Isaac Evans Anchor & Wave Socks

This pattern has been around for a while, in a hard copy. I designed it for one of the Isaac Evans Knitting Cruises. I knit the sample in cotton fingering yarn, for a summer cruise, but it could easily work in wool too.

This sock has a turned down cuff and is knit as a short summer sock, but you can make it a bit taller if you want.

Isaac Evans Anchor & Wave Socks

Download Isaac Evans Anchor & Wave Socks.pdf (214.0K)

Materials: Sock yarn/fingering yarn, 100g Main Color; 25g Contrast Color; US size 2 (2.75mm) double pointed needles OR 2 circulars OR a long circular, as per your preference; tapestry needle

Size: Women’s medium. If larger or smaller sizes are required, the best thing to do is to knit with a size larger or smaller needle OR after the Anchor & Waves cuff is completed, increase or decrease the number of stitches to your favorite “sock”number of stitches. Since the foot is just a plain sock, you can use your favorite heel and toe too.

Cuff: With Contrast Color, cast on 128 stitches and divide them evenly on 4 needles (this may be changed for circular needles). This large number of stitches makes the cuff lie flat, don’t worry. Join, being careful not to twist. 

Next round: K2tog around (64 sts). 

Change to Main Color and knit 3 rounds. Work 4 rows of Wave Chart (below) with Main Color and Contrast Color. Do not cut yarn. With Main Color, knit 3 rounds. Work 12 rows of Anchor Chart (below) with Main Color and Contrast Color. Cut Contrast color. With Main Color only, knit 2 rounds, then purl 1 round (makes a turning ridge). Knit 1 round, decreasing 4 sts evenly.

Turn work inside out and continue in k2, p2 ribbing for 2”. Work in stockinette stitch (knit every round) until work measures ½” longer than Anchor & Waves cuff, measured from turning ridge (or to desired length of leg). End 16 sts from end of round. Slip first 16 sts of round onto this needle. Heel flap is worked back and forth on this needle (32 sts in heel flap.)

Heel Flap: Repeat the following 2 rows for a total of 32 rows:

Row 1: *slip 1, knit 1*, repeat between *’s to end of row.

Row 2: Slip 1, then purl to end of row.

When you have 32 rows completed, it is time to turn the heel.

Turn Heel:

Row 1: Knit 18 stitches, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 2: Slip 1, purl 5, p2tog, p1, turn.

Row 3: Slip 1, knit 6, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 4: Slip 1, purl 7, p2tog, p1, turn.

Row 5: Slip 1, knit 8, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 6: Slip 1, purl 9, p2tog, p1, turn.

Row 7: Slip 1, knit 10, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 8: Slip 1, purl 11, p2tog, p1, turn.

Row 9: Slip 1, knit 12, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 10: Slip 1, purl 13, p2tog, p1, turn.

Row 11: Slip 1, knit 14, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 12: Slip 1, purl 15, p2tog, p1, turn.

Row 13: Slip 1, knit 16, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 14: Purl 17, p2tog, turn.

Row 15: Knit across all 18 sts.

Heel Gusset: 

With right side facing, pick up 16 sts along left edge of heel flap (needle 1). Knit across next 32 sts (Needles 2 & 3). Pick up 16 sts along the edge of heel flap, and with the same needle knit across 9 of the heel flap sts (Needle 4). There are now 25 sts on needles 1 and 4, and 16 sts on needles 2 and 3 (total of 82 sts). Work Heel Gusset as follows:

Round 1: Knit to last 3 sts on Needle 1, k2tog, k1; knit across all sts on Needles 2 and 3; on Needle 4, k1, ssk, knit to end of round. 

Round 2: Knit around.

Repeat these two rounds until there are 60 sts left. Work even in stockinette stitch until 1 ¾” from total desired length of foot.

Toe: Work toe decreases as follows:

Round 1: Knit to last 3 sts on Needle 1, k2tog, k1; on Needle 2, k1, ssk, knit to end of needle; on Needle 3, knit to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1; on Needle 4, k1, ssk, knit to end of round.

