Day 27

I’m coming in under the wire on this one.  I promised myself I’d knit 12 pairs of socks before Christmas this year, and it worked out to churning out a pair every 27 days. (Or so, it was really more like every 27.84 days, but I’m dropping the fraction.) This morning I got up and did a few things, and worked for a bit, and then while I was at my computer it chimed, and an alert popped up in the corner. It said “Sock.”

This is because I am totally a big enough dork that I entered the deadline in my calendar for every 27 days, and set an alarm to remind me. (I know. I’m so hip it hurts.  Somewhere my children are flinching that sock deadlines are a real thing in my world.)

strandeddonefeet 2014-05-22

As it popped up, I realized the flaw in my plan.  I should have set the deadline, and then set a warning alarm for a few days before, because telling me that I have a sock due on the day that it’s due is really – well. It lit a fire under me this morning, and I was super lucky I only had a half foot to go, and I could finish this fetching pair.

strandeddonewhole 2014-05-22

These are Stranded Show-off Socks, and they were a party on the needles, and I mean that. Super fun to knit, and a great choice for this variegated yarn. The stitch pattern makes wee dashes of colour across the stitches, quite pretty, I think.  (Yarn: Skeined Alive 80/merino 10/cashmere, 10/nylon in “Vermiculture.” Great colourway. Great name.) The pattern’s got a short row variation that’s charming, and sends the stitch pattern all the way down the back of the heel and makes an oddly neat anatomical shape round the arch.  I like ’em.
strandeddoneside1 2014-05-22

Changes to the pattern? Just one, and I’m not sure that it’s a change at all, because I didn’t check. When the time came for the toe, I just did my current favourite, without looking to see which toe the designer recommended. I like a nice round toe.  It’s a quirk.

stranded round toe 2014-05-22

The roundish variation I do on the standard toe fits the same way, but I like how it looks better off – Not that it matters – except it does.  (Because you’ll ask, I do a standard toe, but change the rate of decrease. 1 decrease round, 4 plain. 1 decrease round, then 3 plain. 1 decrease round, then 2 plain… see where I’m going? When there’s no rounds left to set between the decrease rounds, I just decrease all the time until it looks right. Like a toe.)

strandedfolded 2014-05-22

So, voila.  On track to finish the year with at least 12 pairs, and you can bet that I added an alarm before the next deadline. I don’t want to get caught again. I might not be able to knit my way out of it.  I’m off to the sock yarn cupboard. Mama needs a flash new sock project.