Lots to catch up on! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We made the six-hour trek to New Hampshire. We did pretty good traffic-wise. Hit it in a few spots in Connecticut on the way there but pretty much smooth sailing other than that.
As if getting to live this close to my family isn’t great enough already, it’s even better because I get to visit with Kim (Woolen Rabbit) and her hubby who live a very short drive from my family. I was especially looking forward to her meeting Lucky since we both have a love for the Cavalier breed. We met them for dinner on Friday night and she surprised me with this:
Gorgeous, no? The pattern is Delicato Mitts from Anne Hanson at KnitSpot and the yarn is Kim’s. I’m telling you, the girl’s got an eye for color and she seems to have my favorites down pat.
I’ve been working on socks with the yarn Kim gave me when we went up over Labor Day. I guess it’s only fitting that I show them in progress… I wasn’t hiding them, Kim, I promise!
I tried the Sherman Heel on the heel and toe. I love the way it looks but… Dear. God! If I don’t have my mind completely on it I lose track and have to rip back. I am getting the hang of it though and getting better at figuring out where I am without counting. I’ve never had to rip back so many times. I think it was worth it though. NO GAPS!!! Can I hear an AMEN?! The Sherman Heel was originally posted on the Knitlist which is long gone. I’ve added it to the bottom of this post.
And then when we got home I found this little gem from Claudia (bavgirl) in my mailbox:
Thank you so much, Claudia. It was a fun little challenge. And thanks, La (Knottygirls), for telling me about it!
My grandparents gave me a great gift as well. A photo album put together by my great-grandmother on Gram’s side. I’ve promised to scan every page and photo and make CD’s for everyone. I couldn’t wait to get it home to compare to my family history notes. This is my great-grandmother x3, Christiana Lewis (Soule) Chick (left).
Her sister, Judith Thomas Soule, is on the right. Christiana is my favorite person in our history because through census reports I’ve been able to get the most information on her. She is my link to all my Mayflower ancestors.
It’s getting very cold and grey here in the Hudson Valley. This is the view my boys have on their way to/from school each day and every weekend when we attend Mass. This is taken from the Catholic Chapel here at West Point.
The Sherman Heel from the old Knitlist:
The Sherman Sock, or ‘How did you do that?’
Mary Sherman Lycan, 9/3/99:
The Sherman Sock is named for my late father, Rallston Sherman, an inventor. He always said an inventor is someone who is too lazy to do things the right way. The Sherman sock is knit from one side of the base of the toe cap, around the toe tip, and up. It is worked flat on two needles for the double-mitered toe and heel, and in the round for instep and leg.
Its advantages:
- As with peasant heels, the identical toe and heel are structurally independent, with no need for gussets or other awkward foot shaping. Use a contrasting color for toe and heel, for a very nice effect. Leg and instep are straight tubes, allowing for maximum freedom in stitch and pattern design.
- The mitered toe and heel, based on Montse Stanley’s suggestions for mitering, are easier to work than wrapped short rows. The decreases and increases are smooth, without holes or long carries inside.
- Toe-up construction allows for best use of yarn: if you start to run out, make tennis anklets; if you have extra, make long socks.
- Toe-up construction of identical toe and heel eliminate guesswork on the length of the foot. The depth of the toe cap is the same as the depth of the heel, so you can try on and measure as you go. Just poke your toes into the toe.
- Toe-up construction allows Fair Isle, lace, and Aran patterns to be knit right side up, except on the first half of the toe cap. If you want your multi-row patterns to come out even, toe-up construction allows you to fit the foot exactly, and fudge the leg length, to accomplish that.
- Worn-out heels and toes can be reknit as peasant heels.
- No more toe grafting!
- Sherman socks are fun to fold flat into little torpedo shapes.
- The invisible cast-on at the base of the toe cap makes it impossible to tell where you started knitting.
Mystify your friends. ‘How did you do that?’
For more information, see: http://web.archive.org/web/20071231151807/www.knitli…
What a wonderful family heirloom. That is so cool. And such a beautiful view!
Oh Jean….what a fabulous photo of your relatives and how cool is that,that they go back to the Mayflower :-)!
Ooooh, good presents for you! The sock you’re working on is beautiful — thanks for the link. What a neat old picture — I love genealogy. It sounds like you’ve been appointed keeper of the records for your family! 😉
Oh, oh, oh how I miss my East Coast Thanksgivings. Actually I miss my American Thanksgivings. We’ve gotten used to the October 4 day weekend Canadian tradition. It’s hard to do US T-day as it’s a working day.
Li
The Sherman Heel (and toe) looks great on the socks you made! I clicked the link to see how it was done and I got lost just reading the directions. Probably makes better sense when the knitting is in front of you, but I think I’m going to have to stick with what I know and deal with the dreaded gaps.
The photo album is a treasure! I love the picture you shared.
oh what great photos! i love my own family photos as well, and have a box from MY gram that i often look through.
Oh Jean I have to know what color that yarn is from Kim. I LOVE the blues and have to get some.
I am very into genealogy too. My dream vacation is to Salt Lake…..I just want to sit in the library for a week!
Oh, wow. The original Doty (our last name – my husband’s) came over on the Mayflower. He mutnied. (sp?) Really. He was the TALLEST man on the Mayflower, and my husband’s family is so short! He also was involved in the first recorded duel in the US. He was quite the character. 6 degrees of separation…