Round 2: Knit around.

Work Rounds 1 and 2 until there are 24 sts left. Then repeat Round 1 only until there are 16 sts left. Knit across Needle 1. Slip all the sts from Needle 4 onto Needle 1; slip sts from Needle 3 onto needle 2. Stitches are now equally divided onto two needles, each having 8 sts.Use Kitchener Stitch or other method of your choice to weave the toe together. Weave in all ends. Turn down cuff so anchor & wave pattern shows.

Abbreviations:

K=knit 

P=purl

k2tog=knit two together

Ssk=slip1, slip1, knit sts together through the back loop

Download Isaac Evans Anchor & Wave Socks.pdf (214.0K)

Still Quarantining

Hi there! I'm fine, how are you? Healthy, I hope!

While others have been busily sewing masks

Image by Christo Anestev from Pixabay

and doing other heroic things, I have been spinning and knitting and just staying home. In other words, my usual life.

On the spinning front, I finished the turquoise fiber and am halfway through spinning a braid of yarn that I hand dyed pre-stroke:

Here are a bobbin of each side by side:

I am going to ply them together and make a fingering weight yarn that will look like a summer day on the coast of Maine. I can almost feel the wind in my face and hear the water slooshing by! I'll knit the Crest O' the Wave stole by Wendy Johnson:

On the knitting front, I have knit three pairs of socks:

These socks were started pre-stroke, so over ten years ago.

The red fluffy ones on top are a mohair blend that I lost the band from, and I ran out of yarn to finish them, so I completed the foot on the second sock with bright red worsted weight wool. I neglected to photograph them when they were finished.

The pink socks are a worsted weight from a yarn called Wick (now discontinued) from Knit One, Crochet Too, a 53% soy, 47% polypropylene yarn that wicks moisture away from you.

These socks are fingering weight from Heavenly Yarns in Belfast. (They have lots of yarn, buttons, and needles! Free shipping on orders $30 and over! You should go!) The yarn is Sox by Berroco and is so pretty!

What is on my needles?

I have a sweater, a hat, and a shawl/scarf/thing going.

The sweater is Kinsale by Alice Starmore (in Fishermen's Sweaters):

I am using two 1-lb. cones of Jagger Ragg in blue that was gifted to me by Nancy Howard in 2015 or 2016.

The hat is Raineach by Juliet Bernard that was in The Knitter magazine, issue 148.

I am knitting Raineach out of scraps: gray yarn from my KittyCat Socks, and a ball of pre-stroke handspun that I don't even remember spinning at all, or what I originally knit from it. Perhaps I was drunk.

Anyway, it is really pretty. Here are the sweater and hat together:

So pretty.

Finally, I have another Linus shawl/scarf/thing on my needles for my evening TV knitting, using scraps of blue and green:

Here it is so far:

I have a ways to go!

Happy knitting and spinning, stay healthy both mentally and physically, and learn something today that you didn't know yesterday. I think I will learn how to make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

Yum.

 

 

Fitting Out

I have started fitting out for my knitting cruises already! I've been working for about a week now on putting together the elements for an aran sweater design that I will give to my Knitting Cruise passengers. I am calling this design "Hard Alee", because it has so many turns and bends in the cables, and "Hard Alee!" is what Brenda shouts when she wants the crew to scamper and tack the boat. 

I enjoyed knitting the initial swatch quite a bit:

This morning I worked at writing the pattern, which involved some measuring and some math, which is fun because it is like a puzzle. Now I have to write the stitch patterns out, wind some yarn into a ball, and start actually knitting the model. I am designing the sweater to have finished measurements of 40", 44", 48", and 52". I will knit the model in the 48" measurement, but I would love to find someone willing to knit the smallest size as well, because that way people could try on the sweaters and see if they need the next size up or down. Any takers? I can pay you in yarn or a gift certificate to Unique One :) 

I also have a modular scarf started (Modular Knitting class, April 10 & 17! Sign up now!) that I will also be using on the boat. I haven't gotten very far on it yet because I got sidetracked with the Therapi Wrap:

I am using the Secret Sheep Blend yarn from Good Karma Farm. What wonderful yarn to knit with! 

