Fiber Arts Friday: Football er Sport Socks, Round 2 - Rainbow Trout

I really enjoyed working on my Clown Fish Socks while rooting for the Denver Broncos last year, so I have decided to work on a similar project this year.

This time, the Colorway is called Rainbow Trout, which is a common fish in Colorado, and the Sock Pattern is the Zig Zag of Jaywalker.

This sock pattern is Top > Down, and having confirmed that the 9-inch circular needles worked well on the Camo Socks, these should be relatively easy to start out.

Now, I just need to remember to start both socks at the same place in the colorway.

A few weeks later, about a week before the pre-season began, and after not successfully finding the color match between the two skeins, I re-wound one of them from the opposite end.  Which worked and means that I will have turquoise toes.... er cuffs, since this pattern is Top > Down. :-)

The pattern cautions that it is not very stretchy, but my yarn is very stretchy (~60%), so based on the ball of foot measurement (9 inches), and my gauge (8 sts/inch) being ~18% smaller than the prescribed (9.5 sts/inch), and my penchant for wanting a lot of room for the toes, I decided to embark upon the third size (9.75 inches).  If my math is correct this should give some negative ease... but this is the line between Art and Science.  So fingers crossed these socks turn out close to as expected... and noting that I am never 100% confident that my plan is the right plan.... and also why I prefer to work socks Toe > Up, so I can check foot fit earlier in the project.  But, alas, each project is intended to be a learning experience.  ;-)

The pattern is written for 4 double-pointed needles (dpn).  However, I will be using a 9-inch circular, so I will be using a variety of stitch markers.

Also unusual in this pattern is that the Beginning of the Round (BOR) is at the back of the calf rather than the side of the foot.  So I will need to keep that in mind.

Pre-Season

If you remember last year, the Denver Broncos had a new Ownership Group, a new/young Coach, and a new Quarterback.  Since it takes time to build the trust and understanding that teams require, they did not do so well.

This year they have nearly an entire new Team (aside from the Quarterback), and a different new Coach (who has said derogatory things about last year's Coach).  So my guess is that they still won't do well this year, but time will tell... and I hope I'm wrong.  It's less fun watching a team that is destined to have a losing season.

Friday, August 11: at Arizona Cardinals, 8pm MT, Loss: 17-18

Generally I'm pretty much a zombie by 8:30pm, so the late start time wasn't conducive to me making much progress on starting these socks, though I did spend about an hour.

I managed to get the cast-ons to match.  Which was my most important goal for today.  It's a little difficult to see in the photo below, but the yellow starts very close to the same place.  WooHoo!

With the remainder of the time spent tonight, I was able to complete 2 rows on the first cuff.

****

Saturday, August 19: at San Francisco 49ers, Loss: 20-21

I spent the day as a spectator at the Greeley Kennel Club Dog Show.  It was very hot, as usual, but it was great fun to be there without having a dog entered.  I was able to relax, spend time with a few friends, take photos, meet a few new people, and play with puppies.

So, while I did have a nap after my extroverting day in the hot sun, my knitting during the game was slow.

I color-coded the sock markers.  One is Purple/Blue and the other other is Yellow/Green.  It's sort of fun how my opinion on stitch markers has evolved over the years... It turns out that I really like having a variety of colors, sizes, and styles to help mark different things.

During this game, I did make progress on the first cuff and got the second one started.

There were about 6 football-minutes left in the game when I turned in for the night, at which time the Broncos were leading.  So while the team looks better than they did the first week, they still managed to snatch a loss in the end.

Of course these are pre-season games, so the performance is more about choosing who will be on the team and therefore individual players' jobs than the win-loss record.

The local news station, that we watch, has doubled their full-time coverage staff for the Broncos.  They also spent a lot of time with the head of the new ownership group talking about all of the money they've spent on the team and stadium over the last year.

****

Saturday, August 26: Los Angeles Rams, Win: 41-0

We were travelling and otherwise, busy.  So we did not watch this game and therefore, no progress was made on the Trout Socks this week.

This leaves the Pre-Season Record at 1-2 and the Regular Season beginning in about 2 weeks.

****

Regular Season

Given that it was two weeks between the Professional Pre- and Regular-seasons of the NFL, I revisited my thought that I would work on these socks whenever I'm "watching" any sports.  There are interesting things happening at the local colleges and of course, we love Tennis.  So from this point forward, these are Sport Socks, not Football Socks. :-)

CU: Sep 2 at TCU - The new head coach is Deion Sanders and the Quarterback is his son.  So they were the main topic of sports reporters and commentators.  CU won 45-42.  We did not watch any of this game.  

