I figure it out...

...So you don't have to.

I decided to make socks in men's size 13, using the toe-up construction. I've had some yarn set aside for this project for over a year, a very nice Patons Kroy Jacquards called "Country Jacquard" of browns, blue, and grey & white. Here is the formula:

1. Knit a gauge swatch in the round or observe the gauge on a sock previously knit using the same needles, yarn type, and stitch pattern as you intend to use.

2. Measure foot circumference. Look-up number of stitches needed in a chart, such as the one in Charlene Schurch's More Sensational Knitted Socks. Note that an online Sock-u-lator originally told me to cast-on 90 stitches, but Schurch's chart said 72 stitches. I cast-on 72 stitches, and the sock fits quite well.

3. Choose a toe from Tiptop Toes on Knitty, which includes good directions and pictures for three types of toe-up toes. I tried the Short Row toe, but eventually frogged in favor of the Figure Eight toe. Note: When the pattern says "k1, make 1" or "make 1, k1," I did "kfb (knit front and back)" instead, since I find make 1 to result in larger holes than I prefer. I also disregarded the dpn business and just did kfb at the beginning and end of two circulars.

4. Knit the length of the foot to "the front of the ankle." It is about 2/3 of the total length of the foot from toe tip to the back of the heel. This video is useful.

5. Knit the gusset increases and heel "patch" from Fleegle. Note that when the pattern says "k2, increase 1" or "increase 1, k2," I knit "k1, kfb" and "kfb, k1" instead.

6. Knit the leg of the sock as long as you desire.

7. Bind off using Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind off. Toe-up socks need a good stretchy bind off at the cuff, and this one is easy to follow. Note that you should "keep things loose" somewhat, otherwise you will have problems passing the stitches over one another.

-吴碧芙

Lovable Socks

With more time on my hands, I decided to take on another round of socks. This time I used my favorite top-down basic pattern, with XO cable added on the outside of each sock. I worked the pattern myself by parsing a single XO cable from a scarf pattern and knitting it on the right or left edge accordingly.


They are a gift, so I only modeled them for pictures. I also apparently can only make socks for people with the same size feet as mine, but I'm planning to add more sizes soon.

-吴碧芙

Owl done...

I have been looking for an owl cookie jar, having seen them basically everywhere except in stores lately: (1) in a collection of American Bisque cookie jars in the Waverly Bakery, (2) on the show Modern Family, (3) American Bisque, again, in a patient's apartment (right there on top of her fridge). These owls have been taunting me. Vintage owl cookie jars sell on Ebay for $40-$180, and the non-freaky, non-ugly ones happen to be more expensive.

A week ago, we were in the mall, on official wedding business, when something caught my eye in Macy's. At first, I just saw a rather cute owl-shaped serving tray...then some salt & pepper shakers...then a piggy bank...then a COOKIE JAR! On top of that, there was some kind of sale starting a few days later, and they would pre-sell it to me, to be picked-up on the sale start date.

Now, if you have an owl cookie jar, what kind of cookies would you put in it? I thought so too, but owl-shaped cookie cutters are (1) generally only vaguely owl-shaped, and (2) probably only available at specialty stores and online. An exhaustive search revealed some very cute options: one person used frosting to decorate cookies that she cut out with a tulip-shaped cookie cutter, but I can't find a tulip cookie cutter either. Other options are focused on shaping the dough. As soon as I saw one of those options, I remembered my Grama making them when I was little. Seeing the picture of them took me back to my exact feelings about the cookies when I first saw them: I refused to eat them because they had one cashew, standing for the owl's beak. I was convinced that the cashew meant that the whole cookie would taste like nuts.

The cookies are actually made with vanilla and chocolate dough, rolled into a cylinder and sliced. The eyes are peanut butter chips, although I considered using light-colored M&Ms. The beak, as I mentioned, is a whole cashew.


Having finished my last exam on Saturday (hopefully, provided I pass), this is how I celebrated the end of my academic obligations and my birthday, free of exam stress.

-吴碧芙

Official Graduation

My official graduation was anti-climactic. I finished my internship and moved north. The day after the end of my internship, I received a letter that contained the results of my comprehensive exams. The letter stated that I had passed the written portion of the exams, but that I was "required to email 3 instructors for phone interviews regarding 2 topics of the exams."

So when the last instructor agreed to fill-out the paperwork saying that I passed, during the last phone interview, I suppose that around that moment I officially graduated, having completed all of my academic obligations. The department must complete some paperwork, papers must be signed, and then my diploma will appear in the mail someday soon.

And so, on the day of my official graduation, last Thursday, I had a cupcake...


-吴碧芙

3-Day, 15-Hour Hot Mess

One of those academic obligations of my symbolic graduation is comprehensive exams, which ended today. A 3-day, 15-18 total hour ordeal, in which we all try to prove that we know enough to be competent clinicians. The heat of these past days, the lack of sleep, and the stress on both mind and body have taken their toll.

Hopefully all of the studying and hours of stress have paid off...

Symbolic Commencement

...In no way signifies the successful fulfillment of my academic obligations. But it was fun to get dressed up and walk across the stage with some of my classmates and over 1,000 strangers, from every program offered at the university.


The difference between this MA commencement and my previous one was that this university uses hoods.



-吴碧芙

Self-striping

These are my first socks with the amazing self-striping variety of sock yarn. I keep buying colors I like, thinking they will stripe, and they turn out to be variegated. This yarn, however, had a repeating pattern that was easy to solve and line up when making a pair of socks.

I was determined to make socks that match, identical socks, not fraternal. My plan would have worked, too, if it wasn't for a little extra white, green, and blue on the toe. The heel and gusset match up almost perfectly, with one skinny pink line along the edge of each heel flap. As my knitting friend say, no one will notice because it's down in your shoe anyway.


-吴碧芙