! Yep, I joined the craze – I saw these little darlings popping up all over the blogosphere, so I gave it a whirl. A few hours later, I had an adorable mitt! This pattern is fun and addictive. More in my future, no doubt. I am using a random ball of Karabella Aurora 8 that I picked up a few months back, and wow, what a yarn. I had never worked with this before. I love the "sproing" of the yarn. It is so cushy. Very cozy. Needless to say, I didn't waste any time casting on for its mate.

Yes, I realize they are not socks

Exhibit B: Knitty rewards for hard work. It's good to give yourself a little "pat on the back" after you accomplish something big, right? So, to congratulate myself for completing my grad school work, I treated myself to a pretty Fair Isle knit kit.

When I asked you back in September for some advice on where to start with colorwork, many of you mentioned that a hat was perfect for a first project. So, I listened. After seeing Keri's beautiful Flenten hat last week, I decided a Bea Ellis kit was the way to go. I chose the Kristen hat, as I really liked the snowflake motif. My colors are slightly different than the model, more of a navy and an ecru. I hope I can do it justice! I am very excited to try this!

My other big reward comes this weekend, as I will be going to Stitches East on Saturday and Sunday!

I don't have an exhaustive shopping list or anything – I am really hoping to find some Noro (Norovember, anyone?) for the beautiful Lady Eleanor wrap from Scarf Style, and some laceweight yarns.Of course, if I see something else that stops me "dead in my tracks", I reserve the right to purchase it. Going to Stitches? Let me know! and say hi if you see me, I would love to meet you!

Exhibit C: I leave for vacation in 10 days! Kris and I take one big vacation a year, and this year we are headed to San Francisco and Napa Valley. I am very excited to see this part of the country – I have only been to SF's airport! I am looking forward to exploring the city, checking out some museums, yarn shops, and hopefully meeting some knitters! For the latter part of the trip, we will be staying just outside of the town of Napa. I will celebrate my 26th birthday with some delicious wines and beautiful scenery!

Exhibit D: I think I found my life's calling. I am not saying that lightly! It may require some more schooling… but that is something that I am completely willing to do if I can make my passion my life's work. I am so excited about this opportunity. Yes, I know this is all very vague, but I feel this is the best way at this point so I don't jinx myself! More details as they come in, my friends

Exhibit E: Socktoberfest has been an utterly amazing project: Fun, successful, inspiring, rewarding, and educational. I could not have hoped for anything more. Thank you – strike that -

THANK YOU!!!!!

for the wonderful month. Yes, I know it is not over, but I just couldn't post without saying how grateful I am for your participation and support.

…and finally, one more exciting reason why life is good right now: I am going to see one of my favorite bands tonight! The Decemberists are in DC and you bet your bippy I am picking up their new "Sublime Stiching" limited-edition embroidery kits! I can't wait

*Knit, crochet, and be merry, my friends,
for tomorrow Socktoberfest is over!*

Stacey took the well-known DNA cabled scarf pattern and adapted the cables to socks! She did lots of knitty math and came out with a beautiful sock for her sister, who works in the medical field. She kept copious notes and shares them all on a TUTORIAL on her blog! Check it out!

Kristi at Fiber Fool is pretty darn amazing. This girl writes some stellar patterns, and knits and spins up a storm. She recently reposted a tutorial she wrote last year on how to make CLOG SOCKS. She has a thorough write-up, and some very helpful diagrams on her blog. Go over to her site and see the tutorial and her lovely patterns!

Donna prepared a wonderful sock beading tutorial, and she has shared it with us in Socktoberfest! See her lovely work?

Click on the picture to take you to the photo tutorial!

…and Maia has completely out done herself. She has created not only one tutorial – but THREE! – about how to design your own sock pattern. Each of the tutorials have detailed illustrations and photos like the one here, seen in her Part I tutorial:

Part I: How to Design a Sock

Part II: Design a Cable Sock

Part III: Design a Lace Sock

All of these ladies have worked so hard to provide wonderful tutorials, and I want to thank you so much for doing so! You can thank them too by visiting their blog and commenting on their hard work!

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PS–Loving this "future" blogging feature in WordPress! I can edit the timestamp and make the blog post whever I want! I wrote up this post about tutorials on Wednesday, and I am posting it on Friday! Live blogging will return after my exams are over! (Saturday evening)

LACE (NOT SO) KNEE HIGHS

Yarn: Three Waters Farm Merino in "Etudes in Brown" colorway
Source: Maryland Sheep and Wool 2006 purchase
Pattern: "Lace Knee Highs" from Interweave Knits, Winter 2004
Needles: Inox size 2.5mm (US 1.5) metal
Notes: Features and inspiration noted here

I love these socks. They are probably the most intricate thing I have made – and I am proud of myself for going through with it. They took me some time to complete – I started them in late July – but it is completely worth it now (Well actually, sock one took several months; sock two only took about 2 weeks). The weather is perfect to wear these out and about with my Mary Janes and my boots. They did not turn out to be the knee highs that I originally planned them to be, (there was no calf shaping in the pattern!) but I love them all the same.