CSU: Sep 2 vs Washington State - watched part of this game.  CSU lost 50-24.  Ouch.  I finished the first cuff.  

USTA US Open: 9/3-4 - watched some of the Round of 16 competition.  Hubba and I enjoy Tennis quite a lot and it's worth noting that this year is the 50th Anniversary of the USTA offering equal pay to both men and women.  I finished the second cuff and began work on the first leg.

USTA US Open: 9/6 - watched some of the Quarter Finals and continued work on the first leg.  The ZigZag is beginning to show itself.

USTA US Open: 9/7-8 - watched some of the Semi Finals and continued to work on the first leg.  Each color repeat is increasing the length by about 1.25 inches.

USTA US Open: 9/9-10 - watched some of the finals and continued to work on the first leg.  It was heartwarming to watch the tennis players being gracious in their wins, and kind to their competitors, as well as to the staff that ran and worked the tournament.

CU: Sep 9 vs Nebraska - Boulder, CO, Folsom Field

As I was coming up and in college, the CU-Nebraska Football Game was always a big deal.  It used to be over Thanksgiving Weekend, and was part of the reason that Hubba and I rescheduled our Wedding (there were no hotel rooms available in Boulder that weekend).

So to see this game on the schedule this year, was a surprise to me.  I know there's been a lot of shifting amongst the college divisions recently, but I generally don't follow it too closely.  So I assume this means that CU and Nebraska are back together in the same division again, but I really don't know and have not checked.

The game was a dead heat for most of the first half, then CU got a couple of turnovers at the end of the 2nd Quarter and were leading at the half.  The second half was definitely CU's game.  The energy throughout the entire game was remarkable.

I continued to work on the first leg of the sock and of course, was thrilled cheer on the win, at home, over Nebraska.  CU Won 36-14.

Sunday, September 10: Las Vegas Raiders, Loss: 16-17

I spent the morning at the Evergreen Kennel Club Dog Show, supporting a couple of friends and continuing to practice with my big camera.

The energy for the Broncos' season opener was flat.  Especially after listening to the CU-Nebraska game the day before.  The Broncos began the game with a failed on-side kick.  I told Hubba that they need to shed their arrogance, or this season won't go well for them.  There were a lot of penalties and ultimately Denver lost.  I'll note that Hubba disagreed with me regarding the arrogance, but conceded that a large number of penalties come with the new Head Coach, Sean Payton.

Condoleezza Rice, the former National Security Adviser and Secretary of State for George W Bush, is part of the new ownership group.  The broadcast camera showed her sitting in the owners' box, looking pensive, while watching the game.  They did not comment on her body language, but I think her body language was quite loud.

I spent the game continuing to work on the first leg and have about 2 inches to go.  I really like the ZigZag combined with the colorway.  I think these will be fun to wear when they're done.

 ****

CUvCSU: Sep 16 (Sat) 8:00 PM MT, Boulder, CO, Folsom Field.  This in-State rivalry event is affectionately called the Rocky Mountain Showdown and the winner receives the Centennial Cup.  Colorado is the Centennial State.

The late start, as mentioned above, is not conducive to me making progress and due to the earlier game broadcast running long, this game started about 20 minutes late.  So I caught some of the first quarter and the last few minutes of the 4th quarter when CU tied the game, forcing the first OT.  Ultimately there were two OTs with CU winning the game.  I'm impressed by CSU's performance, since they did so poorly in their season opener.  I'm also impressed by the way the CU team has come together and continued to work together through the tougher parts of games thus far.  This is in stark difference to the Broncos' performances thus far.

On Saturday I also "watched" some of the Prefontaine Classic (Track&Field) and some Horse Racing/Jumping.  Then Sunday included some of the JAXvsKC NFL game.

Sunday, September 17: Washington Commanders 2:25pm MT, CBS Loss: 33-35

During the first half of the Bronco game I remarked to Hubba that the team looks good, cohesive, and much better than they had previously.  He agreed.  They stayed that way until right before the end of the first half.  Around that time one of their players made a late and egregious hit.  He was ultimately ejected and had been fined for a similar event the previous week.  The Broncos just couldn't get it together after that.  Only making an impressive drive in the last few minutes of the game.

It's notable the one of the network commentators (Boomer Esiason, I think) talked in the half-time report about how the Broncos have only been playing half of each game.  This reminds me of commentators talking years ago about how there are 4 quarters of football, and if you want to win, you have to play all of them.  Also notable is that the stands were mostly empty toward the end of the game.  This is not typical of Broncos fans.  There was a lot of cheering for the Washington team, which is also not typical of games held at Mile High Stadium.

