The Solution to the Sock Knitter's Dilemma... Magic Slippers!

My biggest problem as a sock knitter, is what to do with my left over yarn, in particular with these no bigger than a walnut darling balls of yarn.
Yesterday, as I was packing all this week's colorways to be shipped from Hawaii to Brussels, and occasionally staring at the little yarn walnuts on the table, I found what I wanted to do.
For every pair of socks, I would knit a pair of baby slippers. So I took a little break from packing, grabbed my trusted Addis, and a little yarn walnut, and got to work. Here is the result. These slippers are magic to work. NO SEAMS at all, no origami construction, all garter stitch, mostly knit in the round, and about one pair per hour! My promise to myself is that I will knit a pair of slippers for every pair of socks I knit, and that I will donate the slippers to my local community health center.




Without further delay here is the pattern for the Magic Slippers.


Magic Slippers

These slippers are newborn size, but can easily be made bigger by knitting the even section of the sole longer, and picking up more stitches along the sides of the sole.

Materials:

Yarn: any walnut size left over ball of SW sock yarn. I used left over SockPixie SW Merino Sock yarn.
Gauge: 7 1/2 sts/inch in garter stitch
Needle: 2 16" US 1 circulars, or a set of DPTS in same size (Note that I wrote the pattern for 2 circulars, but it would be as easy t knit on dpts)


Sole:

Note that the sole is knit in garter stitch, knitting back and forth.
Cast on 7 stitches.
Knit 2 rows.
Repeat the following 2 rows until you have 15 stitches.
R1: K1, K1f&B, knit till 3 stitches are left, K1f&B, K2
R2: Knit

Knit even in garter stitch until the whole sole, from the cast on edge measures 2 1/2 inches.

Repeat the next 2 rows until you have 5 stitches left.
R1: K1, K2TOG, knit till 3 stitches are left, K2TOG, K1
R2: Knit

Do not BO. Keep these 5 stitches on your needle, and with that same needle pick up and knit 28 stitches to the center of the toe. Take you second needle, and with it pick up and knit 29 stitches from the center of the toe to right before the 5 original stitches, and knit 2 stitches from the first needle to the second. You will now have 31 stitches on each needle. The beginning of the round will be at the heel. Attach marker to show location of heel.

The rest of the slipper is knit in the round, in garter stitch (Purl one round, knit 1 round)

Round 1 and all odd rounds: Purl
Round 2: K25, K2TOG, K8, SSK, K25
Round 4: K24, K2TOG, K8, SSK, K24
Round 6: K23, K2TOG, K8, SSK, K23
Round 8: K22, K2TOG, K8, SSK, K22
Round 10: K21, [K2TOG] 3 times, [SSK] 3 times, K21
Round 12: K18, [K2TOG] 3 times, [SSK] 3 times, K18
Round 14: K15, [K2TOG] 3 times, [SSK] 3 times, K15

Purl Round 15.
BO loosely knitwise.
Weave in ends, make a second identical slipper, and find a lucky baby to give the slippers to!

This pattern is for personal use only. It may not be reproduced for commercial purposes.

Copyright 2007, caroline Dlugy-Hegwer.

Fragonard's Reverie...

Reverie... That is the perfect word for all the colorways for this week at SockPixie.
They are so different from the candy colors of last week, and yet equally mesmerizing. These new coloways are all inspired by the paintings of the famous French Painter Fragonard. He painted during the reign of Louis XV, and Louis XVI. His paintings are romantic, whimsical, and following the fashion of the day libertine! It is hard to say which colorway is my favorite but here is today's sneak peek. This colorway is Perrette and the Milk Pail. Poor Perette was dreaming of all the beautiful thing she would buy with her milk money, and was so engrossed in her dreams that she tripped, broke the pail, and lost the milk and all her dreams.

Looking ahead...

Thank you to all of you for visiting my "yarn candy shop"!

A lot of you have been asking me if I will bring certain colors back. This is what I have decided to do. I will put a poll on the blog, every couple of months so that you may tell me which colorways you would like to see coming back for a special encore.

Today, I will be packing all your orders, and walking ;) them to the post office! No snow, but definitely bitterly cold. Wrinkles get literally frozen! Who needs Botox!

Then, with a warm cup of coffee, I am going to start thinking about the new colorways for next Sunday. I have an idea... Valentine's Day is coming up, and I feel that a little romance with a French Twist, a la Fragonard, would be so much fun!Just think what a colorway with a name like Stolen Kiss would be like!

