51 Yops - Old dog, four new tricks

First of all Happy Father's Day to all who father in whatever capacity. My dh must have liked the socks I knit him for Father's Day because they were on his feet seconds after he received them.

I know I should have been working on Iona squares this week, and I did get one finished and another started, but then as I was making my list of things to do for next year's YOP challenge, one item became a thing I had to cast on immediately.

I have had the Double Heelix in my list of things to do for years, and the Kroy yarn I received a couple of weeks ago seemed like the right combination. I love fraternal socks - they appeal to my weird sense of symmetry. And the helix? That appeals to the math geek in me.

This sock starts......are you ready for this.....at the heel! First new trick.


And to make things really interesting it forms a helix, where the colours chase themselves around the centre using four strands of yarn. This picture is my first attempt which I ripped out and re-did. Second time was better. Third time better still.

Once the heel is done you do a crochet bindoff, and them make a crochet chain bridge (second new trick) so you can go on to knit either the foot or the cuff. These crochet bindoffs are provisional so you can pick up the stitches and knit the other direction seamlessly.

For the first sock I did the foot first, which ends with a short row toe - third new trick.




Then for the leg, it ends with an interlock bindoff - fourth new trick. Thank goodness for Jeny's videos to help me with both the helix heel and the bindoff.



I am almost finished the leg of the second sock and then I will go onto the foot. This means my helixes (is that even a word?) will go in opposite directions. This was a challenge for my left/right issues, but I figured it out with only having to tink back one row of knitting and all the crochet chains to get the helix going in the right direction. (When in doubt follow the directions).



This week I also made a knitter knocker for a dear friend who had a mastectomy earlier this month. I have finished one, and I am making a second a bit smaller. I will mail them off to her, and then make another the size she prefers.
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My doctor started me on a new anti-anxiety med and it seems to be helping (fingers and toes crossed, knocking on wood, etc. etc.) Despite both of us having the flu this past week (I think our honorary grand-daughters passed it on to us), things feel lighter somehow. So that is a good thing, even though the team I was rooting for in the Stanley Cup lost. :(

On a personal note I have had a candle lit all week for my dear brother-in-law who is very ill. If you have prayers or angels or a meditation practice I know he and his loved ones would appreciate all the good thoughts sent their way.