On to sock progress...

Through these events this week, I finished the first leg and completed the first color repeat on the second leg.  ~3 inches of length added since last week.

I worked the first leg to ~7.25 inches so it would be in the green section of the colorway.  I am hopeful this will minimize the appearance in the likely event of a break in Colorway pattern from the front of the foot.  I don't know where the heel will end up in the colorway, but I don't think I want to work the heel as an afterthought.

The quick color changes and simple two-row pattern are keeping these socks interesting to work on.  I ordered two pair of Acrylic Sock Blockers.  I was wanting something not-plastic, but the wire pair I got a couple of months ago are giant(!) and I'm worried the wood options would warp during wet blocking.

The wood blockers are certainly fine for showing off dry socks.  However, I hand-wet-blocked my Inigo Socks and one of the comments I received from the County Fair Competition is that they appeared to be two different sizes.  Wet Blocking with Blockers should resolve this issue in the future.

****

CU: Sep 23 (Sat) 1:30pm MT Oregon, Eugene, Oregon - Watched some of this game while working on the second leg.  This was a tough loss for CU.  It was 0-35 at the half, with a final score of 6-42.  As Hubba said early in the game, "He (Prime) needs to teach them how to lose too."  I agree.  Knowing how to lose graciously is an important life skill.

Sunday, September 24: at Miami Dolphins, 11:00am MT, Loss: 20-70

Whelp, Miami achieved a franchise scoring record a few seconds into the fourth quarter, at 56 points to Denver's 13.  The final score was a big loss for Denver at 20-70.  This is apparently the second-highest score achieved by any team in the NFL.  smh.

Hubba thinks that Vance Joseph, the Defensive Coordinator and former Head Coach, will be fired tomorrow.  My opinion is that this is just another set of data supporting the fact that money, alone, does not make a team.

Anyway, I spent some time working on other things during today's game, so I did not make as much progress as I would have liked on my Trout Socks.  However, I am nearly half-complete with the second leg, with a little more than two color changes to go.

 ****

Sunday Night Football: Sep 24, Steelers vs Raiders - watch a little of this game and continued to work on the leg of s\Sock #2.

Republican Primary Debate #2, Wednesday Sep 27: Seems fair to consider this a sport.  Continued working on the leg of Sock #2 

Sunday, October 1: at Chicago Bears, 11:00am MT, Win: 31-28

I ended up going long on some other things I was doing today.  So I missed the game and they actually won... and Vance Joseph is still with the team.

 ****

Sunday Night Football: Oct 1, Chiefs vs Jets - watch a little of this game and continued to work on the leg of Sock #2.

Wyo: Oct 7 (Sat) vs Fresno State, Laramie, WY - watched a small amount of this game too, while continuing to work Leg #2

IABCA Dog Show: Oct 7-8:  Wilma and I took a short road trip for our first "International" Show. and I worked on these socks a bit between Ring Times. 

Sunday, October 8: New York Jets, 2:25pm MT,  Loss: 21-31

We got home from the Dog Show in time to "watch" the second half of this game.  There was also a Football Nap taken, so I only made a small amount of progress.  That being said, many small amounts of progress add up to a lot over time.

Of course, watching the Denver Broncos this year is like being a Chicago Cubs fan.... they continue to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  What was on the verge of becoming a tie game headed to overtime instead became a 10-point loss.  smh.  

****

Sunday Night Football: Oct 8, San Francisco v Dallas - watch a little of this game and continued to work on the leg of Sock #2.

Thursday, October 12: at Kansas City Chiefs, 6:15pm MT, Loss: 8-19

We don't have Prime Video, but they did broadcast on the local ABC station.  The evening start time meant I was headed to sleep in the early 4th quarter. The commentators were talking about how Coach Payton has never been shut out and was facing his first at the time I turned it off.  But the Broncos were able to maintain that streak.

As far as my socks go, I am still working on Leg #2, and only have a few rows remaining.

****

AFA vs Wyo: Oct 14 (Sat) Colorado Springs, CO  - watched most of this game.  It was nice to see two local teams doing well.  Air Force ultimately won 34-27.  I finished Leg #2 and began Heel #1

CSU: Oct 14 (Sat) vs Boise State, Homecoming, Ft Collins, CO - The town was full today, so it was clear that this was Homecoming weekend.  Due to the late start, I did not watch the whole game.  So it was nice to see in the morning that CSU had eeked out a win, 31-30.  I continued working on Heel #1.  I'm not enjoying working on the heel with the 9-inch circulars.  The project feels tight and my hands started to cramp... but I am going to continue to practice in this manner.