Just Like Candy!

I can hardly believe it, but I am done early this week: the new colors are all ready to go for this evening's SockPixie shop update.
The new colors are scrumptious!This one is Whirly Pop, and as Lucille Ball would say "Just like candy!"

This morning, my youngest son, who had not yet seen the new colors, and did not know I had decided to do a candy theme, said :" Mom, these yarns make me think of candy. Look a Hershey's Kiss!" I was so happy, I kissed him a million times, which he finds really gross (after all, he is almost a 10 year old young man!)

I have had practically no time to knit this week, so there will not be a new sock pattern today. I still owe you the Tiffany Socks. I am doing a final check before posting the pattern. Things should be better, my oldest has started her semester, and tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day, so we will not be homeschooling. I may even knit a pair of socks for me. You know that I have never knit a pair of socks for myself. I give them all away to family and friends.

I have my eyes on some of this week's colorways. I might go for a pair of gorgeous Whirly Pops, in plain stockinette. The yarn is so beautiful, I just want to let it do all the "talking"!

Am I Willy Wonka?!

Yarn is just like candy. Sweet, colorful, it makes you feel warm, fuzzy and happy... It is mesmerizing. This week, there will be swirling lollipops, everlasting gobstoppers, and other magical bonbon colorways!
I will be a little like Willy Wonka, working with mysterious Oompa Loompas in my fantastic and secret yarn studio! Will you come and join me for a ride on Sunday on the SockPixie Site?

Yeti Spotted in Boston

You guessed right! Here is the abominable snow man, or woman rather. It was fun! The packages made it safely to the post office.
I'll do it again...

It's a Nor'Easter!

It's a Nor'easter! The kids and I are jumping up and down. Rolfe, on the other hand, does not feel as happy as we do. He has to go to work. On the bright side he is using public transportation. Driving when it is snowing 1-2 inches per hour is no cup of tea! It can take people 6 hours to travel a distance they would normally cover in 10 minutes!
The only thing for me is my daily post office trip to ship all your packages. Rolfe has been insisting for some time now that I should have the post office pick up, instead of going to the post office every day. But I like the 40 minute round-trip walk!
So what should I do? Pack the packages safely in my weather-proof cart, bundle up, and do my own impersonation of the Yeti, or give in and ask for pick-up? Can you guess what I will do? How about a poll? Check in tonight to see what I decided to do!

The New Tiffany Colors...New Tiffany Socks

All the new colors are up, and as I do every Sunday, I always breathe a sigh of relief. There were no computer problems, the camera worked, I did not run out of batteries, the yarn dried on time, and we did not run out of coffee!
The picture above is one of a new Bamboo colorway called Apple Blossom .

The new pattern for the Tiffany Socks is almost ready, and as always I am too cross-eyed to post it tonight but it will be up tomorrow. For now here is the picture.

Website Problems Fixed

It seems that my SockPixie website has been temporarily unavailable due to host problems.
Everything is OK now! Thank you to the technical team!

Tiffany's?

What do you think of Tiffany studio lamps? The colors are just incredible. I am so inspired by the contrast, and the glow. Have you guessed what this week's inspiration will be? That's right, Tiffany lamps!
I see 15 new colorways, in merino, bamboo, cashmere, and my newest addition cashmino, a blend of merino and cashmere!
There is also a new pattern, which will of course be called Tiffany.

Now that the colors are designed, it's off to hanking, and dyeing...

Well, here I am

Today, a friend of mine gave me this lovely picture of my husband and myself. We had a great time that evening. My friend threw a great party in her backyard. There were people from all over the world, my husband of almost 16 years was at my side, I felt so at home.

For those of you who have not met me, you can now put a face with SockPixie, and Mr. SockPixie!

I had to say something...

I know I have a knitting blog. But just for amoment, I need to talk about the world that I live in. You all know what I am getting to. I want to say a word about the presidential primaries. No, I am not going to tell you who I like or don't like, because I believe this is a private matter. I just want to share with you my dismay at the fundamentally flawed election process.
I am a resident of Massachusetts, and will be voting in February, knowing the outcome of the primaries for other states. Whether I support the outcome, or disagree with it, I am bound to vote in reaction to it. My vote will not be impartial. It seems many people do not see a problem, and say they are not influenced, but then why would the news be using using words like building on the momentum, and why would political scientists refer to a bandwagon effect?
A truly democratic election would have us all vote on the same day, and would not disclose any results until the last polling booth had closed. Other countries do it, so why can't we?

