CSM mock rib socks finished, plus spinning merino/tencel

Finally, I got back to my sock machine to finish the second mock rib sock.

Despite my efforts to write down what I did, and to count rows carefully, the second sock turned out longer than the first.  Oops!  They fit but are a tad loose, especially at the cuff.  I think I’ll increase tension a bit for the next pair I do with the Lorna’s Laces yarn.

I’ve also been spinning on my wheel this week!  Here’s some Spunky Eclectic merino/tencel fiber in Sangria.  Look at that sheen!

It hardly needed any predrafting, and wanted to be spun fine.  It took some experimentation to find the right amount of twist for it to be strong yet still soft.

Here’s the first 2 ounces of singles on the bobbin.  I’ll do another 2 ounces to make a 2-ply laceweight.  Mmmm!

Obviously, I still need to work on filling the bobbin evenly. But it is pretty, no?

 

Gion Matsuri, and a CSM sock that fits!

In 2001, my husband-to-be Chris and I went on a vacation trip to Japan, Bali, and Thailand.  Part of it was planned around Gion Matsuri, a festival that takes place in Kyoto every July.  It was truly magical, and Chris recorded some of the unique sounds we experienced.  He writes an audio drama review column at www.radiodramarevival.com, and for this week he posted some photos and some of the recordings he made.   This is a “hoko,” a 2-story float containing a band of musicians, pulled by teams of 40-50 men without a steering mechanism!

If you’re interested in reading more about the festival, and would like to hear the recordings, you can find them here.

As for my circular sock machine, I managed to make the first sock that fits me properly today!  I fiddled around with the 54-slot cylinder, but couldn’t get a nice tight fabric with the yarn I was using, so I went back to the 72-slot cylinder and did a mock rib, with 3 needles in, 1 needle out.  The yarn is Lorna’s Laces Shepard Sock, I think the colorway is Tahoe. These pictures don’t do the colors justice – they are much richer in real life.

I did 20 rows in mock rib, hung the hem, then 50 rows for the leg, put in the missing needles for the heel, then 5 more rows, then the heel, then 40 rows for the foot, put in the missing needles for the toe, 2 more rows, then the toe.  With no dropped stitches!  Whew!  Here is the heel.

And it fits around my ankle!  The cuff is still somewhat loose.  I think I’ll probably need to figure out how to do a true rib to get a nice, snug cuff.  Now I’ll make the second sock!  Good thing I wrote down what I did so I can replicate it.