Success!
I decided to go with a Flat Toe from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. As it turns out, that is exactly what the original pattern called for, without the Title. The instructions were just written out, but they pretty much matched. Whatever it is, I hate it.

The grafting turned out pretty well, considering. There is a little bump there on the side, but that was from a looser stitch a row or two down and I figured after a wash and wear it should all even out. There are really no noticeable ladders so I'm pretty pleased.



Luckily, my husband's feet are considered narrow so this should be fine. The shape, however, is not fine. I can't stand the way it comes down to such a narrow opening before the grafting (which I'm pretty sure is the same thing as "Kitchener Stitch," which is what the book called for). Had I known it was going to look like this, I would have done something different.


Oh well, it doesn't matter what I think. It only matters what he thinks, and he hasn't seen it yet. Don't get me wrong, I'm very proud of my effort and I thnk that for my first attempt it turned out really well. I'm glad I started this and I'm excited to cast on for it's mate. But if he were to try this on and tell me (which he never would, for fear of hurting my feelings, unless I let on that I don't like it either) that he doesn't like the fit or the pattern or what ever, and that he can't see himself wearing them, I would be perfectly content to rip it back and start over. But I truly hope he likes them.

And I truly hope to be inspired next weekend while I'm here. The dancing is amazing, and the vendors always have the most beautiful jewelry and woven blankets and shawls. The traditional hand-made crafts move me, and I'm excited for the opportunity to support the native community.

Grandma's old Singer (it was made in 1948 in Elizabeth, NJ, for those of you who may be curious). I've had a burning desire to fire this thing up, especially since she passed, but I don't know the first thing about sewing. Apparently I'm missing a bobbin and some other stuff that probably attaches to the top. But I'm having a lot of difficulty finding a model type or pictures of very similar machines online. I found one manual for a model that looks almost identical to this one, but it wasn't in it's own stand, it was a table-top model, and it didn't have the tacking/back-up feature that I think this one has. Anyway, I plugged it in and it definitely works. I'm going to see if my mom remembers enough to get me started. I feel a great sense of regret when I think about my grandmother as an untapped domestic/handi-craft resource, and even if it does take my mom and I a while to get it going, the experience of having my mom teach me on my grandma's machine is priceless. At this point, though, I'm afraid to even clean it. It seems to be in great condition, and it really isn't that dirty considering it's almost 60 years old, but I don't want to lose any more of that gold leaf.

And I have about 2 inches left to knit on The Sock before I decrease for the toe. I realized last night that it has taken me about 6 weeks to knit this much of one sock. That is so...pathetically...sad. I don't know why it has taken me so long. If I had knitted even a few rows each day I could have finished it in no time, and he would probably have a whole pair by now. I think I just lacked inspiration. That was easily rectified by a trip to the library where I found, on-hand (I usually have to place a hold or request a specific book from another branch), about 10 knitting books that I had been yearning to get my hands on, including Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. I was going to just graft the toe, since I've never done that before and I think grafting looks like an invaluable skill. But now I'm thinking I may try the star toe instead. It just looks so neat and professional! I'm itching for a challenge. Maybe after the felted handbag I'll try knitting from a chart or some texture like cables or eyelets.