These were my first real lace chart, and I really enjoyed the process. The repeat was small, and I could handle watching TV at the same time (and that is really the true test for me). I can say that there will be more lace in my future. I don't know exactly what shape it will take, but I am looking forward to it. I have enough leftover of this glorious yarn, purchased at Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this past May, to make a lace shawl or scarf, and I just may give that a try.

The yarn was similar in ply and texture to Koigu or Louet: soft, with a subtle shine. The colors mesmerized me from the moment I saw them at the booth – I believe Amy and Stacey were with me – and they bought some too! They were the quintessential autumn colors – and now I can wear them on my feet whilst the beautiful trees peak around me!

These socks will be my *good luck charms* as I am planning to wear them tomorrow morning / afternoon during my graduate school comprehensive examinations.

~Please think good thoughts for me!~

Mona's fabulous pattern Embossed Leaves was featured in the Winter 2005 issue of Interweave Knits, and immediately became a hit in the blogosphere – Embossed Leaves were everywhere. Mona recently published another sock pattern in the Fall 2006 IK, and there is more to come in the Holiday 2006 edition! She has also had designs in Knitscene.

When I asked Mona about a blog interview, she kindly agreed… she is just sweet like that! She has even prepared TWO tutorials, hosted on her blog, that help with the Embossed Leaves pattern.

Two-Strand Tubular Cast-On (Part One and Part Two)

Adapting the Embossed Leaves pattern for different sizes

Can you tell me more about your design process?

Designing socks is more an intuitive conception – often I just start with the yarn I feel like knitting with and cast on. Sometimes I have a certain stitch pattern in mind, other times I just start knitting and get the idea for the pattern while still working at the cuff. I do design other things than socks, but since this is Socktoberfest let’s concentrate on those.

Where do you find your design inspiration?

Especially for socks it is often a stitch pattern I like and has a stitch repeat that’s good for socks – and if it doesn’t fit right away, I’ll make it fit. Funnily enough I do think of people, too, when designing. It’s rather like: If I would knit a sock for so-and-so, what would it look like?

Your Embossed Leaves socks are so intricate and beautiful – how did this idea come to you?

I had seen the leaf pattern on the cover of a book (I actually bought that book just because of the pattern! It’s called Beautiful Knitting Patterns, by Gisela Klöpper) and knew right away that I wanted to use it for socks. Then Regia Silk came my way and I had just tried the tubular cast-on. It was an easy calculation. The kicker was of course the toe. My Mom had just written the instructions for me. I had never used it before. (Admittedly, I was a one-trick pony when it comes to socks, same heel and toe forever, till I realized that there are so many possibilities to mix it up!) Once the foot had the length I thought would fit me I just started knitting the toes as instructed. It really was a lucky coincidence that the star fit the pattern to portray the whole leaf at the end of the sock. Honestly, I couldn’t have planned it any better. Now it sounds preposterous even to me but I only realized that it looked like a completed leaf once the sock was done. The reason it was knit in Koigu (lovely, lovely yarn!) for the magazine is that at that time Regia Silk was not readily available in the US.

When did you first knit socks?

I only started to knit socks when I was 21. I knit my first pair to match a wool sweater I owned (store bought, from ESPRIT). I still have the socks while the sweater is long gone. After finishing these there was a long break and no sock knitting for me. When I started my second pair I was studying and living away from home. Came the time to turn the heel I couldn’t remember how for the life of me. I never had written any instruction down, because if I had a question I would ask my Mom, who was always available and she was and still is pretty much a walking talking knitting dictionary. She’d say: “now you knit 2 together and knit to the end, next needle knit to the last 2 sts and do ssk…” That’s how I learned from her even when I was little, she’d let me knit a row or round and then tell me how to go from there. And I would find afterwards that I had turned a heel, knit a gusset or, when I was like 11 years old, knit a vest for a doll. Strangely enough it worked. Well, most of the time. She had to explain the heel turning once more.

My most precious possession to date is a pair of socks my then boyfriend Rolf knit for me. One of the socks has hearts knit into it and the other my name. Makes me smile every time I think of or look at them. Oh, and no, he hasn’t knit a thing since.

Do you have any designs in the works now?

Oh, there are always designs in the works. Finished are the “Bells and Whistles Socks” in the Holiday '06 edition – and I do have some socks at home that might get published one time or another. Then there’s my work for JCA where I did and do design garments, published this Fall, next Spring and hopefully a lot more seasons to come.

Thank you so much, Mona, for being a part of Socktoberfest!

As you can see, your design is quite popular!  These are a random sampling of Socktoberfest participants who have made your Embossed Leaves – so many colors and adaptations!

If you see yours, let me know   I did a random search and came up with all of these!

*****

Now you have to help me decide which of these lovely yarns I should use for Mona's amazing Embossed Leaves socks, one of my next projects in the queue:

Let me know what you chose by leaving a comment! 

I will knit the socks in the yarn with the most votes

Cookie's design aesthetic clings to traditional motifs and patterning and adds a very modern edge. Cookie agreed to share some of her inspirations, the story behind "The Leg", and gives a tutorial on her lovely new sock-in-progress, the German stockings, in honor of Socktoberfest!

