May Socks

Hello Gentle Knitters, and thanks for your patience while I was unexpectedly away from the blog. I got sick last week while I was in Port Ludlow and that combined with the travel whacked the snot out of my resources, and then there was a family thing that needed me more than you did. I yanked, spent the time with my family that they needed, and now I’m back – and as much as I miss the blog while I’m gone like that, there’s never any contest between being a parent and being a blogger.  That said, let’s get back to what we all really care about.

Socks.

These my friends, because the mojo of the last few months had to wear off sometime are the May socks.  See that? May socks. Note the date? That’s right. Blogging these bad boys with 5 days to go on the calendar, and really it’s even more impressive than you think because I finished them days ago while I wasn’t blogging.  These zoomed.

Pattern: Everyone Outta the Pool.  Yarn: antique Koigu KPPPM that I don’t know anything about, except that it’s been in the stash forever,  and Cherry tree hill Supersock Solids for contrast.

I love this pattern.  Love. It.  It’s fast, it’s simple, it’s fun, it has just enough cool techniques to keep you hopping, and I love what it does to a variegated yarn.  That line along the side of the foot where the patterning stops and the stripyness starts?  I am charmed by it. Charmed, I tell you. Charmed to the point that I briefly discussed it with a stranger. (They were not charmed. I always remember one second too late that non-knitters have low interest in slipped stitches and what they do to yarn variegation. Even if you explain it really well, with samples.)

These were toe-up, which isn’t my favourite, but was my choice this time because I wanted to use all the Koigu, and it was in two little skeins. I cast on with contrast, knit the toe, changed to the Koigu, did the heel in the contrast, then knit the leg until the Koigu ran out – then did the little hem at the top in the contrast again.

Speaking of the hem (and because I can’t stress to you enough how much the stranger didn’t care- but I know you will) it is so clever that it almost makes me angry.  Angry because it’s brilliant and simple and perfect and I totally should have thought of it.  It’s double knit.

When you get to the hem, you double your stitches, then work in double-knitting for a bit, then graft that top edge shut. It’s perfect. The inside and outside are both perfect stockinette created at the same time. The whole thing just organically grows up from the toe to the edge like a little sock poem for your feet. (Also, I know someone is now going to ask me about double knitting – go here. Lucy Neatby is the best person to teach you this. Look at her other DVD’s while you’re there.  They’re pretty awesome.)

Once again, thanks go to my Meg for being the sock model.  Today while we were taking these, I said "You’re such a good sock model Megan." and she said "RIGHT eh!" and then I took a few more snaps.  A minute later while admiring what I thought was the socks,  she mused – "It’s because I have such lovely feet."  I thought about that for a sec, and then said "You know what Meg?  It’s a shame about your cripplingly low self-esteem".