Shortening a toe-up sock

I finished my entrelac vacation socks. They are gorgeous, but too long. It's pretty easy to adjust sock length on cuff-down socks, but toe-ups and afterthought heels are a bit of a challenge. I'm never willing to unravel a whole sock to shorten it 2 cm and I'm not afraid of grafting, so I do surgery on my socks to get them just right.

I had a camera handy, so I decided to document my process.

The first step is to mark the sock where you want to shorten it. A locking stitch marker works great. Then you start picking up the entire row by putting the right leg of each stitch onto spare sock needles.

Lookin' good!

The you pick up a stitch one row above the picked up row and pull it until it's about an inch long. Cut this stitch. Now unravel the clipped row. I used a crochet hook to pull out the stitches. (It won't unravel the same way as regular knitting because you're working in the opposite direction. You'll need to pull the end though each stitch.)

Ah, that's better!


Now you graft the toe shut. You could use the tail you just unraveled, but I didn't want to deal with kinky yarn. I cut a new length of fresh yarn and wove in the ends.

Brand new toes! They fit.

Bootie-licious

I accidentally felted a sweater. Sad. Very sad.

I reworked it with a zipper and cat patch into a jacket for my 5 year old. She wore it enough times to get dirty, then outgrew it.

I threw it into the washer again and felted it tighter.

I was going to make some more slippers like my pink (the handmade item I wear more than any other ever) ones, but decided to try something new. I shoved one of Izzy's shoes into the armpit of the sweater and traced it with a marker.

Then I traced her shoe flat for a sole.

I shoved one cut out sleeve into the other and traced it.

I flipped the sole over and traced. Then I cut everything out. I decided that the sleeves were too long (did not want gogo boots for house shoes) so I trimmed them a bit.

See how the arms make booties?

Then I dyed the pieces in my crockpot with some Jacquard dye.

I sewed the tops to the bottoms with dental floss and a silk ribbon embroidery needle. I used blanket stitch.

Now I have booties for Izzy. She likes them even though they are a bit big like "big lady shoes."

If I were to make another pair, I would nip in the ankles a bit with a dart.

It's below zero outside. There were 3 ft snowdrifts blocking our door this morning. Since I am stubborn and stupid, I did a half-assed job scraping my windows and I drove right into a snowbank in the middle of the street. (I would have seen if I'd defrosted the windshield properly.) I and spent an hour digging myself out of a snowbank with a windshield scraper.

In my infinite wisdom, I managed to leave the house in sneakers and a light jacket. I, an avid knitter and wool enthusiast, didn't have a hat or gloves or boots or a heavy coat on.

A man with the license plate "BIGDADY" saw me struggling and pulled my car out of the drift.

My friends gave me a lot of crap for marrying a redneck. Sure, I make fun of David for the belt buckle collection, obsessive NASCAR watching, and Larry the Cable Guy jokes, but a true redneck won't drive past a woman with no coat digging out her car with her bare hands. I know in my heart that my husband would do the same thing for anyone. Merry Christmas to all the "Big Daddy"s out there. You give me faith in humanity.

Scrapbooking for Ghetto Mamas

If you have a photo book sitting around and a bunch of children's homework, you have a scrapbook waiting to happen.

My husband and I have been trying to pawn off this album forever. Seriously, who prints out their vacation pictures in 5x7? I would be willing to bet money that this thing has been regifted at least 3 times.

Here is my lazy little idea.

I put Isabel's school portrait in the front. Then I cut her homework into 5x7 pieces, making sure to catch good grades, her name, the cutest bit... A guillotine type cutter makes this easy work, but scissors are fine. Then Isabel stuffed the pages into the plastic pockets. I'll write a letter for the last pocket for her to read when she gets older.

The good handwriting gene is absent in my family.

It's an easy treasure.

Please ignore my torn up living room.

Yes, that is a dead buffalo on the wall. I hated it when I married David, but it's the only "pet" we've had that hasn't run away. I can't imagine a family celebration without it now.

I recorded this little video to help you with the short row, garter stitch toe.

It was 2:00 pm, but most of the light was already gone that day. I hope you can see it.

I will try to get better pictures of these socks. It's hard to take pictures of your own feet, especially when it starts getting dark outside when the kids come home from school.

Spinning Tip: Beaded Navajo Plying

My previous attempts at beaded yarns have tended to sag. The completed yarn had droopy loops with beads flopping everywhere. Both knitting needles and crochet hooks tend to catch in these yarns. I wanted to bead yarns in a way that trapped the bead (or pompon, or charm) in a way that kept add-ins from sliding and kept the yarn from stretching.

If you don't know how to Navajo ply, there are many great tutorials on the internet. I won't bother adding one. If you know how, it's easy to add beads to your chained single.

You'll need a tiny crochet hook. The beads will need to fit over the throat of the hook.

Get your yarn started plying. I leave the last few yards unbeaded for tying the skein and for casting on/swatching. I don't like wasting beads or my time.

After several "chains" pull a loop 4-6 inches in length through your working loop. Keep the twist pinched awaying from your working yarn with your nondominant hand.

Put a bead onto your hook and push it back to the throat.

Catch the tip of your working loop with the crochet hook and slide the bead down the loop.

Spread the loop open again and continue chaining (Navajo plying) your single, adding beads as often as you like. I added a single glass Blue Moon bead every yard or so for this 100 yard skein.

My Purl 5 Together Hack

I've started the Lily of the Valley border for my Swallowtail Shawl. The purl 5 together stitches are a big pain in the neck, especially since silk is slippery and inelastic. There have been many times when I have not used a lace pattern because of the dreaded "purl 5 together." Now I don't have an excuse.

Here is my mini-hack...

Insert a tiny crochet hook purlwise (right to left) through all 5 stitches.

Draw up a loop, pulling the stitches off the left hand needle.

Put loop on right hand needle, making sure the stitch is correctly registered on the needle. (Do not twist stitch.)

Quick Gifts

I love to make jewelry and I'm always looking for ways to incorporate fiber into every part of my life.

Here is a quick version of a ribbon necklace. I made the handspun yarn necklace the same way.

The ribbon clasps are dirt cheap at any craft store. The only real thing I have to add is that I tie a knot before crimping the ends. It seems to keep slippery ribbons in place. I also have a dedicated pair of nail clippers in my jewelry kit. (No funky toes on my lovely things, please.) I find it easier to use nail clippers than scissors to get in close to the clasp to trim the ends.

This snowboarder charm is for my oldest. I think she's going to like it.

After making the ribbon necklace, I finally thought of a way to use little bits of special yarns to make wearable treasures.

I can't throw out odd little bits of my handspun yarns. It seems such a waste. This black necklace is made from the tiny bit leftover from David's hat. Wearing it feels like I have a piece of "him" with me all day.

I plan to make more necklaces from the trimmings of Isabel's knitwear and my favorite spinning. I think the clasp makes it "real" jewelry, rather than just knotting the yarn.

Handsome!

Want to make an instant dog sweater? Cut the sleeve off of a sweater and hem it. Cut two slits for arms and hem those. I used a women's medium wool sweater from the thrift store and hemmed it all by hand with a single ply of 4 ply worsted wool yarn. (Cut a 24" length of yarn and separate the plys like embroidery floss.)