I’ll get to the heel turn in a second – I gotta show you what came in the mail from Lene!
That is my camera shadow in the picture. Heh.
That is part of an Elaborate Trade with Lene (in Germany) that started back during the LL contest. She offered me a bribe of Kauni Effektgarn, a German self-striping yarn (she made Pi with the rainbow colorway). I said that I thought a bribe would be a great thing and the Wheels of Swap were set in motion. I got 200g (800m) of Kauni Effekts in a sort of brown, blue and gold colorway. This ought to be enough to make a sweater vest for myself. If it isn’t there are about a million other things that I can do with it. The grey and purple yarn is called Evilla Artyarn. I don’t know what I am making with it yet, maybe a shawl or something. But wait, there’s more!
FIBER
The rainbow colors were all wrapped up in a long, soft fleecy bit of brown and were such a pretty surprise to open. The grey and tan next to those are sheerling alpaca! I can’t wait to try them out (since I only have the one spindle, they will have to wait a little while). The cats have shown a disturbing interest in the grey alpaca. It now resides in the top of the closet. You can’t be too safe! Lene also included some Pirate Licorice Coins in my package – which are way cool by themselves but I now know that “Glukosesirup” means “Glucose” in German. I can’t figure out what “7,99% Salmiak” means. I think it is related to “Extra Stark.” Context will only get you so far. Thank you so much, Lene! I hope your package gets there soon!
On to the sock heel!
**Added 4/22/2006: You can print out the complete HayStack Socks pattern here!**
My sock leg reached 6.5 inches after four and a half repeats of the pattern. I toyed with making the heel flap in stockinette, but I have never found those to fit well and ended up using the standard heel stitch on mine. I did decide to try a “Dutch Heel” for a change of pace (I usually make round heels – I like how they look). In the Dutch Heel discription in Folk Socks, Nancy Bush mentions that you can continue the heel stitch pattern over the length of this heel turn for reinforcement. I thought this would be great since M walks through his heels first. So I’ve tried it. And I think it looks OK. SO the heel flap and turn go like this:
Sometimes they call it a “Square Heel.”
Heel Flap
Rearrange your stitches so that there are 36 stitches on needle one and 18 stitches on needles two and three. If you just add the next 12 stitches to needle one, the leg pattern will be centered across the instep. Working back and forth on needle one (36sts):
Row 1 (RS): *S1, K1 repeat from * across row
Row 2: S1, P across row
Repeat these two rows until the heel flap reaches 2.5 inches (about 20 repetitions). End with a wrong side row.
Turn Heel
Still working back and forth on the 36 stitches of needle one
Row 1: *S1, K1 repeat from * across 24 sts, SSK, TURN
Row 2: S1, P12, P2tog, TURN
Row 3: *S1, K1 repeat from * across 12 sts, S1, SSK, TURN
Repeat rows 2 and 3 until all heel flap stitches have been worked (14 sts remain).
Divide the 14 stitches of the heel onto two needles. Combine the 36 stitches from needles 2 and 3 onto one needle (instep). K7. The round now begins and ends in the center of the heel (needle one holds 7sts, needle 2 has 36sts and needle 3 has 7sts).
Tomorrow, the gussett! And I have been working on the Honeydew Top.
I tried it on.
Three more rounds and then I will begin the side shaping.
I didn’t realize there were variations of the heel….oh how much I have yet to learn!! The socks are looking great (love the color)…can’t wait to see the next installment!!!! Honeydew top looks so soft!! I absolutely love the soft green color!! I always love to see what you are up to….so many projects!! Glad to know the kitties approve so heartily with your German Yarn Exchange!! LOL!!
I didn’t realize there were variations of the heel….oh how much I have yet to learn!! The socks are looking great (love the color)…can’t wait to see the next installment!!!! Honeydew top looks so soft!! I absolutely love the soft green color!! I always love to see what you are up to….so many projects!! Glad to know the kitties approve so heartily with your German Yarn Exchange!! LOL!!
I can’t wait to see how those socks turn out. And the honeydew top is too cute!!
Hoenydew looks soooo soft! And your swap stuff is intriguing. Don’t you just love swaps?
I like the Dutch heel too. It is so sturdy. Your honeydew is looking good, I must try a top down raglan one of these days.
Woohoo, the yarn arrived safe and sound! I went into my stash boxes and decided to find a bit of what I would have loved when I was a new spinner, eg. colours and softness 🙂
The “Piratos” liquorice is “extra strong”, and the 7,99% means that there is 7,99% pure liquorice in it – it is the ultimate max of what is allowed to put in sweets (or should it be “strongs”?) in Germany, and is, as I hear, one of the strongest liquorices to be produced commercically. I had a bag with me in Texas in ’01, and it was gone within an hour – most of it to total strangers, so I thought it would be a good idea to share the wealth 🙂
I love the honeydew top! The neck opening with the garter stitchridge looks so ingenious and simple to me, and I bet it would be supercute on kids sweaters too.
Have a nice day
Lene 🙂
PS: On socks – “Dutch heel” (or german, as it is know as in europe) – was what I learned from my grandmother and what she learned from her grandmother.. so on. I think it fits great, but if you have experienced that the heel didnt fit right in stockinette, have you tried to make it larger? Most often the problem is a shallow heel or a too-short foot, OR a too-large instep. If the heel slips away and you find yourself walking on the side of the heel, try using 60% of the sock stitches for the heel instead of 50%, and still knit a square for the heel flap. Especially usefull is this trick if you are knitting a pattern on the heel that will pull in, like your reinforced heel, which will make the heel smaller in the width.
Phew what a long PS.. sorry, but once I get started… /me blushes
Oh wow! The fibers are beautiful, your swap was great! I love how the socks are coming out and the top looks just lovely!
Wonderful yarn and fiber ! And from Germany !! (my husband is cheering!) Funny how the cats like some of the fiber.. mine did the same thing!! I had to hide my bamboo yarn (and needles) ALL the time! My kitties also go nuts for our cashgora goat fiber – such silly pals we have..
I love the honeydew top – the neck opening is ingenious, and the color divine.
Also, I’ll be excited to see your socks when they’re done. I haven’t tried that type of heel yet.
Lots of cool stuff. I always do round heels as well, but maybe I’ll try this one as well. What a cool trade!
I’m loving the Honeydew Top! And what great yarn you got in your trade.
That phone thing you linked to in your sidebar is very, very weird. Creepy, almost.
Sock is looking good! I use dishcloths as swatches, too!
I love your Honeydew Top. It’s looking super cute. And that fiber…*tries to stop drooling*
LOVE the honeydew top!
Yay for a heel on the sock! And lucky you–gorgeous fiber! And yarn! Can’t wait to see what you make–I think a a shawl sounds like a good idea too. Love the pics of the cats–LOL.
Oh, and I absolutely LOOVE the Honeydew Top!! The yarn is a beautiful color. It looks very comfortable to wear in summer.