BRIGHT Bright Sock!
I am still not feeling 100% but I'm definitely better . . . I actually got tons of stuff done this weekend, including cleaning, finishing a few long-overdue FOs (stay tuned for photos of my Katherine Hepburn and the Koigu ruffle socks!) and starting one new project. BRIGHT socks:
(have to brag: this picture is a perfect representation of this sock!! Shock of all shocks!)
I thought it might be ugly while I was knitting it, but somehow putting it on changed the way it looks! I now LOVE IT, and it makes me smile just looking at this picture. The colors were yelling "Mexico!" to me so I am thinking of these as my Margarita socks (coincidentally my favorite drink, although most Mexicans never drink them), so it make me want to spice them up a bit, hence the stitch pattern on the leg.
This is yet another toe-up sock. I think it might be time to admit that I've been converted. Never say never.
I did more increases before the heel on this sock and that's definitely better, but you can see from this picture there is still a decent amount of stretching out so in the next pair I will do even more increases. I am so happy I decided to try this weird gusset, the idea of being able to make socks this easily is really appealing!! I had stayed away from toe-up short row socks because of the fit at the instep, but now that I've figured out a way around that . . . well, now you know why I can admit to being converted!
After the socks decided to evoke Mexico for me I thought I needed to add a little sizzle to make them more Senorita-like (forgive the lack of squiggle above the N) -- so I gave them a modified feather-and-fan leg, using only 11 stitches in each pattern repeat. I think it works really well with the colors!
Speaking of which, this is new-to-me yarn bought via Etsy. This is Twisted Fibers Arial sock yarn in the Guardian colorway. It feels a lot like Sunshine yarn's Soft base yarn or Yarntini's base, which is to say it doesn't have that crisp, tightly-twisted texture you expect from yarns like Koigu and STR. It also appears to be a tiny bit thinner than other sock yarns, but I was able to knit the foot on my usual 60 sts so it didn't make any difference. I like how it feels on the foot and how it knits up, and will be keeping my eye on the store to grab some more when it becomes available! I already have my eye on that Warlock colorway that's their banner . . .
Where have I been!?!
I got sucked into the post that ate my brain (Ravelry link), that's where. I spent almost all my free time this past week reading through the 4,000+ posts about the Mystical Creation Yarns debacle (summarized on this website if you don't have Ravelry access) -- I just couldn't tear myself away! After a few pages' worth of posts, when I realized just how many there were, I knew I had to pick up something to knit while reading. I had been half-heartedly knitting on a Gathered Pullover which happened to have been left near the computer . . .
4,000+ posts later:
Yup, almost an entire sweater. I can hardly believe it myself. Adam kept trying to pull me away from the thread and yet every time I updated him on the latest unbelievable turn of events, he had to admit he, too, wanted to know what happened. So I kept reading. And knitting. I finally finished the thread yesterday at about 1:30am, took this picture and posted it to the thread, and went to sleep. Got up this morning determined to actually finish this sweater, it's so close! It will forever be associated in my head as the MYC fiasco sweater! I am just about done with the sleeve cap on the first sleeve now, and intend to keep knitting and hopefully finish the sweater this week. We'll see how that works out.
Oh, you want project details? I'm using Classic Elite Princess in color 3403, a silvery grey heather. This yarn lasts forever! So far I am only on the 5th ball, and I'm more than 2/3rds done. It's kind of unbelievable, really. The yarn is quite nice, too, it's a funny dry texture that's somehow very cozy and soft at the same time. I am expecting it to bloom a lot with washing and it'll probably get even better. This is my first time using this yarn and I definitely see myself knitting with it in the future!
Over last weekend I also finished the first Vesper sock:
Toe up again, with a short row heel again, plus a small gusset. I know, apparently I've been converted to a toe-up sock knitter. Never say never, right?
I made these a bit longer than my usual socks because I figured there was no reason not to -- especially with self-striping yarns, it is so easy to figure out just how far you can knit, I decided it would be silly not to! All I did to find out was count the stripe repeats I had already knit, then rewind the remaining yarn while counting THOSE stripe repeats, then figure out where halfway was and knit till I got there. The second sock will hopefully be exactly the same. When I get around to making it, that is.
I really like this yarn and definitely see myself ordering it in the future. The thing you can't see online is the variegation in each stripe. I tried to capture it in daylight but my camera skills leave a lot to be desired, hopefully you can see what I mean in this shot:
See how each stripe is actually shades of the color? Not at all what I expected but so pretty and subtle!
