Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Toe Up Pomatomus

I love that these socks not only count as my March socks for SAM3, but that they also work for February/March Project Spectrum 2.0.

Pattern: Pomatomus by Cookie A.

Source: Knitty.com Winter 2005 issue

Yarn: Jitterbug by Colinette; colorway 118 Velvet Damson

Needles: (2) Addi Turbo 24" circular size 0 US (2.0mm)

Notes: I seem to be addicted to knitting socks from the toe-up, so I decided to try another attempt at converting this pattern from cuff down to toe up. Chart B originally made no sense to me (and those who have knit this will understand what I'm saying), but I decided to trust the pattern & it did indeed all work out. The pattern was extremely well written and the beautiful designs that Cookie comes up with is just amazing to me. I'm most proud that I was able to calculate how to get the stitches on the heel to match up with the pattern on the leg. Personally, I think it was just dumb luck, but I'll take it! As far as the yarn goes .. YUM! I really loved the subtle variations of this colorway and would love to find another skein of this velvet series in a different color. It was great to knit with and I can highly recommend it. Since I've knit the last few pairs of socks with my pointy KnitPicks circular needles, I found myself getting frustrated very easily trying to Ktbl with what seemed like "dull" needles. I also hope to never have to knit another pair of socks on size 0 needles again. Not because it takes longer, but because I don't want to purchase another set of needles!

By the way, this is the reason I knit socks from the toe-up:
This is all the yarn that remains from this pair of socks, and I even had to omit the last row of ribbing at the top. Can you imagine what a mess I'd be in if I knit these from the cuff to the toe?

In non-knitting news, if you're interested in the slightest at beautifully decorated cakes, you must hop on over to my baby sisters blog and look at her latest creations. This is her first set of cakes that she got paid to make and I honestly think she should consider this as her future profession.

18 comments:

Hasbu said...

Beautiful Pomatomus! I love knitting socks from the toe up but am not sure if I'm brave enough to try to do that with the Pomatomus. :)

Anonymous said...

Oops, that was really a close call with the yarn! I'm forever worrying that I might run out of yarn, so I think knitting socks toe up is just the perfect solution!
Your Pomatomus' are so absolutely beautiful - the colour you used is lovely, and you knit them up so evenly and neatly! Fantastic work indeed!

Laura said...

I *love* your Pomatomus socks! That yarn is stunning. It's a very good thing you knit that pair toe up.

Love your sister's cakes. Those ladybugs are delightful. LOL

Carole Knits said...

Excellent socks and good for you for converting them to the way you want to knit.

abby said...

Lovely socks! I wouldn't dare try to convert a complex pattern like that into toe-up, but with skimpy skeins, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

Emma said...

The socks are gorgeous. And so are your sister's cakes!

Karen said...

Your socks came out beautiful - and having knit on those size 0s I appreciate your great job all the more!! Thanks for the link to your sister's cakes - very impressive. I had fun looking at them and reading about them!!

slyn said...

Wow those socks are gorgeous!! I love that pattern! I see your Clapotis is finished as well, can't wait to see pictures of that!
Thanks for plugging my cakes. I'm glad people seem to like them!

DonnaC said...

Those Ps are Gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful socks! I haven't tried the toe-up method yet, but I'm sure I will soon (with Sock Madness, I think it's inevitable!).

jillian said...

Ooh...aahhhh! How beautiful! And wow - that's a teeninsy bit of yarn!

KeanaLee said...

I really need to try toe-up

Christine said...

Ok, there is entirely too much talent in your family. Pomotomas kicked my arse in the regular way, CUFF DOWN. You CONVERTED it and it looks fabulous. Unbelievably fabulous. I think it was good to use a solid color, it really shows off the pattern! And your sister's cakes? OH MY HOLY HECK they're gorgeous!

Lara said...

You should give us a little tutorial on how to convert a pattern to a toe up! I have only knit a couple socks and they were cuff down. I have no idea how to work them toe up and would have less of an idea how to convert one over! Your Pomatomus' look great! I want a pair!

Anonymous said...

I have done a basic pair and now Baudelaire (also lace from Cookie), I vastly prefer toe-up already and want to do Pomatomus too! In my many webpage readings I have never come across any explanation of converting chart orientation! Would you consider a (even VERY brief) explanation of *your* process please - even if is just to confirm that you can get a toe-up version simply by starting with the *last* row and moving downwards? Is there anything (even basic) you can tell us?
Thanks for your blog and commentary regardless! Sarah

kimberly said...

Oh those socks are sooo pretty! You picked such a pretty color and toe-up is something I've wanted to try for some time now. I think I need to get on it.

~Kristie said...

As far as converting a pattern to toe-up, one thing to keep in mind is that I knit the chart as written. I don't reverse it because although it *might* work, I don't think there's a need for it.

As far as a toe-up tutorial, I'm definitely not ready to do one of those yet. I've ripped out the heel section of my current socks in progress twice already, so I obviously don't know what I'm doing ... yet!

Micki said...

I'm late in commenting, but I love your Pomatomi! The color is fabulous too. Great job!