Shetland Halo-Cabled wool socks

                           Shetland Halo Cabled Socks.

Almost perfect cables.....

I have this obsession with socks. Hand knit socks. Hand knit socks saved my feet. I'm going to tell you something personal about me. 'I used to have really stinky feet'  It was very embarrassing for me. They were so bad that if i removed my shoes & walked across the floor you could see little damp foot prints !
Once i started to knit hand made socks containing a high percentage of sheep wool the problem went away within a few short weeks. I now wear hand knit socks everyday & my feet are always dry & comfortable. Even in summer they are dry & never overly hot.
                               As a result of the damp foot problem my library contains quite a few sock knitting books. I just finished reading ''In the foot steps of sheep'' Tales of a journey through Scotland, walking, spinning & knitting socks.

What a great read. The Authors style of writing is such that you feel you are walking hand in hand with her along the country roads & over the hills. Her travels over the land allows her to pick up strewn bits of  wool discarded by the sheep, she then spins while she walks & then in the quiet of her tent she knits socks.The book contains wonderful sock knitting patterns that she designed from the wool she collected & the scenery is breathtaking.
If you love knitting socks & love wool socks then i Highly recommend this book. This book inspired to me to knit my cabled socks using our Shetland Halo wool. I purchased my copy from Schoolhouse Press. 

I like to change things around a little so I'm knitting these Cabled socks on single point needles - knitting 2 at a time is a fun change to knitting them circular on D.P.N's & using this method of sock knitting allows you to knit the back of the sock a different colour from the front of the sock.

Shetland Halo contains 30% Angora Rabbit-70% Pure Organic Shetland wool.
You might think that Angora rabbit fibre would be too delicate for socks but you would be wrong ! Angora is a strong fibre, has healing properties much like qiviut so is perfect for cold tired achy feet.

To enter this months giveaway in comments section:(if your a sock knitter) tell me the title of  your most loved sock knitting book OR the title of your most loved Cable knitting book !

            These socks have no seam, there is no stitching up to do unless you want to ! You simply pick up & knit together the side stitches from the back of the sock as your knitting the front of the sock row by row. We start at the back rib,back of the leg, knit down the back leg to the garter heel, turn the heal, knit along the underside of foot, shape the toe, knit over the top of the toe, knit up the instep-adding the cables as we go & knitting together the side sts to marry the back to the front of the sock, continuing until the front is same length as back.....easy-peasy !
Knitting 2 socks at the same time gives you perfect cables & perfectly matching socks everytime.

You will need`:
2 skeins of our Shetland Halo wool yarn,
2.00mm single point needles(optional) to knit Garters stitch heel flap & turning the heel.
3.00mm Single point needles,
cable needle-I use a short 5''Inch 2mm dpn sock needle,
stitch markers-optional,
wool needle to sew in ends

The Pattern: on 3.00mm needles Cast on 32sts

Slip the 1st of every row throughout-this gives a lovely neat edge to your work & allows you to easily see the st that needs to be picked up & Knitted.

Row 1: (RS), sl 1, *p1, k1; rep to end of row.

Row 2: sl 1, *k1, p1,; rep to end of row.
Work until rib measures 1'' inch
Next: change to stocking stitch & knit until work measures 7.5'' inches long from cast on edge.

Back leg.

HEEL FLAP:
Change to 2.00mm's ***(Optional)*** & work garter heel flap-knit on every row slipping the 1st stitch of every row until flap measures 2''inches.
***Using a smaller needle working Garter stitches really makes for a tough durable heel***

TURN HEEL: You will now shape the heel with short rows & because you are making short rows you will need to complete each heel seperately-complete the heel of 1 sock then slip the sts back to the 3.00mm needle or waste yarn or a stitch holder, then complete your 2 nd heel. Once complete you can get back to knitting both socks on the same needle as before-make sure you have 2 right sides of work facing you !
ROW 1: (RS) sl1, k17, k2TTBL-(k2 sts tog through back loops), k1, turn work.
ROW 2: Sl1, p5, p2tog, p1, turn work
ROW 3:sl 1, k6, k2ttbl, k1, tuen work.
ROW 4:sll, p7, p2tog, p1, turn work.
Continue as above working rows 3 & 4 knitting upto 1 st before the gap & knitting 2 tog or p2 tog until you have 18 sts remaining.