Who are your knitting gurus? Do you admire the designs of someone in particular?

Eugen Beugler and Lew Deyong are two knitters I turn to for inspiration and advice.

• Gene showing off one of his many lace pieces
• Lew carrying around The Leg!

They are both avid lace knitting octagenarians and are an invaluable source of information. And they're charming to boot! Gene has quite a few designs under his belt, including the Frost Flowers and Leaves shawl, and Lew is into "big things" on itty bitty needles. For example, he even knit a bedspread on size 1 needles!

I love Gene and Lew! Besides the two of them, my favorite handknitting designers are Marianne Kinzel and Herbert Niebling for their intricate and organic lace patterns. I also love knitwear designs from Delphine Wilson, Jean Paul Gaultier and Alexander McQueen.

Your Pomatomus socks and Hedera socks are quite the hit! Do you have some other interesting designs up your sleeve?

I have tons of design ideas! Unfortunately most of them are still in my head because I can think faster than knit. I recently finished a couple designs for Blue Moon Fiber Arts using their wonderful yarns. There is a new pattern in the upcoming Winter Knitty. And I am working on a few things that I hope to publish through my blog. This coming year, I would like to get off my butt and submit some designs to the print magazines.

I already posted on the blog about two of the patterns I hope to write up–a short sleeved sweater and the German stocking.

The other one is this previously unseen sock:

What's with the mannequin? It seems like a great prop! Where did you pick up this random leg?

I actually feel very bad about the leg. I borrowed it from a friend for the Pomatomus pictures, and I haven't seen my friend since. I am a horrible thief! The idea came to me when I was trying to think of a clever way to photograph Pomatomus without making it look obvious that I had only knit one! I later bought a full body mannequin, but the legs on that are horribly misshapen with ginormous insteps and flat calves. So in all, I have three fake legs (one of which is not mine) and two real ones.

Where do you get your design inspiration from?

The main inspiration for my designs come from fashion (non-knitwear) and intricate traditional knitting. I am drawn to complicated stitch patterns and finer gauge yarns. At the same time, I find that modern ideas of shape and form can be visually striking, but the structure is often emphasized by use of plain fabric or materials. My general goal is to combine new ideas of shape with the more intricate detailing of traditional knitting. I like to play with spirals, curves and traveling panels along with texture and stitchwork.

What's in the future for handknit socks?

I am hoping to see more knee high socks. I especially like them because there is just so much more you can do, design wise. But at the same time, the shaping and placement of everything gets much more complicated, which can be difficult to write a pattern around. I also hope socks get more creative, with different constructions than the standard toe-up or top-down. And, of course, I hope to see more twisted stitches in everything!

*****

Cookie's newest design, called the "German stockings", is a perfect combination of these intricate traditional cable motifs, and the modern shaping techniques. Although still in the works, Cookie plans to write this pattern for distribution. I can hardly wait! This beautiful design really speaks to me!

Cookie shares an in-depth tutorial of her design process on her blog, Knitters Anonymous. In conjunction with that wonderful tutorial, Cookie answered a few questions about this specific design.

Where did you find the inspiration for this cable pattern?

The inspiration came from traditional German stockings that are very intricate and detailed. I am also drawn to asymmetry and curves or travelling panels. I wanted a sock that captured both elements. And of course, I wanted a knee-high sock.

How did you adapt the cable patterning to the sock?

After looking at pictures of several German stockings, I had an idea of what shape and elements I wanted to use and how I wanted to simplify many of the main features of the traditional German stockings. I don't know how to give a quick answer to this question! I think looking at the tutorial I wrote up will give a more in depth explanation.

Do you do all of your cabling without a needle?

It depends on the yarn and the cable. Whenever I can get away with it, I avoid the cable needle because it's just one more thing for me to lose! But I do use a cable needle for cotton or other slippery yarns, cables that require two cable needles (the double crossing kind), or when I'm knitting laceweight yarn.

Click on the picture below to take you to Cookie's tutorial

Thank you Cookie for being a part of Socktoberfest!

Enjoy! and be inspired!

From Alyssa

From Annkari

From Cathy

From El Arte

From Nikki

From Claudia

From Karin

From Adam

From Georgia

From LeahBear

From Zallah

From CutoutWitch

From IndyChick_UK

From betty.

From Chawne

From Fawn Pea

From Mostacillas

From Vera

From Knitorpurt

From Mevrouw Walvis

From Laurel717

From Brenda

From ShizzKnits

From Hsarik

From Tiennie

From Sinivillaa

From AnnaKika

All pictures were seen via the Socktoberfest Flickr Group.

There are many many more beautiful socks being created out there – take a random stroll through the Socktoberfest list and see what your fellows are cooking up! 

Enter Jo at MisoCrafty – she has put together a STELLAR tutorial with great step-by-step photos on the whole process!

Truly beautiful to behold!

…and not to be forgotten…

Another tutorial – for those of us who need some redundancy! – CosmicPluto offers a wonderful tutorial complete with pictures of Trekking XXL!

**Click on the pics to take you right to the tutorials!**

After my first holey experience, I now have somewhere to turn! Thank you ladies for these great tips and tutorials!