Trekking socks

More Trekking socks are ready for fitting -- should see DD's feet early next week. I usually simply knit the tube of the foot way past where I expect the end of the toes to be, as I did with the socks for Alfred, then baste around the digits and re-knit. DD's ankles and heels are a smaller version of my brother's and her feet are a larger version of mine (these are very baggy!), so I knit some sample toes a full size too long for me. For some reason I never mind ripping and re-knitting toes. I have a snippet of contrasting yarn marking every ten rounds from the pick-up to the toe. It helps speed the tailoring process.

These socks have gone on some nice little hikes during their gestation. I'll post photos when DD takes them on a walk.

I'm in a finishing mood so am cruising through the last few inches of another pair of socks for my brother. With luck, *this* pair will fit.

As you can see, they are much too bit for my feet. It is fun knitting for my family. My mom's feet are slightly smaller than mine but otherwise nearly identical, so I can knit a pair of socks that's a tad snug and they'll fit her perfectly. Mom's, DD's, my brother's, and my hands match, too, with slight variations in size. Genetics in action!

Here's something I started on the bus the other day. I'm not sure it will work. Decades ago I converted my grandmother's worsted weight alligator pattern (which was an improvement of, I think, an old Sunset pattern?) to a fine gauge (Harrisville tweed singles) and slightly different shaping: the guys who were cuddling with the ESK Cassie sent me. Then, I reworked the pattern to be done in sculptural peyote stitch with seed beads. The other day I started shifting it back to sock yarn, but in the round. It's going well, but I know the legs are going to give me fits, and ideally I'd like to knit the feet instead of using felt, since felt is too easy for teething infants to mutilate and swallow. I know I can tweak a pattern but I don't know if it will be feasible for normal people to knit. Shaped knitting can be terribly fussy. I'll post more photos if I succeed (and it will fade into the ether if I don't).