SNF: Oct 15, Buffalo Bills vs NY Giants - Continued with Heel #1.  Realized that both socks are not in the same place in the colorway.  Decided to rip Sock #2 back to match Sock #1.  Will do this after I complete Heel #1.  I suspect I missed marking a few rows while working on Sock #2 at the recent Dog Show... and kicking myself for thinking about, but not actually comparing the socks prior to starting Heel #1.

MNF:  Oct 16, Dallas Cowboys vs San Diego(?) Chargers - continued working on Heel #1.  Then Hubba mentioned the Major League Baseball finals are going on.  So we switched to Baseball.

MLB: Oct 16 (Mon), Conference Finals, AZvsPHI Game 1 - continued to work on Heel #1 

MLB: Oct 17 (Tue), Conference Finals, AZvsPHI Game 2 - continued to work on Heel #1.  Had some trouble with the stitch count on today's first row.  Not sure why, but I forced a correction that will likely leave a hole.

MLB: Oct 18 (Wed), Conference Finals, HOUvsTEX Game 3 - continue to work on Heel #1.  As I have fewer working stitches on the needles, the handling of the small needles becomes less uncomfortable.  There are only a few rows remaining until the Turn.

MLB: Oct 20 (Fri), Conference Finals, PHIvsAZ Game 4 - continued Heel #1 to the Ready-to-Turn point and added a lifeline.  Also began TINKing Leg #2, estimate I need to remove ~3 rounds.

MLB: Oct 21 (Sat), Conference Finals, PHIvsAZ Game 5 - Finished TINKing Leg #2, for a total of 4 rounds.  Began working on Heel #2.

Sunday, October 22: Green Bay Packers, 2:25pm MT,  Win: 19-17

I processed our Roosters today.  So I was pretty tired by the time the game started.  I did make a little progress on Heel #2.  Had a nap.  Then had to go out to pick up something for Hubba.  So I missed the majority of this game, and they won.

**** 

MLB: Oct 22 (Sun), Conference Finals, TEXvsHOU Game 6 - Continued with Heel #2

MLB: Oct 23 (Mon), Conference Finals, TEXvsHOU Game 7 - Continued with Heel #2.  I now have mistakes on both heels and I've decided that I don't care.  lol.  Texas Rangers advance to the Finals.

MLB: Oct 27 (Fri), World Series, TEXvsAZ Game 1 - Today was a full and emotional day, so I only knit about 3 stitches.

MLB: Oct 28 (Sat), World Series, TEXvsAZ Game 2 - Continued working on Heel #2

Sunday, October 29: Kansas City Chiefs, 2:25pm MT, Win: 24 - 9

The Broncos actually started this game fired up, were the first to score, and led the entire game.  Mahomes was not feeling well (flu?), but this was the first time in a lot (16) of matchups since Denver last defeated Kansas City, in September 2015.

As mentioned a couple of days ago, both heels have mistakes.  At least they are different mistakes. I don't think either will affect the fit, so I decided to leave them both as is.  

At this point I am ready to turn both heels.  The colorway does not match and the next instructions do not make sense to me.  So while I think the instructions are incorrect, I don't see any notes or errata in Ravelry stating that this is true.  So, this means I have placed lifelines and am putting this project down while I read through the rest of the pattern.

****

Sunday, November 5: BYE

Monday, November 13: at Buffalo Bills, 6:15pm MT, ESPN  Win 24-22

We bought a business.  It has me very busy in the evenings after my Day Job, so I haven't had the brain power to solve the heel problem.

It sounded like it was a good game.. and apparently, Denver does better when I'm not watching.  ;-)

**** 

Sunday, November 19: Minnesota Vikings, 6:20pm MT, NBC  Win 21-20

Sunday, November 26: Cleveland Browns, 2:05pm MT, FOX  Win 29-12

Thanksgiving Weekend

Sunday, December 3: at Houston Texans, 2:05pm MT, CBS  Loss 17-22

Sunday, December 10: at Los Angeles Chargers, 2:25pm MT, CBS  Win 24-7

Continuing with Denver does better when I'm not paying attention.... apparently they are now ranked #2 in their division.

**** 

Saturday, December 16: at Detroit Lions, Loss 17-42

Today, I was finally feeling like I had enough brain power to prick this project back up again... and after reviewing other patterns, I've decided to assume that the stitch count in this phase of the instructions are incorrect.... I hope it works out.

