Ribbed Socks
These basic-yet-functional socks were a quick project I whipped up for the Snook. The yarn is Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cotton Fantasy, and I was hoping that the additional cotten content would make them less itchy for his feet. (We’ll see.) I used 2.75mm needles and a single ball was plenty long enough.

The pattern is basically just one that I improvised. I knitted them toe-up at the same time on two circular needles. I used Judy’s Magic Cast-on for the toes, but I decided to try an experiment. Instead of making the toes symmetrical, I decided to do make them more pointed on one side (mimicking the outline of the Snook’s toes). So on each toe, I increased every row on one side, and every few rows on the other side. I don’t know whether it’s going to make them any more comfortable, but it was fun to try. Of course, making separate toes meant that the socks aren’t interchangeable. You have to wear the “right” sock on the right foot. To make it easier to tell them apart, I knitted in an L or R on the back of each leg against a background of reversed stocking stitch. The gusset increases and heel turns were taken from Widdershins. I like doing the reversed turned heel, and I think it fits better and looks nicer than a short-row heel. I did an “eye of partridge” heel for added strength as well.

He put them on first thing this morning so I guess that’s the seal of approval! (More photos on Ravelry and Flickr.)

Twisted Flower Socks
These socks nearly killed me. After cruising along all summer averaging better than one pair of socks per month, these suckers took me more than two months to finally finish. The pattern is by Cookie A. (designer of the ubiquitous Monkey Socks and instigator of the hated “socks and high heels” photo fad), and the yarn is the Knittery’s Merino Cashmere Sock in the special breast cancer pink colourway. I started off using two 2.75mm circular needles to knit both legs at the same time. I cheerfully dived into the first chart (of three!) and within a fortnight had them up to the heels. Then I switched to chart #2 and polished off the heel flaps. Suddenly… I noticed that they didn’t seem very stretchy. I tried them on and the damn things wouldn’t fit over my ankles! So I frogged them back completely all the way to the start. Eventually i started over on 3.25mm needles, which seemed to work a lot better. I think a big part of that is just that this lace-and-cable pattern has very little stretch. (I kinda wish I’d put more ribbing at the top, because I fear they may sag a little.) One reason for my slow speed was the intricacy of this pattern, and the fact that every single row was different from the last. I found it impossible to memorize, especially as the patterns and charts shift every so often. Another impediment was the yarn itself. I have to say, I wasn’t very impressed. Oh it was definitely soft, but it was also very, very splitty. The spin was such that it actually UNTWISTED as you knitted it (and no, it didn’t matter which end of the skein you used). So I’m not sure how robust they’re going to be in the long run. I’m also a little annoyed with how the color striped and pooled (considering how pretty it was in the hank). It competes with the pattern a lot, don’t you think? They’re definitely soft and cozy though, and judging by my own foot, they’re going to be a perfect fit. Hopefully Mom won’t receive them too long after Mother’s Day… (More details on Ravelry.)