"Roses For Margaery" - Finished Object Fridays a.k.a. FO In Knit Lingo

Has it really been that long since I've had a finished object to share?  Oh my!
Does finishing the write up of a new pattern count?  Let's say that it does... 'cos man, this was hard work!

As we all know, I love the Song of Ice And Fire book, and HBO's original mini series bases on them call Game of Thrones.  These socks took a long time to come into fruition, with little hiccups along the way and loads of designing challenges.  Those hair pulling moments were worth it, because I'm very proud of the finished product.  My most prettiest socks so far, if I may so bold to say!

These socks are based on the character Margaery Tyrell, a very pretty

and very determined young woman who wants to be the queen of all of Westeros.  Without giving spoilers, I can tell you Margaery is a woman that seems to do what she is supposed to do, confined to the wishes and rules of family and state.  But is she really?  Margaery intrigued me.  I thought it interesting that her House sigil is a golden rose on a field of green.  "Growing Strong" is their words, and interestingly enough, so is Margaery.  Roses are beautiful, but can overtake a garden if left unchecked.  The undulating strong lines confining the rose bunches represent her set role, but notice how these lines don't meet.  They are really guidelines.  I also took the roses down into a very common heel flap.  Margaery is all about making the commoners love her.  I think she knows this is the real source of a rulers' power.

So here it is!

Roses For Margaery by Nin Leavitt
an original sock pattern inspired by R. R. Martin's Song Of Ice And Fire
Part of the “Game of Thrones” Sock Series By NinDesigns 

Doing the photo shoot was a lot of fun and I learned so much about my Olympus E500. 

Roses For Margaery: Another Game Of Thrones Inspired Sock

Speaking of roses, I was over at mom's house yesterday late in the afternoon.  Mom was hanging another load of laundry out on the line.  There was a gentle wind blowing and I literally froze on the deck steps.  Roses!  The air was perfumed with roses!  "Mom, what laundry detergent is that!?!"  Well, it turns out that it wasn't the detergent but the wild rose bushes Dad had planted decades ago in the sandy soil around the corner of the house.   They are a hardy breed with deep pink petals and a sharp candy scent.  Last year, during a fit of a "man-o-pause" moment, Dad had trimmed them back to almost nothing with a chainsaw.  I thought that was pretty much it for the roses, but low and behold, they are back with a vengeance.  Good thing too.  My dye pots are waiting!

Yesterday was a great day for knitting!  I had to drop my little guy off at preschool in the city and as a treat to myself, I spent several hours at my local yarn shop knitting.  Trish, the coolest yarn shop owner EVER, has comfy couches in the back where knitters can come and knit when you feel like it.  Heaven! 

The day before yesterday, I discovered a glaring mistake in my "Roses For Margaery" sock.  Right on the top of foot, I forgot to knit through the back of the loop in a section of the pattern.  At first, I thought I could just forget about it, keep knitting because they are the prototype.  Nope.  That one row was bugging me so bad, I had to rip the sucker back.  It was A LOT to rip.  Sigh.  Ever had to do that?  Make the decision to forge on or rip waaaaayyyy back because it was just bugging you? 

As painful as it was to rip, I was glad I had those golden hours at the yarn shop to knit.  I actually made it back up to where I was before and then sum.  Yes! 

But I noticed another problem that I think I was trying to ignore.   I tried the sock on and it was too tight.   Yup, all 80 stitches worth was tight on my supposed "large" version of the pattern.   What a totally sinking feeling that was.  That is my foot in the picture left. 

Trish came back to sit with me because there was a lull in customers.  I noticed her pretty, dainty feet.  With slim ankles.  Hmmmm.  Trish agreed to try them on and OH my gosh, the leg and arch fit her perfect size medium foot fantastically!  Yay!  But the foot, which was 79 stitches in circumference was a pinch too big.  She suggested to decrease to about 72 stitches for the foot.  

Trish knows her socks.  And her perfectly pretty medium foot.  So what's that I hear?  The sound of ripping coming my way.  Grrrrr.  Totally grumping about when will these (insert swear word of your choice) socks EVER be done!???  However, now I have some valuable insight on the medium and a strong idea about what to do for the large.  Yay!

Designing.  Ah, ya gotta love it.  Or go crazy.  :P

~Nin

Trying something new... Video blogging about my sock designs

Thought I'd try something new!  My Mac has a nice little video cam... fun :)

Talking about designing new Game of Thrones inspired socks for the Hound and Margaery Tyrell.

Hunting For Inspiration For The Hound

Now that "Melisandre's Flames" socks are officially out for test knitting, I'm getting that "designing something new" itch big time.  Why?  Well, because I love to design, and because of Season 3, Episode 7 of HBO's fantastic original series "Game Of Thrones."  What an awesome episode it was!  And it was written by R. R. Martin himself.  Love that!

