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VINE-RIPENED TOEMATOES
June 30, 2021
For this month I wanted to try something new-ish. A new technique to add texture and some visual interest (smocking) and a new heel construction (Sweet Tomato Heel). Admittedly my interest in the heel was mostly because of the name, but I thought it’d be good to expand my heel options.
Since I knew I was doing this heel, I sought out patterns from the developer of the construction, Cat Bordhi and settled on her Victorian Birdcage socks. The yarn is Regia Premium Bamboo in the colorway Gras Green.
Unfortunately, this month’s knitting did not work out in the time I gave myself. It proved to be more challenging than I expected it to be. I’ve made it to a point where I’m more comfortable with continuing and knowing how to continue, but it’s been a bit of a journey.
The instructions are written for both toe-up and top-down, and seemed to prioritize the toe-up method a bit more. For instance, some the chart for the smocking pattern skips rows and in the toe-up instructions there was a note to knit in the rib pattern for the skipped rows. I didn’t see that at first since I was just looking at the top-down instructions. I only noticed when I got to the heel and had to frog to start over.
I also had trouble figuring out how to distribute my stitches over the double needles and got confused from the diagram and instructions since I worked the chart upside down (because I was doing top-down).
The primary reason I chose this sock pattern was to learn the Sweet Tomato Heel. It’s similar to a short row heel and (from what I gather) only really differs in the number of wedges created from the short rows and the resulting shape; the Sweet Tomato Heel produces a rounder heel than a standard short row heel. I have done a short row heel before, and I struggled with maintaining proper tension. And that continued with the one heel I’ve done so far. Cat provided some troubleshooting tips that I’ll be mindful to apply for the second sock.
I also made some errors with the smocking. Just missed one on one sock and shifted one on the other, nothing too terrible or obvious (to me at least)
I realize I could have done toe-up socks (something I’m not familiar with doing) and that might have made this month’s knitting a little easier in some ways, but that’s something I want to tackle later. Going forward with these socks and future socks, I am going to try to do more preparation (reading instructions thoroughly, familiarizing myself with any charts or techniques, swatching for gauge). I am also choosing something that I feel more comfortable with next month, something to boost the spirits.
An update regarding May’s socks: I have taken measurements and should be good to start them over soon.
Update (01/22): I decided to not finish these socks. I have slowly worked on them over the course of the year, but each time I picked them up, I found they sparked less joy and I was less and less interested in finishing them. I’m happy I learned some new techniques, and maybe I’ll try something like this again, but I would rather focus my attention elsewhere for the time being.