I have a couple of other scarf projects that I really hope I can get done before the knitting cruises, but I will talk about them if I start working on them. 

And in my personal "just for fun" knitting, I have finished the body of Corduroy and am about 2 inches done on the first sleeve. I hope to be wearing it at the March Knitting Weekend! 

It's a Wrap

I got the Therapi Wrap done (wellllll I do have to weave in some ends, but it is pretty  much done). Pictures before grafting and after:

I kind of messed up the grafting, due partly to forgetfulness and partly to stupidity. I forgot to pick up the extra half stitch from the side of the provisional cast on, so I would have been one stitch off in my count anyway, but I was three stitches off because I had cast on the wrong number in the first place. So I either increased or decreased 2 sts to get the right number, making  a mental note to do the opposite on the other end before grafting, but then I lost the mental note. Go figure. Since I did not count the number of stitches on both needles before grafting, (DUH), I ended up with three extra stitches on one needle and had to fudge it at the end. Throw in the fact  that I forgot to switch back to garter stitch grafting at the beginning of the garter stitches at the other end of the wrap, having done the first garter stitch/switch to stockinette stitch perfectly at the beginning, and you have pretty much a disaster of grafting. Which, by the way, I am leaving right where it is, so that everyone will see it and I can learn humility. 

Other than my own operator error problems, I am quite happy with the wrap itself. It's lovely to look at and lovely to feel :) 

I have never shown pictures of the Corduroy pullover I am making from A Fine Fleece. Here are some pictures:

I am using sport weight Peace Fleece that I got about 10 years ago, seriously. I finally decided to use it up. I love the color, a nice medium to dark purple. 

I have the body nearly done; I probably do a 3-needle bind off to join the shoulder stitches tonight, and pick up the sleeve stitches. It shouldn't take too long to do the sleeves and the collar, and then it will be done! I figure 2 weeks to finish it, so I should shoot for my deadline to be the March Knitting Weekend at the end of the month. 

It is a sweater, so of course it flips up on the bottom. 

 If anyone can tell me how to stop my sweaters from flipping up on the bottom, I would be very very very grateful! 
  

Now that my Therapi Wrap is done, I am pushing forward on the Modular Scarf I am making for my modular knitting class (April 10 & 17). The pattern will also be handed out on the knitting cruises on the Isaac Evans, and it will also be offered for sale at Unique One after April 17. I will show pictures as soon as I am able. 

I have also started work on designing another scarf, a pair of fingerless gloves, a hat, and an Aran sweater, all of which will be patterns handed out on the knitting cruises this year, and offered for sale in Unique One starting in July. So stay tuned for new stuff to knit :)

Back to Work (and Day 2 & 3 of vacation)

Sorry, I forgot to post Day 2 of vacation. Pretty much, it was just spinning and knitting. Oh, and there was a fire drill in the hotel. They warned me about it, so I left for a walk and missed the whole thing.

My Hanne Falkenberg jacket is done except for 1/2 the collar band and the two narrow sleeve cuffs. I got some lovely yellow Peace Fleece at Halcyon not too long ago, and I knit a mitten from it. I spun the 4 ounces of 50/50 merino & tencel fiber I got from Spunky Eclectic at the SPA in February, it is a pretty blue-green/yellow/brown color called "Aspen". It's shiny! It's really pretty, and I think the skein will become a Christmas present. I also went to Grace Robinson and got some sport weight 100% silk from Colinette in the pretty blue color "Lapis", which I have now half done a "Sea-Wool Scarf" from Yarn Forward magazine, issue #11 I think. It's a small version of a Faroe-type shawl, meant to be worn as a scarf, with long tassels that hang down from the 3 points. Its pretty. It might become a Christmas present too. I love it but I don't think I would wear it. I also don't know what to do with my Martini scarf; I love it a lot, but I don't think I will wear it. 

