New York Minknit

Pattern:  Stella’s Razor’s Edge, from Spunky Eclectic.

Yarn: 1 skein of Watermelon Slice, from LoveSticks, on Etsy. (And check out The New York Times Magazine‘s article about Etsy in today’s paper, if you haven’t already.) This skein was a gift from Adam, but I think the skeins run around $20 (not including shipping) or so. This color is also available from LoveSticks at The Sweet Sheep.

Needles: Four size 1 metal DPNs from Susan Bates. I used to have five, but I lost one, so now I use four. No big difference.

Project began/ended: I started these October 1 and I finished them yesterday, December 15. Since my first pair of socks took a year, and the second pair took six months, and these took three months, um, let’s see… y=1+(365 * (0.5)^x), so by my ninth pair, it should be down to a day and a half to finish a pair of socks, at this rate of decay. (I seem to have forgotten how to do even the most basic calculus, including integrals, so please leave a comment if my math is wrong.)

Notes and Modifications:

Modifications: I cast on 77 stitches instead of 66 and I did a ribbed cuff instead of the garter stitch cuff in the pattern. When it comes time to divide for the heel, you will have partial chevrons left for the top of the foot if you use 77 stitches (since you will have 3.5 chevrons each for the top and the bottom of the foot). I decreased the remaining chevrons into stockinette to eliminate this problem. Also, for the afterthought heel, leave at least one column of stockinette on either side of the waste stitches. It will make picking up the stiches for the heel much easier.

This was the first afterthought heel I’ve ever done, and I made them a little pointy accidentally. If I tug a bit though, it fits neatly on my heel. It keeps the striping intact, and is an easier construction than the heel flap–though I kind of like turning the heel with the heel flaps. I also accidentally made one toe a little too pointy.

Random tangent: If you read my 8 Random Things About Me post, you will note that I bragged about my lack of cavities. Clearly, the Higher Powers decided I needed to be punished for my hubris. I went to the dentist last week and was told I have one, and possibly two, cavities. Sigh. A blemish on a previously perfect cavity-less set of teeth.

Notes: This sock yarn seems very soft, and though I don’t know how it will hold up to wear, I would definitely get it again based on the colors. As noted in the post where I named the socks, the colors are very intense, and they stripe so neatly. LoveSticks seems to be an indie brand that’s floating under the radar, so get some skeins now, before she becomes the next Yarntini. I have average sized feet and I could have squeezed another inch or so on each leg, in case you’re interested in yardage.

Photo shoot notes: It was way too cold to take these photos outside, so these are taken at the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I suppose I really should have taken photos of them at their namesake, the Queens Center Mall, but I wasn’t up for dealing with the mall so close to Christmas.