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.)

Oh neat! Bex designed a sock pattern for The Knittery, and it’s now available for download on their site for free! Well done, Bex. 🙂

Toe-Up Jaywalkers
These are my fourth completed pair for the Southern Summer of Socks (previously: Whitby, Retro Rib, Widdershins). The original Jaywalker pattern took the knitting world by storm a few years back, so I’m a little late to the party. I’d previously made a start on these a few months back but frogged them when I realized they were never going to fit over my ankle. (The pattern is notorious for its lack of stretch.) I later decided to use the toe-up mod instead, so I could better judge the fit and length as I went along. The yarn is Vesper Sock Yarn in the “Tartan” colourway, which I thought would suit the zig-zagginess of the pattern nicely. I knitted them two-at-a-time on two 2.75mm circs, and I used Judy’s Magic Cast-On to start the toe. (Note to self: Next time either use more than twenty stitches or space out your increases better to avoid toe pointiness.) The zig-zag pattern is actually really easy to do and takes two seconds to memorize, but it does make for some odd pooching where you switch from zig-zag to straight stockinette. The worst part of the construction was trying to figure out where to start the gusset increases; the pattern doesn’t really tell you so I had to guess and I ended up reknitting it three times. The reverse turned heel is very nice though, and it seems to be a good fit. I’ll give these an 8 out of 10! (Cross-posted to Ravelry and Southern Summer of Socks.)

Mini Socks and Swatches
I whipped up two little objects last night. The first is a little “Sock Blocker Keychain,” which came in a kit from Robyn’s Nest. Isn’t it cute? I believe the yarn was Lorna’s Laces. The second project is a swatch for my planned Easter Show entry this year: “Road to Golden” from the Fall 2007 Knitscene. (You can see pictures of other people’s versions on Flickr.) I was a bit worried that the acid yellow is too bright and lairy, but so far everybody I’ve showed it to likes it. What do you think?

Widdershins in Noro Kureyon Sock
These socks gave me carpal tunnel, I swear. I swore on Christmas Eve that I’d finish them over the holidays, and I spent pretty much every spare minute on the 25th and 26th working on them. The pattern is Widdershins, adapted to be knit on two-circulars. I used Judy’s Magic Cast-On for the toe, and it was AWESOME! I’ll definitely be starting my toe-up socks this way from now on. My biggest problem with the pattern was simply one of gauge, which is really my fault. Fifty-four stitches (with cables) is just too tight for my foot at my normal sock knitting tension. So I ended up increasing a bit more than directed throughout the foot, which meant that I had to wing it quite a bit on the heel. That’s probably why the heel doesn’t fit quite as nicely as the one in the picture. Oh well, they’re still wearable. I also reversed the cable twist on the second sock so they’re mirror images. The other fun thing I did was use a tubular cast-off for the cuffs. I’d never done it before, but the Knitter’s Book of Finishing Techniques has really great instructions. I did it too tightly the first time, but I unpicked it and did it properly. It looks really nice.

Oh, and the yarn? Yeah, that’s the new Noro Kureyon Sock yarn. It’s not available in Australia yet, but the supplier sent me a ball so I could test it out. It feels pretty rough to knit with (like any Noro, really), but the colours are just fabulous. It’s also got a really long colour repeat, so you’re going to have to unwind half the ball if you want your socks to match. I was also impressed with just how far a single 100g ball went. These are really long! I’m wearing them today and they feel a little itchy, but not too bad. I’ll report back once I’ve give them a good wash. (More details are on my Ravelry notebook, for those who are members.)

Retro Rib Socks
Despite everything else that happened this month, I still managed to meet my Southern Summer of Socks goal of one pair per month. This pattern is “Retro Rib Socks” from Interweave’s Favorite Socks. (More photos are on Flickr.) I’ve now made FOUR pairs from this book; I love it. What I didn’t love was the yarn: TOFUtsies. It’s a blend of wool, cotton, “soysilk,” and chitin. (Yes, ground up crustaceans.) Sounds interesting, right? I had a hell of a time getting it to behave.

My first problem was that I tried casting on from the center of the ball, thinking I’d do my usual “knit two at once” trick. Right away I ran into difficulty. This yarn is so loosely spun and apt to split that I just couldn’t make any headway with it. A single strand would always be pulled loose from the rest and I just couldn’t get it to sit properly. I tried about three different patterns before giving up and going to the outside of the ball. That worked a lot better. (Of course, it also meant I had to knit them one at a time, so I had to battle a little Second Sock Syndrome.) Also, as the yarn has very little stretch, I had to cast on over two needles to get it loose enough to go over my leg, even though I’d already gone up to my usual 2.75mm needles.

Okay, so that’s all the negatives. In the positive column, it certainly feels very nice to wear. I even made the Snook try them on to gauge the prickliness factor, and whether I could use the fiber for him. (He likes them better than pure wool but still finds them itchy. Weirdo.) The other nice thing is the meterage. I had heaps of this yarn left over, and I didn’t make them deliberately short or anything. You’d defiitely get a man’s pair out of a single 100g ball.

Next up: Jaywalkers! I’ve finally given in to the temptation, seeing as how everybody else in the known universe has knitted them.