A Tale of Tulip and One Nutkin

I have not mastered the art of the sweater. There are two on the needles that I have yet to complete. The two that I knit since my entry into the knit blogosphere, they hang unworn in my closet. Still, I dream of the perfect sweater that I know exists to fulfill my knitting destiny.
Now socks; on the other hand, or should I say foot, has been a relatively " aus der Hand" (out of hand) pursuit. I rarely had difficulty with pattern, execution, or fit. I wasn't always thrilled with my colour choices but that aside, sock knitting has been pleasurable...until lately. 
It started a pair of socks in the past. Pomatomus took months to finish. Sock one, no problem; sock two had me rip out three times. The heel and needle size were my problem areas.
The saga continues with Achilles' heels on Nutkin and Tulip, respectively. Both sock patterns are written with short row heel instructions. Both socks use a different method. With Nutkin the number of stitches decrease with the yarn over, knit or purl to result in pairs of stitches that are later knit together with the live stitches to result in a heel cup. Tulip is much simpler, leaving on stitch on the needles as on decreases and then picking up those stitches below to result in a heel cup. Sounds simple, right. Well, it is if you don't mind holes in the gussets. This was something unexpected and unwanted. I  knit short row heels two other times, the Sixth Sense socks and Hippy Crunchy with different techniques that resulted in pleasing gusset turns and no holes.
Nutkin had me so flummoxed and I just threw up my needles and knit a heel flap. With Tulip I persevered and have an eyelet gusset that resembles the picture. I also would like to perfect the "jogless jog". I will try this on the second sock.
So, there you have it. Hopefully three pair of challenging socks will be the end of my Achilles' heels.
Next up, further destashing from the sock basket. I still have the 2007 series of the Rockin' Sock Club waiting to be cast on. According to my stash on Ravelry, I have 30 further opportunities to finally master the short row heels.
A quick  "footnote", here is the Wee Tiny Sock that was my prezzie, all the way from Lake City, Florida. Thanks to Knitting Gnome who also knit the sock from Lornas' Laces scraps, just like I did. Great sock knitting stashes yield great leftovers.

Comments

[Luni]

I'm fascinated by your discussion of heels. Really, I just knit my first pair of socks, which had a short-row heel. I liked the construction, but not the loosely knit area at the join of the heel to the foot. The short rows used yarn overs, rather than wraps, at the turns. I'd like to try one with wraps.
I'm working on a second pair with a heel flap now. It is much more time consuming, so I can't say at this point how it will come out.
If you want the "gospel" on jogless joins, see TECHKnitting.

[Mandella]

I can feel the struggle from here, but don't you think one of the best things about socks is the challenges each pattern brings?

Love the colour of your Nutkin socks, btw.

[Rima Aranha]

All I can say is that the tulip sock is super beautiful. Oh so pretty.

[Terri]

I really like how your Nutkin turned out too. Shame about the heel issues, but thanks for the heads up on this one. I'm yet to make this pattern, so I'll remember about the heel when I get to them.

[Mark]

Hallo, toller Beitrag. Habe Deinen RSS Feed jetzt im Reader und werde öffter mal vorbeischauen! Weiter so...

[Shannon]

The tulip sock is beautiful :)

[Opal]

I tend to throw up my hands whenever I come across a short-row heel myself. I'm definitely a heel-flap girl. :)

[Kristen]

I tend to avoid the whole heel issue by not knitting socks (much)!
The tulip socks just sing 'Spring'. And Nutkin is a beautiful color and goes perfectly with its name.

[Roseann]

What beautiful socks! I love the tulip colors and I am fascinated by the Nutkin heel. I have had success with using Aunt Jean's Jogless Join that I read about in the Spring/Summer 2000 of issue Vogue Knitting. I have 3 prs of socks to make from 2007 Rockin' Sock Club, too.

[Kris]

I got a chuckle out of your sock sweater issues. Out of the sweaters I've made there is only one that I actually wear.

As for your socks, even though the heels are giving you such issues they are gorgeous. Good Luck on the second ones.

[Deborah Edghill]

I weep with emphathy....

Now that I'm out of jaywalker purgatory, I too can move on to new sock exploits. I am not astute enough to discuss one technique over another I get confused with them all. I've loved, loved, loved watching your socks bloom. Can't say what thrills me more, the pictures, the patterns or your prose.