Grace Ennis Red Devil #7257 Socks

UPDATE June 9, 2011: I know I said I was not ready to tackle these difficult socks but after saying that, they were all I could think about!! LOL. Since this sock is knit flat to the heel you have to stitch the back together to form a sock. I do this using the mattress stitch. I quickly ran a seam up the back for photos so there is a little puckering going on that won't be there when the sock is compelte.

After adding all the necessary bobbins to the sock, see, I wasn't kidding about this having the potential of turning into a giant knot!!

Moving on with the flames, not too bad yet.

Pattern complete! The back needle is the back of the sock where the heel flap will begin. The bottom needle is the end of the pattern down the instep. I will begin the heel flap next, hence the stoppers, and then move onto the gusset. After, these two sections will be stitched together using the mattress stitch, which if done correctly is invisable. You then work the remainder of the foot and start decreasing for the toe and you're done!!

I started the Grace Ennis, Graphic Knitting Patterns Red Devil Sock #7257 from 1953 the other day using Knit Picks Palette yarns in Silver, Semolina, Serrano and Black but had to stop at the beginning of the flames. More to gather my thoughts and steel my nerves because geez at the bobbins on this one!! There are 7 yellow flames and 6 red flames! Yes, I could float/carry the red flames but didn't want the extra thickness and chance of wonky tension! I can ruin a sock in a heartbeat by pulling a row of floats too tightly! I can also completely tie myself into a giant knot with too many bobbins so I will continue to work on my Cozy Toes charity socks which don't take any time at all to complete and when I'm feeling up to this challenge I will resume!! Thanks for looking!! Let me know what you think! =)