Also, we got our Covid boosters today, so I did not make a whole lot of progress.  ;-)

****

Sunday, December 24: New England Patriots, 6:15pm MT, Local/NFLN, Loss 23-26

We had family over for dinner on Christmas Eve, so I did not watch this game, and therefore did not knit either... and suddenly the Broncos are out of playoff contention

****  

MNF:  SF vs BAL:  continued to work on heel #1

          Saturday Night Football: DAL vs DET - worked on heel #1

Sunday, December 31: Los Angeles Chargers, 2:25pm MT, CBS, Win: 16-9

NYE

The drama over the last week with the Broncos has been ridiculous.  If the reporting is correct, the team ownership tried to force the quarterback to modify his contract, when he didn't, they benched him and offered him for trade... and now that it's rumored that he has a place to go, they are saying that he might stay.

I haven't trusted this ownership group from the beginning.... For me, they appear to think they can do anything because they have a lot of money.  These sort of people are never in it for the greater good.

The unusual thing for me is that they appeared to be a team for a few weeks in the middle of the season, but it's clear they are not.

I am still working on the first heel... and I don't like the way the color is pooling.  Therefore I have decided to rip both heels out and add an afterthought heel in a contrasting color, to be determined.

I'm so happy that I put in the life lines. :-)

And now, 3 hours later, I have ripped out two heels, set up two heels for Afterthoughts, and began moving forward on Foot #1.

Happy New Year!

**** 

SNF: MN Vikings vs GB Packers: Continue working on Foot #1

NYE Events: I think it's safe to say that NYE is a sporting event... So I kept working on Foot #1

         New Year's Day Events:

• Rose Parade - Foot #1
• Citrus Bowl - Foot #1 and Foot #2
• Rose Bowl - Foot #2.  My goal is to get to the point, where both Feet have consumed the Heel Yarn that was ripped out.  So far Foot #1 is there and Foot #2 is in progress.

I'm having thoughts around the Afterthought Heel, whether to make it a contrasting color, or to use the existing yarn.... it will bullseye, rather than pool with the new heel strategy

Sunday, January 7: at Las Vegas Raiders  Loss 14-27

I didn't pay too much attention to this game... the Broncos seemed flat and nearly every time I looked up, the Raiders were celebrating.

The rumors today is that Russell Wilson will be signed by Pittsburgh.  I'll be sad to see him go, but I think anywhere else will be a good move for his family.  The Denver Ownership and Coach situation is not a good team situation.

I predict Denver will continue to churn through quarterbacks for the next few years... as an excuse for their lack of team-building.

This last game of the year leaves them at 8 wins and 9 losses.

I didn't make a whole lot of progress on the socks today either... just a couple of rounds on the right one.

****

SNF: January 7th: Miami vs. Buffalo Bills: continue working on Foot #2

Friday, January 12th: While waiting on a procedure, I got a few rows in on Foot #2

Post-Season

Saturday, January 13: Wildcards

I spent today helping out at a local Dog Trial/Competition... this one was focused on Obedience and Rally, which we teach at our school.

We also had some friends over for dinner and while we watched the later half of the second game, I did not knit.

Sunday January 14: Wildcards

I spent the evening helping out at a different Dog Trials/Competitions.

This one was Drafting at the National Western Stock Show.... another great learning and special experience.. and I did get to feel a little bit important.  ;-)

But again, no knitting occurred.

****

Monday January 15: Wildcards

I didn't pay attention to these games either... so no progress.

Saturday-Sunday, January 20-21: Divisionals

I missed these games due to a couple of training classes and attending the NWSS Rodeo with some friends.

Sunday January 28: Championships

Still doing other things.

****

Sunday, February 11: Super Bowl LVIII – Las Vegas, 4:30p MT, CBS

One round was knit on Foot #2.

Epilogue

It's interesting.... as I began this project, I was making fast progress and thought I might get two pairs of socks knit by today... But then we decided to buy the Canine Learning Center.  The due diligence ahead of signing the lease and closing on the sale took time away from knitting.

Then, of course, the process of actually taking over the school and working on facility and infrastructure improvements took time away from knitting.

Now, at ~4months into ownership, while my head is no longer swimming, we are still very busy with managing the school and continuing to work on improvements... and I only have a little over half of a pair of socks completed.

I will continue to work on these while I am watching sports and politics, as long as I also have the freshness of mind to not mess them up.  :-)

Of course Google has also suspended email subscriptions, so I don't expect that anyone will actually see this post.  ;-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!