Back leg complete, heel flap, turned heel & now ready to shape gusset !

GUSSET INC's & SHAPING:
On WS of work, pick up & purl 16 sts along the edge of the heel flap, purl across row to the end, turn work, knit across all 34sts, then pick up & knit another 16 sts along the edge of heel flap as before. Turn work & purl across the row.
NEXT ROW: (RS) sl1, k1, k2TTBL, knit across to last 4 sts, k2TTBL, 2 sts decreased
NEXT ROW :(WS) purl across all sts

CONT shaping the gusset of both socks working the two rows above until you have 32sts for each sock as before.

KNIT THE SOLE:
Working back & forth in stocking stitch, work until the sole measures 2'' inches short of toes.

SHAPE THE TOE:
Row 1: sl1, k2ttbl (knit 2 sts together through back loops), kit to last 3 sts, k2ttbl, k1
Row 2: sl1, purl across row.
Repeat these 2 rows until you have Dec down from 32 sts to 18 sts.

***Next you will beg increasing to form the top part of the Toe picking up & knitting edge sts from the back of the sock in the following way:
On (RS) of work you will inc 1 st each end, until you have 32 sts again & on (WS) you will pick up edge sts to close sock.
I like to use a very small gauge sock needle as a stick to pick up the edge sts or you could even use the sharp end of your wool needle ! OR you can sew up the side seems if you prefer using an invisible stitch technique. There are posts on this technique on Youtube !

Row 1(RS) sl1, m1, k across row to last 2 sts, m1, k2.
Row 2:(WS) sl1, p across row to end.

NOW FOR THE FUN BIT.....adding the cables.

I tried them on as i knit, they are a lovely Snug fit & so Soft !
I do recommend that you use the 2.00mm for the toes-will make them last a lot longer.

 THE CABLE PATTERN:

Row 1:(RS) p3, k12, p2, k12, p3 - rep for 2nd sock.

Row 2: k3, p12, k2, p12, k3.

Row 3: p3, C6B, C6F, p2, C6B, C6F, p3.

Row 4: k3, p12, k2, p12, k3.

Rows 5 & 7- as row 1.

Row 6 & 8-as row 2.

Row 9: as 3rd row.

Row 10: as 4th row.

Row 11 & 13: - as row 1.

Row 12 & 14- as row 2.

Row 15: p3, C6F, C6B, p2, C6F, C6B, p3.

Row 16: as row 2.

Rows 17 & 19: - as row 1

Rows 18 & 20: - as row 2.

Row 21: p3, C6F, C6B, p2, C6F, C6B, p3.

Row 22: as row 2.

Rows 23 & 24: as rows 1 & 2.

rep until cabled leg is 1'' inches shorter than back leg. I finished on row 5. Then k2, p2 for 1 inch, bind off in rib formation.

(yes that is correct-k2, p2 inplace of k1, p1) 

ABBREVIATIONS: (RS)-right side of work, (WS) wrong side of work, sl1-slip the stitch without working it,   p1-purl 1 stitch,  k1-knit 1 stitch, k2tog-knit the next 2 sts together to make a decrease,  K2ttbl-knit the next 2 sts together through the back loops, M1-knit into the front & back of 1 st to make 2 sts,  SM-slip marker, C6B-slip next 3 sts onto cable needle & hold at back, knit next 3 sts from left needle, then knit the 3 sts from cable needle, C6F-slip next 3 sts onto cable needle & hold at front, knit next 3 sts from left needle, then knit the 3 sts from cable neeedle.

Click on any picture to enlarge !
Now the socks are complete there is only 1 thing i would change & that is to knit the toes on the 2.00mm's to make the toe stronger & more rigid.

Runs from 4th February to 29th February 2016.

2 winners drawn at Randon

1 entry per person on this blog post & 1 entry on the qiviut blog is permitted. 

Check out the following link to take part in the giveaway i have going on for the Celtic Cabled Ruana

www.theqiviutblog.blogspot.com