Klimt Socks (Free)

Here is tha pattern for the Klimt socks. If you have never done any fairisle work, this is very gentle way to be introduced to it. The golden rule is keep it loose, in particular when going from one needle to the next. The floats should allow the stiches to lie flat.
Have fun!


Klimt Socks

Materials: SockPixie 100% Machine Washable Merino, 425 yards, 2 skeins 1 dark like Pynion Jay, and one contrast like Bluender Garten
Needles: 2 24" US 1 Circulars.
Gauge:7sts/inch

Stitch Pattern:

The dark color will be referred to as D, and the contrast as C.
Here is the pattern you will be repeating for the leg.
R1, and following rows: *K2 with D, K4 with C* Repeat from *

Cuff:

Cast on 66 stitches. Divide stitches 34 on one needle, and 32 on the other. Join round.
Knit in K2, P2 rib for 1".
Switch to the fairisle stitch pattern for the desired length.

You will be workin the heel flap on 34 stitches.

Heel flap:

You will be workin the heel flap on 34 stitches.
Follow these 2 rows for the heel:

R1(WS):SL1, P to end
R2: SL1, *K1, SL1 * Repeat from*

Repeat these 2 rows 19 times(total 38 rows)

Heel Turn:

R1: SL1, K until 13 stitches are left, SSK, K1, turn
R2: P until 13 stitches are left, P2TOG, P1, turn
Continue as follows:
R1: Knit till 1 stitch before the gap, SSK, K1, turn
R2: Purl till 1 stitch before the gap, P2TOG, P1, turn

Continue until all stitches are consumed and the heel is turned.

Knit 1 row.
You will be knitting the whole foot with D in stockinette stitch..

Pick up stitches along the side of the heel flap. Pick up one stitch at the intersection of the heel flap and the instep, knit half the stitches for the top of the foot . Put this needle to rest, and switch to needle 2. Continue the rest of the instep. Pick up one stitch at the intersection of the instep and the heel flap. Pick up stitches along the heel flap, knit half the heel stitches.

Gusset :

Place markers for the gusset as follows. Starting from the middle of the instep count 16 stitches and place a marker, do the smae for the other needle. To shape the gusset follow these 2 rounds:

R1: Knit until 3 stitches on the marker,SL marker, K2TOG, K1, knit on instep,SL marker, K1, SSK, knit to end.
R2: Knit.
Repeat these 2 rows until 64 stitshes are left. Because the sole is knit in stockinette, the sizing needs to be adjusted by reducing the total number of stitches. You will have 32 stitches on each needle.
Foot:

Continue knitting in stockinette with D until the foot is the desired length.

Toe:


The toe will be knit in stockinette stitch. YOu should have 1 marker on each needle at the hafway point, 16 stitches on each side.
R1: *K to 3 stitches of marker, SL marker, K2TOG, K1, SSK, knit to end of needle* repeat on Needle 2
R2: Knit

Repeat R1 and R2 for 1 inch, knitting 1 less stitch before and after the decrease stitches. Then Repeat R1 still knitting 1 less stitch before and after the decreases, until 7 stitches are left on each needle.
Rearrange the stitches so that they are not in profile any more.
Close the toe using the kitchener stitch.

Copyright 2007, Caroline Dlugy-Hegwer. This pattern is for personal use only.

The Klimt Socks are Done!

Even this week's new pattern was inspired by Klimt. The geometry of the sock enhanced by the colorful touches of color. I will be posting the pattern tomorrow morning.

New Klimt Colorways are up

All the new colorways inspired by Klimt's paintings are up. This week I dyed a lot of Merino.

Here is one, inspired by one of my favorite paintings, the Lady with a Fan.

It's off to Work!

First day of the year, and I am off to work on this week's new colorways.

Last night we went to my parents' house to celebrate the new year, and after dinner, as I was sipping some delicious Asti, I sat at the table looking through some of my parent's art books. As I sat there, slowly enjoying the wine, I started looking at a beautiful retrospective of Gustav Klimt's work. The paintings seemed to glow like the Asti in my crystal glass, the flowers like the embroidered tablecloth. I knew this would be this week's inspiration!Doesn't Klimt's Bluhender Garten make you dream?

I have started designing the colorways, and I have a new sock pattern in the works.

I can't wait to share all this with you!