Who has captured my attention?  The Hound.  I loved his character in the books and his character on

the small screen is excellent.  And again, I want to do a sock.  Socks have me smitten right now. :)

So, what kind of sock would the Hound wear?  I'm thinking he'd be like Stannis.  Something straight forward and sorta no non-sense stitch pattern.  And something sharp, reminiscent of fangs.  I think I've found the right stitch pattern, but, as usual, I think I'll modify it a bit.  As for the colorway, I don't see him as a grey sock.  I see murky colors of the forest because that is where he has been hiding.  Plus, hounds are meant to hunt, and the forests are usually where the best game are.
With this all in mind, I went stash diving and I think I've found the perfect sock yarn for the Hound.  Originally I bought it at my local yarn shop thinking of Arya, but it wasn't ringing true for her, so I put it away. 

ETA:  Since I started writing this post, I'm now wrestling with my sock yarn choice.   The yarn appears to be a bit "stripy" and I just cannot see The Hound in stripes.   So, I'm back to trying to find a colorway that rings true to my vision.  Another problem.  Do I have to use the colors of his House?  Some GoT fans get really riled when House colors are not respected.  The Hound's House colors are gold and black.   Grrrr.  Maybe a nice charcoal?  Hmmm.

I also was struck by inspiration to do a Tyrell sock for Margaery.  I can see it so easily in pink, or that pretty shade of blue she usually wears on the show.  BUT, the Tyrell House colors are green and gold.  Blah.  Gold I could do, but green is way off for the very feminine design I have in mind.  Oh well, we'll see.

Update: Melisandre's Flames Socks

to get this sock pattern done and released!!!

One sock done, and half way through the second sock.  To get this pattern published in the Keswick Arts and Crafts Ravelry, Craftsy and Etsy stores, I've got to:

1. Finish knitting the socks
2. Plan photo shoot and take pictures
3. Chart out stitch pattern used
4. Write up pattern final charted pattern
5. Write up pattern with final written instructions
6. Send it out to test knitters and wait for any mistakes I missed to be caught
7. Update pattern
8. Create pdf of final pattern
9. Upload to Ravelry, Etsy, and Craftsy
10. Tell the world through blog, facebook, ravelry and etsy forums

Yikes!  I better get my needles a-clack'!

And as a side note, I was wondering, who taught you to knit or crochet?  Visit my facebook page to answer this poll question at http://www.facebook.com/KeswickArtsAndCrafts ... I've got a blog post brewing in the back of my mind about this...


By the way, hubby totally loved Troll Hunter.  :)

Melisandre's Flames -- New sock pattern design!

 "The night is dark, and full of terrors."

Melisandre, the Red Priestess from Asshai, is Stannis' sorceress adviser.  She claims to see the prophecies of the Lord Of Light in flames, and has converted the stoic Stannis to her religion.  She gives him information to help his cause, to claim his rightful seat on the throne in Westros.

Since I did the socks for Stannis, I couldn't get the idea of doing a sock pattern for Melisandre, out of my head. But what stitch, or combinations of stitches to use?

Melisandre reminds me of a beautiful snake.  Her body language from the R.R. Martin books is very sensual, slinky.  She has an almost hypnotic power over those that come in contact with her, or she inspires fear and distrust in those who  worship the old gods or the gods of the Seven.  So, with this in mind, and the fact that Melisandre burns with an inner fire, I wanted a stitch pattern that is reminiscent of flickering, twisting flames, yet a little bit lacy hinting at her seductiveness.  And I think I have found it!

But what about the yarn?  I looked at A LOT of different shades of red and orange, you know, to evoke that whole fire thing.  I wasn't really satisfied until I got an email sale alert from Webs.  And low and behold, I have found the perfect yarn colorway that totally reminds me of Melisandre!  Oddly enough, it is a Cascade Heritage Paints which was the yarn that captivated me for Socks For Stannis.  The colorway is 9928 "Dark Sunset."  I love how the different colors bleed into each other.

"Game of Thrones" Season 3, episode 2 is on tonight.  And guess what? 

The night is dark, and full of knitting.

Socks for Stannis Are Published!

Yay, the pattern is finally live on Ravelry, Etsy and Craftsy!  I'm grinning from ear to ear because I really love this pattern.  It's my first ever sock pattern and it is Game of Thrones related.  LOVE it!  My testers did a lovely job and were invaluable in making the pattern go live.  Thank you!  If you've got a moment, check out my designs page on Ravelry.  You can see the socks the testers knit too.  It's so neat to see something that was just an idea floating around in my head made by knitters from around the world. :)