Even though I had to work yesterday at the store, I am still counting it as Day 3 of my vacation, because last night I went to a fabulous concert in Rockland at the Strand Theater. I heard Coco Montoya and Tommy Castro play some excellent blues! It was a rockin' event, and I loved it. Before the show, I went to dinner at Rustica, about 50 steps from the Strand, and had veggie lasagne followed by........

...... limoncello for dessert. I was introduced to limoncello on one of the September knitting cruises this year by Mrs. Krueger (of the Alaskan Mrs. Kruegers), and it is yummy. It will knock you flat on your ass in about 10 miliseconds, so you have to be careful, you have to really really really sip it. And when I say, sip it, I mean SIP IT. Slowly. Take a small sip, savor it, swallow it. Do not sip again until the burning in your throat goes away!!! It took me 20 minutes to drink that little glass of limoncello, but I could still walk afterwards, so I count that as a win. And I knew I had about 4 more hours before I would be driving, so all was well, don't worry. 

Things are pretty slow at the store, but I am trying to be positive. As in, "I am positive I am not making any money!!!" Heh. Hopefully things will pick up. The yarn store part of Unique One is actually coming along pretty well, but the sweaters are woefully under-inventoried. Susan and Tracy and Stephanie and I are knitting as fast as we can, but it takes a while to make the sweaters in amounts that really show. I have to get through a backlog of sweater orders from this summer, but as soon as those are caught up, I will start making stock for the shelves and then you will see an improvement. I wish I had more inventory for Christmas, but whatchagonna do. All I can do is keep on as best I can. 

Happy knitting, and I promise not to write such long blog posts again for a while.

Dates for the 2010 Isaac Evans Knitting Cruises!

The word is out! Here are the dates for the 2010 Isaac Evans Knitting Cruises:

June 27 (Sunday - Thursday)

July 29 (Thursday - Monday)

September 7 (Tuesday - Saturday)

I can’t wait! Please visit the Isaac H. Evans website  for more information.

Pictures from the knitting cruise!

Here are pictures from the last knitting cruise of 2009. We had a great time :) 

 

Babs and Linda :) 

 

Diane and Rachel :) 

 

Knitting on deck

 

At the lobster bake

 

Knitting on the rocks. See the green chair and the rigger's bag knitting bag? That's me. Or at least, where I was. 

 

Pretty Lighthouse

 

Linda helps haul lines :)

 

Knitting at the lobster bake!

 

Rock climbers :) 

 

Barnacles

We also had a very special occasion on this cruise: it was Capt. Brenda's 40th birthday!!!!! Wheeeeeeee! Here is the sight that greeted my eyes when I hauled my butt up on deck to get to the head as fast as possible one morning:

 

Yes. Pirate birthday balloons. Brenda got gifts and a birthday tiara ....

 

.... and a nice card (which lets her actually be only 34!)

 

We all wore feather boas for the occasion (mine was pretty light pink): 

 

Including John :
  

And Brenda wore her sparkly birthday tiara the whole day! Even during the lobster bake! It really sparkled in the sun :) 

 

It was so much fun.... can't wait for next year!

Home from the sea

I am home from the last knitting cruise of the season. Sigh. It was fabulous! We had a great time!!!

I took some pictures, but haven't gotten them blogworthy yet; I have been busy creating a Ravelry group for the Isaac Evans knitting cruises. It's for people who have sailed on the Evans knitting cruises, to give us a chance to stay connected, share recipes, give project updates and pictures, and it is also for anyone who might be interested in going on one of the knitting cruises, too! So if you have a Ravelry account, go on over and search for Isaac H. Evans Knitting Cruises, or email me your Ravelry username and I will send you an invitation. 

I'm the only one there right now, since I just started the group 7 minutes ago, so pleeeeease come join me!